Motorcycles Galleries

KLR Porting : Porting work done by Cary Aspy at Schnitz Racing on a Kawasaki KLR650 cylinder head. Pictures taken by Cary, not me. SAD UPDATE: Cary Aspy was involved in a fatal motorcycle accident Monday evening October 6th, 2008 while on his way home from a weekend riding trip to Tennessee. His Kawasaki KLR650 was a source of pride and was used to develop many aftermarket performance enhancing products for other owners in recent years. Cary had worked for Ehlerding Cycle for 13 years before coming to Schnitz Racing in August of 1992 as the service manager, cylinder head specialist, and engine builder. He was also a neighbor to the Schnitz family for 27 years. Cary was happy to offer any advice and answer questions in detail for anyone who asked. He will be truly missed.

KLR Porting

Porting work done by Cary Aspy at Schnitz Racing on a Kawasaki KLR650 cylinder head. Pictures taken by Cary, not me. SAD UPDATE: Cary Aspy was involved in a fatal motorcycle accident Monday evening October 6th, 2008 while on his way home from a weekend riding trip to Tennessee. His Kawasaki KLR650 was a source of pride and was used to ...

Updated: Mar 21, 2008 6:08pm PST

KLR Footpeg Strengthening : My buddy Mike and I were talking about the whole business of strengthening the weak footpeg mounts on our KLRs. Mike didn't much like the idea of cutting the boxes open, chiseling the nuts out, welding new ones in, bending the box back together, etc.. He came up with the following method, and we did it to both of our bikes today. Note that this mod will preclude the use of aftermarket center stands or other lame accessories that use the center stand mounts. By the way, I am no longer on the klr650.net forums because I have been banned from there for refusing to let Glenn and his ignoraumus moderators dominate me.

KLR Footpeg Strengthening

My buddy Mike and I were talking about the whole business of strengthening the weak footpeg mounts on our KLRs. Mike didn't much like the idea of cutting the boxes open, chiseling the nuts out, welding new ones in, bending the box back together, etc.. He came up with the following method, and we did it to both of our bikes today. Note ...

Updated: Nov 12, 2007 5:24am PST

KLR 705 Upgrade : After having done lots of upgrades to my 18,500 mile 2003 Kawasaki KLR650, the one thing left that really bugged me was the motor. It sounded terrible, vibrated a lot, and didn't have much power. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a 2006 used cylinder and head off EBay and sent them to Cary Aspy at Schnitz Racing in Decatur Illinois. Schnitz is a shop that specializes in drag bikes, but Cary is the Service Manager there and has a KLR... so he came up with some trick stuff that transforms the KLR650 motor into a fire-breathing beast. I ordered the 705 kit that consists of an oversized forged piston from J&E, a cryogenically-treated heavier sleeve from L.A. Sleeves and all the machine work and gaskets to put it all together. I also opted for Cary's "Stage II" headwork with oversize & polished ports, oversized stainless valves, lightened retainers, new guides, new seals, etc. We did the work at my buddy Mike's house up in Angels Camp California, in the Gold Country & foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. First order of business (after removing the side covers, seat, and tank) was to replace the stock KLR clutch springs with some heavy duty Barnett springs designed for a Kawasaki ZX-10. The 705/StageII makes enough power that it'll cause the stock KLR clutch to slip. We removed the water pump and the right side cover, and once that was off you have access to the oil strainer screen. SAD UPDATE: Cary Aspy was involved in a fatal motorcycle accident Monday evening October 6th, 2008 while on his way home from a weekend riding trip to Tennessee. His Kawasaki KLR650 was a source of pride and was used to develop many aftermarket performance enhancing products for other owners in recent years. Cary had worked for Ehlerding Cycle for 13 years before coming to Schnitz Racing in August of 1992 as the service manager, cylinder head specialist, and engine builder. He was also a neighbor to the Schnitz family for 27 years. Cary was happy to offer any advice and answer questions in detail for anyone who asked. He will be truly missed. By the way, I am no longer on the klr650.net forums because I have been permanently banned from there for refusing to let Glenn and his ignoramus moderators dominate me.

KLR 705 Upgrade

After having done lots of upgrades to my 18,500 mile 2003 Kawasaki KLR650, the one thing left that really bugged me was the motor. It sounded terrible, vibrated a lot, and didn't have much power. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a 2006 used cylinder and head off EBay and sent them to Cary Aspy at Schnitz Racing in Decatur Illinois. ...

Updated: Jun 19, 2008 6:05am PST