The Klr was not mine, I picked it up in AZ for a friend and rode it back to MD. I was going back and forth to buy one or not but faite would not let me get one. It's ok though I had a love hate relationship with the KLR and I am happy with my FZ6R.
Close calls? Holy Cow, I've been riding since 1985! I've had more close calls than I've got hair left on my head!
One thing I can relate that I've learned: If you ride like I do, the left shoulder on the highway is your friend.
Just cruising along at highway speeds and watching tail lights as far ahead as you can see. Doesn't matter. All of a sudden everybody comes to a complete stop. I've had my front tire off the left side of the bumper of the car ahead of me more times than I really care to remember.
There's been a few times I wasn't able to stop, and I've run up that left shoulder a bit. Bad stuff happens. There's debris and crap and all kind of stuff on that shoulder. It's still better than running into the back of another vehicle.
Near anyone will tell you to always have an out. That left shoulder is a good one.
Finally got the bike out the other day for my first ride of the season. Enjoying the ride and the great weather. Then of course some small SUV pulls out and decides to test my hard braking technique. Happy to say I did fine, but then OH THE IRONY!! They had a "look twice save a life" MSF bumpersticker on thier vehicle. :facepalm: