Kawasaki KLE500 breaks cover
The Kawasaki KLE500 has been unveiled by the brand and it is powered by a 451cc parallel-twin engine positioned between the Versys-X 300 and the Versys 650.
- A parallel twin engine that pushes 45.4PS and 42.6 Nm of peak torque
- The SE variant gets a skid plate, handguards, and a TFT instrument display
- Offered in two variants – Standard and SE
The Kawasaki KLE500 has been unveiled and it was teased a couple of months ago on the brand's social handles. It will be available in two variants – Standard and SE. The bike is powered the same 451-cc, parallel-twin, liquid-cooled engine that comes mated to a six-speed gear box. The engine pushes a healthy 45.4 PS at 9,000 rpm and 42.6 Nm of peak torque at 6,000 rpm. It is the same engine that is used by the Ninja 500 and the Eliminator 500.
The cycle parts include a non-adjustable 43mm KYB USD fork up front and a preload-adjustable monoshock at the rear doing suspension duties, they get 210 mm and 200 mm of travel respectively. The bike rides on 21-inch wheel up front and a 17-inch wheel at the rear, these are spoked wheels and the saddle height is at 860 mm. The bike has a ground clearance of 172 mm.
The bike features typical rally-inspired styling that includes a slim tank, compact headlight unit, tall windscreen, a single-piece seat, and a slim tail section. The Standard variant gets an LCD instrument cluster and the SE variant gets a TFT dash along with full LED lighting, larger skid plate, taller windscreen and knuckle guards.
The bike costs US 6,599 (Rs 5.80 lakh) for the Standard variant and the SE variant comes with a sticker price of USD 7,499. The KLE 500 is expected to make its way to the Indian shore sometime next year and is likely to be priced around Rs 6-7 lakh bracket.