I always wanted this bike and was made an offer I couldn't refuse so now I own a Dual sport bike. I've ridden a dirt bike a few times in high school and a scooter while staying in Hawaii for a month. So basically new to riding.
Any tips? I'm terrified of riding it honestly. Will probably haul it to the desert to learn on for now.

It's a 2006 KLR650 with 7100 miles. And has been sitting for a few years. I've drained the tank, now gonna pull the spark plug to check it.

Get proper gear, dont cheese out on a good helmet, goggle, boots.. this shit will save your life.
be ready to replace a few sets of levers and handle bars. DONOT be afraid of dropping that bike. its far tougher than you and it will survive.
No reason to be scared of it, just realize it can and will hurt you if YOU let it.

If its had fuel in it sitting for a few years, Carbs clogged.

edit (just realized something after typing all of this.) If its fuel injected them im a idiot for typing all this shit . LOL
Do not fear the carb clean. its incredibly easy, just a little scary the first couple times.

Hit autozone or orileys and get some barrymans B-12 (big ass aresol car, not that crappy dip shit) and a bag of 0000 steel wool.
Grab aprox 6" of stranded copper wire.
SAFETY GOGGLES!, B12 will burn your eyes right out of your skull. No bullshit here, be careful and have the route to the sink or water hose planned.
If you get this shit in your eyes you will run around screaming like a little bitch and be blind for a few mins. Trust me I know....
but its the absolute best available for the job your about to do.


Pull that carb apart.
This is a important step. Pay specialy attention to it.
You idle screw on the side of the carb. turn out out carefully. COUNT the turns until the screw unthreads from the carb. Write it down.
The idle mixtre screw on same side but bown lower, just above the float bowl, Carefully and gently turn it IN and precisly count the turns, down to 1/8th turn! be PRECISE.
Write it down.

make sure your phillips screw briver fits the float bowl screws perfectly or you will strip them.
If needed some small channel locks can be used to grab them from the side and break them loose.

You will want to be especially careful with your flat head screw driver selection when removing the jets. make sure it fits the slot PERFECTLY.
If you need to grind it until it fits.
If you do not take this advice and the jets are over tightened by some maroon, you run the real risk of braking the ears off of it and then your fucked.
I have a handful of flat heads just to do carbs,
You will need a big and small flat head. big for main jet, small for the low speed jets. they are down in the carb.

Pull all the high and low speed jets out.
lift the slide and press the emulsion tube out with your finger. it may be alil tough, but you can do it.

Clean all of them with the B12 and the steel wool. make them as shiny new as you can.
I often chuck them into my drill and spin them slowly while squeezing the steel wool onto them to speed this process.
Use the stranded copper wire if needed to poke the gummed up fuel out of all the jets and passages on the emulsion tube.

Twist the wool up into a nice long point and slowly twist it into the jets.. give the jet a few good turns to polish the insides of them
make those things look like GOLD. the smoother and more polished they are, the longer it takes for them to gum up again.
Plus the carb just works infinatly better.

CLEAN CLEAN and MORE CLEAN.

spray through all the passages on the carb. no dribbly shit, the B12 will Blast through.

reassemble it. install. use the number of turns you wrote down to adjust your idle and mixture screws.
O shit, lost them.. Read on. dumbass,

most the slow speed jet on the lower side of the carb usually likes to be 1.75 through 2.5 turns out.
Do not crank it down tight, just gently bottom it then back it out 1.75 turns.

Once carb is on the bike. fire it up. it will idle wonky.
Let it fully warm up and then carefully turn the screw in .5 turns. and watch your tach. if no tach, do it by ear as best you can.
You wan to go up as high as it will go before sputtering. if it idles down, turn it out until highest idle is achieved. but no more than 2.5 turns from bottom.

wow I miss the old days of cleaning carbs every weekend..
wow Im all amped up again , like im about to out for a ride!


Good Luck!

Go take the MSF course

I've helped a couple thousand people learn to ride (Motorcycle Safety Foundation Coach).  Trust me:  Motorcycles aren't something you want to learn by trial and error.  Its too expensive and too painful.

Sign up and take the MSF course.  And then ignore anything you heard from Uncle Bob, Grand Dad or your brother in law.  Many people are well meaning, but in my experience, about 90% of 'advice' given by self trained riders is dead wrong.

