I went out and spent the day riding the Oregon Dunes last Saturday (Jan 10th) with a couple of buddies from work. Sadly, since my KLX is running a Kenda K270 rear tire, and is otherwise stock, I felt it wasn't quite up to the task, and opted to borrow my friend Erik's '97 XR400. I also spent a good hour or so on the KTM400 XCW (w/paddle) and then tried out Erik's new bike, a Husqvarna TC510. I had so much damn fun! Sh*t! I've never had a chance to ride these dunes, and I thought it was just the coolest thing in the world to not have to stick to a trail, watch out for roots, rocks, or anything other than the terrain of the sand (the occasional hole or dropoff). Just go wherever you want, ripping it up. None of that "tread lightly" stuff. Then there was the beach. Man, that was something else! (shhh. there is a 25mph speed limit on the beach. Ooops) I am SO friggin' hooked on the dunes! I can't stop thinking about going back, but I want to take my KLX.

What are some mods you guy would recommend to make this bike dunes worthy? I'd love to get a spare wheel and put a paddle on it, but at least I'll get a better knobby (Michelin AC10?). I'd also think a 13T sprocket, stronger fork springs and wider handlebars are a must. (I have a limited budget ) Then I'd want to incrementally add other stuff... Aftermarket air filter, exhaust and jet kit. Then eventually do a 351 kit.

As I add this list of parts, I can't help but wonder if I shouldn't just get me 5 or 6 year old YZ250 smoker and slap a paddle on it and save the KLX as my go to dualsport/commuter. Hmmm...

 

Wow, I really need to move to Oregon. You have cooler weather, no sales tax, and every kind of terrain including sand dunes!

 

You guys have Ocotillo Wells. I've been daydreaming of riding there for years. It's probably a good 15 hour drive from here. (damn! I should just do it!) I grew up in California (San Jose area), and moved up here with my wife back in 1995. I miss the winter weather down there (and the long drive to visit family), but the rest of the time I have no regrets.

 

My first thought is after riding those other bikes, the KLX might be a disappointment in the dunes.

But the sand looks wetter and fimer than dunes I'm used to riding.

A stock KLX ain't much fun in really soft sand IMO.

Looks like a good fun place to cut loose.

 

Looks like a good time!! I'm thinking the 351 and paddle tires would make it a formidable beast in the sand

 

You are correct. I preferred the big bores at florence, wallport, (oregon coast) just to stay on top of the sand.

Congrats on the ride time. Were you checked on the db's of the exhaust while you were there? hahaha on the "drop offs" Seen some nasty O Sh*t! where did the sand go moments?

 

Go look for a nice used KX500 if you can still find one.

 

No sound checks for us, but we did get sorta eyeballed in the morning when we first pulled in. A ranger came by and pulled up and made chitchat with us for a few. I'm sure he was scoping out the bikes too, but I guess we seemed cool enough because he didn't get out of his rig, and we didn't see any more rangers the rest of the day.

So, I was kinda thinking that there is a certain minimum speed you need to stay above where the becomes easier (and more fun). Go too slow and you start to dig in and wallow. I'm not sure how much money I would have to spend to make a KLX250S that could consistently maintain an acceptable power level to have fun on the dunes.

If anyone has a fully modded KLX (exhaust, pumper carb, 351 kit, etc.) and has run it in a dunes type environment can tell me how worked, that would be cool. Was the bike tapped out most of the time, was it "fun" (catch some air, climb the big dunes, roost on your buddies and such), could it carry a paddle? Or would all of that money be better spent on a used off-road bike that already has enough power for the dunes?

 

That would rock! I've seen a few CR500's in craigslist that had raised my interest. Hmmm?

 

Unless your light I don't think the KLX would be much fun in the sand. sand=horspower, horsepower= cu.in