Kawasaki KLX 230: Road Test Review

Design and Quality

The KLX 230 looks like a quintessential dual-sport offering with a tall stance, minimal body panels, and compact dimensions. The presence of a beak-like front fender, flat and long seat, and the under-tail exhaust canister clearly speak of its intentions. It inclines more towards function than form but manages to draw a lot of attention on Indian roads since dual-sport bikes are still a novelty. And then there’s the quality - extremely impressive for this class. The way the bike has been put together, it looks and feels quite rugged and durable. I’m certain a few minor falls would cause no major damage to the bike, except for leaving a few scratches.

Ergonomics and Comfort

The KLX’s seat height of 880mm is pretty tall on paper. However, with my 5’11’’ frame, I can easily get on the saddle and flat-foot on both sides, courtesy of the bike’s narrow design. Interestingly, my colleague Ajinkya could also tip-toe on both sides, despite being much shorter at 5’7’’.

What also helps is that the seat extends far ahead onto the fuel tank and is almost flat, which means you have a lot of freedom to move back and forth. Even the handlebar placement is ideal to get into the dirt bike-style riding position. Moreover, when you’re standing up and riding, grabbing the bike with your legs is profoundly easy and you don’t need to bend down too much to reach the handlebar.

As for the suspension setup, it does a splendid job of soaking up minor and major undulations. The long-travel, softly-sprung units urge you to go full gas over most of the rough stuff that you could possibly encounter in an urban environment. But it truly comes into its element when you go off the beaten path. The front and rear springs have travel of 240mm and 250mm, respectively. Plus, you have a massive ground clearance of 265mm, all of which makes those mounds, rocks, and jumps seem insignificant, which would otherwise be daunting on most motorcycles.

Picture this: You approach a huge mound of hard-pack dirt at speed, thinking you’re going in too hot. But then the motorcycle goes over it, the front wheel gets some air time, and the rear doesn’t even leave the ground. That’s the kind of flexibility and capability that the geometry and components of the KLX offer. Well, there are times when the suspension of the KLX does bottom out - it’s quite soft after all - but even when it does, the motorcycle doesn’t easily lose control or composure.

Performance and Handling

The KLX 230 is extremely fun and accessible, and much of that credit goes to its 230cc engine, along with its amazingly low kerb weight. Although the motor doesn’t sound particularly loud or brappy, it offers loads of bottom-end grunt and a sharp throttle response. So, even if you’re running a couple of cogs higher for a given speed, the KLX still pulls strongly when you roll on the throttle. While the throttle response and power delivery aren’t scarily alert, there’s enough punch to get out of tricky situations and go thrillingly fast off-road.

These aspects make it equally engaging to ride in the city. It packs great low and mid-range pull, meaning darting ahead from a traffic signal or pulling off overtakes is easy. And thanks to its commendable tractability, chilling at 40kmph in sixth gear is a cakewalk. Adding to the convenience is a light clutch and a reasonably slick gearbox.

On the highway, it feels the most comfortable at 80-90kmph without much vibration to be felt. However, 100kmph feels like a stretch - that’s where the bike feels buzzy and the engine starts showing signs of strain. Do note, this is an old engine, and it clearly shows its age. It sounds crude and mechanical, and there are some vibrations to be felt almost all the time.

The KLX’s narrow design and feather-light weight make it a zippy bike to maneuver through traffic. Adding to its willingness to change directions are extremely narrow tyres. However, it should be noted that these tyres lack road feel and feedback, and leaning the bike over can feel a bit unnatural and strange. In fact, they even feel squirmy off-road unless you run very low tyre pressures. I felt most confident with pressures around 15psi for both wheels - much lower than the recommended 22psi.

You can turn ABS off for both the front and rear wheels, giving you ample control off-road. Braking hard and sliding the rear isn’t scary, and you always feel in control of the bike. On the road, the bite from the front brake is adequately sharp yet predictable. However, the soft front suspension causes the bike to nosedive aggressively under hard braking. It feels strange at first, but you get used to it.

Features and Technology

The KLX is a bit simple in this department - or handsomely equipped for a dual-sport motorcycle, depending on how you look at it. Kawasaki has equipped the bike with an LCD console that offers Bluetooth connectivity and other essential information. However, it misses out on a tachometer and gear position indicator. There’s a dedicated button to turn off ABS for both wheels. Optional accessories include a USB charger, rear luggage rack, and a slightly lower seat. It may come across as an under-equipped motorcycle in this regard, especially when compared to the competition. However, these kinds of bikes are inherently simple and purposeful. They’re more about raw riding experience than tech-laden conveniences.

Fuel Efficiency

In our mileage test, we obtained a fuel efficiency of 38 kilometres to a litre. But do note that this test majorly involved conservative riding on the highway. Pottering around in stop-and-go traffic or thrashing it off-road will certainly bring that figure down to some extent.

Conclusion

The KLX 230 is one of its kind in India. It’s Japanese, it’s light, it’s quick, it’s durable, and it’s extremely capable while being beginner-friendly. It’s a bike you would not think twice to put into a tricky or treacherous off-road situation, because escaping out of trouble would be extremely easy, courtesy of its manageable nature. The overall package comes together nicely to deliver a playful motorcycle.

Now, addressing the elephant in the room – the pricing. At Rs. 3.30 lakh, ex-showroom, it’s quite exorbitantly priced. On the more affordable side of the spectrum, you have bikes like the XPulse 200 with the Rally Kit, which can do almost everything that the KLX does. Even after considering the taxes the KLX attracts owing to its CKD (completely knocked down) nature and Kawasaki’s premium brand image, a price tag this high still doesn’t feel justified. And now, with much faster and more sophisticated bikes like the KTM 390 Enduro R gracing the Indian shores at a similar price point, the KLX feels even more expensive.

At the end of it all, it’s a matter of choice. If you desire a proper Japanese dual-sport offering, want to be part of the premium Kawasaki brand eco-system, and aim to eventually upgrade to one of the pro-level KX or KLX series bikes, then the KLX 230 would be the ideal choice.

Photography by Kapil Angane