Nice choice for a bike.  Have fun

This.

all the gear, all the time.  live it or get off the bike.

ride like every cager is on their phone, trying to kill you, or drunk (or all of the above).

pay attention.  watch your ass.  take a class or 3

Its not gonna have big power where you get in trouble in the blink of an eye. Especially if you've rode modern 2 stroke dirt bikes you know judicious use of throttle

Wow thanks, I'll definitely make sure to pull the carb since I have a lot of stuff already off. Should be a fun project.

Yes that is on my to do list once I confirm mechanical soundness.

And I'll for sure always gear up. Thankfully I always drive my car like I'm invisible to everyone else so diligence on a bike should come a little easier.

Youll love that as a starter bike. Ive ridden for a long time and actually went from a 06 GSXR 600 to a 06 R6 to a 07 R6 and then to a 07 R1. I loved all those size bikes but wanted to hit the dirt roads again and bought a 2014 KLR650. It was sluggish as hell but so much fun ridding as long as I was going 60s or under A buddy and myself actually rode from north GA to Key West and back on them. We took all back roads and just enjoyed the trip. It was a blast!

Enjoy learning on it! I will say this because I see others have given great info already. While dealing with a bike like a KLR or similar, they are all top heavy. Due to this, order some crash bars ASAP. If it starts to tip over there isnt much room to save it from going down.

Take the MSF riders course to get started, it will give you a good foundation to start from. Get good gear that you will wear. Which means mesh gear in much of AZ. Then ride like you are invisible to everybody else.

Get good gear, it is worth the money in the long run. You can buy used gear fairly cheaply if you keep your eyes out. I find that buying summer gear in the fall and winter is the best way to find a deal. I really like Motoport Kevlar mesh for warm weather. I use mine for 85% of the year here in Phoenix.

MSF course and ride careful. I have a 99 KLR , it's a fun great first bike . Not too much power but still highway rideable.

OP, people will try to kill you on a semi-regular basis if you ride on the street.


Not saying to not ride, just telling it like it is.  Bring your game face every time you mount up.

This right here, excellent advise  and never stop learning, motorcycles can be a harsh mistress so always be improving your techniques and skillset; read everything you can get your hands on and go out and practice until it becomes second nature.  After nearly 38 years on the streets I still take every course available and read everything I can get my hands on.  The typical single bike crash involves failure to negotiate a curve, get a firm understanding of cornering theory.  Corner entry, vision, and throttle control; the how and why of cornering are vital to understand.  Books by Keith Code, Lee Parks, and Nick Ienatsch go in depth on proper cornering techniques, David Hough's 'Proficient Motorcycling' is another excellent source for developing riding strategies; Jerry Palladino's 'Ride Like a Pro' series is a fantastic source for learning slow speed handling techniques and it's great fun to practice

And above all, have fun!

The holy grail for cheap cunts

Sounds like we are in similar boats OP. I took the MSF course when Harley gave it for free to vets. Got an 06 KLR 650 3 weeks and a thousand miles ago and haven't looked back. Definitely take the MSF course, all of them around here provide bikes so I wouldn't worry about waiting to use yours. Enjoy it but make sure you bring your situational awareness every time you ride.

Great first bike, lots of good advice so far.

You have a forgiving bike that's agile, easy to ride, won't mind at all if you drop it, nor will you, so make all your mistakes on it and ride the piss out of it.


Gear up, get some training, continue to learn and be a student of motorcycling...the best way to stay alive is to never quit learning and understanding how to avoid the risks.


Have some awesome adventures!!!

Buy good gear
Wear that gear
Ride like anyone might try to actively kill you at any given moment and always have a way out.

Life's to short to stay home on the couch because of all the "what-ifs"

KLRs  are top heavy, so don't fill it up totally with fuel till you get the hang of it.

KLRs have a very narrow front tire for the weight it packs so getting the right one for your terrain is important. I usually ran a really aggressive front so it wouldn't wash.

Klrs have terrible front forks.  Consider progressive springs at the least.

KLRs are geared high for trail work and low for highway work, you will have to play with the sprockets some to sort it out for you.

Other than that they are nice all around rides.

Good call on cleaning the carb. Idle jet was completely blocked.
Bike is running well now. I couldn't  stop myself and geared up to ride it 100rd down my street and back. Now it's parked till I can learn to ride for real. Was real fun for the 20 seconds.