JakeT

Congratz man, your gonna love it. Needing a little work is ok, as you will learn alot about the bike in the process of fixing it up. I've learned alot already and I got my hawk back in oct.

Wolverine

Mike, welcome to the forum. I have a feeling if you take this one down it won't be at 30-40mph. Do you have a bunch of gear to help keep you safe?

19superchicken98

pics of it didn't happen ;D

mike21091

To wolverine: I've got an armored riding jacket and some leather gloves.

To 19superchicken98: SuperHawk Forum - mike21091's Album: Mike21091's 1998 VTR1000

19superchicken98

I want that 1000 sticker!! lol or a 996

Tebs

Welcome to the forum!

aja

Welcome! Were those spills on the KLR on asphalt or dirt?

Jacket, gloves, and helmet are a good start, but get yourself some boots asap. You don't have to get racing boots, anything with ankle support is good. Taking a tumble from the hawk without boots will smash your feet and ankles right into the ground, good bye ankle bones.

Riding pants would be next, jeans are ok for commuting but won't do much for anything over 35mph. You might even be able to find a good priced one piece suit to use for the fun rides.

Good looking 98, treat it good and it will do the same for you.

Tweety

When riding a bike like this, and similar, ATGATT is a very good way of thinking... All The Gear, All The Time... It's much more likely to fling you at the scenery than the 650, and with a much more spectacular result, if you don't respect it...

I wouldn't leave the driveway with less than armoured pants, jacket, a backprotector and boots and gloves... And while I do on occasion "cheat" and go with a pair of Draggin Jeans, it feels naked too me, and then it's only in town riding...

mike21091

The spill on the KLR were on asphalt due to my own stupidity and wanting to show-off a bit, and bit it did ... in the *** that is.

As for boots I have a pair of steel-toed boot I always wear when riding but as for gear I am ashamed to say my usual outfit is my helmet, long sleeve button up shirt over a t-shirt, jeans and boots.

19superchicken98

IMO jeans and button up = useless but it's better then nothing.
I ride with jeans also, looking to buy a pair of kevlars, and for the steel toes that would scare me I heard of heavy objects bending the steel sometimes and cutting or chopping of people toes.. BLEH
Ride safe brother, don't show off it never ends well when you get to cocky..

mike21091

I'm not worried about the steel toe since these boots have been through the three spills I had on the KLR and are still holding up decently after stitching the hole in the side with fishing line .

But in all seriousness I woke up so to speak after the third spill on the KLR. I was hanging out with some friends at Dunkin Donuts and it was raining. As I was getting ready to leave one guy told me to be careful and another jokingly said "You only live once ride like hell!". I knew he was just joking but decided to be a showoff and once on the road got through first gear and dumped the clutch into second thinking I could handle it if it got squirrely and the I feel the bike sliding and started thinking maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. I slid about 60 or so feet coming down from 40 mph and once stopped got up and managed to come to my senses and wheeled the bike back to the Dunkin Donuts.

I managed to get off lucky with minor scrapes to the knees and elbows and a scraped palm. The bike got it's right footpeg mounting bracket torn from the frame, handlebars bent like an L with the throttle pointing down, bent subframe and a tweaked frame. I pretty sure the only thing that saved my legs from getting trapped under it was the toolbox I mounted on the back which stuck out a couple inches past the turn signals on each side.

I was stupid and luckily I got off easy and truly regret a lot of what I did since I got the KLR in very decent shape for $2800 and sold it 8 months later for $500 since it was trashed. I am determined not to repeat the same mistakes again and have even found since then I am always thinking twice about anything since I've realized just how vulnerable I am and also realized there is no room for error or show-boating. I no longer try to impress and just keep myself within my comfort level.

Here's what the KLR looked like before I screwed it up.

saige

hello,welcome to the site,congrats on your purchase.she looks to be a good looking bike.
there is many threads on ere for upgrades and maintenance.
everything seems good so far,except,my personal opinion is,stay away from the H.I.D. lights.
it will not help anything at all,if anything,makes it worse,just looks cool,thats it.
if you want H.I.D.'S on the bike,do it right and get a kit with the projectors.

im down here in largo,clearwater area.if you need any advice or help,just let me know.
theres a bunch of places around to get some parts and such.

mike21091

Thanks but too late on the HIDs. They put out much better light than the standard bulb, maybe the projectors are even better but I got the HID used from a friend for $20 so I figured what the hell. Now the position light on the front looks out of place but I found some white LED ones on ebay and will try them out.

10x T10 168 194 501 W5W Car LED Light Dashboard Wedge Light Bulb Cool White N98B | eBay

What have I got to lose.

7moore7

HID's without projectors are dangerous and inconsiderate:



They are much brighter, but the light just bounces off in all directions, including oncoming traffic.

Projectors are made to properly direct the light from an HID bulb.

