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After running Kawasaki’s 233cc trailbike on the Dirt Rider dyno and weighing it on our scales, it was time to hit the trails. Here’s what we learned.

Full story here: https://www.dirtrider.com/story/tests/2021-kawasaki-klx230r-review/

Video by: Evan Allen

Read more from Dirt Rider: https://www.dirtrider.com/

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Transcript
00:00 Hey what's going on everyone, thanks for tuning in to the Dirt Rider YouTube channel.
00:10 My name is Evan and today I'm out here in Southern California testing the 2021 Kawasaki
00:16 KLX-230R.
00:19 This is an off-road only model from Kawasaki that they've had for quite a while.
00:23 And the reason we're testing the '21 and not the '22, because it is available currently,
00:28 is that they're just hard to get right now.
00:30 Kawasaki only had the '21 available, but there's no real big differences between the 2021 model
00:35 and the 2022 model, other than the graphics are slightly different.
00:40 And the 2021 model has a .2 inch seat height, it's taller by .2 inches.
00:46 So still basically the same bike.
00:48 So we're going to throw a leg over it, send it on some single tracks, some open roads,
00:53 fire road type of stuff, hop around some rocks and see how it does.
00:57 So stay tuned.
00:59 Alright I've got the helmet on, let's jump through a couple specs and then we'll be moving.
01:04 Start off we have an air-cooled single cylinder engine.
01:08 Displacement is 233 cc's, fed by direct fuel injection by a 32mm key and throttle body
01:16 right here.
01:17 It's a single overhead cam engine, a two valve.
01:23 Up front the fork, it's a 37mm telescopic fork with 9.8 inches of travel.
01:30 In the rear we have a unitrack shock and linkage with adjustable spring preload and that offers
01:37 9.9 inches of suspension travel.
01:40 At the controls in the rear we have a 220mm disc with a single piston caliper.
01:46 This is pretty nice because back in the day for a long time this type of motorcycle would
01:53 always have a drum brake in the rear so it's nice that you got a little more premium controls
01:57 in the back.
01:59 Up front it's going to be a 240mm disc with a dual piston caliper.
02:05 Alright the seat height is 36.4 inches on the 2021 model.
02:11 On the 2022 model it's 36.2 inches, just slightly smaller.
02:16 The gas tank is a 1.7 gallon gas tank.
02:20 It comes in one color, this lime green.
02:23 And the price tag is $4,399 for this one you see right here, the 2021 model.
02:29 And the 2022 model is $4,599.
02:35 So slight price bump right there for the 2022 model.
02:39 But yeah, all around it's a pretty affordable motorcycle.
02:44 Starter up we got this little on/off right here, there's no key.
02:48 That primes the battery.
02:49 Electric start, it doesn't even have a kick starter.
02:52 So super easy.
02:54 Fuel injected so one of the biggest things I feel like these kinds of bikes that happen
02:59 to people, the kind of person that's going to buy this bike is probably someone who isn't
03:04 going to ride every month.
03:06 And you know they want to be able to store their bike away for a month or two and go
03:11 and pull the cover off it, fire it up, it's ready to go.
03:14 That was one of the big things with the bikes when they were carbureted is it always was
03:19 oh let's go riding but I'm going to have to clean the carb.
03:22 This thing, just keep a little trickle charger on the battery and you'll be riding in no
03:26 time.
03:27 So alright, let's get going.
03:35 Alright so right off the bat this thing has pretty good low end grunt.
03:41 It's not super low end, there's almost a slight delay on the real low end bottom end.
03:48 Like if you're in second gear for instance and almost at a dead stop there's a little
03:53 bit of kind of nothing on bottom.
03:58 Almost missed a shift there.
04:01 But once you get just a couple, just up maybe that 2000 RPM range, that's when it comes
04:07 alive.
04:08 But simultaneously it's not a high revving bike.
04:12 It kind of wants to be quick shifted and just ridden in that nice little meat of the power,
04:17 just that mid range power.
04:20 As for the suspension, you know it's nice, it's a little stiffer than I thought would
04:27 be on a bike like this.
