KLR crisis... what would SteveJ do?

[stevewfl]

Thats what I had to ask myself just days before a month long excursion and house sitter coming.  Loaded bike and found kickstand too long.  Seems this bike is sprung stock for a 150 pound rider on a long travel suspension, and loaded to the hilt its not steady when parked. i don't have time to get resprung or REAL rear shock.

I don't know what SteveJ would do but i know he would find a solution, so I got the tools out 

The stand has extra length hehe


Look what I found - I haven't used this dewalt since I demo'd my bathroom for remodeling.


I cut and GEEZ I find the kickstand tube is hollow wtf? I need a temp "foot" for the trip. An old " MX handguard mount (in billet!) is in th spares bin...this is good news


Just in case, I took the plate I use on the sport bike when parked on soft asphalt and threw it in the tank bag


Let's roll westward.............

[MrPepsi]

That's some quick thinkin'

[Rhino]

My son and I have the same problem on his KLR and my DR. Kick stand way too long when loaded with camping gear. Around a campfire we have had many a conversation about making an adjustable kickstand. Ideally one that could be adjusted instantly from the saddle but that seems too complicated. My thought was to cut the tube down by about 1/3rd, welding a nut on the end, then threading a bolt with a foot welded to the bottom. Just loosen a lock nut and turn the bolt in or out as needed for load. You would adjust by full turns only to keep the angle of the foot correct. Someone probably makes this but I haven't seen it.

But what these bikes really need are more rear pre-load adjustability. I wish someone made a shock with a remote hydraulic adjuster that had enough adjustability to level the bike from 150 lbs rider only, to 200 lbs rider with 100 lbs of load. I would buy that in a heart beat. What we usually do is go find a camp site somewhere in the early afternoon, unload, then go explore on unloaded bikes. Sure would be nice to be able to instantly adjust the rear pre-load. That would also solve the kickstand issue.

[stevewfl]

That's some quick thinkin'

thanks, I was deer in headlights mode when I discovered this so close to departure

My son and I have the same problem on his KLR and my DR. Kick stand way too long when loaded with camping gear. Around a campfire we have had many a conversation about making an adjustable kickstand. Ideally one that could be adjusted instantly from the saddle but that seems too complicated. My thought was to cut the tube down by about 1/3rd, welding a nut on the end, then threading a bolt with a foot welded to the bottom. Just loosen a lock nut and turn the bolt in or out as needed for load. You would adjust by full turns only to keep the angle of the foot correct. Someone probably makes this but I haven't seen it.

But what these bikes really need are more rear pre-load adjustability. I wish someone made a shock with a remote hydraulic adjuster that had enough adjustability to level the bike from 150 lbs rider only, to 200 lbs rider with 100 lbs of load. I would buy that in a heart beat. What we usually do is go find a camp site somewhere in the early afternoon, unload, then go explore on unloaded bikes. Sure would be nice to be able to instantly adjust the rear pre-load. That would also solve the kickstand issue.

^^^great info, I'll be your first customer is you come to a solution 

[Scaffolder]

This one looks perfect.
http://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Kickstand-klr-650-08/dp/B00435PL0W

[stevewfl]

This one looks perfect.
http://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Kickstand-klr-650-08/dp/B00435PL0W

Nice!!!  It would make the rest of the "KLR" look horrid =)

[Scaffolder]

I saw others, but that looked nice.