KLR650 re-announced

[GreatDistances]

It’s Back! All-New Kawasaki KLR 650 Is Unveiled - ADV Pulse

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After much speculation and rumors, Kawasaki has announced today the return of the faithful KLR 650 to its lineup. The legendary dual-sport bike is...

Here’s what team green announced (or rather, re-announced) today.  What do you think - will it be a competitive offering in this market segment?

[MikeCMP]

55 minutes ago, GreatDistances said:

It’s Back! All-New Kawasaki KLR 650 Is Unveiled - ADV Pulse

---

After much speculation and rumors, Kawasaki has announced today the return of the faithful KLR 650 to its lineup. The legendary dual-sport bike is...

Here’s what team green announced (or rather, re-announced) today.  What do you think - will it be a competitive offering in this market segment?

Yeah I think it's a good call., the price is right for sure, you can get one with side cases for under 8K US. If its anything like the model it replaces I expect we'll see a lot of them. It's 456 lbs for the base, 471 with the adventure stuff so not too heavy either.

 

Mike

[Eric W.]

It just seemed a long wait for basically a refreshed KLR, no?  While I won't downplay the utility of the bike and its loyal following, I do wonder about the business decision to stick with this model.  Maybe that's the appeal, nothing really compares to it.  But hey, what do I know?  Full disclaimer - I'm not a fan of thumpers for paved riding.  

[EastFlorida]

I was waiting to see what Kawasaki would bring out.  I'm completely ready for the T7 as I plan to offroad mine enough to appreciate the difference.

[TimmyTheHog]

it is honestly a major disappointment...

 

I mean they had HOW MANY YEARS to improve on this guy...

 

but noooooo....they kept almost everything the same with a huge heavy Pig thumper & almost no technological advancement beside the FI & ABS (to name a few).

[MikeCMP]

actually i thought the weigh wasn't bad then i remembered its a few pounds heavier than the T700 and the t7 is a Parallel twin. 

 

37 HP is not a lot with that much weight. so yeah I'm happy with my T7

 

Mike

 

[Landshark]

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Kawasaki could have built this bike and had it ready for the market before the 2018 was discontinued.  I wanted to upgrade from my 2013 KLR and finally did with the T7.  I don't even have the bike yet and I'm happy I bought one instead of the same old KLR with a few upgrades.  Maybe they will build another model with a 2 cylinder engine and some real HP so that this offering makes more sense.  

 

[Matth]

Kin ell, 220 kgs for a single pot. Heavy and low power , set up for failure.

they could have got it so right !

[rumrum]

The new model looks way better than the old gen 2. I'm sure they will sell plenty however I have moved on from mine with no regrets the 700 is just soo much better in every way.

[Idarex]

The only thing they got wrong is the weight

[Ace402]

Having this refreshed KLR is better than not having it. However they could have made it so much better.

[Eric W.]

Can't say I disagree with anything posted, although by extension that logic would imply there is no reason to buy a new KLR when one can buy a used one at a lower price without giving up a lot of function.  I'm guilty of buying on slightly more emotion than pragmatism.  If I had the money I would be back on my fav big GS and certainly the increase in price over the T7 doesn't (2X) justify it.  Also, I will refrain from even debating the rest of the arguments because I am definitely not an expert on true dual sports.   I've never owned one and don't have the desire or skills necessary to make the most of the bikes.  Ultimately buy what makes you smile  

[Louis]

Bit of a disappointment for me, underpowered and bit heavy. But it is competing in the entry level market, so I am sure it has the budget conscious' attention. I think Suzuki will probably head down this path also. Aprilia has  a more interesting bike on the horizon! Certainly more interesting than the kwacker.