2008 Cornering Comparison. Who can you keep up with?

[willieb]

I've read many times on here that the 2008 KLR650 is a great canyon carver, even with stock tires. Not sure the truth of it, but I've even read about the new KLR650s keeping up with sport bikes. So, tell me what it compares to.

So what other bikes have you riden with and kept up with on the curves?

How do heavier cruisers and sport bikes compare? A friend of mine has a Suzuki Boulevard 1800 that says it corners like on rails. Of course he'd be faster on a straight line but how would they compare on the curves since it's much heavier and probably can't lean as far without scraping something?

Or the KLR compared to the king of road carvers, the Sport Bikes?

Your thoughts?

[TC KLR 08]

They're great curvy dirt road bikes

[E-town KLR dude]

This little girl...in a pink jacket on a tricycle..with those pink tassles blowing in the wind....I kicked her ass in the corner in our cul de sac

Originally Posted by willieb

I've read many times on here that the 2008 KLR650 is a great canyon carver, even with stock tires. Not sure the truth of it, but I've even read about the new KLR650s keeping up with sport bikes. So, tell me what it compares to.

So what other bikes have you riden with and kept up with on the curves?

How do heavier cruisers and sport bikes compare? A friend of mine has a Suzuki Boulevard 1800 that says it corners like on rails. Of course he'd be faster on a straight line but how would they compare on the curves since it's much heavier and probably can't lean as far without scraping something?

Or the KLR compared to the king of road carvers, the Sport Bikes?

Your thoughts?

[Ridge]

Once you have found that sweet spot that exists on every bike, you can make it do things most people would shake their head in disbelief over. It's called the C.O.G. Center Of Gravity, every bike has it and it is in a different spot on every bike. Once found though, the bike offers itself up like a vestal virgin. You can suddenly and wantonly push the front, slide the rear, get it sideways a little and recover all in the same breath.

I have ridden numerous trackdays with a 600RR, Aprilia Tuono and I'll be racing my SV in WERA next year. Would I push the KLR as hard as those bikes? Not likely, but I have never felt like it just wanted to launch me off in mid turn either. I have pushed it at speeds not considered "safe" through mtn curves on NC181 and NC221. I have walked away from sportbikes, cruisers and other D/S bikes, but (BIG but here), I was riding at my pace and what was comfortable for me.

Once I got accustomed to the feedback of the tires and brakes, I quickly found when/where I needed to adjust my body position in relation to the bike's speed and lean angle. Hang off a little more here, shift back a little there. It's all a dance on a fine line of available traction vs. avaialble power. Most of the skill in wielding a bike through curved roads is in the rider that is in control. The same bike ridden by ten different riders will show you ten different lines of travel through the same road.

[kirkster70]

I'll put my two cents in...

I've had many high-end liter class (1000cc+) sportbikes over the years that were all breathed on heavily and lightened as much as they could be. Basically, street legal race bikes.

Of course we all know that the KLR doesn't set any 1/4 mile or top speed records, it absolutely shines in the turns. I can honestly say that the KLR can outhandle any bike I've ever owned in the twisties. Hands down.

The beauty of the KLR is that it's power output is very tractable. It is useable power that is right there right now. Leave her in 3rd or 4th all day in the twisties and just modulate your throttle. You rarely need to brake.

I had a desrestriced early release 2000 ZX-12R that I lightened to 406 lbs wet, and dynoed 187 hp at the rear wheel. I really thought that bike was something until a grey haired rider handed my rear-end to me on a bone stock KLR650. No kidding!

I would have to short shift the ZX-12R just to keep from stepping the rear out in corners, while the gezzer on the KLR was applying full throttle through the same turn. Every inline 4 I've ever owned didn't start making power until about 9 grand, and you don't hit 9 grand when you short shift!

Anyway, on straight lines, forget about it. In the turns, you have a serious advantage.

[willieb]

kirkster70,

That is amazing! I did note that she stuck very well in the corners in the mountains, for what very little stress I gave her. I can't wait to really stretch her legs. Honestly though, I am a little scared of laying her down, but I assume there is some warning that gives a brief moment of correction to keep her upright (i.e. feeling the rear tire start sliding out??). We will only learn with experience.

