KAWASAKI KLR650

KAWASAKI KLR650
I N F O R M AT I O N PA C K
for adapting CBR250R wheels
DISCLAIMER
While every care is taken to over-engineer parts for safety, and try to address all the possible safety issues
imaginable, we still need to make a legal disclaimer given the way the legal system is going nowadays. Not
that I’d be worth suing anyway, ha.
Basically, you use any information on the website or in this info pack, and any associated parts and
wheels, at your own risk. No responsibility is taken for any injury, death, or damages, arising from using the
information, parts or wheels. It is your responsibility to undertake any mechanical, engineering or specialist
checks and inspections by relevant professionals to determine if the information and parts supplied will be
safe for use on your bike. It is also your responsibility to investigate any requirements, inspections and/
or approvals that may be required by relevant government, transport or other authorities for use on public
roads or race tracks. All of this, of course, would apply for any set of motard wheels you buy from anyone.
A legal eagle mate of mine insisted I put the following legal disclaimer on everything. So here it is in legal
jargon.
NO WARRANTIES
The information packs, motard parts kits, and complete wheel kits, are provided “as is” without any representations or warranties, express or
implied. No representations or warranties in relation to these information packs, motard parts kits, complete wheel kits, or any information and
materials provided on this website, are made.
Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing paragraph, there is no guarantee that the information on this website, or any information
packs supplied, is complete, true, accurate or non-misleading. All information supplied on this website, and in any information packs, is only
information of a general nature, and does constitute, or is meant to constitute, advice of any kind, and and cannot substitute for the advice of a
licensed professional (e.g. by a competent authority with specialised knowledge who can apply it to the particular circumstances of your case).
LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY
I will not be liable to you (whether under the law of contact, the law of torts or otherwise) in relation to the contents of, or use of, or otherwise in
connection with, any information, parts, or wheels supplied:
• for any indirect, special or consequential loss; or
• for any death or personal injury; or
• for any business losses, loss of revenue, income, profits or anticipated savings, loss of contracts or business relationships, loss of reputation or
goodwill, or loss or corruption of information or data.
REASONABLENESS
By using any of the information on this website, information packs, parts kits, or complete wheel kits, you agree that the exclusions and
limitations of liability set out in this disclaimer are reasonable. If you do not think they are reasonable, you must not use information on this
website, or purchase information packs, parts kits, or complete wheel kits.
UNENFORCEABLE PROVISIONS
If any provision of this legal disclaimer is, or is found to be, unenforceable under applicable law, that will not affect the enforceability of the other
provisions of this legal disclaimer.
parts or complete motard kits
If getting the parts machined is too much hassle, remember we can supply parts or complete wheels too.
feedback and copyright
We welcome your feedback on this information pack to improve it for other motarders. Please email any
feedback to: motard.drz400@gmail.com . This pack is sold cheaply to cover the costs of putting together,
so we’d appreciate if you simply referred other DRZ owners to our site and not break copyright by posting
this information pack on the Internet.
Ken Campbell ken.campbell62@gmail.com
Copyright 2008
DISCLAIMER
This information is only provided as a guide to adapt secondhand CBR250R
wheels to the Kawasaki KLR650. It is your responsibility to have all
inspections or approvals done that may be necessary for use on your
bike, regardless of track use or particularly use on public roads! Also, any
insurance you have may be void without having your modifications assessed
and approved by the relevant authorities in your region. There’s no implied
or expressed warranty on the information in this pack.
While the parts mentioned in this kit are over-engineered for safety if made
from mild steel, it is still your responsibility to have the kit fully checked and
approved for use before using it. If you use alloys to reduce the weight of
various parts, again it is your responsibility to ensure appropriate alloys
are used that are strong and durable enough to meet any applicable safety
and public road standards and laws. Motorbike riding is dangerous enough
without cutting corners on important issues like adapting cast wheels to a
trail bike.
This kit has been fitted to various KLR650 models. Extensive research
on motard forums, KLR650-related forums, and information from Suzuki
dealers, indicates that there have been no changes in the relevant wheel,
disc and brake specifications over the KLR650 models. This information kit,
along with our complete KLR650 kits, have worked on all known models to
date. However, there is the small chance some KLR650 models in certain
countries may have slightly different parts or measurements. If you have any
doubts, please confirm with your Suzuki dealer before adapting your wheels.
Also, if you did not buy your bike new, there is a small chance a previous
owner may have replaced bent forks or swingarm with a slightly different
Suzuki model. Again, it will be your responsibility to check this before
commencing.
parts or complete motard kits
for sale
Hopefully this kit will help you motard for KLR650 very cheaply, especially if
you fabricate your own spacers. If you prefer not to, we can help out with the
spacers you need — check our website.
If it looks like too much work, remember we often have a complete kit or two
available if you are in Australia. For more information, visit us at http://home.
exetel.com.au/bkm/cast-wheels-motard-drz/
feedback and copyright
We welcome your feedback on this information pack to improve it for other
motarders.
Please email any feedback to: motard.drz400@gmail.com
This pack is sold cheaply to cover the costs of putting together, so we’d
appreciate if you simply referred other KLR650 owners to our site and not
break copyright by posting this information pack on the Internet.
Ken Campbell ken.campbell62@gmail.com
CAST OR SPOKED WHEELS?
You’ve got a KLR650 and want a budget motard kit. If you haven’t already
decided, you need to choose between cast wheels or spoked wheels.
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ADVANTAGES OF CAST WHEELS
From 1995 to 2007, the
KLR650 has had a 230mm
disc. The CBR250R disc
is only 220mm so the very
edge of the disc extends
beyond the brake pads. If
you have a 2008 or later
model with a 240mm rear
disc we can supply a dxf
file to take to a laser cutter
if you want to make a
custom disc.
CHEAPER
Cast wheels are much cheaper; if you choose the right wheels, get them
at a good price, you should come out with everything — wheels, tyres,
discs, sprocket and spacers — well under AUD$1000 or US$700. If you
hunt around carefully, you can get new budget spoked wheels for around
this price, but then you need tyres, discs and sprocket so you are rapidly
heading to double the price.
CUSH DRIVE & BETTER BRAKE OPTIONS
A cush drive prolongs the life of your chain, sprockets and transmission
significantly. Your rear wheel slides slightly in dirt under power and engine
braking; this acts as a cush drive in itself, but road riding causes a lot of
extra wear and tear on single cylinder supermotard bikes without a cush
drive hub. Of course if you aren’t keeping your bike for years, this has less
impact, but you’ll still spend less on chains and sprockets.
The cush drive also provides a smoother ride and less chain snatch at lower
revs, and there’s less chance of the rear wheel breaking loose if accelerating
hard out of corners with a cush drive.
Better brakes? Many four piston sport bike calipers will bolt straight on to
your KLR650, which is much cheaper than aftermarket motard calipers.
NO SPOKE MAINTENANCE & EASIER TYRE CHANGES
What else? No spoke maintenance with cast wheels, and changing your
own tyres is easier with the tubeless tyres on cast wheels.
RIGIDITY IMPROVES HANDLING
Motostrano and other motard outfits provide high quality cast wheels for
most bikes, and say the stiffness of cast wheels improve handling in tight
corners, braking and sudden direction changes when used as a motard
option on dirt bikes.
CUSTOMISED LOOK
Do cast wheels look better? That’s up to each motard rider. Personally, we
love it, but if you hate the look, pay double for a budget spoked wheel kit (or
triple for the quality ones); it’s more important to love your supermotard than
save the money!
ALLOWANCE FOR AN ACCURATE SPEEDO DRIVE
Unfortunately the CBR speedo drive does not work on the KLR650, so like
any motard wheel kit you will need to buy an electronic speedo like the
Trailtech. These are available on Ebay for around AUD$95 to AUD$165
including postage. These are great speedos, and if you choose you can
usually sell your KLR speedo for quite a bit more than that on Ebay and
actually make some money. If you do, remember to take a photo of the
speedo reading as when you sell the bike the buyer will want to see how
many miles the bike has really done.
