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Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

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Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 29 Mar 2014
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Question for kle500 owners and ex-owners
Hello!

While seeking for the perfect budget travel bike i noticed that the kle500 is liquid cooled and not to mention a 2-cylinder one (never been a fan of single cylinder vibration). Apparently aside from the top end the engine is exactly the same as ex500/gpz500s, er-5 and en-500. I found a register of ex500 users and many of them gave in at ~100-120k km and after a bit of google found that most common cause was big-end bearing failure. I'm assuming that the kle is slightly tuned towards less high rpm power and more towards low-mid torque.

What i want to ask is, how many miles/kilometers have you gotten out of a kle500? What other real problems(structural; clutch, transmission, compression, bearings, frame etc.) have you had?
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  #2  
Old 30 Mar 2014
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Location: NSW, Australia
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My 2006 KLE500 has clocked over 88000 km on all kinds of roads, but has not been ridden as much in the past two years. It still has the original battery and starts first hit every time. The compression is still great and the only things that needed to be replaced was the seal in the water pump which gave out at 43000 km and the usual chain, sprocket, oil & filter changes.

Other modifications have been HID conversion with wiring modded for both lights to illuminate on high beam, progressive front fork springs (replaced the steering head bearings while I was at it), centre stand, pannier racks, KTM exhaust can, stripped down mini compressor under the seat, heated grips and installing grease nipples in the rear suspension knuckle.

Extremely reliable bike and I am seriously considering replacing this one at 100000 km with a low km version and swap the bits over...



Cheers
Ian
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  #3  
Old 23 Aug 2014
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I had a top shock bolt snap off..

My thread from another forum.

GlenInk`s 2006 KLE 500 Thread !
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  #4  
Old 24 Aug 2014
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Slovenia
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48.000km on my 2005 KLE and the only problem I had was a broken voltage regulator 2 years back...
__________________
->Honda XL125V Varadero '08 sold
->Kawasaki KLE 500 '05 riding it, like I stole it
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  #5  
Old 14 Sep 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jameseye View Post
My 2006 KLE500 has clocked over 88000 km on all kinds of roads, but has not been ridden as much in the past two years. It still has the original battery and starts first hit every time. The compression is still great and the only things that needed to be replaced was the seal in the water pump which gave out at 43000 km and the usual chain, sprocket, oil & filter changes.

Other modifications have been HID conversion with wiring modded for both lights to illuminate on high beam, progressive front fork springs (replaced the steering head bearings while I was at it), centre stand, pannier racks, KTM exhaust can, stripped down mini compressor under the seat, heated grips and installing grease nipples in the rear suspension knuckle.

Extremely reliable bike and I am seriously considering replacing this one at 100000 km with a low km version and swap the bits over...



Cheers
Ian
Hello James,
Im interested to get your opinion of the progressive fork springs that you installed.
I recently installed the "Ricor" valves which work very well at soaking up those little bumps that are normally transmitted back through the fork but Im after a super plush ride so am thinking the progressive spring may be the next thing to look at.
If you could let me know some of these things and your opinion will be greatly appreciated:
Which brand did you buy?
What was the result?
Any other fork mods? ie valves etc
Type and weight of fork oil?
Your weight and type of riding?
Any ideas for the rear shock?
Thanks

doug
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