Free Wheelin'

In early November, after watching a very competitive MotoGP Sprint at Algarve, in Portugal, and the predicted rainy day happily replaced by sunshine and late September temps, we decided to do the Bigger Better Loop. Shira is a creature of habit and comfort, so I knew she’d almost certainly choose to ride her Honda 919, as her Suzuki V-Strom plays the perpetual bridesmaid. For me, I like to circle through things that need to be used. Although we have a room that has been called the music room, I play guitar more often than not in the living room, and the acoustics get swapped out every few days. Zaar, Ovation, Guild, Seagull. I try, questionably, to ride motorcycles the same way, but maybe not as studiously as I should.

This day, being a warmish 60 plus degrees, I rolled the 2002 KLR650 off the rack, and was pleased when it begrudgingly sputtered into life.

I picked up this bike decades ago and, although equipped to be a major world traveler, it never gets ridden nearly as much as she deserves.

Suited up, we rolled out, this time choosing to head northeast first.

If you own a KLR, then you are aware of the blistering, strong, and powerful horsepower this “Designed in the Reagan Era” thumper machine can offer. Okay, that is a lie. 

Every time I get on my KLR, I am quickly reminded of and underwhelmed with its 36.5 ponies. (Don’t forget that half a horse) The original brakes were a sorry state as well, and long ago I replaced the stock rotor with a larger one, and the pitiful single piston caliper with a far stronger dual piston Tokico, sourced from a wrecked Suzuki SV-650.

The bike demands patience and understanding. But once up to speed, the KLR does sing; in a back-of-the-choir sort of way.

I was leading and trying to keep a pace quick enough to keep Shira from dozing, and that had me setting my riding approach differently than I might on other machines. I let the KLR’s speed (LOL), and momentum carry itself through the turns; as demanding power to charge out of a curve is usually met with a muffle of laughter from the engine. I didn’t have power. But once at speed, I did have momentum, and not scrubbing too much of it off, when setting up for a curve, allowed me to exit with a bit more authority, and to keep the pace going. This was working fine for the first part of the loop, but as we headed back, I thought I’d swap bikes, as the KLR had its workout, and the Stabil mixed fuel would keep it happy if it ended up being ignored for a bit…And I wanted to ride my Z900.

Rolling into the driveway, I tried to make the swap as quickly as I could, so as not to break the rhythm of the Bigger Better Loop Ride. Although not as fast as Marc Marquez, I was pretty quick at hopping off one Kawasaki and onto another. 

Swapping from one machine to another certainly gives you a chance to clearly see the differences in the bikes, but one needs to take a moment when you go from one extreme to the other. 

More so with stepping up than down, and as I rolled out of the driveway, I had to remind myself that if the KLR was about managing momentum, then the Z900 was about managing throttle.

The Z runs around 110 horsepower. 73.5 more than the KLR - that difference is just a tad below the HP of the original 900 Z-1.

This bike demands patience, understanding, and restraint.

Where I seemed to be perpetually WFO with the KLR, I would never go there with the Z900, as I have neither the prowess nor skill.

Setting up for the turns was approached with the idea of getting my downshifting and braking (if really needed) done, and then getting my eyes way up and down the road, and knowing that the bigger Kawi would easily accelerate out with just a light twist of the wrist, not the full-on wrench the 650 demanded.

When the BBL was finished, we had covered 125 miles of superb backroads, and I got to give both my Kawasakis a proper stretch, as we’d be brushing off light snow in just a couple of days. Take 'em while you can.