My KLX300

The weather has been either fog to the ground or wind and rain lately, with both you get the cold, especially with fog. Even though I knew it was sunny up where I would normally ride, I just couldn’t make myself get off my ass, load everything up and go find the sunshine, so I haven’t been riding. The other reason for not riding is my expiration date had come and gone on my trigger point neck injections, the very thing that allows me to ride again. They only last a few months at a time and I have to wait at least three months before I can get them again. But until that happened this fall I did ride I’ve put close 800 miles on my KLX since June. And the more I ride it the more I like it. The more I like it is a relative term, is it better than all the other bikes I’ve had, absolutely not, but for what I’m using it for its good, not perfect, but I do enjoy riding it. If I decided to expand the kind of riding I’m doing to include say riding single track or desert riding then no I would have reached and surpassed what it’s good at for me anyway. After fifty plus years of riding and racing and a hundred plus bikes it would not meet those expatiations.

Some of my current thoughts, when it comes time to replace the stock tires I will replace them with either the same thing or something similar, why because I believe they work very well for what I’m using the bike for. I’ve ridden so called dual sport bikes for years most all of them with knobby’s on them because a percentage of the terrain was single track or single track desert etc. But quite frankly riding on knobby’s on dirt roads, two track dirt roads and pavement isn’t real comfortable. The stock tires are comfortable and very stable for that kind of riding. I have to admit at this point in my life I’m no longer interested in riding in rain and mud or muddy conditions, done all that. If I did then the stock tires are not good for that kind of riding and different tires would be a must.

The bike is quite, I like that, I’m sure an aftermarket exhaust would give it more power and lighter weight. I would like the lighter weight the bike is heavy especially by today’s standards, years ago no they were all heavy. I do think at some point I will remove the stock muffler just to see how much it weights. But for the kind of riding I’m now doing the bike feels just fine, jumping water bars maybe not so much. In my first story I said I was having issues with shifting the bike, it’s still an issue, but it’s better. I’m on my fourth after market shift lever and the latest one I believe a 1995 Honda XL650 shift lever works a lot better. It’s only going to get marginally better because of my size thirteen boots. The other issue I’ve struggled with is the rider triangle; it’s not comfortable for me. I don’t feel comfortable standing at all, it’s too cramped. Fast Way does not yet make down and back pegs for the bike, maybe someday they say. I used to be 6’1” but old age and having a seat pound my ass for years has resulted in me now being 6’. I just recently went to higher bars and aftermarket clamps that move the bars forward, when I did that I did not put the wrap around handguards back on, just a set of flag handguards, I’m not going to be crashing into stuff on single track trails. What little I’ve ridden it just around my home it feels much, much better and I think I’ll be much more comfortable standing in situations that pretty much demand you stand.

For those of you who have perhaps read my older stuff remember I always used Air Cells on my forks, no matter what. For those of you who have never heard of Air Cells I’ll explain how they work. But first I must say Air Cells are no longer in business from what I can tell. I have enough parts and pieces to make a set work on the KLX. The purpose of the Air Cells was to let air flow from the forks into and out of the Air Cell cylinders, the flow is metered and that helps soften the first few inches of initial fork travel. Most all the suspension companies are very good taking care of the middle and final part of the travel and maybe now they have that part figured out as well. The last time I looked into it Enzo suspension in So Cal was the only company who offered the Air Cell type technically, but they only made it for Showa forks. The initial few inches of travel can sometimes be harsh like when hitting rocks, roots etc. that tends to deflect the front end and allow the front end to move around giving you an unstable feeling, you could still feel the rocks and roots etc. but it didn’t hammer your hands and made the front stable. The KLX has a bit of that feeling, so the Air Cells. Overall the suspension works well for what I’m doing and so for now I don’t feel the need to run out and have them revalved. I haven’t ridden the bike since I installed the Air Cells so I assume they will help like they always have in the past. Eventually (Around 1000 miles) I will have at least the oil changed in the forks and shock, the stock oil is very thin.

For now this all I’ve planned on doing, just keep riding it and see what happens.

Doug 21J 

2026, Well another Hangtown in the books!