[KLdrumR]

I'm a mere rank amateur in the realm of rear wheel drift on hot top, but within the limits of my meager attempts, I was really surprised how controllable a seemingly out of control maneuver can be. I started experimenting with a couple of downshifts and feathering the clutch to get the engine braking to break the rear wheel free. I was surprised at how far out you can compromise traction and still have control. It's a whole other world out there.

Makes me appreciate even more what the skills of the other posters on this thread and the abilities of the mighty KLR.


cb

[Stevem]

I would say my KLR handles just as well if not better than my FJR in the really tight stuff. Now when the road straightens out or the turns aren't so tight forget about it. I have ridden both bikes with my buddy on his road king and as soon as we hit the turns it's bye bye Harley. If you trust the tires the KLR is really an excellant handling machine.

[kirkster70]

The biggest thing to keep in mind is to ride within your abilities. The biggest mistake I see people make is to try to keep up with their buddies with more experience, and then it happens.

They overshoot a turn, lock up the rear, lock their vision on where they are about to crash, and proceed to be high sided off the tank. Not pretty.

When I first bought the KLR, I thought with 6 gallons on top, it would be a cow in the turns and want to fall in. I was very surprised that when doing anything above 30 mph, turn-in is very neutral. It doesn't want to fall into the turn, and at high speeds, it doesn't want to stand up either. The neutral turn-in combined with the wide bars for awesome leverage is what makes the bike so effortless to run through the turns. It's actually hard work on a sportbike.

Another thing to practice is looking as far into the turn as possible. You can even practice this when in your car. Look beyond the guy in front of you as far as you can into the turn. Blur your vision to what's directly in front of you. Don't look at your gauges - just listen to the bike. When you can do this well, you will really surprise yourself on your cornering abilities, plus it's just good practice. It sounds very simple, but like anything, you need to practice to be proficient at it.

If you look at what's directly in front of you, you don't see what's coming up, and it lessens your reaction time, especially when travelling at speed. This will cause you to wipe out. When you do see some hazard in the road, you lock your eyes on it, and then hit it. It's called "target fixation". Your bike will go where your eyes focus, that's why you look into the turn to where you want to go, don't look at where you currently are.

Even in an emergency manuever, most motorcycles will take a turn harder than any one of us would ever expect. Just look into the turn beyond everything in front of you, and you will become excellent at turns. Just don't get crazy with it and exceed your abilities. Time in the saddle will tell you when to back out of it.

Another mistake it to completely chop the throttle when entering a turn too hot. That's as bad as taking it too fast in the first place. Back off the gas, but don't chop the gas and then brake, because that will completly upset the geometry of the bike and make it more likely that you will wreck. Use the back brake sparingly as well. You have 70% of your braking power up front, so make good use of it. You also have to be careful not to push out the front end. I have noticed that the KLR's brakes are a bit grabby, so if you do start to slide, let off the brakes.

Anyway, these are just some very basic observations learned by seeing and experiencing some pretty bad things over 20 years of acting like a dork on the street. I actually bought the KLR to slow down so I can see my kids grow up. Little did I know how good it was in the turns!

[Ridge]

Kirkster summed it up pretty well. I would add that if you have the money and time, its wise to enroll in a school that can teach you cornering techniques beyond what you can learn on the street. You are very lucky by being in GA, you have a nearly year-round riding season and schools are going on all the time. I'll be at one this weekend in Spencer, NC called Cornerspin. Learning flat-track skills and how to apply them to roadracing. The bike is in a constant state of lost traction. Two day school cost me $400 by supplying my own bike (DR-Z125L).

Even the MSF advanced rider course can help with technique. Reading up on books by Nick Ienatsch and Keith Code would be helpful for a start.

