Why the New Kawasaki KLE500 Isn’t the Adventure Bike You Think It Is

It’s the latest bike to join the inferno that is the small-capacity adventure market, but a quick Google shows the new Kawasaki KLE500 is badly misunderstood.

Kawasaki’s freshly unveiled KLE500 has the internet buzzing — though not all the noise is positive. Sure, it’s great to see the Japanese brand finally revive a nameplate with serious potential (long overdue in my books), but the spec sheet has left plenty of riders scratching their heads. With confusion over who this bike is actually aimed at, it’s clear to me that the new KLE500 isn’t quite what the internet commentators think it is.

Let's break down the specification of the KLE500 to work out who Kawasaki is targeting with this new machine and why it isn't the experienced ADV rider searching for their unicorn.

ENGINE

Like history repeating, the new KLE500 uses Kawasaki's Ninja 500 parallel-twin engine just like the original version in the 1990s did.

This engine is known as pretty sound, with a 360-degree firing order instead of the now more commonly used 270-degree found on bikes such as the Tenere 700 and CFMOTO 450MT.

Kawasaki hasn't revealed power figures, with only a steep graph showing power vs torque for us to go by in terms of what the engine might feel like. Having not ridden a Kawasaki twin since the Ninja 400, I can’t speak for how the KLE500 will feel, but I’m banking that it will be unique in a segment dominated by bikes pretending to deliver the V-twin experience from a parallel twin engine.

GROUND CLEARANCE

According to the official spec sheet released by Kawasaki, the new KLE500 has a ground clearance of 175mm or 17.5cm. That is pretty low in terms of breakover angle and could see the KLE500 getting hung up on more challenging terrain, which points to it being set as a more beginner-friendly machine rather than an all-out trail warrior.

SUSPENSION

That's reinforced when you look at the suspension. Sure, it has 210mm of travel, but even in Kawasaki's promotional footage and b-roll it looks like it is more softly damped and not rock hard and ready to leap across ditches. There is also no mention of adjustability beyond the standard expectation of preload adjustment on the rear shock - not what you'd equip a high-performance machine with out of the box, but it does give the aftermarket room to help improve the bike. Suspension shops need to be kept in business after all.

From looking at the chassis specs, the KLE500 looks like it will be a solid gravel and dirt road bike, but tight single track might be pushing its design limits.

WHERE HAVE THEY PUT THE EFFORT IN?

Instead of putting effort into performance, Kawsaki has focused its efforts instead on making the new KLE as user-friendly as possible on a budget. Effort has been put into ensuring the KLE500 has a comfortable seat (something the KLE300 certainly didn't have in my books), customisable ergonomics to suit a wide array of rider sizes, and a trellis frame offering a sturdy platform for luggage.

The windscreen is adjustable with three positions, the aluminium fat style handlebar is wide and designed for reduced vibration, and the 860mm high seat features a unique hollow construction to make munching miles a lot more comfortable. In a first for Kawasaki, the footpeg rubbers can even be removed without tools, while four unique seating setups can be achieved with the different optional high/low seats.

THE UNKNOWNS

In Kawasaki's official release to the media, there were two big factors missing, which I suspect Team Green is yet to finalise. That being the all-important wet weight figure that adventure riders obsess over, and perhaps more importantly, the recommended retail pricing of the KLE500.

This bike is joining perhaps the most competitive segment in all of motorcycling currently, with the CFMOTO 450MT having a huge sales lead over its closest competitors, such as the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450, Honda NX500, KTM's new 390 Adventure and the new Moto Morini AllTrHike 450. Kawasaki has to be competitive not only on spec with these machines, but also on affordability and appeal. It has to offer something these machines don't, and what that is is a Japanese offering with a 21-inch front wheel. That is where the big appeal for the KLE will be as Japanese brands are, whether rightly or wrongly, assumed to be of better quality than bikes made elsewhere. That is the selling point of the KLE, not its overall specification.

Conclusion

Kawasaki is NOT targeting the new KLE500 at experienced adventure riders and hardcore off-roaders, and it is far from the unicorn ADV. As much as we'd like to think it, the market cannot sustain a bike targeted to be the very best in that class.

Sure, any manufacturer could produce a bike that meets the internet's expectations for what a unicorn ADV should be, but they don't - why? Because it doesn't make financial sense to do so for multiple reasons.

Firstly, using the KLE500 as an example, if Kawasaki produced the most off-road capable and lightweight small capacity twin cylinder adventure bike, the price would likely be astronomical and out of reach of many. Engineering a lightweight bike with good power and excellent suspension costs money, which the

Mass market appeal will always win out over niche products when it comes to sales success.