THE DOWNSIDE OF CAST WHEELS
What’s not good about cast wheels for motard use? Cast wheels are
heavier, mainly because the cush drive adds weight. This can be minimised
by using cast wheels with smaller cush drives, like the Suzuki or Honda 250
sports bikes, for your supermoto project. But if you hate the idea of a few
extra kilograms, then spoked wheels may be the way to go.
Going to jump your motard bike? Stay with spoked wheels, as they have
more ‘give’ in them, and general consensus is that they are stronger and
can take the stress of jumps much better. Some motard riders on supermoto
forums say they jump their bikes on cast wheels with no problems, but we
reckon play it safe, spend the extra money and go the spoked wheels.
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which cast wheelS ARE BEST
Decided to go the cast wheels to motard your KLR650? Theoretically
you can adapt almost any sports wheels if you are prepared to spend
the time and money having them machined to fit, but it makes sense to
choose the easiest wheels to adapt. Riders have mostly used wheels
from the Suzuki RGV250, Honda CBR250R, CBR250RR and even the
Suzuki GS500. So which are the best models to use?
The biggest problem? Getting that rear cast wheel to fit in the swingarm.
The vast majority of road bike wheels are simply too wide in the rear
hub, needing a specialist lathe to machine the rear hub, and the front
wheels are often too wide as well. The Suzuki RGV250 and Honda
NSR250, NS250 and NSR250RR models, and almost every bike in
existence fall into this category. It pays not to even look at the larger
bikes; the cush drives are extremely heavy to cope with all that
horsepower, and often they won’t fit even if you machine the hub down
as much as possible.
You can machine the hub to fit on 250 sports bikes, but for most of us
this will add hundreds of dollars to the overall cost and make spoked
wheels a better option. Japanese sports 250 cush drives are ideal as
they are designed to cope with the same horsepower at the rear wheel
as the KLR650.
CBR250R REAR WHEELS FIT STRAIGHT IN
We highly recommend the CBR250R wheels. Why?
The big issues are fitting the wide rear hubs, matching the disc sizes,
and getting axle sizes that work. Overall the CBR250R wheels do this
better than any other wheels available at the wreckers.
The rear hub is narrow enough to fit the KLR650, which dramatically
cuts your costs. With careful alignment, the sprocket and rear disc line
up well, with only minimal offset of the rear wheel. On top of this, the
rear wheel can take a 150/60-17 tyre but the KLR swingarm is quite
narrow; the tyre may just touch the swingarm on one side, requiring
either the lip of the tyre trimmed or the swingarm notched to make room.
It will be slightly harder to fit as well, you may need to trim bolts on your
chain guard etc to make it an easier fit.
Does it matter if the rear wheel is a few mm off centre? This doesn’t
affect your handling or steering geometry, and high level competition
motarders often offset their rear wheels by far more than this to fit 170+
rear tyres and avoid chain rub on the tyre. The CBR sprockets don’t
work as they fit 428 chains, but there are numerous Honda sprockets for
520 chains that fit straight on; more on that later.
The CBR250R rear axle is 17mm diameter, the same as the standard
KLR650 axle, so you can simply use your existing axle to fit the wheel.
The front axle is 20mm but with the correctly machined spacers this is
not an issue, and you can use your standard axle on the front too.
The CBR cast wheels take a 110/70-17, and the 120 front tyre is
standard on spoked motard wheels. You can fit one a 120 tyre with
a flatter profile to CBR rims which allows a wide choice of tyres, but
the 110 works well. The CBR250R is a very common track bike in
250 racing, and those riders get some crazy lean angles on these 110
tyres. Unless you’re in high level motard racing, 120 tyres are simply a
cosmetic option.
CBR250R WHEELS? OR CBR250RR REAR WHEELS?
