1995 Kawasaki KLX650 (dual-sport):
Based on the popular KLX650R off-road
machine, this version takes a minimalist approach to becoming street legal.
This street-going KLX utilizes the same motor as its dirt-only sibling,
yet is outfitted with a convenient electric starter and maintenance-free
battery. Goodies include a motocross-style box-section steel perimeter
frame, adjustable 43mm inverted cartridge forks, UNI-TRAK rear suspension
with adjustable preload, off-road style handguards, engine case guards
and a folding shift lever. To make everyday life bearable the KLX has a
helmet lock and a rear luggage rack. (stolen from Motorcycle ONLINE).
Description:
Price: $5399 List paid $4,775 plus all the other garbage
Engine: 4-stroke, dohc, 4-valve, single, liquid
Bore x stroke: 100 x 83mm
Displacement: 651 cc
Carburetion: (1) 40mm Keihin CVK
Transmission: 5-speed
Wheelbase: 59.4 in.
Seat height: 34.8 in.
Fuel capacity: 3.2 gallons
Claimed dry weight: 337 lb.
Intervals between valve checks: 6000 miles
Color: Sunbeam Red with wild graphics.
Front Tire: 90/90-21
Rear Tire : 130/80-17
Wheel travel, Front/Rear: 11.2/10.2 inches
Ground Clearance: 10 inches
GVWR: 791 lb.
Weight with full tank: 376 lb.
Oil capacity: 2.1 Quarts.
Electrical power: 230w
History:
Purchased the bike 9/13/95 and now have 450 miles on the bike.
Since there was no entry for the KLX650, I thought I would get a quick
start on the entry. Currently ridden on the highway and several jeep
trails. Trying to get through the 600 mile checkup so I can go from
Denver to Moab Utah for a quick 3 day weekend.
Modifications:
Have a Givi universal mount top-case plate on order ($61) Capital Cycle
Available for the KLX, not installed (yet!):
A SupperTrap EAR exhaust is available ($220)
Givi hard sided luggage mounts ($147) Capital Cycle
Center stand ($156) Capital Cycle
K&N Air filter
Opinion:
I was looking for a bike to complement my TDM850. I use
the TDM for dual-sport riding and is quite a streach. I find myself
turning around on several jeep trails because of lack of ground
clearance, or traction, or power. My dream bike would have been the
Yamaha XTZ660 dirt bike. This dirt bike is not available in the US.
The bikes I considered was the KLR650, KLX650, KLX650R, XR600,
and XR650L. I decided to go with a street legal bike out of the box. I
did not want to mess with the DOT conversion. I looked at the
XR650L, but fell in love with the KLX engine. I felt the water cooling
would help with long streaches of interstate highway. I bought the
KLX to do mostly dirt riding with some street riding. In my research,
I chatted with a guy that owned a KLR600 and a KLX650. He is very
pleased with the KLX. He believes the motor to be smoother than the
KLR. The bike is very smooth for speeds under 50 MPH. Once over
50, the single-cyl buzz is apparent in the handle bars, seat, and pegs.
The engine is very spunky during off-road riding. Great power for
pulling long hills. Seems to have good power all the way to 12,000
Feet above sea level. The off-road performance is good enough that I
might try a few enduros with it. The only thing I might worry about is
mud and tight single track trails.
I could not find many reviews of the bike in the library. Only review I could find was Cycle World (April 1993). They report the following
performance statistics:
Peak HP (dyno): 39.0 @ 6300 RPM
Peak Torque: 38.1 @ 2850 RPM
1/4 mile 14.03 @ 90 MPH
0-30 MPH 1.6 seconds
0-60 MPH 4.9 seconds
0-90 MPH 9.4 seconds
0-100 13.9 seconds
I do not know how much to trust the numbers above. They do not make sense to me. How can the 1/4 mile be 14 seconds @ 90 MPH and 0-100 times be in the 13.9 second range? Something is fishy here, but they never asked me.
Top speed: 100 MPH
Top gear time to speed:
40-60 MPH 4.1 seconds
60-80 MPH 5.8 seconds
The magazine got 27 MPG average, my first 350 miles I am averaging 56.7 MPG. Cycle World hated the rear shock, I have yet to bottom out the rear shock. I think they may have improved it some time since the 1993 KLX650 review.
I will quickly list my likes and dislikes:
LIKES:
1. Off-road engine performance, lots of grunt for high altitude hill climbs
2. Runs well at high altitude
3. Suspension great for off-road riding
4. Excellent ground clearance
5. Good availability of dual-sport tires
6. Tachometer is a nice touch (makes it easy to discuss engine problems
with mechanic intelligently)
7. Comfortable motor under 50 MPH
8. Easy access to oil filter and drain plugs.
9. Good gas mileage - 56.7 MPG average over three tanks ( 170.1 mile range)
10. Excellent after-market GIVI luggage is available for the bike.
DISLIKES:
1. Uncomfortable seat, works well for off-road, painfull on the highway.
Able to move back on the seat for highway to distribut the weight.
