With a bit of fanfare and some mixed emotions from the KLR faithful, Kawasaki has brought back the venerable KLR 650! Whether you are one of those feeling let down by the lack of significant upgrades to the Gen 3 or (like myself) are just happy to have the budget-friendly thumper back in the lineup, the 2022s are landing in dealerships now.
In fact, the first one that landed at our local Kawi dealer ended up in my own garage and after some break-in mileage last weekend has taken up temporary residence in Corbin’s R&D department. It’s unfortunate that our current lineup doesn’t fit the 2022 models, but we’ve been lucky on this one since 1987 so we aren’t complaining.
On the bright side, that means we’re starting with a clean slate so if you have any feedback on what you’d like to see us make, drop us a note right HERE.
As an aside, I’ve seen more than one reviewer talk about how “wonderful” the stock seat is and I am honestly baffled. Sure, I’m spoiled and have had Corbin seats on all my street bikes for the last 30 years, but this… this… THING is not wonderful.
It just isn’t.
