Rumored Kawasaki adventure bike to be like discontinued KLR

It seems like Hollywood movies are not the only ones getting a revival. During the past couple of years, we've seen old Hollywood movies being revived for a sequel – or a continuation to its storyline – to their fans' delight. Well, in the world of motorcycles, we're also seeing some revivals.

Last year, Kawasaki re-introduced the screamer ZX-25R, an inline-four 250c sport bike. Other manufacturers also have their own “going retro” models like Yamaha's SR400, or Honda's Super Cub and Monkey series. While not a continuation of an older model, BMW for example, has the R nine T series, as well as their upcoming R 18 that pays homage to the BMW motorcycles of old.

Kawasaki may still have another one up its sleeve as it was rumored that they'll be reincarnating the KLR, as part of its more modern KLX lineup. 

For those of you who are not familiar with the KLR, it was a series of adventure-oriented bikes produced by Kawasaki from 1987 which remained mostly unchanged until they stopped producing it in 2018. Some argue it was the only Kawasaki motorcycle worthy of being called an adventure bike.

This "new KLR” is said to be powered by the same parallel-twin engine found in the current Versys, Ninja and Vulcan 650s, albeit bored up a bit to 700 cc to have a better fighting chance against the Yamaha Tenere 700 and KTM's 790 Adventure / Adventure R.

What's notable is the inclusion of adventure-spec 21-inch and 18-inch wheels and tires, unlike the current road-biased Versys series. For now, these are just rumors and our friends from Kawasaki (obviously) are keeping their mouths shut when asked about this new model.

Let's just hope that, like the ZX-25R (which was also previously rumored), this new KLR (or KLX) will see the light of day.

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