After 7000 miles...

So far I have found a nirvana. The bike is liberating. I enjoy riding with friends, and I enjoy doing my own thing as well. I ride and think at the same time. I have a couple of favorite local rides and I never tire of the route. I am not tearing around town, I am touring the country, noticing houses and their architecture,looking at gardens, and just noticing much more than I do when I am in a gage. My riding has become a way to be alone and just enjoy life. I am never bored. I am often thrilled with the mere twist of the right grip. I am glad that the KLR has no more power than it does, or I would be in real trouble. It is the perfect bike for me and I am starting to think very seriously about a week or more solo trip come spring. I am waiting to hear from a couple for guys that want to circumnavigate the state of Maine. I love Maine and think that would be really neat.
My wife is showing concern when I talk of solo trips. I need to understand her fear is really love for me. That's a neat thing. I need to be safe...safer then I am now. I took the safety course offered beginning riders in CT. and would like to take the intermediate course next spring. Gotta think...

Valve Adjustment...fear of failure

KLR 650's have valves which need checking fairly regularly, and adjustment if the clearances are off. I was told that a "wrench" or a dealer could do it in about 2-3 hours. It took me a bit longer, about 5 hours but at no time was I in the panic that is associated with screwing something up. There is about an hour of bike disassembly to get down to the valve cover bolts. Once the bolts were off, the valve cover and gasket came off easily. The measurement was tough to accomplish because I had to find Top Dead Center (TDC) and it's hard to do with tri-focal glasses. VBG. I found that the valves were out of adjustment, so had to order new shims to fit in the buckets in the valve train. Thanks Fred at Arrowhead Motor Sports for fast service over the holiday weekend. The biggest fear I had was that I was going to drop a metal object down the timing chain case and really get into a mess. Having been forewarned by the information on Mark's KLR website, I stuffed the case with shop rags and effectively blocked the way for any errant nuts, bolts or shims. It went back together easily, the shims did their job, and I can't believe how proud I was of myself for doing that job. I was also becoming more attached to the bike. She has been good to me.