2026 KLE500

[Davey B]

Manufacturers are an odd bunch. They can tell me to a decimal point, just how heavy the frame is....but can't tell me to the KG what the dry or wet weight of the thing is (which in itself...is shite....settle amongst yourselves whether you're gonna use wet or dry weight)
It really is shite

 

[Colin1958]

17" rear wheel with 21" front seems an odd choice.

I think it's to keep the seat height down to a reasonable level

 

[HaloRazor6]

Looks better than i was expecting, kinda T7 with AT headlight. It needs the headers changed to straightdown pipes and a high swept silencer.

 

[Arsey]

Looks better than i was expecting, kinda T7 with AT headlight. It needs the headers changed to straightdown pipes and a high swept silencer.

Think they’ve kept the exhaust low ish for those that want to carry luggage .

 

[longdog]

17" rear wheel with 21" front seems an odd choice.

Yes, I agree, it does appear to be a little odd. Apart from that, it just looks a little….. Meh! I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that, but it does nothing for me in the looks department.

 

[HaloRazor6]

Fair enough, but it would look better with a high pipe. They're showing the "SE version" so maybe they'll be another version.

 

[Blue]

Not the 500 But if Adam Riemann says its a great bike it is a great bike.

Dont think the 650 is sold in the UK due to emissions.

 

[ATT]

Manufacturers are an odd bunch. They can tell me to a decimal point, just how heavy the frame is....but can't tell me to the KG what the dry or wet weight of the thing is (which in itself...is shite....settle amongst yourselves whether you're gonna use wet or dry weight)
It really is shite

Spot on, especially when it concerns a bike that you shall be picking up at some point.

 

[ZED 1000]

Did I hear correctly peak power at 10,000 rpm.

 

[Clifton]

SE has the TFT and bash plate

Over here the SE adds TFT, a larger bash plate, stronger hand guards, taller adjustable screen, LED indicators (instead of incandescent), nicer paint, and $900 ($7500 vs $6,600 base model)

Personally if I were choosing one I'd probably go with an SE, white w/green frame, mostly because I dislike the base model's flat black paint but the fancy display is kind of cool.

It appears Kawasaki did a nice job with this little adventure bike, I love looks and low silencer and they have priced it competitively, the SE model is only $100 more than Honda's NX500.

It appears to have tube-type wheels which would keep me from buying one, if at least the rear were tubeless I might consider though. Other concerns are how peaky is the engine and did Kaw widen the gear ratios for this adventure application or leave them close as they are in the Ninja 500? An adventure bike with a CR box just never feels quite right for me, either first is too tall or 6th is too short.

Looking forward to an in-depth ride review.

 

[Arsey]

Over here the SE adds TFT, a larger bash plate, stronger hand guards, taller adjustable screen, LED indicators (instead of incandescent), nicer paint, and $900 ($7500 vs $6,600 base model)

Personally if I were choosing one I'd probably go with an SE, white w/green frame, mostly because I dislike the base model's flat black paint but the fancy display is kind of cool.

It appears Kawasaki did a nice job with this little adventure bike, I love looks and low silencer and they have priced it competitively, the SE model is only $100 more than Honda's NX500.

It appears to have tube-type wheels which would keep me from buying one, if at least the rear were tubeless I might consider though. Other concerns are how peaky is the engine and did Kaw widen the gear ratios for this adventure application or leave them close as they are in the Ninja 500? An adventure bike with a CR box just never feels quite right for me, either first is too tall or 6th is too short.

Looking forward to an in-depth ride review.

Same as here. I couldn’t remember the other extras.
Tubes tyres wouldn’t stop me as had many bikes with tubes . Never been an issue .

 

[dommiek]

Watched a few reviews on youtube, one suggests it weighs just under 200kg which is too heavy. Can someone confirm the weight?
Otherwise it looks great....I'm interested.
I always liked the original although never rode or owned one.

 

[Clifton]

Tubes tyres wouldn’t stop me as had many bikes with tubes . Never been an issue .

I'm glad you've never had an issue because I've had my fair share of punctures over the years, so other than local riding I now want to carry along the stuff to deal with one. For tubeless it's not much only a mini compressor and plug kit and you can fix a puncture in maybe 20 minutes.

If it has tube type wheels add two inner tubes (which are fairly bulky), tyre irons, plus tools for removing caliper, the large rear nut and axle, which are pretty heavy, so that's a lot more to lug around. Definitely want a centre stand as well and I would plan on at least 1 1/2 hours. Much longer and more difficult in the case of a Moto Guzzi or Harley in fact I'd probably not even bother trying to do a rear on one of those, just hope there's cell signal and call a tilt bed truck.

After my last inner tube flat, which was on an Africa Twin, I made the decision I'm not buying another street bike that needs inner tubes.

Watched a few reviews on youtube, one suggests it weighs just under 200kg which is too heavy. Can someone confirm the weight?
Otherwise it looks great....I'm interested.
I always liked the original although never rode or owned one.