Okay, so you’ve decided to motard your KLR650 with CBR250 cast
wheels. There are two types: the three-spoked CBR250R (MC19)
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wheels and the six-spoked CBR250RR (MC22) wheels. Both will fit, but
we only recommend the CBR250R (MC19) wheels.
While the rear wheels are identical for fitting purposes, the hub of the
six-spoked CBR250RR front wheel is wider, and because the front disc
is offset by 17.5mm it hits the fork leg when the front wheel is correctly
centred. The only way around this is to have a custom-made disc made
with no offset so that it won’t hit the fork leg. If you are keen to adapt
CBR250RR wheels, contact us as we may order a batch of these custommade discs in the near future.
buying your cbr cast wheels
The CBR250R was a very popular model in Japan. Honda did not officially
export this model to many countries, but they were imported privately in
large batches around the world. Previous users of this info pack in the
USA have occasionally said they needed to source one or both wheels
from other countries due to a scarcity of wheels, but that the cost was only
US$50 for postage on average. Apologies for USA customers, but any
costs in this area are more than offset by the costs you would incur with
other types of wheels in terms of trying to get hubs machined to fit, axle
sizes to work and discs to fit properly.
Obviously the cheaper your wheels are, the better. As a rough rule of
thumb, expect to pay somewhere around AUD$400 (US$270) for your
wheels. You can get them a lot cheaper on Ebay or through forums, but
some wreckers will expect AUD$500 (US$350) or more for a complete
wheel setup with discs, based on Australian prices.
But CBR wheels are very common at larger wreckers and they often do
good prices to get rid of surplus pairs in countries where large batches
were imported. Despite only having the three spokes, there are incredibly
strong wheels and often aren’t damaged in an accident while the rest of
the bike is a write off.
Remember to check wheels for any signs of damage. Insist that they are
spun on a fixed axle so you can check for wobbles or flat spots. Spin the
bearings to see if they need replacing or not. Get a caliper measurement
on the discs, they can look fine but actually be illegal with little apparent
wear.
Make sure the central hub spacer that sits between the wheel bearings is
in both hubs; this reduces lateral stress on your bearings.
Wheels are interchangeable between some Honda models. Here are the
details of the models you should be chasing.
CBR250R (MC19) AND OTHER WHEELS THAT FIT
The wheels from these models are perfect:
• Honda CBR250R (MC19) 1988-1989 models
• Honda VT250L Spada 1988-1990 models
• Honda Castel 1988-1990 models.
Honda made a pile of different 250 models so always check the specs, it
can be easy to confuse these with, for example, the CB250 wheels which
look the same but have narrower rims.
Remember you will also need these parts with your wheels:
• the rear axle
• the standard front disc and rear disc
• two snail cams from any bike with a 17mm rear axle.
If you can’t get a CBR rear axle, buy a 17mm diameter axle from the
wreckers that is at least 270mm long. If it is longer than this, you can use
spacers on either end although it will start to look odd if the axle sticks out
too much, and you’ll need a thick washer to take up the slack.
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identifying your wheels
Usually there is more information stamped on the wheels, only the relevant
wheel size has been mentioned.
This information is based on models imported to Australia. We can’t guarantee
that all models worldwide have the same specifications, but no indication of any
changes can be found.
This is not an exhaustive list, only wheels tested to date. If you find other Honda
wheels that have the same bolt hole pattern there is a very good chance they
will work with this motard adaptation. Some early Honda 400 and 600 models
have the same three-spoke configuration and front disc bolt pattern so there’s
a good chance they’d work with this pack, and you’d get the wider rim too. But
remember no guarantee! Use the Metal Gear site at www.metalgear.com.au to
find Honda wheels that have the same disc bolt pattern.
