The new 2022 Kawasaki KLR650 has been announced. And believe it or not, there
actually have been a pile of changes. We have long been critical of the Japanese brands for doing so
little to innovate their off road range, and suspected the accountants were in control.
But tighter emission laws are forcing manufacturers to adopt fuel injection.
And tighter safety laws are also requiring ABS in many countries. So
Kawasaki finally adopted both, and a pile of other tweaks too. Check out the list. Does it
really make for a better bike though? Some will think so, others won't.
We'll start with the negatives, and finish with the positives. Unfortunately, the KLR650
got heavier. Many hoped the updated model might lose weight and get closer to its competitors in
the budget 650 market, the DR650 and XR650L. No such luck. It's now actually heavier than KTM's
twin cylinder 790. Obviously weight doesn't matter to some riders, if it does you'll be disappointed.
The KLR650's biggest known issue? The doohickey! It's a fairly easy fix but over the years plenty
of KLR650s have self destructed, often at low hours, because Kawasaki refused to fix it.
Has this ridiculous design flaw finally been fixed for 2022? Time will tell. Kawasaki claim
the cam chain guide is now stronger, made from new materials, and with a new shape.
NOTE! 2022 Doohickey not fixed. 😢 See this vid https://youtu.be/2QyND9Lu71o
What about suspension? Kawasaki claim it's been updated and it's now stiffer,
but it would need to be with that extra weight. Sadly there's no indication the very old rod
style forks have changed over to cartridge forks, so we suspect not much will have changed there.
Fuel injection. Already there are online complaints about this from guys who prefer
old school stuff like carbs. But the reality is emission laws are rapidly
phasing out carbs around the world. Fuel injection is pretty bullet proof nowadays,
the KLR will probably be more economical, and Kawasaki is claiming more midrange power with this
and revised cam profiles. Kawasaki say they've improved
the gearbox with changes to improve shifting but it's still a plain old five speed gearbox.
The Japanese really have trouble counting past five when it comes to bikes bigger than 250cc.
Before we look at the positive changes, we got to Kawasaki's press conference.
Okay, lets look at some changes that should be positive.
The front brake has always been a bit mushy, a larger front disc will probably help.
A longer swingarm from more high speed stability apparently. The KLR always felt
stable to me but it can't hurt. We also have variations now. The
base model. One with ABS. The the adventure and traveler models. Nice.
There are lots of other little changes too but we'll need to get a
ride on the new bike to see if they really make a difference or not.
Some very good news, there doesn't seem to be a big price hike. If we sound disappointed
with the bike, it's only because we hoped it would actually get lighter, in a time
where all adventure bikes just keep getting more obese. Compared to the other budget 650 models,
we think the KLR650 has just moved slightly to the right on this chart due to its increased weight.
And as always it will do a great job for cruising the highway and easy dirt roads.
Meanwhile lets see if Honda and Suzuki can transform their bikes when they are forced
to update them. Or we can dream about Honda resurrecting the mighty
XR650R as an adventure bike. How sweet would that be?
What do you guys think of the new KLR650? Keen to hear your thoughts!