Goodbye ADVStunt1 - KLR Sold

Ladies and gentlemen, ADVstunt1 has now left the building.

MotoBum's 2009 KLR650 is now gone, sold to a man from Lynnwood. The best part of the deal was that the machine went to a good home. The fact that both parties in the deal were stoked was another.

ADVstunt1 Goes Away in Some Dude's Trailer

This bike did it all. From the original 1000 Wheelies Project to The Dirty Crew's Arctic Ocean Expedition 2011, numerous Tequila Tours to our WABDR experience, four years of endless commuting to being the sled of choice for Shotgun Ruthie on her "dirtymoon" with Ghostface KLR and the rest of TDC (with Special Guest Stars Chris "Mendo Moto" Brown and Josh "Righteous1" Miller) during the ORBDR, it was amazing.

And now, MotoBum, and the rest of the inflicted The Dirty Crew members, can close the chapter on ADVstunt1. Next.

The winning craigslist ad went something like this:
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2009 Kawasaki KLR650 + extras - $4250 (Shoreline)

condition: good

Gently used blue/black 2009 Kawasaki KLR 650 dual sport motorcycle for sale. 24,313 original miles. One owner. Always garaged. Ready to go on an epic adventure today!

Fitted accessories:
Laminar Lip windscreen
Progressive Suspension rear shock
Continental TKC-80 Twinduro tires
SW Motech engine guard with highway pegs
SW Motech skid plate
SW Motech center stand
SW Motech 12-volt socket
Barkbusters Storm hand guards
Magura X-Line EX bend enduro 1 1/8" handlebar
Rox Risers (adjustable) with Rox extension
Righteous easy-pull clutch lever
Pro Grip Rally Grips
Grip heaters
PackRat Luggage Rack
Caribou/Pelican 35L locking side cases with internal curtains (not shown)
Twisted Throttle 1L bottle mounts (on both cases)
Adjustable fuel screw on carburetor
Eagle Mike Doohicky upgrade with torsion spring
No-Toil Air filter

Notes:
Oil & oil filter changed religiously
Battery maintained religiously
Air filter cleaned regularly
Original stock skid plate included
Original handlebar and hand guards included
Original clutch lever included
Original tool kit and owner's manual included
Carburetor needle raised; runs smooth
Current registration through Feb. 2015
Title in hand; ready to sell today -- $4250 or best offer

keywords: dual-purpose, dual sport, adventure, motorcycle,
KLR, KLR650, GS, tour, touring, "helment"
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The Road To Canyonlands

It was my first trip to southern Utah. Turning off the main highway this was my the view as I rode into the National Park.

The Long And (not so) Winding Road

The ride from Salt Lake City west on I-80 to the Bonneville Salt Flats was a long one on the KLR. It seemed even longer heading east. I have a 16 tooth sprocket on the front of the KLR, but I was wishing they made a 20 tooth... 

I-80 between SLC and Nevada is a long, straight stretch of road. 
The videos don't quite capture the ride. The mountains reflecting off the smooth water pools, the salt sparkling in the sun like Edwards skin...

Four videos, about a minute each. 
(I think I'm running out of iMovie background jingles...)

I-80 East: 1 of 4

I-80 East: 2 of 4

I-80 East: 3 of 4

I-80 East: 4 of 4

Salty Dog

I took a ride in August, a round trip; Seattle to Moab. It was me and the KLR for a week on the road. 
I stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats to see the legendary place. 

No, the KLR will not break any land speed records, still, it was fun to see others speed down the salt at top speeds. 

 I did have some fun on the KLR just racing my own race along the flats. 

 -Riding the Salt Flats
   

-Salt Flats on a KLR  

-Leaving the Slat Flats

1000 Wheelies Project: The End / The Cake Ride

The 1000 Wheelies Project is over. It's done. It's complete. There are no more motorcycle wheelies to pull in this project. And it's taken two years to record this feat. October 19, 2010 - October 28, 2012 are the official dates for the, count them, one hundred Moto Morning Wheelie Sessions (MMWS) that made-up the 1000 Wheelies Project.

As an overview, the task was for me, MotoBum, to get good at pulling respectable motorcycle wheelies. All that really needed to be done was to transition the bicycle wheelie skills to motorcycle wheelie skills. It sounds easy on paper. In practice, it's a small bit tricky. 

See, the rear brake on a motorcycle is under the right foot -- the toes no less. A bicycle has a nifty handbrake to control such details. Just squeeze with the right index finger. Easy. Using the right foot compared to one finger is like having cerebral palsy, or so I'm told. And use of a rear brake is mandatory in executing choice wheelies.

Body english plays a big role in a wheelie. For example, on a bicycle, one can pull on the handlebars quickly to make the front tire come a foot off the ground. Try that on a motorcycle. You'd be lucky to get the suspension to uncompress half an inch. So, on a motorcycle, as the rappers say, "you've got to pop-the-clutch, yo." While that's not exactly a fact. It is the truth, in philosophy. A good hard launch of power on a motorcycle is something that just really isn't possible on a bicycle. It lofts the front effortlessly.

Which brings us to throttle control. Yeah. Like, how many throttle cables per year does the the average Joe stretch beyond manufacturer specification on a bicycle? Zero. Right? Zero. And that's the real obvious difference between a bicycle and a motorcycle. Motorcycles have throttles and bicycles have nada. Nothing. No throttle. No power. No gas to modulate.