This was my fifth year working my ass off as a Security Guard for the Dirt Diggers in the team Husqvarna pits. I was looking forward to doing this again for a couple of reasons. RJ Hampshire was one of my favorite 250 riders, that’s why I picked the Husky pits five years ago; I have always liked his race mentality, never quit. I believe he’s a better 450 rider than a 250. I was also looking forward to seeing his growing family, the first year I was in the Husky pits his daughter had probably been walking for months only and she cruised around the pits all day, she never stopped. I was also looking forward to seeing Big James, Malcolm and James Stewart’s father, I’ve said before he’s fun to be around.

Unfortunately RJ’s family didn’t come, Malcolm was injured at Paula the week before so not only was he not there neither was his dad. So I started off the weekend batting zero. I in particular wanted to see Big James because as most everyone knows by now the factory Husqvarna factory racing team will go away at the end of the year. And the reason I wanted to talk with Big James was I had a couple of questions for him. Malcolm will be moving on to another team I assume and so will his dad. As I’ve said before Big James would come out and sit in the hospitality section of the Husky rig and always draw crowd, he’d take pictures sign autographs and just interact with everyone who stopped by to see him. I wanted to ask him if all the factory team rigs he’s been in all these years between his son little James and Malcolm, if he thought those teams appreciated what he himself brought to the team by just being himself and sit out there in those team hospitality sections entertaining people. I thought he was a great asset to the team, especially when the team riders never had any sort of formal team autograph signing sessions the whole five years I was there and I never asked anyone why they didn’t. Actually only a few of the teams had formal autograph sessions it seemed to be all about who was on the team. I wanted to ask him that question because who knows if and where he will be next year, I do know he will be missed.

The pits open to the public a 9:00AM and at 9:02AM on Saturday there was already a line maybe sixty fee long waiting for Hayden Deegan and I don’t know when the sessions started but I know they ended at 12:00PM when the pits were closed.

The weather this year was very nice mid eighties with a steady breeze all day kept it from feeling too hot, unlike last year that was pure hell, pun intended. The track was excellent, lots of rice hulls mixed in with some new dirt. (The new dirt came from a local new dirt maker, I think the name of the company was Walt’s, I believe their motto is “If you need new dirt, let Walt dig it up for you”) 

I did my usual, went down to the starting line with the mechanics then walked over to the mechanics area after the start. This year the mechanics area was two stories like they do in the European GP series, the view from up there is pretty darn good. It’s still amazing to see even the last place riders come by the mechanics area at the beginning, middle and end of the race with an amazing pace. These back maker riders would all be hero’s at their local tracks, no doubt.

All of the races were enjoyable this year and a few things stood out to me, the following is for those who are outdoor motocross fans. Levi Kitchen is very fast but can’t seem to put it all together; if he did he would be a consistent winner. Seth Hammaker was inconsistent like Kitchen until this last year. Why did it take Jo Shimoda so long to pass Romano, once he did he was gone. Well two rounds in and I know a couple of things Deegan has shown he is better than all the rest of the 450 riders already (Which has to burn the ass of a number of those riders) but so far he hasn’t been a match for Jet and Hunter and from my prospective they are so much smother especially Jet than Deegan is. Deegan is fun to watch he rides the 450 like a 250, he’s wild.

I appreciated Nate Thrasher (#23) in the first moto he fell and was about a quarter lap behind on the first lap but he kept digging and never gave up. I paid particular attention to what Chase Sexton was doing today, I think he fell twice today and I believe they were both the same kind of fall, he pushed the front end. I think if you went back and researched all his falls since his Honda days I bet the vast majority were when he tucked the front end, if so to me anyway it proves that it isn’t and hasn’t been all the different bikes fault, if anything it’s the way he rides the bike into corners, maybe too much pressure on the front end, I’d say there has to be a balance there. It seem to me there were times in both motos where it seemed like he was just riding, when Deegan passed him, it looked like from my perspective he didn’t even give a hint of fighting for third place, after the pass Deegan just moved on. Then at some point in the moto Sexton’s teammate who was definitely catching him, it was like someone told him hey your teammate is catching you and he picked up his pace to the point he was catching Deegan who was probably slowing a bit because he couldn’t catch Jet or Hunter. It would not have been a good thing if his team mate a sort of fill in rider passed him. Speaking of Hunter it was interesting to see him just sit behind Deegan in the first moto until he decided not to follow him anymore caught and pass him then left him. I wonder if he was just watching him to see how he rides, taking notes so to speak.