04:30 And this little tight stuff, I mean, me I weigh about 120 pounds without gear on, so
04:36 I am a light rider, almost the size of most kids or women.
04:41 But it's a little hard to get movement out of the front unless you're kind of dive bombing
04:49 a hill or coming fast into a section.
04:53 So let's go find some a little bit slower stuff, kind of get out of this staging area
05:02 and really see what this thing is willing to do.
05:07 So right off the bat, so that was first gear, it can do this little trialsy stuff real nice.
05:20 The suspension really likes when you start moving fast in those bumps.
05:26 I see right there it doesn't bottom out, it's really plush.
05:32 Almost not motocross style suspension, but for someone who wants to maybe do a little
05:40 bit more attacking on this bike, it really lends itself to you.
05:45 Which is nice.
05:48 Because it's so easy to ride in the sense that it's small, it doesn't have a crazy amount
05:54 of power.
05:55 But then if you want to give it the beans or really show your skill set on it, it has
06:05 no problem getting after it.
06:08 So for someone who maybe their wife is going to ride it for half the day and then they're
06:14 going to go out on a little more technical ride, faster riding, you know it's a one-do-all
06:23 kind of bike.
06:24 You start getting into this fast stuff, it really enjoys it.
06:29 It never once feels like you're pushing it too hard and it can't handle some of these
06:35 bumps.
06:36 See I kind of overshot that corner and it has good brakes so you can stop quickly and
06:43 you can really ride aggressively.
06:47 Here we go, you want to...
06:52 See this thing is a really fun trail bike because it's lightweight, it's really easy
06:58 to ride, it's affordable, and it's just an extremely confidence inspiring machine where
07:06 you have good suspension, oh got the foot peg there, you have good suspension, a motor
07:14 that has just enough character to have fun but also won't scare you and it could be passed
07:21 around the campsite from all different skill levels.
07:28 And the rear is adjustable I should add, and I mentioned earlier and that is something
07:35 I'll probably play with next time I come out is maybe just adjusting the sag or the preload
07:41 to make it a little more friendly for a small lightweight rider like myself because it feels
07:47 like the...
07:50 Whoa.
07:52 It feels like the uh, it has a little bit of a natural stink bug stance out of the box.
08:05 One thing I did notice quickly that I'm not a big fan of is the shifting or the shifter.
08:12 It has one of those return shift shifters or transmissions where it just doesn't feel
08:21 very refined, it just, the shifts feel a little vague and a lot of times you don't know if
08:29 you really got that shift done until you either roll on the throttle or have to kind of retrace
08:41 your steps and go oh wait, go all the way back down to one and then okay, two up I was
08:45 in third gear.
08:47 But I haven't really been on the bike for you know, half the day so it could just be
08:53 something I'm still getting used to.
09:02 Other than the shifting just feeling a little vague, once you are in the right gear the
09:06 gearing is pretty spot on.
09:09 If you watched I recently, last year I did a review on the, here's a little jump, I did
09:20 a little review on the Kawasaki KLX 300 and one of the things that I struggled with on
09:28 that bike was the big difference between first gear and second gear.
09:35 It was just a big jump and a lot of times in this tighter stuff first gear was too short
09:41 and second gear was too long but Kawasaki got the gearing on this bike pretty spot on
09:47 because I'm in second right now and you could rev the bike out a bit but you could also
09:54 come to basically a dead stop and it has no problem you know, rolling on and giving you
10:03 some power.
10:11 And then again just cruising on these open roads and down if you're kind of going to
10:16 be staying closer to the truck and maybe you're learning to ride this bike does that really
10:23 well also.
10:24 It's maybe, that's really almost maybe more of its intent but you get a more experienced
10:31 rider on it, you know, like do a second gear wheelie, it's got good brakes, you can stop
10:36 quickly, hop around on rocks, the clutch engagement is nice, it doesn't have a super direct feel
10:45 but it's really light on the finger.
10:49 And so it makes just riding around in single track and tight stuff all day, it makes it
10:56 you know, not very fatiguing which some of these other bikes they don't think about the
11:03 tighter section stuff that might cause some of that.
11:10 So that was just a little second gear hop over the rock and with good clutch control
11:16 you can really make this bike a fun sort of technical riding motorcycle.
