I was wondering how easy it is to find KLR part in South America? Like brakes, cables, sprockets, chain ect. Things like that, that will eventually break. Any information would be great.
Thanks

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keep your front wheel ahead of your rear wheel
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All major cities will have a Kawasaki dealer. They will also have 1 000 000 little motorcycle shops that can help with tires, tubes, chains and other little stuff. The dealership will probably not have stock, so you will have to wait in some beautiful, colonial city for a few days and pay upwards of $0.25 to use the bus' to get around.

Not so bad, eh?

I've found it nigh on impossible to find KLR-specific parts ready-stocked in South America. I have had sprockets and brake pads made with varying results. Chains, bearings, cables and anything non-specifically KLR/Kawasaki are readily available in the cities.

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How much does a man live, after all?
Does he live a thousand days, or one only?
For a week, or several centuries?
How long does a man spend dying?
What does it mean to say “forever”? - Pablo Neruda

Nice, Just the answer I was looking for. I am going to change the chain and sprockets, and lube swing arm, and all bearings before I go. Do you think an upgraded spring for the rear is sufficient? or should I get a new shock as well? Any other advice would be great too.

__________________
keep your front wheel ahead of your rear wheel
www.mototheworld.com

Cruthas,

Where are you planning on going to, how far will you be travelling and for how long?

__________________
How much does a man live, after all?
Does he live a thousand days, or one only?
For a week, or several centuries?
How long does a man spend dying?
What does it mean to say “forever”? - Pablo Neruda

I am going to TRD, I will be taking a year or longer to do it. I have plenty to explore!

__________________
keep your front wheel ahead of your rear wheel
www.mototheworld.com

Hi Mate,

I am currently riding down to TDF on a 2008 KLR. The bike is in NIca while I have flown back to the US to catch up with some friends & family. Definately change the stock springs on the bike as it is not strong enough, as for the shock I have had no problems with it.

hat year is your bike & what kind of luggage are you planning on? I have a list of kit that I took for my trip & a list of things that I should have!! Mail me & would be happy t share it all with you.

Happy planning & safe trip. Cheers Mojo.

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If life gives you lemons then make lemonade & find a friend whose life gave then Vodka & have a party. Mojo

Here in costa rica the dealer does not have parts in stock, nor sell anymore KLR´s. You can improvise with other stuff, like Yamaha relays and brake master piston, genereric clutch cables etc. Only when we talk about the inside of the engine will you need genuine parts. did you doo the doohickey? Recently I hit a pothole, and had to change the rear rim. In a village somewhere I managed to get a second hand rim for a hundred bucks, and here we go. The trip to the Kawasaki dealer was fruitless.
Does anyone know where to get original Kawasaki parts on line, to pay with credit card? Jake.

This is just basic survival stuff for your bike. Learn your bike. You will be rewarded with a trouble free trip.

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Thanks SgtMarty for ur comments. I checked your website as well, interesting stuff!

Thanks, Mollydog, very handy item overview, will be my new shopping list :-). Good tips.

Would you both go for a KLR again, or perhaps a Honda/ Yamaha?

This response is long after the original query but it may amuse some subsequent viewers.

The notion that you can find a Kawasaki dealer and KLR parts in any city in South America is simply a foolish notion.

A "Kawasaki dealer" is actually pretty rare. And if you find one that has a relationship with the national distributor, don't count on that dealer having any parts for the model Kawasaki you have. KLRs are comparatively rare in South America. Most dealers will have smaller bikes and not many parts for KLRs.

As far as "cables" in many areas the practice is to make a replacement cable using the outer sheath of your original and the dealer supplies the inner braided material as raw stock. A little soldering and presto, a cable that will maybe last a year if you are lucky and keep it well lubed.

Bearings, such as wheel bearings, are often industry-standard parts and a sharp dealer has a nearby (you hope) auto parts store who sells cheap unsealed Chinese-made bearings that might and might not last. But it's either that or zero in that town.

In Argentina there were some jurisdictions that used KLR650s as police bikes. There are some Argentine-made KLR parts. I found Argie-made clutch cables and fork seals. They were not the best but they served as spares. The Argie fork seal was installed in 1999, failed/unseated in 2001, and was reseated - it is still in that 1997 KLR that I rode up to Santiago recently.

Chains - o-ring chains of the right size not likely in smaller cities but can be ordered. Or you can get an industrial chain with no o-rings and pretend you are riding a circa-1970 Triumph and just lube the damned thing every day. Those industrial chains are durable, economical (compared to o-ring chains) and when lubed properly, are more efficient than o-ring chains. When I rode from US to TdF in the seventies I had an industrial chain with no o-rings and she went just fine.

The alternative to "not being able to find KLR650 parts where you are in South America" is sometimes fast air shipment from the US or from a distributor in a capital or major city. In Argentina and Chile many small-town non-dealers will help you get expedited shipping from a good supplier, but you are going to pay for it.

Then there are dismantlers, though this is not often a reliable source. There have been wrecked KLR650 bikes in the yards around Santiago de Chile and possibly in other major cities as well.

Suggestion -- carry the digital/PDF version of the KLR manual on a USB flash drive. Most shops in CL and AR now have computers that will allow mechanics to view digital manuals. I even scanned the parts manual for my KLR so that we could better see the breakdowns and of course see the part numbers. Carry a copy of a PDF reader on your flash drive in case the dealer doesn't have it installed. I also carry Word-document copies of procedures (images and text borrowed from the web) for things such as doohicky replacement. I have a ruggedized 16 GB flash drive which is my pocket library for everything, including passport, credit card, and other images.

Just a bit to chew on.