2018 KLR650 catalog image
Last month, Kawasaki announced that their KLR650, shown above in a picture from kawasaki.com, would not be offered for the 2019 model year. The KLR650 was introduced for the 1987 model year, and lasted almost unchanged, with just one refresh, for over 30 years on the US market.
2015 KLR650 with aftermarket luggage and custom paint
The KLR650 has been an icon of motorcycling almost from the very beginning, as a favorite of round-the-world travelers, wannabe round the world travelers, thrifty commuters, and even the US military. It’s also a bike I considered buying several times, but never did, though a few friends owned them.
1970’s Kawasaki Bighorn in classic Kawasaki green
Like it’s competitors Yamaha and Suzuki, but unlike Honda, Kawasaki focussed on 2 stroke powered bikes until the 1970’s. As with Yamaha, there were a few 4 stroke Kawasaki street bikes, but Kawasaki’s single cylinder off road, and dual-purpose on/off road bikes were all 2 strokes, culminating in the 350cc F9 Bighorn shown above. The Bighorn used a rotary valve engine, unlike conventional piston port 2 strokes, and was considered the most powerful and quickest bike in its class. But the writing was on the wall for the 2 stroke street bike. Emissions controls, poor fuel economy, and market competition from Honda, led to the demise of the Bighorn in 1975.
1981 KL250 catalog shot
In 1978 Kawasaki launched their first 4 stroke dual purpose bike, the modestly spec’ed and powered KL250, with an air-cooled single cylinder SOHC engine. I did own one of these, though I didn’t even include it in my Motorcycles of a Lifetime post a few months ago. My KL250 was slow, vibrated, ran poorly, and was quickly replaced by a new Honda XL600R. The displacement of that Honda was typical of the growth of “big” on/off road singles from 350, to 400, to 500, and finally by the early ’80’s, to 600 cc.
1984 KLR600 catalog shot
In 1984, Kawasaki leapfrogged past the other three Japanese manufacturers, and not only updated the 250 and added a 600, but both of these new dual purpose bikes had water-cooled engines. The new Kawasakis also joined their competitors by switching to disk front brakes, and single spring/shock rear suspension … or, in Kawasaki-speak, “uni-trak” (yes, lower case).
Two first-gen KLR650’s, with OEM graphics
The KLR600 was not popular initially. It was heavier than its air-cooled competitors, and the market was concerned about the reliability and durability of water-cooling for off road use. That all changed, perhaps slowly at first, with the 1987 launch of the KLR650. With a little more displacement and a little more power than its predecessor, and a rear disk brake, the 650 featured a unique-in-its-class frame mounted fairing and a huge fuel tank, offering an interesting alternative to the expensive BMW R100GS Dakar for long distance off pavement travel. Even the bright colors and garish graphics resembled some versions of the big German twin.
1999 KLR650
And well, that was about it for 15 years. Every year, Kawasaki offered “bold new graphics”, following trends from bright neons to earth tone greens, and a muted shade of blue, albeit still usually with garish graphics.
Military KLR650 (photo courtesy of NY Times)
Another more muted (visually) variant probably wasn’t so muted audibly, though I’ve never actually seen or heard one. The US military worked with a California-based company to develop a diesel version, which would run on the common JP8 fuel, and reputedly got up to 100 mpg (US).
Yet another shade of blue – not sure what year this is
But even with the standard gasoline engine, the KLR650 had good fuel economy. Coupled with the large 6.1 US gallon fuel tank providing extended range, a more comfortable seat than the barely-padded logs of most dual purpose bikes, and a decent wind protection from its fairing, the KLR became popular as a low cost touring bike. Especially after the advent of Internet forums, KLR riders quickly gained a reputation as being thrifty travelers. In particular, it became a cliche that KLR owners would rather use a plastic milk crate found by the side of the road, than buy expensive luggage (several pictures here notwithstanding).
The refreshed ’08-’18 KLR with OEM camo graphics – a homage to the military KLR?
So as I mentioned above, not much changed for 15 years. But in 2008, Kawasaki made some minor changes to the suspension and brakes, and restyled the seat, tank, and bodywork. Those changes are comparable to the various restylings the Jeep Cherokee XJ had over its “short” 19 year lifespan. But the KLR never got a powertrain update as significant as the XJ’s bump from the GM 2.8 V6 to the classic 4.0 inline six. The revised KLR650 soldiered on unchanged from ’08 through 2018, with just bold new graphics every few years. A total of 32 model years as a 650, with another 3 for the 600. Not only was the tooling paid off, I suspect it was starting to wear out. In the modern automotive world, only the Lada Niva beat the KLR’s lifespan. Meanwhile, the motorcycle community is eulogizing the KLR650, and wondering what … if anything … will replace it. Yamaha left this market in the US decades ago, and Honda and Suzuki are still selling 650 dual purpose first launched in 1993 and 1996 respectively. Will Kawasaki offer something new and exciting, or follow Yamaha?