CBR250R (MC19) 1988-1989 FRONT WHEEL
Stamped on wheel: MT2.50x17 J 17xMT2.50 DOT
20mm front axle
100/80-17 or 110/70-17 front tyre
DISC BOLT PATTERN
Internal diameter of disc: 58mm
Centre of one bolt hole to opposite one: 74mm
Number of bolts: 6
Diameter of actual bolts for disc: 8mm
CBR250RR (MC19) 1988-1989 REAR
Stamped on wheel: J17xMT4.00 DOT
17mm rear axle
140/70-17 or 150/60-17 tyre
DISC BOLT PATTERN
Internal diameter of disc: 88mm
Centre of one bolt hole to opposite one: 110mm
Number of bolts: 3
Diameter of bolt holes for disc: 10mm
adapting cbr250r wheels
THE SPEEDO
You may be able to adapt the CBR250R speedo drive to fit your bike
with a lot of work, but in our experience it’s better to simply buy an
electronic speedo.
The Trailtech Vapor or Vector speedos are a great option (see http://
trailtech.net/computers.html). You can program the speedo for
your 17inch and 21 inch front wheel, and get a tacho, all sorts of
odometers, radiator temperature readings, overheating warnings,
reminders on service intervals and more. You can even sell off your
old speedo for enough to cover the cost of buying a Trailtech. There
is also a cheaper, smaller less comprehensive model called the
Endurance available, but this will not be legal for road use as it is not
permanently backlit. The best prices for these speedos is usually via
Ebay, and prices are gradually dropping each year.
WHAT YOU NEED TO BUY
• CBR250R, Spada or Castel wheels
• All spacers machined to the dimensions supplied by us
• Loctite to apply to all nuts
• XR250 rear sprocket (see below)
• Front and rear brake discs (see below).
The brake discs change over the models so check this carefully
to see which discs you need to buy from the wreckers, or brand
new via Ebay if you don’t mind a Chinese-made disc. Please
double check these against your bike as well. We’ve used information from the Metal Gear website at http://www.metalgear.
com.au/ which is usually accurate but it always pays to double
check.
Year Model
Front disc Rear disc
2008 280mm1 240mm2
1995 to 1998 KL650C
280mm1 230mm3
1
1989 to 1992 KL650B
280mm 230mm3
1994 to 1997 KL650C
280mm1 230mm3
2006 to 2007 KL650A
260mm4
230mm3
4
1987 to 2005 KL650A
260mm 230mm3
1CBR250RR front disc (MC22) and drill the bolt holes out to 8mm.
This disc is 276mm so is an excellent match for the KLR. Easily
found at the wreckers, you can also purchase new wavy discs
cheaply on Ebay although these are cheap Chinese versions.
2 Unfortunately this size is not available through Honda. We can
supply you with the templates and instructions needed to have a
disc laser cut.
3We suggest using the standard CBR250R 220mm rear disc here.
The only problem is the very edge of your rear brake pads will be
off the disc. You won’t notice any loss of braking power: however, if
you had the motard wheels on for thousands of kilometres at a time
your pads would develop a ridge that would only be removed after
swapping to your trail wheels again. If this was a concern, we can
supply a template for you to have a 230mm custom disc laser cut.
4You need the front disc from the Honda NSR250R (MC16) 1986 to
1987 models here. You’ll need to drill the 6.5mm bolt holes out to
8mm. Please note this disc is more offset so needs smaller caliper
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spacers of 3.5mm width (as specified later in this info pack).
REAR SPROCKET
As mentioned, the CBR250R and CBR250RR rear sprockets are for 428
chains, and you need sprockets that can take the 520 chain of the DRZ400.
Ideally you should get a rear sprocket from early Honda XR250’s. These fit
straight on the CBR250 sprocket drive, and have a wide range of teeth. You’ll
probably find you want a sprocket around 42 teeth or less. These early 1981
to 1987 XR250 model sprockets fit straight on:
• RB 81
• RC/RD 82-83
• RE 84
• RF 85
• RG/HG 86-87.
These 1999 to 2005 Yamaha sprockets should also fit:
• Yamaha WR400 FL 1999 model
• Yamaha WR400 FM 2000 model
• Yamaha WR400 FN 2001 model
• Yamaha WR426 all year models
• Yamaha WR450 up to at least 2005 model.