During the opening ceremonies when the horse ladies were finished with their program and were presenting our nations colors and the national anthem had just been sung I was standing under a pop up at the starting line when a couple of fighter jets went right over the start line and scared the shit out of all of us under that pop up because we couldn’t see the jets coming. It was loud, scary and super exciting.    

It was a good day, but I think this will be my last year, being in the pits but one never knows.

Doug 21J

21J Still Having Fun!

My KLX300

The weather has been either fog to the ground or wind and rain lately, with both you get the cold, especially with fog. Even though I knew it was sunny up where I would normally ride, I just couldn’t make myself get off my ass, load everything up and go find the sunshine, so I haven’t been riding. The other reason for not riding is my expiration date had come and gone on my trigger point neck injections, the very thing that allows me to ride again. They only last a few months at a time and I have to wait at least three months before I can get them again. But until that happened this fall I did ride. I’ve put close to 800 miles on my KLX since June. And the more I ride it the more I like it. The more I like it is a relative term, is it better than all the other bikes I’ve had, absolutely not, but for what I’m using it for its good, not perfect, but I do enjoy riding it. If I decided to expand the kind of riding I’m doing to include say riding single track or desert riding then no I would have reached and surpassed what it’s good at for me anyway. After fifty plus years of riding and racing and a hundred plus bikes it would not meet those expatiations.

Some of my current thoughts, when it comes time to replace the stock tires I will replace them with either the same thing or something similar, why because I believe they work very well for what I’m using the bike for. I’ve ridden so called dual sport bikes for years most all of them with knobby’s on them because a percentage of the terrain was single track or single track desert etc. But quite frankly riding on knobby’s on dirt roads, two track dirt roads and pavement isn’t real comfortable. The stock tires are comfortable and very stable for that kind of riding. I have to admit at this point in my life I’m no longer interested in riding in rain and mud or muddy conditions, done all that. If I did then the stock tires are not good for that kind of riding and different tires would be a must.

The bike is quite, I like that, I’m sure an aftermarket exhaust would give it more power and lighter weight. I would like the lighter weight the bike is heavy especially by today’s standards, years ago no they were all heavy. I do think at some point I will remove the stock muffler just to see how much it weights. But for the kind of riding I’m now doing the bike feels just fine, jumping water bars maybe not so much. In my first story I said I was having issues with shifting the bike, it’s still an issue, but it’s better. I’m on my fourth after market shift lever and the latest one I believe a 1995 Honda XL650 shift lever works a lot better. It’s only going to get marginally better because of my size thirteen boots. The other issue I’ve struggled with is the rider triangle, it’s not comfortable for me. I don’t feel comfortable standing at all, it’s too cramped. Fast Way does not yet make down and back pegs for the bike, maybe someday they say. I used to be 6’1” but old age and having a seat pound my ass for years has resulted in me now being 6’. I just recently went to higher bars and aftermarket clamps that move the bars forward, when I did that I did not put the wrap around handguards back on, just a set of flag handguards, I’m not going to be crashing into stuff on single track trails. What little I’ve ridden it just around my home it feels much, much better and I think I’ll be much more comfortable standing in situations that pretty much demand you stand.

For those of you who have perhaps read my older stuff remember I always used Air Cells on my forks, no matter what. For those of you who have never heard of Air Cells I’ll explain how they work. But first I must say Air Cells are no longer in business from what I can tell. I have enough parts and pieces to make a set work on the KLX. The purpose of the Air Cells was to let air flow from the forks into and out of the Air Cell cylinders, the flow is metered and that helps soften the first few inches of initial fork travel. Most all the suspension companies are very good taking care of the middle and final part of the travel and maybe now they have that part figured out as well. The last time I looked into it Enzo suspension in So Cal was the only company who offered the Air Cell type technically, but they only made it for Showa forks. The initial few inches of travel can sometimes be harsh like when hitting rocks, roots etc. that tends to deflect the front end and allow the front end to move around giving you an unstable feeling, you could still feel the rocks and roots etc. but it didn’t hammer your hands and made the front stable. The KLX has a bit of that feeling, so the Air Cells. Overall the suspension works well for what I’m doing and so for now I don’t feel the need to run out and have them revalved. I haven’t ridden the bike since I installed the Air Cells so I assume they will help like they always have in the past. Eventually (Around 1000 miles) I will have at least the oil changed in the forks and shock, the stock oil is very thin.

For now this is all I’ve planned on doing, just keep riding it and see what happens.

