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LUGGAGE AND PROTECTION

Givi's 33 liter Trekker is great for commuting or short off-road trips.Nothing hinders rideability more than damage incurred from impacts. Despite the capabilities of the KLX250, very few armor manufacturers offer robust accessories for this steed. Due to TCI’s deep appreciation of the KLX, they’ve developed probably the most complete line of accessories, luggage and body armor for the bike today. 

Starting up top, their Adventure Touring Windscreen works wonderfully, doing a great job of keeping the chill off, even for a 6-foot plus rider. While not very sporty looking, its functionality can’t be denied. But, if you don’t plan on much sustained highway riding, or winter commuting, then the same mount can be used to install a nifty front rack over the headlight—a great place to put a video camera and tool kit.

TCI’s Skid Plate and Engine Guard combo are very solid, and can be used separately. If you plan on off-road riding, a skid plate is recommended. And, TCI’s radiator guards help ensure that you get home with coolant in the engine. The quality of construction and finish are excellent throughout the TCI product line, but we wish their installation manuals were better written. 

TCI’s Borrego rack is also very strong, and wide enough to accommodate any load you’d want to put on a 250cc. But, it requires the replacement of the OEM bolts, and also makes seat removal a bit trickier in the field (especially if you drop or lose the small spacers). To be fair, there’s not many sturdy places to attach a rack on the KLX, so it’s still making the best of a tough situation—an issue that’s common on many bikes for accessory manufacturers. 

On top of the rear rack, and mostly to accommodate commuting and photography equipment, we fitted one of the new Givi TRK33N Trekkers, and were impressed with its overall strength, style and multi-use functionality. Although adding top cases to dual-sport bikes doesn’t seem to be in style, it is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to triple the daily utility of your bike.  

For extended trips on small bikes, soft luggage makes a lot of sense, and there are a few options worth exploring—especially Wolfman’s modular systems, or Giant Loop’s Coyote tail bag. We installed a Giant Loop Diablo tank bag, which looks like it was made just for the KLX. The removable base exposes the No-Toil billet venting gas cap perfectly, and the bag itself is waterproof—large enough to hold your keys, wallet, phone, snacks and some water. Upgrading to the Fandango, for more room, is easy and uses the same base! 

Last, but definitely not least, long-range trips need more fuel than the tiny two-gallon stock fuel tank can handle. Clarke, Acerbis and IMS all offer tank options for KLX250 models, but only IMS uses the OEM plastics, requiring no modification to install. Moving from 1.9 to three gallons is a big jump in range, but also adds some extra wind protection, and makes it easier to pinch the tank with your legs during out-of-the-saddle riding.

CONCLUSION

"...we ultimately ended up loving the ability to flat foot the bike while still having enough ground clearance for trail riding."Like any project bike, not all of the bits and pieces we added will be necessary for some riders. However, we can safely say that having a modern, lightweight dual-sport bike, with a low seat height, capable of real trail riding, commuting, and some two-lane overlanding, is a largely ignored design from the factories. The ADVMoto project KLX250SF is proving to be a real crowd pleaser!

Now that we’ve made ourselves a good KLX250 for street, travel and trail riding… what’s next? Look for more power, comfort and gnarlier tires from the KLX250SF as we take this project bike a little farther down the road!

PARTS LIST

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Read: KLX250SF - Part II, Click HERE!