If any of these are unavailable for some reason, the following can be used
too, but the range of teeth may be limited:
• Honda CBR 250 RH (MC17) (import) 87
• NSR250 import 94 (MC28).
We are relying on the information provided on the Wemoto site, so feel free
to double check all these specifications yourself:
http://www.wemoto.com/
Double check your chosen sprocket against these measurements below from
a standard CBR250R sprocket. You should find the bolt holes on the above
models are a tiny fraction of a mm wider which makes no difference as the
shaped heads of the sprocket bolts are what holds the sprocket in place:
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CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUES
PUMP YOUR BRAKES BEFORE RIDING
Because the pads are prised apart to take the wider discs, you will need to
apply the brakes up to six times before your brakes work again. It is crucial to
do this before riding, otherwise you’ll sail into your first corner without brakes!
APPLY LOCTITE TO ALL BOLTS
Again, it is crucial to apply Loctite or another bolt adhesive to your front and
rear disc/rotor bolts, caliper adapter bolts, sprocket bolts and axle bolts.
Recheck everything before you ride, you can never be too cautious.
CHECK THE CAST WHEELS REGULARLY
Honda make great wheels. The CBR250s have been used by many riders in
road racing, and on older models some of these wheels have seen 20 years
of racing with no problems. Generally you should have no troubles unless
you jump the bike, hit a curb hard, or crash the bike. If damaged, cast wheels
typically show stress fractures that gradually increase in size, so it pays to
regularly check your wheels for these, especially during tyre changes when
you can check the inside of the rims. Any cracks? Replace that wheel!
CHECK, DOUBLE CHECK, AND TRIPLE CHECK
Whether you are changing to motard wheels, your standard wheels, or
just taking a wheel off to replace a tyre, get in the habit of double and triple
checking all your bolts, nuts, brake lines, wheels and so on. Here are the only
two issues we’ve heard of from guys using these cast wheels...
The first situation, a guy got interupted by a phone call and forgot to tighten
his front axle when swapping to the cast wheels. Thirty minutes later the front
wheel wobbled uncontrollably and he went for a slide along the bitumen.
Thankfully just a bit of grazing and some new plastics needed.
Second, another guy had the little bolt work loose that holds the front brake
line to the fork. When off-roading, the disc was gradually wearing through the
brake line on full suspension compression, and he completely lost his front
brake down a steep mountain road into a tight left hander. He says he just
managed to get around by half locking up the rear wheel and sliding the bike
through the corner, so it all ended well. The conclusion? Become a safety
freak.
change over
Ideally your changeover time from trail KLR650 to motard KLR650
should only take 10 minutes once you get the hang of it, and if you
use the same chain and the Trailtech digital speedo. Always use a
bike hoist to raise your bike, and ensure it is carefully balanced to
ensure your safety. Ideally it should be a two-person job with one
person stabilising the bike. Rubber grips on the top of your bike hoist
can greatly reduce the chances of your KLR650 spinning or sliding off
the hoist. Always use Loctite on the disc and sprocket bolts.
GEARING AND SPROCKETS
One way to minimise the hassle is to use similar chain and rear
sprocket sizes if possible. If you run this way, it is advisable to run the
largest countershaft sprocket possible and match this to a small rear
sprocket, say around 37 to 42 teeth. If you want lower gearing for trail,
you can then put on a much smaller countershaft sprocket, and with
care, you can use the same chain and just adjust your snail cams
accordingly.
However, if you aren’t happy with compromising your gearing and
uneven wear, it’s better to simply have a chain and set of sprockets for
each setup, and simply add 10 minutes to your changeover time.
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spacers to be machined
Please note, unlike the other info packs, very few KLR owners have used this info pack. This means we
have relied heavily on specifications supplied by Kawasaki, but will little actual feedback from many users
of the kit to verify things. Because of potential differences between models in various countries, or changes
Kawasaki has not informed us of, it may pay to check your wheel spacers and caliper spacers before
machining. This can be done by buying washers of 2mm and 3mm thickness from the hardware store
(8mm internal diameter for caliper, 17mm or more for axles) and use combinations of these to equal the
width of the spacers below, then test on your bike. If you do find any differences, please advise us so that
we can revise this info pack accordingly for your model.