Doug 21J 

Why Wait...Go Buy It Now!

2025 Kawasaki KLX300

Not having ridden since December of 2021 because of neck issues then finding myself suddenly able to ride in June of 2025 was a shock to be sure. I have several times now been able to ride and by riding I mean Dual Sport riding no single track riding and I will not be doing that. I am so blessed to be able to even be doing dirt roads and pavement in the mountains I’m not going to push my luck by doing single track. My neck is not fixed and for now anyway have a reprieve from so much pain.

I have left over from all the motorcycles I once had a 2018 Husky FE250F Dual Sport bike with lots of modifications done to it. It’s not the most comfortable bike to ride doing only Dual Sort stuff so I told my wife if I’m still able to ride in a year I will buy myself a more comfortable bike to ride. Well my wonderful wife says to me why wait go buy a more comfortable bike now, maybe you’ll only have a short time to ride be more comfortable now. Well that night I started researching bikes and decided on the Kawasaki KLX300.

I didn’t want some fire breathing motor to deal with, something a little closer to the ground (Less than 12” of travel) just a softer ride all around. One of the most surprising things I discovered while researching the KLX300, it’s sold as an entry level Dual Sport bike, but the vast majority of sales are to people with at least twenty years of riding experience, which tells me those people are looking for the same things I am.

I picked up the new KLX300 and spent two days nesting with it, as I have always done, I make it as comfortable for me as possible, some things are possible with what it comes with and some things not. Mine is grey not green because that’s all they had left, but I like the grey.

I changed the handle bars; the stock 7/8” are to low and the wrong bend for me I bought a set of risers and used fat bars to get the height and bend correct for me. I also changed out the stock grips for a set of ODI’s, this turned out to be a big deal. I ordered a set of IMS foot pegs, (not many choices here)a KLR650 extended shift lever, the stock one is made for people with size 6 feet not size 13’s. I bent the stock brake lever and repositioned it to fit my foot.

A couple of things I was looking for I got in this new bike, I can swing my leg over it to get on, I can touch the ground with both feet and not have to lean over to touch just one leg, I’m 6’ and old so this helps. You need to be closer to the ground, this bike is heavy, if you were on your tippy toes and leaned it too far you would have a tough time keeping it from falling over. It’s quiet and I don’t plan on making it loud. I ordered a 13T counter shaft sprocket, they say the stock gearing is a little high for cruising dirt and paved roads and single track, we’ll see. I also ordered a set of shorter brake and clutch levers the stock levers are too long and won’t work where I like them.

Changing out the grips turned out to be a huge nightmare for me. When I took the throttle apart I looked at the way the cables were attached and thought nothing of it, but when I went to put it back together it turned into a horrible frustrating mess. The throttle housing is also part of the on/off switch and the starter button. You have the two halves of the throttle housing which are the on/off switch and starter button the throttle tube two push pull cables and a third piece that the cables must fit into then installed into the back half of the throttle housing then you have to hook the cables into the throttle tube etc. you get the idea. Literally after and I’m embarrassed to say this hours I was finally able to get it right. You ever work on something and the longer you struggle with it the further way you get in actually fixing it or putting it back together. And true to form most men won’t stop and walk away for a while, we just keep thinking I’ll get it this time, I had to walk away several times. And quite frankly this bike has fought me every step of the way, it has tested my patients at every turn. There’s no doubt a lesson here, not sure I’m up for it though. As long as I’m talking about patience’s I might as well tell this one on myself. The 13t sprocket came so I decided to change it, I had the rear wheel off and the 14t sprocket off when I noticed the 13t sprocket would not work on the splines I have, so everything goes back on except I could not line up the brake rotor so it fit in between the rear brake pads the bike still has the big bulky oversize rear license plate holder that restricted my view I had to move my head from one side to the other to try and see around the bulky rear fender. I ended up taking the brake pads out and made it much easier. When the kit comes to eliminate that big mess it will be much easier to work with. So right now I’m waiting for the correct 13t sprocket, the extended shift lever and the rear license eliminator kit.

Well the taillight eliminator kit came so I decided to tackle that project and once again it bit me in the ass after trimming part of the inner fender per instructions I went to install a flat metal plate to mount the taillight/brake light and turn signals and it was the wrong size, I thought I had ordered the kit for the 24+ model but apparently not. To make a very long story shorter I first tried to reinstall the stock bulky unit but since I had trimmed off part of the inner fender it would not work and even if it had worked would have been flimsy. I was able to make the new kit work without the flat plate for now at least.

