KLR650 offers big bang for little bucks
This article originally appeared in The Toronto Star on October 9th 2010. Thank you to it’s author Steve Bond and The Toronto Star for providing us permission to re-post their article.
Lately, adventure touring motorcycles are like belly buttons — everybody has one.
2011 KLR 650
Suzuki has 650 and 1000 V-Stroms, BMW has GS models in various displacements, Ducati has the Multistrada, Triumph the Tiger, Honda the Varadero and Yamaha is rumoured to be bringing the Super Tenere to Canada in 2011.
These are truly “do-it-all” motorcycles that are equally at home commuting in the city, on a cross country tour, doing day trips or even exploring off the beaten path.
Kawasaki has been producing the venerable KLR650 since 1987, long before the term, “adventure touring” was coined. I owned a 1989 KLR for a couple of years and it’s one of those bikes I’ve always regretted selling.
The KLR didn’t get many changes over the first 20 years because it didn’t need any. And if you think simple is better, the $7,299 KLR’s 651 cc, liquid-cooled, DOHC single-cylinder motor is still about as simple as it gets. With more modern adventure tourers springing forth from the competition, 2008 saw the first major revisions to the KLR since its inception.
The suspension, brakes and bodywork were improved but the one-lunger still wheezes through a 40 mm carburetor (I remember my grandfather telling me about those). Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as throttle response is linear and smooth, once a brief warm-up is allowed, courtesy of a handlebar mounted choke lever.
It pulls really strong off the bottom and doesn’t run out of steam at 5,000 rpm like the old one. It sounds a bit thrashy at low rpm and is much happier if you don’t let it lug. An Ontario legal 100 km/h comes up at 4,300 rpm, a speed the KLR can do for hours and the excellent wind and weather protection makes it an efficient long-distance cruiser.
The tank shroud/radiator scoop not only protects the rider’s legs from the wind but also rain. One day, I was bushwhacked by a fast-moving thunderstorm and, despite the spray being thrown up from cars and the KLR’s front wheel, my legs remained dry. Likewise, the handguards keep the rider’s hands warm and dry.
With 200 mm of travel at the front and 185 mm on the rear, the KLR is one of the more comfortable motorcycles on the rutted cart paths that pass for streets and roads in Ontario. Even the largest divots, frost heaves and potholes can’t upset the supple, well damped suspension. The upright riding position and Everest-like 889 mm (35-inch) seat height allowed me to see over those annoying minivans and SUVs, and conversely, made it easier for them to see me.
The 90/90-21 inch front tire makes for quick steering while the Dunlop dual-purpose rubber sticks like spray paint on a downtown alleyway, allowing some amazing lean angles. Whether around town or on two-lane secondary roads, the KLR handles way better than something that looks like a giant dirt bike should.
The view from the control tower is pleasing with an analogue tach and speedo, and a temperature gauge on the right. No fuel gauge is provided as the KLR has another throwback to the Dark Ages — a fuel tap.
So what can you do on a KLR? Pretty much anything you want.
One day I met up with Wheels motorcycle racing columnist Larry Tate north of Brighton for a coffee. We headed north, trying to find as many of the twisty, 500-series highways as we could, and ended up northeast of Barry’s Bay for lunch. More twisty roads had us just outside of Eganville before we split up and headed for our respective homes.
On Hwy. 62 through Combermere, there are still a few reminders of where a tornado blew through here a few summers ago. I shudder when I remember that my oldest daughter, Heather, was staying at a cottage near here and that same tornado dropped a tree on her new car. Fortunately, it never touched the cottage.
Even though it’s late Friday afternoon, there’s virtually no traffic and it’s a pleasant ride down through Maynooth, into Bancroft and then down the 28 through Paudash where I hung a right onto 118. This is a part of our Wild Pig run and the turns are as familiar to me as the street where I live. In Tory Hill, I pick up the 503, and in the village of Gooderham, turn onto one of my all-time favourite roads, Hwy. 507 — 40 km of twisting, turning asphalt through cedar swamps, hardwood bush and granite outcroppings.
The shadows are long as I get into a comfortable rhythm swooping through the curves on the sun-dappled pavement, wishing that this black ribbon of pavement would carry me right to my front door.
There’s still over an hour to home but I’m not in a hurry — it’s a gorgeous afternoon and I know some good back roads. At Flynn’s Corners, I pick up the 36 into Bobcaygeon, then the Pigeon Lake bypass all the way to Lindsay, then Hwy. 35 down to Regional Rd. 20, through the twisty bits past Mosport and then westward to home. Not a bad day in the office — almost 740 km door to door and I couldn’t have picked a better traveling companion.
The big single-cylinder thumped away all day, averaging 4.5L/100 km under a variety of conditions including keeping up with banzai 401 traffic. That’s 62 miles per gallon, boys and girls and I wasn’t exactly in econo mode during the ride. Expect well over 450 km on each 23 litre tank between fills.
The seat was all-day comfortable, although I did have bicycle shorts caressing my delicate nether regions and, even after a long day, my buns were still relatively fresh.
It’s not perfect. Kawasaki doesn’t offer a centrestand (which I consider almost a necessity for touring as it makes lubing and adjusting the chain so much simpler); the instrument cluster could be more modern — a fuel gauge and a clock would be nice; and some day I imagine you’ll see a KLR with fuel injection.
But centrestands are available from the aftermarket and Kawasaki has a catalogue full of goodies such as taller screens and a variety of hard and soft luggage.
As delivered, the KLR650 is a simple, solid motorcycle with all the comfort and versatility of the other adventure tourers at a price that’s thousands less.
2010 Kawasaki KLR650
PRICE: $7,299
ENGINE: 651cc, single cylinder, DOHC, 4-valve, liquid cooled
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 4.5L/100km 62 miles per Imperial gallon
POWER: 44 hp, 38 lb.-ft.
COMPETITION: BMW 650 & 800GS, Suzuki 650 V Strom
WHAT’S BEST: Does it all and does it well
WHAT’S WORST: Dated instruments, what’s a carburetor?
WHAT’S INTERESTING: No major changes since 1987
