eNewsletter | Contact  

A KLR650 for the next 21 years

By James Holter, photos by Kevin Wing

Take a '07 KLR650.

Now, take 150 bucks out of your bike fund.

Your goal: Add larger forks, two-piston brake calipers (front and rear), a modern instrument cluster, a better seat, a more aggressive cam, a larger luggage rack, an aluminum swingarm, a 17-amp (instead of 14.5) alternator, lighter radiators with better cooling properties, get the head ported for better low-end power, and have enough change left over to make more than 40 other updates, not to mention bringing the style of the bike into the 21st century.

Don't think you could do it? No problem. Kawasaki just has.

With only a $150 increase in the MSRP – the '08 KLR650 will set you back $5,349 – the guys in green have fixed many of the nagging problems that KLR owners have reported for years. They also addressed some aspects of the bike that were understandably showing their age after a 21-year product run.

But they didn't go nuts. Kawasaki has a good thing going with the KLR, its fourth-best-selling motorcycle. And with adventure-touring growing in popularity, the company considers the KLR one of the more important models in its lineup right now. So, the character of the bike is unchanged. It's just more refined where you need it and more aggressive where you want it.

I got a chance to see the results of all those refinements at the model launch for the '08 KLR650 in the twisty paved and gravel roads in the hills of Monterey, San Benito and Fresno counties in Central California. With 420 miles of curves, dirt, asphalt and just enough freeway to get from one great road to another, it was the perfect location to get a feel for the versatility of the multi-talented KLR650.

And thanks to a flat tire that I got when I failed to steer around a screw sitting in the middle of a dirt road, not to mention the generosity of Kawasaki's Greg Lasiewski, who let me ride his '07 KLR while he waited for the chase truck, I got a chance to compare the new KLR with the old one back to back.

The first improvement I noticed? OK, other than the additional comfort offered by the new seat on the '08, that would be the improved braking performance. While I could ride the new bike confidently with just one finger poised on the front brake lever, the older brake demanded a considerably firmer squeeze and at least two fingers ready for action in pretty much all situations.

The extra stoppage power comes from the new two-piston caliper and a 280mm petal-style brake rotor up front, 20mm larger than before. Another two-piston caliper in the back also makes a significant difference.

Motor-wise, the new setup isn't radically different from the old model, but the changes add up enough to be noticeable. The '08 pulls a bit harder through the entire rev range and punishes you less with vibration as you inch toward the redline.

Lending to the better performance are different cam timing, a throttle position sensor and new intake porting.

A fully transistorized ignition also replaces the analog CDI used before. The more modern unit more precisely controls timing across the rpm range, and, as is usually the case, fewer moving parts means more reliability.

Everything is kept cool by new Denso radiators that are thinner and lighter than before. Kawasaki claims a 20 percent increase in cooling efficiency.

The same five-speed transmission gets the power to the rear wheel, and it provides plenty of gearing for everything from tight fire roads to cruising at highway speeds.

And when I rode anything in between, such as the wonderful one-and-a-half-lane twisty roads where we spent most of our time, I discovered one more feature on the '08 that would need added to that '07 to bring it up to spec: feelers for the foot pegs.

With the high seating position and mucho leverage offered by the dirt-style handlebars, the KLR carves through corners with minimal input. Thankfully, the dual-sport tires offer a surprising amount of grip. A couple times on day one, but several on the second day of my ride, I had built up enough trust in the tires to drag feeler to asphalt on a regular basis. More important, I never had any regrets for doing so.

A lot of the cornering prowess comes from a tighter feel in the front end. Not only does the new model have a beefier fork – a 41mm this year vs. 38mm before – but thicker spokes that also reduce flex.

The rare times I had the time to take my eyes off the road, I was happy with the high-visibility gauge cluster. The instrumentation is a huge improvement over the '07 in look and readability. It includes a large speedometer, tachometer, odometer, trip meter and a water temperature gauge.

As far as style, the new fairing provides a modern, aggressive appearance. While the look does deviate from the old KLR's off-road heritage, don't be fooled. The new KLR isn't just a better bike for the street. It's also a better bike for the dirt. While it might no longer share styling cues with your old enduro mount from 1986, that doesn't mean it isn't a better package for gravel roads and two-track compared to the old KLR.

The same advice applies to the suspension. Glancing over the spec sheets for the '07 and '08 models, you'll notice that the bike lost just over an inch of travel up front and less than that for the rear. But suspension is about set-up, not just raw numbers; otherwise, James Stewart's KX450F would have two-and-a-half feet of travel at both ends.

Don't worry, dirt riders. The bike didn't lose any off-road prowess when the engineers sliced off a bit of travel.

And thanks to refinements elsewhere – redesigned linkage in the rear and thicker forks up front – the new suspension is flat out better, both for soaking up the bigger hits and for keeping the wheels planted as you carve through a loose corner.

As a bonus, previous KLR owners will also be happy to know that the new fork also eliminates the front-end dive that plagued the older model.

If I had any gripe about the 2008 model vs. the 2007, it was that the fairing did create a slightly wider position at the knees when I was seated. That's getting pretty picky, though. Not only did the additional wind protection make it worth it, but it became a moot point whenever I stood up through the rougher off-pavement sections.

No question, the new bike definitely stops better, pulls stronger, corners with more confidence and feels way more comfortable while doing it.

And that goes for both the dirt and the pavement.

The KLR650 was already a lot of usability for the price. With the changes made to the new model, and only a $150 increase in MSRP, it's now even more.

2008 Kawasaki KLR650
Engine	Liquid-cooled, four-stroke, DOHC, four-valve single
Displacement	651cc
Bore x stroke	100mm x 83mm
Compression ratio	9.8:1
Carburetion	Keihin CVK40
Transmission	Five-speed
Final drive	O-ring chain
Frame	Semi-double cradle, high-tensile steel
Rake	28 degrees
Front suspension	41mm telescopic fork, 7.9 inches of travel
Rear suspension	UNI-TRAK single-shock system with five-way preload and stepless rebound damping, 7.3 inches of travel
Front tire	90/90-21
Rear tire	130/80-17
Front brake	280mm petal disc with hydraulic dual-piston caliper
Rear brake	240mm petal disc with hydraulic dual-piston caliper
Overall length	90.3 inches
Overall width	37.8 inches
Overall height	53.1 inches
Seat height	35 inches
Wheelbase	58.3 inches
Ground clearance	8.3 inches
Fuel capacity	6.1 gallons
Dry weight	386 pounds
MSRP	$5,349
Candy Lime Green Sunbeam Red Blue 21