I've overcome all these issues.

These past 1000 documented motorcycle wheelies have taken me from hopeless uphill balance-point chaser to bonafide semi-pro motorcycle wheelie puller. I have sponsors. Just check out Righteous Stunt Metal next time you need an easy-pull clutch lever. That's all I have to say.

And riding over a cake on one wheel during your 1000th wheelie is something that I can highly recommend.

Moto Morning Wheelie Session -- MMWS -- Log (All 1 - 100 sessions):
coming soon...

The Last 10 Wheelies Video with The Cake Ride:


Special thanks go to T-Bird, rug rat Maja, Josh RSC/Righteous1 Miller, Last Minute Ryan, Ghostface KLR, Swamp Monster, E-rock, Superstar Wendy, Shotgun Ruthie, and Mrs. Moore for enabling this life-long motorcycle addict with time, parts, labor, garage space, tools, tequila, cake, rock and roll, wifi, photography, passion support, and the 10 minutes here and there to pull the 10 wheelies or so required to pull off a stunt like this. 

See Also:
1000 Wheelies Project: The Intro
1000 Wheelies Project: 250 In
Hard Brake to Hard Break
1000 Wheelies Project: 750 In

And...
Another 1000 Wheelies

And...
Third 1000 Wheelies

The 996th Wheelie

The 1000 Wheelies Project Cake

The 1000th Wheelie with The Cake Ride

Wheelied-on Cake

Two-year-olds Love Wheelied-on Cake

ADVstunt1 Gets a Bar

After two years of KLR accessories sitting on my garage shelf, just waiting to be bolted-on, I got around to mounting them.

ADVstunt1 now sports:

• Magura X-Line EX enduro bend aluminum  1 1/8" handlebars
• Rox Speed FX 2" Pivoting bar Risers
• Rox Speed FX 1" Lock Spacer
• Pro Grip Rally grips
• Symtec Motorcycle Grip Heaters (low heat only on a KLR; high not enabled)
• Custom grip heater switch in dash 
• Barkbusters with Storm hand guards; Magura mounting
• Repositioned SW-MOTECH cigarette lighter
• RSC Righteous Stunt Clutch lever in And Then Some length in bead blasted "color"
• Moose Racing clutch perch cap with mirror mount 

I also went the extra mile and did:

• Fresh spark plug
• Fresh oil
• Fresh oil filter
• Clean air filter
• Clean crankcase breather hose filter - only found on ADVstunt1

I must say it's nice having really high bars. They're skinnier too. And lighter. And stronger, no doubt. I wish I'd mounted them years ago, before all that ADV Commuting and all those trips. Man, I'd've been more comfortable.

Heated hand grips are a must for every motorcycle that gets used year round in the Pacific Northwest. I remember putting my first cheapo set on a CBR600. It totally transforms motorcycle riding. 

Rox Risers with a sweet bar "make" a KLR

That RSC clutch lever makes the one-finger-pull a half-finger-pull

In-dash grip heater switch looks factory

The Storm hand guards on the Barkbusters fight the coming storm

"Kawasaki KLR650 Motorcycle Crash"

In celebration of the one-year anniversary of MotoBum's backing it in crash during Moto Morning Wheelie Session #43, here's the crash-only segment of that ride.

The broken collar bone ended up healing well. But ouch, don't try this at home, kids.

"Kawasaki KLR650 Motorcycle Crash" video:

Goodbye WR and KLR2

They were good bikes. They have both been sold in the past few days (the KLR just minutes ago). I imagine it won't be long before the XT has been sold by us (again). What one bike can I get that will fill the void left by these three fine motos? I will give the first chance to a DRZ400S. We will see.

Ahh, the trusty WR is gone... what a great bike

E-rock's Yamaha XT225 thriller is on the auction block

E-rock's "KLR2" 2009 model with Action Packer... bye bye

Hard Brake to Hard Break

We'll never forget The 1000 Wheelies Project's Moto Morning Wheelie Session #43. That's the one where MotoBum lost track of time, stayed out for an hour-and-a-half over the usual 15 minute session length, and got so aggressive with the front brake while backing it in that he lost the front and lowsided into oblivion... breaking his collar bone in the process.

Yes. That is what happened. I'll never forget it. It was the silliest thing I'd done all day - that Saturday, March 26, 2011. I picked-up ADVstunt1 from the ground (my KLR 650), looked for damage and found, amazingly, none except for the scratched crash cage, rode home, decided that the right shoulder was a little clanky, and drove myself to the emergency medical clinic. The doctor said I was suffering from a broken collar bone, gave me some "pain killers" (which must have been sugar pills because they didn't do anything), and gave me an arm sling and a referral to another doctor that might be able to patch me up.

The specialist doc says I should be back to hard-core dirt biking and ADV Stunt riding in about 8 weeks. I love to ride motorcycles! I love wheelies! Come on body -- mend! Come on time -- pass!

Here's a few clips from Moto Morning Wheelie Session #43. The crash is near the end.

MotoBum grabs a KLR

It blows me away that this video has had so many views. T-Bird and I shot this video with a couple of cell phones. It doesn't even have real content. It just shows me riding home in the rain. What's next? Wheelies and Camping!

Stats to date:
1,169 views - added 4 months ago

new rubber

hey, what a nice looking site we have here. Going to pick up the KLR today. New tires - now what's the most indirect way home from Renton?