Los Angeles Times photo by Don Kelsen

The Kawasaki KLR650 has been revamped for 2008 with a more comfortable ride and better aerodynamics. Its base price is an affordable US$5,349.

Kawasaki's KLR650 has been the best-selling dual sport for the past few years, but that hasn't stopped owners from complaining. The saddle was as comfortable as a plank of petrified wood, they whined. The windshield didn't live up to its name. The spongy rear shock forced their spines to pick up the slack, and weak brakes were cramping their style.

For the KLR650's first major overhaul in 20 years, Kawasaki has worked to improve all that, and then some. More than 50 changes have been made to upgrade the bike's on - and off-road performance - and not just for the usual dust-the-dirt-from-their-treads dual sport crowd. With the 2008 model, Kawasaki is positioning the bike as an adventure touring model - a sort of bargain-basement, rough-and-tumble version of the Honda Gold Wing.

If the GL 1800 caters to riders whose idea of roughing it is turning off the seat warmer, the 2008 KLR650 is for camping types who eat their beans straight from the can. It has all the amenities of a flight on Southwest Airlines, i.e. there aren't any other than the basics, but the basics do almost everything you want for the price that you're willing to pay.

Power

For a thumper, this four-valve four-stroke had a lot more power than I was expecting. Revised ignition mapping and new intake porting on the redesigned cylinder head made the throttle especially responsive so that off the line, it was faster than the many critters attempting hara-kiri on the back roads.

Having just 651 cc of motor and five gears to take me through it, I expected to run out of room on the top end, but that never happened on my 300-mile day trip in the area around Monterey, California.

What did happen is upper back and shoulder pain. Even though the KLR650's aerodynamics have been improved with a beefed-up cowling and angled front fender, my head was doing the herky-jerky at speeds above 70. By the time I hit the 200-mile mark, it felt like machetes had landed in my neck and shoulders, which made me wish for the taller, wider windshield that's available as an accessory.

Although the bodywork on the 2008 model was revised to improve the KLR650's street savvy, the bike, as a whole, has retained the 70/30 street/dirt mix of its predecessor. On the dirt side, the fork is shorter and the tube diameter has been increased to 41 mm for increased rigidity. The Uni-Trak single-shock out back also has been recalibrated to stop the bike from bottoming out over bumps. And when the going gets too fast, the front and rear brakes have been upgraded with dual -rather than single-piston callipers and discs that are a larger 280 mm.

upgrades for touring

Then there are the upgrades for touring. The saddle's foam was upgraded to a firmer urethane to prevent achy posteriors at the end of an interstate ride. The rear luggage rack is longer and wider so riders can bring along that Bunsen burner they've never been able to find room for. And th capacity has been increased to accommodate GPS and other BYO plug-ins.

At a low, double-take-worthy US$5,349, a lot of the touring aspects of what Kawasaki is billing as its adventure-tourer aren't included in the price. The luggage bags cost extra. So will heated hand grips, once they become available. Throw in the taller windshield, as I would be inclined to do, and it's still an entirely reasonable US$6,000 or so.

Kawasaki may be a bit ambitious in its attempts to take a slice of the Gold Wing pie, but its new KLR650 should have no problem finding its share of lonely planet wanderers.

By Susan Carpenter/Los Angeles Times - Washington Post News Service