(All pictures from the Internet)
I had a KLR in that bluish-greenish dark teal shade and overall I’d have to say it was my favorite bike of the four I’ve owned and the only one I’d buy again with no reservations whatsoever. From snow and dirt covered roads around the Grand Canyon to crossing the SF-Oakland Bay Bridge during the morning commute, it was equally adept with only me, the rider, holding it back from its true potential. Never an issue, always ready to go, what a great bike!
Funny you mentioned the Cherokee, I too used that as a simile when I wrote my COAL on it a few years ago. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-kawasaki-klr650-is-this-the-jeep-cherokee-of-the-motorcycle-world/
I wholeheartedly agree Jim, in hindsight my ’99 was all around the best and most fun bike I’ve ever owned. Its only fault was a total lack of sporty/sexy appeal. I only took mine on one overnight camping trip with some gravel road riding (including through an old train tunnel with over a foot of water in it), but it was enough to demonstrate the versatility, comfort and confidence inspiring nature of the bike. An almost 300 mile range didn’t hurt either. On a really twisty road, I could really zip through, the wide flat bars and knobby tires that would begin to “walk” at the limit allowed me to confidently take it to the limit of adhesion/lean and really surprise some buddies on much more powerful street bikes. Wheelies were fun to pop too.
You guys obviously weren’t meant to be true KLR owners – no milkcrates! Somehow I missed your COAL/MOAL on the KLR earlier this year Jim. I do think that big bore thumper dual sports are the best bikes around, at least for versatility, economy and safety. As gtemnykh says you can ride them fast at the limit and feel more comfortable than on a supersport bike – at least I do.
I’m glad to see a well designed model in production for so long . Annual changes for the sake of change are depressing, especially if the model is made cheaper or worse.
The only Japanese bike with a longer lifespan (that I can think of) is the little Honda XR 200. The 200R model was made virtually unchanged from ’81 through 2015. Its twin-shock predecessor goes back to 1979. It’s still in production (in slightly modified form) as the CLX 200.
The engine and transmission date back to 1971, as a 125. It was bored to 185cc in ’78 then as a 200 in 1980.
I have an ’87, that still rides and drives like new.
Are you in the US? I don’t think the 200 lasted that long here, and the R version went from 2 valve to 4 valve and back, with other changes, more significant than the KLR. I had an ‘84 200R and it broke the cam chain and ate all the valves and piston crown when it was still quite new.
I tried KLRs a couple of times, a Suzuki DR 650 once, still have my ’07 DR! Instead of being a D-P bike, mine was made into a “semi-moto” with $1300 worth of wheels and tires + labor and a few other goodies. It is very capable of “carving” curves now…:):)
Also stone age axe reliable!! No little inherent “oopz” as most of the KLR years had with their doo-hickeys. DFO
I have an ‘06 DR650. Mine might also be called semi-moto, as I have a 19” front wheel and find that gives excellent on-road handling and better stability than the 21” front setup. But still dirt-worthy enough. Though it does have its own “oops”, perhaps not as bad as the KLR doohickey, but neutral sending unit screws, squawky starters, counteshaft seals etc are known (though easy to fix) issues.
Great overview of the KLRs! I’m the proud owner of a ’91 KLR 250, and although it’s not a very good off road bike, it’s ideal for local pavement riding and running errands. I added a rear rack to mount my milk crate ‘top box’ and hand guards to help keep my hands warmer. I’ve had it two years now and clocked about 6,000 miles, but not exactly trouble free. It now has just over 12,000. It burns a fair amount of oil but I get a consistent 65 mpg. I had the countershaft oil seal fail during a ride and was lucky I didn’t trash the motor- it puked all but about 1/2 quart of oil in a ten mile ride. I had to remove the engine and split the cases to replace that seal- not a job for the mechanically challenged! The cooling system is adequate but it’s important to bleed it properly. The cam mounted compression release (to ease kick starting) got real noisy (loose pivots) so I hack sawed it off. As far as performance goes, it’s somewhat underwhelming but can do 85mph (indicated) and has decent acceleration if I keep the revs up over 6K. It redlines just over 9K, and has two counterbalance shafts so it runs real smooth. I plan on keeping it forever as long as I can source replacement parts. The US military had a large fleet of these as well as the 650. Overall, it’s a very impressive bike and has a devoted following.
I owned a 84 KLR when they first came out it was blue and white. The carb was jetted way too lean. With some changes it was really fast. Better as a canyon desert machine than in mud, it was quite good on the road. Got married KLR went bye- bye.
I bought a new KLR650 in 2001. I put Kenda street tires on it when the oem’s wore out & ittotally changed the on-road feel of the bike. I have over 40,000 miles on it & other than tires, chains & sprokets & oil changes, I have done nothing to it & it.stone reliable. I still have the original spark plug in it even!!!
Kawasaki squeezed a lot of years out of several models. The Concours touring bike went 20 years from 86 to 2006. I never rode a KLR but now that I live in a desert full of trails it’s on the short list of things to buy.