New Toy for the Love Shack
Feb 17th, 2007 by Jack
I’ve been wanting to have a motorcycle here at Kealekakua Bay for many years. Now with a place to keep one, I set out to find a bike that would give me everything I wanted for the Big Island. I wanted a dual sport bike that would motor along paved roads adequately but would also allow for off road adventures. That bike is the Kawasaki KLR650 - a 2007 model I just picked up at Kiser Motorcycles in Kona this week.
After picking up the bike I decided to ride to the Volcano National Park via South Point - about an 80 mile ride. Once there, I decided to keep on going to Hilo and try to find a skeet range there I had read about. ….I made it to Hilo, but couldn’t find the range… Total miles for day 1 of ownership - 234.
On Day 2, I decided a ride to the Mauna Kea Observatory was in order. This took me on a wild stretch of road called the “Saddle Road”. I got sidetracked on this adventure with a trip to the end of the road in Hilo and several off road excursions. …I never found the access road to the observatory… Total miles for day 2 - 232.
On Day 3 I took the bike back to Kiser for the 500 mile service. …they were a bit surprised to see me so soon…
My impressions of the bike are very positive. I would like to see another gear for highway speeds, but there aren’t many roads where you can stretch the speed limit on the Big Island, so this shouldn’t be much of a problem. The off road handling is excellent and would be better if I was able to let some air out of the tires for this type of terrain (and then pump them back up for the street). These types of bikes are always full of compromises.
…now I hear there is a great ride to the town of Hawi (pronounced Havi). …maybe tomorrow…