[dflowers]

It is possible to keep up with and pass almost any other bike in really tight turns except for a motard bike with sticky street tires. The KLR is very nimble and easy to throw around, so much easier to get turned than a sport bike. The available traction is way less than good street tires so riding the bike loose works better. I have never crashed a bike on the street due to getting into a turn too hot but a month or so ago I did it on the KLR We were riding up Mt. Baker and got into the tight stuff near the top. The roads were wet and cold with some gravel in the turns. The sport bikes were tiptoeing through the turns and I was having a blast on the KLR. I got into a 10mph switchback too hot but tried to turn anyway because usually the bike will still stick but in this case the front let go and I lowsided. So I did an idiot move and found the limits of the front in poor road conditions. The bike had minor damage and I was up and going very quickly, and I learned my lesson! But even cutting back on the pace after that the sport bikes were left far behind. Of course none of them crashed I once went up that road on my GSXR-1000 and was following a KTM adventure. One of the big twin adventure bikes. I caught the KTM easily and had no trouble hanging with the KTM in the fast sweepers. But once the road tightened up he was gone and my GSXR felt like a big pig in those slow corners. But the KLR really is not about speed and more about fun and versatility. So now I have hard bags on the bike so my plan is to forget about spanking the sport bikes anymore. The 21 inch front wheel feels a little strange on the pavement. Not the ideal size but great off road.

[thecatwalk]

I haven't crashed the KLR yet but came close on a really tight corner at about 500 miles. At that mileage, I thought that the tires were pretty much broken in. So, I tried to take a tight 270 degree turn quickly. I was really expecting the rear tire to give me some warning in the form of a slide. But it was the front that gave up first. I had never experienced a front slide before and let's just say that I was glad I didn't have a full bladder.

Anyway, I think the KLR's upright riding position and the wide handle bar really provide great leverage for cornering. I haven't raced other bikes on my KLR but my gut feel is that I can go in and out of a corner faster than on any of the "sportbikes" that I rode before, which include Kawa. Ninja 600, BMW 1150S, and Triumph Speed Triple. I don't have a lot of bike racing skills so that is certainly a factor since the KLR is so easy to ride fast. I do think that a more experienced racing rider will have no problem cornering faster than the KLR in any of these bikes.

[CajunRider]

I've scraped my toes on an '07 with the back shock on setting 4 and 10lbs of air in both front shocks... while running D606 knobbies.

The KLR is light compared to road bikes... find your seating position and it'll amaze you at how well it can be controlled.

[KLdrumR]

Ok, so how far up to the tank or back on the seat is best?

[daimmel]

Originally Posted by kirkster70

I'll put my two cents in...

I've had many high-end liter class (1000cc+) sportbikes over the years that were all breathed on heavily and lightened as much as they could be. Basically, street legal race bikes.

Of course we all know that the KLR doesn't set any 1/4 mile or top speed records, it absolutely shines in the turns. I can honestly say that the KLR can outhandle any bike I've ever owned in the twisties. Hands down.

(The beauty of the KLR is that it's power output is very tractable. It is useable power that is right there right now. Leave her in 3rd or 4th all day in the twisties and just modulate your throttle. You rarely need to brake.

I had a desrestriced early release 2000 ZX-12R that I lightened to 406 lbs wet, and dynoed 187 hp at the rear wheel. I really thought that bike was something until a grey haired rider handed my rear-end to me on a bone stock KLR650. No kidding!

I would have to short shift the ZX-12R just to keep from stepping the rear out in corners, while the gezzer on the KLR was applying full throttle through the same turn. Every inline 4 I've ever owned didn't start making power until about 9 grand, and you don't hit 9 grand when you short shift!

Anyway, on straight lines, forget about it. In the turns, you have a serious advantage.

SORRY but I disagree totaly with the advantage in the curves, I have rode a bike for over 20 years and the best handling bike I have ever owned and rode was my CBR600RR. now was it the most comfy? no, was it the fastest? no I have been on faster, but when you plant that thing in a curve with the suspention set up right, it would take a corner like it was on rails. I will say a lot of it is knowing your ride, and the skill of the person riding (best bike new rider) etc, but all things being = but the bikes driver skill etc the KLR will not run with a 600RR nor most other properly set up sport bike, in cornering, not even close. now off road that is a different ball game. sorry I like my KLR but lets be real about what it is and what it was made for. If this was true ( they can keep up in corners) they would be racing them at mid ohio. and the last time i was there I did not see any .