1985 Kawasaki KL600-B1

At the end of this past February, I sold my 2016 Kawasaki KLR650 having come to the realization that it wasn't going to serve any particular needs for the foreseeable future. Fast forward two months and I now find myself with a 1985 Kawasaki KLR600 sitting in my garage.

The 600 popped up on the Tampa Bay Craigslist a couple weeks ago. Having a history of restoring vintage dirt bikes, I'm always in there peeking at vintage listings. Normally, the restoration work can be pretty significant. However, as you can see from the photo of the 600, it's in really amazing, mostly-stock condition at 27,000 miles. It may turn out to be a nice bike to take to events and rallies.

While it runs quite well, unfortunately, there are enough issues out of the gate that the 600 will not be ready for the Southern Discovery next week and I prefer to take the KLX to Perry Mountain that's coming up end of this month. So it's probably not going to see any significant action until we get up in the Smoky Mountains later this summer....maybe the Hooch.

I've done a video walk around of the KLR600 pointing out some of the issues that I accepted going into the purchase and that popped up as I've spent more time in it's saddle.

Plan:

Gotta have a plan!

Here's my list, subject to update as I dig into the bike.

1. Tires: The tires show rot and are the type of tire that I'd prefer, anyway. New tubes and rim strips, as well. 
2. Brakes: The brakes are disc on the front and drum on the back. Both don't brake well. I'll start with the basics of new pads, shoes and fluid and go from there.
3. Gearing: The prior owner has a 13T countershaft sprocket (stock is 15T) that's just too low. Fortunately, they had the 15T and threw it in the sale.
4. Exhaust: The bike has a Supertrapp that's just too loud for me. I'm going to repack it and tinker with it to see if I can get it toned down. Otherwise I'll find a stock can and replace the ST. Also the heat shield is missing on the mid-pipe and needs to be replaced.
5. Cam Chain: The cam chain tensioner is functioning, but damaged. I've already found a good used tensioner on eBay for under $25.
6. Choke: The choke doesn't seem to work.
7. Signals: Replace rear aftermarket signals with stock. Replace signal relay.
8. Bar: The bar has been painted. The grips are really bad. A new bar, grips and hand guards are in order.
9. Maintenance: A full maintenance is in order.