Today I did the maiden voyage ride; I ended up doing a tick less than sixty miles and had an absolutely great ride. The bike ended up surprising me in many ways and overall I’m stoked. First it had more low end than I thought it would have, it’s not a turd as long as I’m not trying to be first at the end of a straightaway. It’s lower to the ground so it feels more planted and corners quite well, you do feel the weight and I actually jumped a few water bars. I didn’t get a lot of air and didn’t fly that far but the bike was stable. The suspension worked surprisingly well, it handled most potholes pretty well considering. On the well used dirt roads it was a little harsh on the small bumps, but the overall feeling was good. It is not a tight trail bike but on more open flowing trails for short transfers it would be ok. But that’s not what I bought it for, the more I rode it today the more comfortable I got on it. I think it’s going to more than ok. And I think the stock gearing is just fine for what I’m going to do with it for right now. I believe this bike likes you to use the clutch to up shift it, other wises it can be a little balky.

I did have one issue with it I need to figure out, I had a hard time shifting it and missed more than a few shifts. The longer shift lever needs to have some tweaking done to it, riding it wearing my boots made it more difficult. The bike has a very long shift pattern it reminds me of the old CZ days when you had to lift your foot off the foot peg to up shift. I’m going to do one more ride then send this story to mx43.com.

Did a 74 mile ride today, it was warm, dusty and I had a great time. Shifting was better but not where I want it to be, so it’s still an issue for me. Everything I liked on the first ride was still true on the second ride. Eventually I will change the tires and tubes but actually the stock tires work ok for what I’m doing, I don’t need to be going any faster around corners, the front feels very planted until it isn’t, I’ve not had it slide to the point I think I’m going down, just enough to slow me down. I will also have the oil changed in the forks and shock at some point.  The trick will be if I can just leave it the way it is, because it is ok just the way it is without tinkering with it as I have done with everything I’ve ever had in the past. After all I thought I was never going to ride again a month ago so I should be just happy to ride period, right.

We will see.

Doug  21J

Guess what...21J Returns

I'm back!

Guess what, after almost 4 years I was able to ride a motorcycle on a real ride, not just around my property or down the road a mile or so to check on my ditch water. I first did a 32 mile ride on roads in my area to see how it might go, then I met my good friend Stan, my old trail riding buddy at his house in Nevada City and we rode up in the forests in that area. I’d say the majority were dirt roads, no single track trails. We did 50 miles and it was just as I remember, great. The weather was almost perfect the dirt roads were dusty, but man did it feel good to do that again. When you absolutely believe you will never be able to ride like that again and then do it, for someone who spent over 50 years racing and riding it truly doesn’t get any better than that.

Yes it did feel a little strange, it was familiar of course but not familiar at the same time, once I lowered he air pressure in my front tire and the front end stopped trying to slide out in every dirt corner  by the end of the 50 miles I felt very comfortable. There were some discomforts, I had a new light weight helmet that needed a little filler at the top to keep it from compressing down and pushing my goggles with it, the arthritis  in my hands were a bit bothersome, my thumb and index fingers on my throttle hand would fall asleep a little bit. My ass got sore from riding on the stiff seat, or I guess it’s more like my ass has gotten soft over the past few years.

My hope is I’ll be able to do this again and again, I’m not going to get greedy I do not plan to do any single track and keep my rides to a reasonable distance, eventually perhaps sell my Husky FE250 dual sport and buy something more comfortable for just cruising paved and dirt country roads.

A little history my last real ride on a motorcycle was in December of 2021 I had been developing issues with my neck primarily with C1 and C2 and the occipital nerves in the head, I couldn’t put a helmet on, the pain was simply to great over the years I tried just about everything to help it. No surgery no one really wanted to operate in that area, somewhere along the line maybe a combination of all the things I had tried the pain levels subsided to a point where I could put a helmet on without out extreme pain. I’m under no illusions that this is fixed and it could revert back at a time, maybe even worse, so I consider myself blessed to be able to do this right now. I for years when I was driving home after a great day of riding, I look would out my windshield look up and say thanks for letting me do this today. I forgot to do that yesterday until I was in the shower, hopefully that still counts. I woke up this morning and I do have some pain in my neck, but not enough to wipe the smile off my face.

Doug 21J