Ensure a competent machinist accurately creates your spacers from the supplied measurements – the
front spacers should fit snugly into your bearings. If you use alloy obtain professional advice on the type
to use, and the desired measurements to ensure safety and comply with any road safety and vehicle
standards and regulations.
REAR WHEEL
FRONT WHEEL
LEFT REAR WHEEL SPACER (sprocket side)
LEFT SPACER (non-disc side)
29mm
49mm
28mm
15.2mm
20mm
38 mm
37mm
12mm
5mm
33mm
15.2mm
24mm
RIGHT REAR WHEEL SPACER (disc side)
RIGHT SPACER (disc side)
20mm
28 mm
17.1mm
26mm
28mm
17.1mm
12mm
25mm
21mm
2 x CALIPER SPACERS
(for 280mm disc on KL650B & KL650C)
20mm
8.2mm
7mm
2 x CALIPER SPACERS
(for 260mm disc on KL650A)
8.2mm
3.5mm
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20mm
POSSIBLE FITTING ISSUES
Your brake pad pistons may have adapted to narrower KLR650 discs
especially if they have a fair amount of wear. You will need to prise
these apart to slip the CBR discs in.
Also, there may be some disc rub until the brake pistons adapt to the
wider discs; this is normal so just give your calipers time to adjust. If
your brake pads have worn unevenly, the CBR discs may not centre
perfectly within the calipers. Either give the pistons time to adjust, or
get 1mm wide stainless steel washers and simply move the caliper
adapter to suit.
The chain will possibly run against your chain guard as it will be a
few millimetres across from its normal position. You can either trim
your chain guard to suit, or lightly tap the metal slot it fits into until it is
positioned a few millimetres away from the chain.
sv650 wheels possible
Having trouble finding CBR250R wheels for your KLR? There may
be another possibility for your KLR if you have the 290mm front disc
— Suzuki SV650 wheels. Please note though, this information comes
from a motard forum and we can’t verify any of the information! Also,
the post seems to have disappeared, we’ve been unable to find it
again. Please confirm all these details for yourself if you go down this
path, there are no guarantees it will work!
For starters, the SV has a 290mm disc where as the KLR has the
280mm disc. This means the front disc would probably be rubbing
against the caliper but no mention is made of this. Perhaps it just
misses the caliper, perhaps the inside of the caliper was filed or
grinded away to make a few millimetres more room? Who knows?
These wheels are considerably heavier than the CBR250R wheels and
do need some machining of the sprocket drive, but may be an option
if CBR wheels are difficult to access. Please note we don’t supply the
specifications of parts needed as we haven’t done this conversion
ourselves.
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You would need the original wheels from a first generation SV650, buy
the right bearings to fit your KLR axle, then machine spacers to fit.
This setup does need some filing of the front brake mount, and you may
need to remove the chain guard tabs on the swing arm for a bit of extra
clearance. You will have to use a Trailtech speedo.
The sprocket drive does need some basic machining. The face of the
sprocket drive where the sprocket fits on to needs a bit of machining to
bring the chain into line and allow the rear hub to fit within the swingarm.
The seperate seal and outboard bearing will need to be replaced with a
bearing that has a built-in seal.
The actual cush drive elastomers (sp?) width/thickness are still intact
and has not been reduced in any way.
copyright
This information in this kit is the result of huge amounts of work,
experimenting and often frustration. We’ve made this information
pack very cheap to help other riders make cheap motard kits for their
KLR650s, and it would be appreciated if you didn’t break copyright on
this and simply directly others to our site at:
http://home.exetel.com.au/bkm/cast-wheels-motard-drz/
colour schemes
Another advantage of cast wheels is you can easily change the colour
of your wheels. Below are examples of metallic gold and satin black
wheels. The wheels below are done with a basic spray enamel finish.
This can be easily scratched but is quite durable if care is taken with the
wheels during fitting.