The stock lighting is poor, I'll definitely give you that, but getting a relay and good h4 bulb is a much better solution, and will definitely improve the stock light. Or do a full retrofit. I've ripped HID systems out of a few vehicles now from PO's wanting blue-glow lights but not aware of how they work.

saige

well,i guess for 20 bucks,cant beat that.just becarefull with them,it will blind people.

mike21091

I've got them adjusted with the brightest point below about 6 to 8in below horizontal from about 20ish feet away.

Tweety

OK, lets do this once more, for the benefit of the newbz...

I'm lazy, so I'll just quote myself...
So bacially, if you have a 4200K HID bulb, it is infact making the same usable light as the stock parts did, but a lot more scatter, which makes it look brighter... If you have a higher K rate, you would be better of with stock... And mind you, this isn't just me guessing, it's measured with a lightmachine, and it gave horrible data on the drop in HID's...

Tweety

Actually, looking at what you wrote, and looking at you images... I'm beginning to wonder...

You said you fitted a used headlight? Not just a bulb? Is there a lense in there?

If so, you have a projector retrofitted in there, and then you can disregard all the above...

mike21091

It's just the bulb not a projector, bad wording on my part but here is a picture of how it looks shining on my garage door. I'm sitting on the bike roughly 20ft away.

Tweety

And that's proof right there... You see those pretty wingshaped light patterns... Those are classic for a HID bulb dropped in a reflector meant for a H4 bulb... That's 2/3 of your light output rigth there, blinding drivers and lighting up tree tops... Very useful indeed...

If you compare the actual light, to the stock bulb... Then you will find that you have more light on the ground far infront of you with the stock... The HID lights up the ground close to you, which is useless unless you are riding around in first or second gear and idle, and it lights up the tree tops, which might be usefull if you are going hunting for birds perhaps... Other than that, it's crap...

Spend a few dollars, and buy yourself a relay harness for the H4 bulb, and then drop in a high quality bulb... It will improve the visibility, not the cool factor... OR, get yourself a HID projector... That does both...

mike21091

I just want to say that I do see what you mean about the light and even saw how it could daze oncoming traffic so I've put a HID projector retrofit on my list of todo's, just after some MCCT's and a new chain and sprockets. I'm thinking I might put the stock bulb back in for now.

smokinjoe73

Mike, there is a company called eastern beaver that makes high voltage wiring kits that use the stock switchgear with high votage wires and relays. Runs power straight from the battery and makes the stocker like45% brighter.

Its cheap and a huge difference but then you can go to a higher wattage bulb if you want and the reflector functions as inteded by its creator.

Wiring Kits

7moore7

If you're interested, here is a good article explaining it all, with a video halfway down:

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

You'd be surprised at how well an eastern beaver relay and a squeaky new bulb lights up the road (the one smokinjoe posted). Then run something like a 85/80w bulb rather than the stock 60/55w (there are tons to choose from) - mind you this only helps if you have the relay harness. It needs to be able to draw as much wattage from the battery as possible and the stock wiring doesn't allow that.

mike21091

Thanks for the info and I think I'll be doing that but making my own harness, I wish I'd of researched the HID's further since if I had I would of passed on buying mine.

redbird

I recently bought a 2003 VTR, having regretted selling my '98 last year. My '03's PO did a bunch of after-market stuff, most of which was pretty good. However, the HID headlamp abortion is terrible. The stock headlight on these is pretty bad, but this HID is even worse. Compounding the felony is the fact that I only have one beam to work with (no high-low option). The light is scattered all over, and I can't see down the road very far. Approaching 59 years old, my night vision isn't as good as it has been in the past, and I need all the usable light I can get.

I recently installed three things on my 1975 BMW R75/6 that changed the lighting dramatically: a new reflector assembly, an Osram Rallye 70/65 H4 bulb, and the Eastern Beaver direct wiring kit. I had already upgraded to a Shorai battery the year before. The improvement is stunning. In the very near future I will be installing the Eastern Beaver kit on the VTR, as well as the 70/65 H4 bulb. The Shorai went in a week or so ago. If you get the wiring kit, and intend to use a higher output bulb, I suggest that you specify the high-temp bulb plug when you order. Whatever you decide to do, I'd dump the HID. Oh, and BTW, you would do well to listen to the advice of these seasoned VTR pilots.....these bikes are beastly and somewhat unforgiving, and can surprise you.

7moore7

Haha, it's easy to get sucked in that part when looking up lights. I've seen people online who upgrade their lights with HID kits, then take pictures facing the vehicle, then proudly point out how blindingly bright they are! I just want to drive at them with their own vehicle... though it's usually lowered to the point of not making it into a parking lot or lifted to the point where it would roll over on the turn into it.

Like you said, it's not all a loss- you can keep the kit and use it if you decide to retrofit a projector inside (while technically not legal, it follows the intent of the law rather than the letter). And +1 on making your own harnass, makes for a nice clean install with wire lengths and all!