Hello all,

I am planning to use the KLX for some adventure touring with a passenger. I would like to find out from people who ride with passengers what kind of suspension modifications you had done on your bike. First of all I am wondering if I could get by with the stock suspension just by adjusting the pre-load. Me and my passenger weigh a total of 300lbs without riding gear plus atleast 30lbs of luggage. Secondly, I was wondering what kind of tires to use for adventure touring, that is for an equal mix of pavement, forest roads and gravel roads. Are the stock Dunlop D605s the best option?

Thanks,
Salinger

 

The KLX doesn't like me when I add my girlfriend, and shes not fat lol.

Can't imagine trying to adventure tour with her on the back.

 

Definitely sounds like an 'Adventure' to me. Not sure if I would do it.
The Kenda K270 rear would be a good choice. Good on the slab and gravel.
The suspension on these bikes is set up for someone closer to 160lbs. That's alot of weight to lug around on the current setup no matter what the settings are. + I think the max weight is listed at 300lbs for the little klx.

 

I have a Race Tech 6.4 rear shock spring you might be interested in.

 

No, the stock setup isn't going to treat you well at all.
I rode passengers a few times with stock setup and it sucked bad. Upped the suspension later to my weight (200# plug gear, desert tank) and the suspension took a 130# passenger better. But it is WAY cramped for me (6'1").

That my friend will be an ADVENTURE! Keep us posted.

 

Stock tires will work fine for your purpose (run plenty of psi), replacement D605s can't be purchased in the USA though. At replacement time I'd look for the toughest tire (4 ply) you can find. IRC TR8 Battle Rally/Enduro 3 Sahara/Hindenaus might be a good choice.

Try tightening the preload first and see what happens. You will likely need a stiffer rear spring for the bike to sit/handle right.

You're kind of in uncharted waters on two up touring w/ a KLX. Most here are probably thinking it's the wrong choice from a frame/subframe strength, horsepower, comfort standpoint. But hey, gear it down a tooth and see if it works for you...

 

Wrong bike for the job. Get her a bike or sell yours and buy another that's suited to two-up.

 

Some such saying about a chicken dinner applies here, but ol'klx, only you and I may be old enough to remember it.

 

Hey, we all saw "Tin Cup"...



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I ride two up with my wife all the time. We're 300lbs together.
My rear shock started leaking at about 1,500 miles and she had only ridden with me a few times. I had it rebuilt and no problems now at almost 4,ooo miles and about 2000 of those she was with me. We ride some of the roughest terrain in North Georgia. I take it pretty easy in the rough stuff but we move pretty fast on the FS roads.
I've done most all of the mods and went with a 13 tooth on the front. It is more sluggish two up for sure but is still not too bad. I have passed cars on hills just a bit slower than by myself.
I made a seat pad that works similar to the Sweet Cheeks product and made a wedge for her to sit on so she doesn't slide up on me as bad. I have a rear rack with a pelican case that would bruise her lower back, so I made a padded backrest for that. I also made brackets to lower the rear foot pegs about 3 or 4 inches so her knees were not so crunched up. She says it's really comfortable and I can't keep her off of it!
One of our favorite loops is 100 miles with an ice cream shop about half way. It's about 40 miles of pavement, 10 miles of steep rough trail with several creek crossings, and the rest FS roads. The ice cream stop is nice to rest.
I'm sure that a bigger bike suited for two up would be more comfortable. This is the largest bike I've ever owned. I may just not know what I'm missing with a bigger bike but this is what we have and it works just fine for us. Yes, maybe one day we can afford another larger bike but then we would probably skip some of the rough stuff which is our favorite riding.
Were planning on a weekend trip this spring. Estimated 300 miles of FS roads and 100 or more of pavement. We'll probably take three days to allow for plenty of sight seeing, eating, and butt resting.