Who can catch a Kwakersaki?

KLX with new 3.8 Gallon IMS Tank

All righty then peeples! After a good 30 year absence from motorcycling, I decided to get back into it for many different reasons, one of which pertained to my sanity.

There were challenges here with this noble quest that I had to overcome by the bucket load.

For example, the first thing you notice about buying any motorcycle here in the USA is the fact that the advertised price and the drive it out the door price live in two different universes if looking to buy new or from a dealer.

Walk into any power sports store to find this perplexing situation out for yourself!

There should be laws that let you see the out the door pricing on anything you buy and I find this quite perplexing to deal with to be honest.

Psychologically looking at a $5499 MSRP and then getting a bill for $8200 out the door is just horse shit.

I looked at pricing in Europe and the advertised price is the advertised price.

The other odd thing about motorcycles in the USA is that they do not seem to sell them to people as critical primary transport platforms.

Here in the USA, motorcycles are looked on as motor sports toys and the stores that sell them act as if they are in fact just toys for boys.

In my case there is some truth to this, though it is more a mental health pressure release valve therapeutic pursuit from my personal mind's eye vantage point.

Cars in the USA are so expensive these days, that I am surprised more people do not commute on very efficient two wheeled transport systems like they do in South East Asia to compensate.

In any event, considering my last bike was a Yamaha FJ1100 and thirty odd years had rolled by, selecting the right bike for the conditions in Northern California and their piss poor road systems seemed quite the challenge.

It was obvious I was locked into the dual sport or adventure bike category to deal with the worse than Africa Road system here in California.

I had initially decided that a KLR 650 Adventure bike was the way to go at a listed MSRP of $5795.00, which I thought was actually fairly reasonable.

A few of my California Motorcycling pals thought I would be better served by a much lighter machine like a KLX 300 or a KTM 350 though.

Considering I had to pass the California M1 test, this was quite good advice actually.

The problem with that idea was that the KLX300 pricing seemed to be the same as the KLR650 pricing!?

On top of that, the $5499 (ish) MSRP all got elevated to $8100 quotes with taxes and all sorts of extras thrown in!

Then I started to notice the silly prices these power sports outfits were charging for changing tires and basic servicing of said "toys".

Advice from many was to buy a used low mileage model and upgrade the bits seven ways to Sunday.

So I started looking for a low mileage KLX 300 and found a 2021 specimen in Aubern that is the other side of Santa Rosa in the Sacramento area (40 miles past actually).

I went to go look at it to confirm it actually had 2300 miles on the clock and to verify the price, which was around $3500.

Then I had to talk she who must be obeyed into the mental preservation scheme somewhat.

Once that mountain was climbed, I had to get her to take me there and drop me off so that I could drive it home from Aubern.

I got the bike owner to part with all his goodies like helmet, misc service parts, stands and such as well and he had upgraded the seat already.

The wife loaded up the EQE with said parts and dashed for home after I paid the guy.

It would take me another 4 hours to drive home on the back roads as I was using my foreign motorcycle licenses and did not want to get stopped by the CHP to explain it.

It would have been a long chat..

I had bought all the gear I needed for this journey bar suitable motorcycle boots.

It soon became apparent that the trainers I was wearing for the job were not a very good idea at all.

I also noted the KLX 300 gas tank was stupid small but fortunately the back roads took me past lots of gas stations, and I only had to stop once to refuel, and I had a 1-gallon gas can with me as well.

I soon learnt that these plastic gas cans are a serious joke all of their own.

When I stopped to retrieve it from my backpack, I found it had sloshed and spilled inside and I had to throw the backpack away when I arrived home.

So much for the spill proof claim the gas can came with...

I was reminded constantly how stupid small the KLX 300 gas tank is.

The low gas warning light went on as I started climbing the 160 bridge across the Sacramento River but fortunately this was just 3 miles from home.

When home, I immediately enrolled in the California CMSP 2-day training and did the theory class online.

I have another blog post that covers that adventure higher up on my post lists.

All the while this was going on, I was becoming familiar with the machine ride by ride and she who must be obeyed and I had agreed the budget should not exceed $8000, including all training costs for the license and registration plus taxes.

The training costs ended up being $725.00 and involved a scooter rental for the California DMV lollipop test quest.

I immediately ordered new IMS footpegs to replace the stupid ones the KLX are shod with.

Then I ordered a new set of Dunlop tires for it but waited 1000 more miles before I replaced the 605's it comes with as standard.

I could have eked out another 1000 miles on those 605's if I had been so inclined by the way.

I also changed the oil, put in a new oil filter and changed the spark plug, ordered a KDX snorkel for the airbox and changed the air filter.

While doing this I noticed that the brake and clutch cables get stretched silly when the handlebars are fully locked left or right, so I rerouted the right brake line and ordered a plus 3" longer clutch cable for it.

Whoever put this bike together was in fact a total idiot.

I had noticed when practicing the lollipop test at the Pittsburg DMV that the clutch was getting pulled on the left circles which required more power and when I straightened I suddenly had too much power as the clutch bit better just by straightening the handlebars.

This was most irksome indeed!

I also got a better stand for it so I could service the chain better and bought a bash plate, acerbis hand protectors, a new AC3 Gear shift lever and new handlebar grips.

Then I got the 30mm handlebar riser kit for it as well.

The other day I went riding in the various levees that dot the East Brentwood and other side of the 160 bridge Geos and had more sense of humor failures over the stupid small gas tank and I just said "enough already" and bought a new 3.8 gallon black tank for it from IMS in Southern California somewhere as I just cannot get stuck on one of those levee roads in the middle of nowhere.

I also bought 4mm Tusk tire tubes for it to mitigate the puncture situation and a small square air pump thingamabob.

The change to the KDX snorkel has solved the low-end power problem and has left me debating if an EJK unit with a new exhaust was actually worth the investment and what was next.

I just had to get the new gas tank first though.

After I ordered it I got an email note from them that they had no stock (for black) but would make me one ASAP and mail it off to me when they had done the next production run on the things which was going to be early June.

I can imagine there is a huge demand for this as that stock 2 Gallon gas tank is really pretty stoopid.

IMS folks stated in a follow-on email that they indeed were experiencing massive demand for these tanks and that they make 30 or so at a time.

I watched a good few videos on YouTube before I pulled the trigger on this lark by the way.

I do not know what Kawasaki were thinking with this stupid gas tank size when they designed this thing.

A lot of them seem to think folks drive them in trucks to the trails and those folks do exist but most of us ride them on the street to get to the trails.

Hopefully the 2026 model will come with a 4-gallon gas tank as standard.

I seem to be getting about 56 miles per gallon from the thing so 3.8 Gallons should give me around a 212-mile range to play with.

I got Black because of the California regulations on Gas tanks. I don't want it to look modified at first glance from a chippie (CHP) and that clear plastic tank is obviously not standard.

In California you cannot drive any motorcycle with an IMS or other gas tank on the highway.

California is full of stupid dumb bureaucracy and that rule is a prime example of such bullshit.

Polyethylene gas tanks are actualy much safer than the metal ones the manufacturers make as standard fare and they are far better in accidents as well.

I dunno whut retard in California came up with that shit but he should actually do his homework and look at what serious people fit their Machines with for long distance work and safety reasons.

Serious roof of Africa and Paris-Dakar bike rally gear all sport polyethylene gas tanks as getting an AK47 round in a metal tank is not a good idea at all and is impossible to plug to boot.

One of the first things I did on my motorcycle gear in Africa was replace the metal gas tank with a Polyethylene one.

I fit hundreds of BMW adventure machines with Polyethylene replacements for increased range as well as said stated safety reasons.

We also did a lot of testing in the SABS laboratory on these things compared to metal tanks and they came close to mandating motorcycle manufacturers fit all their new gear with them before the SABS took the easy route back in 1983 after Honda protested.

There is no way a metal tank comes close to a polyethylene one in terms of safety if it is made right though.

Anyways, this was my next task before I contemplated the EJK device for it.

I have been looking at various exhaust systems as well, but I like the relative silence that the stock pipe has, and it only has 3300 miles on it at this point of the game.

Chippies do notice loud exhaust systems in California by the way so having one is just asking for trouble.

I have also started to realize that the KLX 300 ambitions I had at riding on dirt roads or green enduro trails and such require me riding up to Bottle Hill past Sacramento or up to Lake County and that most of my adventures will be around the 160 freeway levee systems as a result.

Sadly, this means that the KLX is not the right platform for me, but it served to get me ramped up into the 2 wheeled arts again.

Once it is all gussied up and upgraded I will be looking to sell it and get either a Husqvarna 401 Vitpilen or something similar.

The Husqvarna 701 Vitpilen actually tickles me pink and surprisingly I saw a Moto Morini Bobber the other day that I actually really like which was surprising as I hate Harleys due to their chopper style thing.

Harley now makes ordinary type road machines, but they should have done that years ago.

Moto Morini was bought by Znen Motor and their fare is actually pretty darn good and the price of the things is actually pretty awesome.

It's only minus point is the stupid Moto Morini Decals on the tank are pretty piss poor and flake off quick.

If I bought one, it would be the first thing I remove as that Morini logo is plenty fugly.

The Morini uses the Chinese CFMoto variant of the legendary Kawasaki 650 engine the Versys came with and is awesome, but the suspension really sucks.

I guess for $5999 you can't have everything....

If we were Southern California based, my dirt trails ambition would not be a problem as there are a ton of OHV trails in them parts compared to Nor Cal.

In a perfect world I would keep the KLX and just add the road bike to the equation.

I have been riding around with the new tank for 2 weeks now and it seems to be pretty good and has enhanced the looks of the bike somewhat in my humble opinion.

KLX with new IMS Gas tank

Oi Vey! As my Rabbi would say, whut a dilema!