11:26 One thing I will say I noticed pretty quickly as well is it's not a particularly narrow
11:32 bike.
11:35 So when you're squeezing with the legs it feels a bit wide in that midsection compared
11:41 to some of the other air cooled machines that this would be competing against.
11:48 With that said though it does have its flaws but it also has its strong points and the
11:53 strong point is the suspension.
11:56 This suspension really, especially for someone a little bit heavier I think they'll find
12:03 it to be just stiff enough but plush enough at the same time where it can wear all the
12:11 hats on the trail.
12:14 Alright we found a little more tighter stuff, a little rock.
12:26 See the fork in these sections where you gotta kind of blip it into a rock it handles it
12:33 really nicely.
12:34 It's very plush, it doesn't deflect, it just has just enough hold up to allow the aggressive
12:41 riding but also it's plush enough to create comfort in it.
12:50 Right here when I have downhill, I'm going downhill, I am on both brakes but just with
12:56 extra weight on the front it makes the rear shock being a little bit over sprung for the
13:04 fork even more noticeable.
13:14 And at times maybe it seems like because the shock is stiffer that when under load or on
13:21 the gas it doesn't make, it makes the rear wheel want to spin and sometimes even wheelie
13:30 it doesn't kind of load the shock and create a, you know, extra pressure on the tire it
13:38 just kind of makes it want to feel a little loose in the rear.
13:54 The gearing is nicer, I'm in second gear and just with some clutch control you can pick
14:00 your way through even the tightest sections and just stay in second gear.
14:05 I'm still in second gear, you can wind it out and then get on the brakes.
14:12 Does prove to be a very versatile transmission or gearing for this kind of riding.
14:24 Tightest sections just leave it in second gear as I have done most of the day.
14:31 It does get a little vibratey, a little buzzy when you get into the higher RPMs or winding
14:36 it out a little bit.
14:38 It does, you know, give a little bit of vibration in the throttle, or excuse me, in the foot
14:46 pegs and the handlebars.
14:47 Nothing, you know, unbearable but just something to notice.
14:55 Another thing I mentioned earlier too was that it does feel a bit wide compared to some
14:59 of its competitors in the same class and just mostly right here where you would grip with
15:06 your legs or your knees it feels wider than some of its competitors but something that
15:15 I like that's wide is the handlebar.
15:17 This is a really nice handlebar as far as the bend and the width for this machine.
15:25 Again talking about other bikes in this class is they tend to have a smaller sort of pulled
15:33 in bend maybe to suit a more beginner or shorter, smaller rider in stature but being an off
15:44 road guy and a moto guy it was something I instantly could appreciate was a nice wide
15:50 handlebar to keep your elbows up and just gives you good control and leverage.
15:57 I guess now could be a good time to talk about ground clearance.
16:04 Just make sure I clear all these rocks without bashing up the bottom.
16:09 You know the number off the top of my head I can't quite remember but I believe it's
16:14 somewhere around 11 to 12 inches of ground clearance which is pretty good.
16:20 You see we've been kind of playing around on some of these rocks.
16:27 It has yet to be a problem.
16:28 I have not hit the frame or dragged the bottom on anything so far.
16:38 Another thing I thought I would add is that the Kawasaki KX230R comes with full size dirt
16:48 bike wheels, off road wheels.
16:50 That's a 21 inch in the front and an 18 inch in the back.
16:57 Not only does that allow you to have the ground clearance as well as the ability to roll over
17:04 locks and bumps and rocks but it also gives you a big range of tire choices.
17:12 So you can have everything from, oh, whoa, I was in second gear right there which is
17:24 something I will note.
17:32 I have a couple times stalled it in some of those sections where you're kind of hopping
17:40 on a rock or needing to use a little bit of grunt when it's under load and you're going
17:45 slow and if you're not really careful with the clutch and the throttle it can just be
17:51 too much for this engine and it will stall out.
17:54 So just something to keep in mind but as I was saying with the 21 inch front wheel and
18:02 18 inch rear wheel is it allows you to do those kinds of things and jump off rocks and
18:09 be aggressive in that sense but also it gives you the option of premium rubber depending
18:17 on what you might be riding.