Many have commented that the fact Kawasaki didn't reveal the weight says a lot. Wouldn't surprise me if it approached 200kg. But that's still quite manageable for an adventure bike, my CB500X weighs that and it feels way lighter than my Stelvio. Heck by the time people add crash bars, luggage rack, top box and contents, panniers and contents, it'll be 225kg or more.

 

[boatman]

17" rear wheel with 21" front seems an odd choice.

Same as my VStrom 800 DE ,,, it seems to work ok

 

[boatman]

I'm glad you've never had an issue because I've had my fair share of punctures over the years, so other than local riding I now want to carry along the stuff to deal with one. For tubeless it's not much only a mini compressor and plug kit and you can fix a puncture in maybe 20 minutes.

If it has tube type wheels add two inner tubes (which are fairly bulky), tyre irons, plus tools for removing caliper, the large rear nut and axle, which are pretty heavy, so that's a lot more to lug around. Definitely want a centre stand as well and I would plan on at least 1 1/2 hours. Much longer and more difficult in the case of a Moto Guzzi or Harley in fact I'd probably not even bother trying to do a rear on one of those, just hope there's cell signal and call a tilt bed truck.

After my last inner tube flat, which was on an Africa Twin, I made the decision I'm not buying another street bike that needs inner tubes.



Many have commented that the fact Kawasaki didn't reveal the weight says a lot. Wouldn't surprise me if it approached 200kg. But that's still quite manageable for an adventure bike, my CB500X weighs that and it feels way lighter than my Stelvio. Heck by the time people add crash bars, luggage rack, top box and contents, panniers and contents, it'll be 225kg or more.

Tubes are ok up to a certain size ,,,, then it’s a real pain to do !
First thing I did when I bought a new Suzuki V Strom 800 DE this year was to make the rims airtight and fit Tubeless tyres

 

[Clifton]

Yes larger bikes and those that are more involved to remove wheels are worse than say a dirt bike.

Yes if I had a 800 DE, Transalp, KLE, etc, I'd try to seal at least the rear wheel. Glad you got your wheels sealed, many do so successfully but I've heard of many failures initially or after some time so I decided that I don't want to mess with that and now just choose (new) street bikes that come with tubeless. Thankfully most now do.

I recall after experiencing the sudden loss of air in the Africa Twin's front on a 30 mph street in town thinking "what if this had happened in the middle of 6 lanes (or while in the left fast lane with wall to the left) of congested beltway traffic running 75 mph?

 

[cookie]

Same as my VStrom 800 DE ,,, it seems to work ok

Very limiting for tyre choice if you want something off road-y.

 

[MILLE_RIDER]

Over here the SE adds TFT, a larger bash plate, stronger hand guards, taller adjustable screen, LED indicators (instead of incandescent), nicer paint, and $900 ($7500 vs $6,600 base model)

Plus whatever the applicable tariff %age is that day?

 

[dommiek]

Why are so many on here obsessed with having tubed tyres?

I've had two punctures in 11 years, one tubed on my CRF that I fixed whilst in Morocco, the other was in the Holloway Road N19 on a tubeless tyre. The tubeless tyre had a nail going into it, at an angle in the tyre sidewall. I had all the kit to fix a flat but it didn't hold the air, needless to say I was recovered by the RAC then spent the next day hunting around for a new tyre. Had I been on my CRF I would have fixed it at the side of the road and continued on my journey as I did in Maroc.

One reason Adventure/dual sport bikes run a tubed setup is so the rider can drop the tyre pressures to get more grip and traction off road.
Sure, you can drop the pressures on a Tubeless Adv bike but if hit a rock or square edge hard then you run the risk of denting your rim and loosing the air seal. Then you are stuffed because no repair kit will fix that and you'll be searching for an inner tube anyway and a new rim.

 

[Clifton]

I can't speak for others but I gave why I don't want wheels requiring inner tubes on a modern street or adventure bike. Or my car or truck for that matter. It's because I very seldom ride off road and even when I do it's generally something like over a path to a remote camp site not racing over logs or up steep rutted goat paths. So for riding on roads, everything from dirt, gravel, to broken pavement, to high speed highway, I want tubeless tyres for their resistance to sudden deflation, ease of common repair, and less heat at hwy speed so longer mileage.

Straight spoke wheels offer the best combination of give and resistance to breakage when pounding over rocks and running very low pressure. So for serious pounding like dirt bikes receive they are preferred. But they require inner tubes which are subject to rapid air loss from puncture, and generate more heat at higher speed (which isn't an issue on dirt bikes).

Some riders will be subjecting their Transalps and KLE's to higher speeds over very rocky/gnarly terrain, through deep sand where very low PSI is helpful, and for them tubes are preferred. For the rest, they won't realize the benefit of tube tyres only the shortcoming.