2. Spongy Front brake, I hope it is just air in the lines
3. Significant vibration while accelerating
4. No protection for engine side cases, working on a solution from by
adapting the case bars from a KLX650R. Will keep you posted.
5. Engine only holds 2.1 quarts of oil, I think frequent oil changes are
necessary
6. Small gas tank (3.2 Gal) (after market tanks range from 4.75 to 6 gallons)
7. Surprising amount of heat from radiator
8. Cheap plastic turn signal switch
9. OK head lamp for night riding.
10. Hard starting when warm, still trying to get the formula right.
Cautions:
No concerns other than potential problems with rear shock.
After-market shocks are available, so I don't care.
KLX650C (continued by Steven Johnson)
Update: Oct. 17, 1995
2000 miles on the bike and I added White Brothers skid plate ($74) designed for KLX650R but is easy to adapt to KLX650C by drilling a hole in the skid plate higher in front near the down tube. I purchased the Skid plate from Cycle Gear (1-800-cycle-gear) and they supplied me extra screws to help with this attachment. I added a Givi universal luggage mount for the tail rack ($61). Very easy to attach using existing bolts from the luggage rack. I needed to get two - 1/2" longer bolts from the auto parts store and Givi supplied hex bolts that work on the other two existing screws that attach the tail rack. Be careful not to have the rack over-hang the seat...otherwise you cannot remove the seat. I also extended the front fender with a UFO fender extender ($15). It was a little bit of a challange attaching it to the front fender. There is a metal bracket attached to the front fender, it helps guide the brake hose, that I had to cut around.
I took the KLX on a 910 mile weekend going from Denver to Moab and back. Lots of interstate for the poor little KLX. The engine did very well. Plenty of power to keep up with 70-75 MPH traffic. It started to loose power at higher altitudes going up to Eisenhower tunnel, but still had plenty of power to stay safely with traffic. Gas mileage took a hit on the interstate. I was averaging 44-48 MPG. The handle bars and pegs have a clear buzz to them (neither are rubber mounted), but it did not cause any excessive fatigue. I took several dirt passes getting to Moab and it was perfect for the task. I spent 11 hours on the KLX and felt pretty good at the end of the day.
In Moab, my goal was to do the 100 miles of the White Rim Trail in 4 hours, it typically takes a 4x4 12 to 14 hours. I dumped the camping gear and 45L Givi bag at the hotel and flew around the moderate jeep trail in 3.5 hours. The bike was perfect, good ground clearance, excellent suspension, and power for the wide open stretches. The rear shock did not cause any problems at all. I read that they changed the shock on the '94s so I'm no longer worried about replacing the shock soon. I rode the KLX hard on the trail and got 55 MPG over the 145 miles from Moab. I took an extra gas can, but never needed it.
I went out for a "foo-foo" with some guys that race B class enduros in Colorado. We took the KLX up over logs, through single track trails - I think there was a trail, up steep jeep trails with soft ball to football size boulders, and through 2 foot snow drifts. For me, it was death ride from hell. I was a little slower than the group, but the KLX survived. The bike felt heavy in the tight stuff. Flicking the bike around trees was not in the play book for the KLX. I found for the tight stuff, the KLX needs lower gearing. I kept stalling trying to slowly grind up a rocky hill with lots of greasy roots. I have some carb problems right now that make the starting of the bike difficult. Kawasaki has a new carb on order and I hope it will solve these problems. My gas mileage went down to about 40 MPG while doing the foo-foo ride. The enduro riders did not expect me to survive on the KLX and they were all quite impressed by the bikes capabilities.
My biggest complaint about the bike is the availability of after-market parts. It is hard to find a good hop-up kit. I think I will have to make one up with local dealers. Difficult to find a good selection of after-market exhaust. My guess is that I will end up with a Supertrap EAR exhaust for lack of good choices. Other general comments on my first 2K:
1. Touring on a KLX - I would like to change the following (in order of priority)
2. Dirt riding on a KLX - I would like to change:
All in all the bike does every I wanted it to. My average gas mileage is now 54 MPG. Touring on a KLX is possible and safe, but you need to lower your standards of comfort.
Next trick, do an enduro in the Spring!
Steven "scooter scum" Johnson
Steve_Johnson@stkamer.stortek.com
'95 KLX650 - cheaper than therapy
'92 TDM850 - Dual-sport of course
'85 KTM250MXC