I haven't posted in a while, as I was busy roofing my house. Still, in between working the "honey-do" list, I managed to sneak into the garage every now and then, and the KLR is about ready. Well, maybe not ready, but almost there.
The new-to-me motor runs smoothly and is quieter than the original one. All fluids were changed and motor bolted and torqued to specs in the frame. So, what is taking me so long? Well, I spent this past week waiting for a new chain and sprockets. I never really bothered counting the teeth on the original sprockets. The teeth looked okay, the chain had some slack, but wasn't bad enough to replace, so why would I? Well, since I had her all apart again, I decided to count the teeth. It turns out, the previous owner messed with the sprockets as well, and left me with a less-than-desirable ratio. His setup was 16 front and 40 rear. Since my primary purpose for this bike is trail riding, this setup would likely leave me cursing while slipping the clutch to get out of mud.
After some researching, I found the stock ratio to be 15 front and 44 rear. This seems to be a decent, all-around combo. However, since I'll be riding 80% trails with this, I decided to go 1 tooth lower on the front, while keeping the rear size stock. This will allow me to put in the 16 front if something changes and I need to use the bike on a long pavement ride.
I think the 14 front 44 rear will prove to be a good trail combo for me.
The sprockets and chain finally arrived today, so I stole away to the garage and installed those. While at it, I cleaned the rear brake drum of all mud and caked-on residue, lubricated bearings, and reassembled everything back together. Tomorrow, if time allows, I'll finally take her down from the 5gal paint bucket (I've been using as a work stand), set the chain tension, bolt the side plastics back on, and go for a ride. Of course, being in New England, there is still snow on the ground and the weather is to be in the low 30s.
About Me
- Henry Martin
- Henry Martin spends his nights writing fiction and poetry, which predominately deals with the often-overlooked aspects of humanity. He is the author of three novels: Escaping Barcelona, Finding Eivissa, and Eluding Reality; a short story collection, Coffee, Cigarettes, and Murderous Thoughts; and a poetry collection, The Silence Before Dawn. His most recent published project is a collection of Photostories in five volumes under the KSHM Project umbrella, for which he collaborated with Australian photographer Karl Strand, combining one of a kind images with short stories and vignettes. He is currently working on his next novel narrated in two opposing points of view. He lives with his family in the Northeast.
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