18:19 Whether that's more of a loamy dirt or you're on some hard pack stuff or just a sand tire
18:28 for instance if you wanted to.
18:30 It will give you a big range from all the tire manufacturers, Dunlop, Michelin, Bridgestone,
18:37 Pirelli.
18:38 So that's something that's nice about this bike and that's kind of the growing theme
18:44 with this motorcycle and this kind of genre of motorcycles is that it's like a hybrid
18:53 bike between a big boy or a big full size bike and a competitive motorcycle to also
19:02 having some beginner friendly features.
19:05 You know something to kind of satisfy everyone.
19:08 And so that makes it really easy to ride, makes it very confidence inspiring and approachable
19:16 but it also, see and the suspension is just so nice right there it doesn't bottom out.
19:24 It just a really easy bike to ride that all skill levels can appreciate and have fun on
19:32 and it's at a very affordable price point.
19:42 The brakes are really good and direct.
19:48 The rear brake is nice and touchy and it's just like, rear brakes are so important in
19:54 all motorcycle riding but especially off road where you know you need to manipulate the
20:01 bike or for instance right there slide into a corner, kind of pivot.
20:07 Here we go some rocky sections and some of this kind of rocky or slower stuff with all
20:12 the little bumps is where the suspension maybe for me is a little just slightly, oh so very
20:22 slightly too stiff but I personally would have it be a little more stiff and compromise
20:31 there than be too soft and compromise in some of the faster sections.
20:38 And that's another thing I think about too is this bike being, having a pretty, not a
20:45 tall seat but what feels to be like a full size dirt bike seat height or nearly, just
20:53 a pretty full size motorcycle structure is with that stiffer suspension setting it would
21:05 be really perfect for maybe a heavier or just bigger rider.
21:11 It's got good power, I mean this is a 230cc or 233cc engine and I've been on some of the
21:20 other air cooled bikes in this class that are closer to that 250 range and I'll be honest
21:28 I thought this thing might be a little underpowered in that sense but it feels really good and
21:39 see right there just first gear lift the front end, the clutch is nice but it has sort of
21:44 that old school 450 or 4 stroke feel, it's just kind of raw, not that it's not well refined
21:58 but it's just sort of that old school 4 stroke feel and it's nice, it's grunty, it's pretty
22:06 lively especially in the mid range, it signs off a little early but you know with just
22:15 being good with the shifter and knowing where to be in the power band I have not once felt
22:23 that the bike needs more power or that I could ride better or get over something with more
22:28 power and at the same time it doesn't have any type of burst of power, it's very linear,
22:38 very trackable but also has just enough grunt to excite the more experienced riders.
22:48 And it does, it feels real nimble on the trail, the chassis does, it's not that it's stiff
23:10 but it doesn't have a lot of flex and it doesn't feel you know like it'll fold under pressure
23:19 or like I said with that softer or stiffer suspension setting it doesn't feel like the
23:28 chassis is either too soft or too stiff, it feels very aggressive in that it can handle
23:36 those harsh bumps but it doesn't feel you know just so rigid and uncompromising that
23:42 you can feel everything on the trail.
23:48 A little downhill single track, the bike feels real good through here, again the rear end
23:59 just feels a little too stiff, a little, kind of wants to pitch me over but as I said earlier
24:04 we're going to spend some more time on this bike, we're going to play with the preload
24:12 adjustment on the shock and hopefully find a little bit of a better setting there or
24:17 just setup for a guy as light as me, again I weigh about 120 pounds without gear on.
24:26 But yeah other than that that's going to wrap up this first ride review on the 2021 Calistern
24:34 Kawasaki KLX 230R.
24:39 If there, there will also be a link in the description for a full written review, it
24:46 will be more in depth, we'll spend more time on this bike and kind of put together all
24:52 the pieces of the good and the things that could be improved upon.
24:57 So if you enjoyed this video would you go ahead and hit that like button, I'd appreciate
25:04 that, if you're not already subscribed maybe consider doing that and let me know what you
25:09 think in the comments below.
25:12 Other than that we'll see you guys next time and thanks for tuning in.
25:15 (whooshing)