What can you do? Your elder brother buys a brand new KLE500 and three weeks later gets a job in Kuwait (yes, he is a bit mad). I soon found where he had hidden the keys and had the big bugger chugging over on full choke. With 720 miles on the clock I was a little worried by the way the engine suddenly soared up to 4000rpm but a quick grab at the choke lever solved that.
The 500cc motor is similar to that in the GPZ500 except that it only knocks out 50hp. I soon found that the vertical twin was in a very soft state of tune, power flowed in from tickover and had much more wallop than high rev power; by 8500rpm it had run out of steam unlike the GPZ which fair flew along between 7000 and 11000rpm.
Why on earth it had a six speed box I don't know. If anything it was worse than the GPZ500, especially at low revs when it tended to seize up unless you blipped the throttle like a madman and slipped the clutch aggressively. Luckily, it could be dumped in third and run along on the throttle in town. Engine smoothness, acceptable on the GPZ, was even better on the KLE, especially at low revs. My first run through heavy traffic was great fun, I felt so superior, sat up above the roof lines of all the cagers, and the machine was so controllable at low speeds that I was able to filter through ridiculously small gaps. It really pissed the cagers off.
As did standing start acceleration. I had a memorable race with a Ford Cosworth Sierra, a bloody huge white whale of a car. Up to 50mph the car didn't have a chance, then he came flying past on the wrong side of the road, causing a bus to snake to a hall, wobbling so much it looked like it was going to fall over. A cop car behind it did a rapid U turn and raced off after the Ford. I didn't stay around to find out the result.
Another useful attribute of the KLE was its long travel suspension which was as good as soaking up small ripples as it was huge potholes. It was a really serene ride over some pretty disgusting roads. Strangely, it was also surprisingly taut over fast roads, with none of the wobbles or wallowing that you might suspect resultant from its trail bike style. A 33 inch seat height will put off those under 5'10'' but I found general comfort levels pretty good.
After my first ride I disconnected the speedo and probably did another 750 miles before receiving a letter from my brother telling me to sell the bike for whatever I could get over £2500 (it had cost £3500 new). I wrote him a letter back pointing out how bad the recession was and saying noone wanted to buy it but I'd take it off his hands for £2250 (which was £50 more than the local dealer offered). His reply can't be printed but the deal was struck.
My only real disappointment with the bike at that point was economy, the engine hard pressed to give 50mpg, more often doing 40 to 45mpg. This was worse than the more powerful GPZ500! Given its low state of tune, it was a pity the out of phase power pulses of the 180 degree crankshaft stopped the use of a single carb, the two 34mm CV Keihins were surely over the top for a 50hp twin.
Mind you, I was not using the KLE as mild runabout, despite its soft state of tune I was thrashing the balls off it in most of its gears, having a real ball blitzing around town and down fast country lanes. A stint of despatch riding put a lot more stress on me than it did on the bike, the roads in London having becoming even crazier than they were a couple of years ago. It wasn't just the car drivers who didn't give a damn, fellow DRs would shove you out of the way if you faltered at a junction. In a month I did about 2000 miles.
I was really thankful for the ease of use, it always started first touch of the button, you could just sling it in second or third and forget about gear changing and the disc front brake, with a two piston caliper, would haul the bike up out of harms way.....or when it didn't the wide bars and light mass meant the Kawasaki could be slung around obstacles rather than crashing into them. The balance of the bike was so good that you could roll gently to a halt and sit there feet up if a bit of Zen like thought was indulged. After a day's despatching this was just as well as I didn't have the energy for such physical exertation as putting my feet down.
Luckily, after a month, a proper job turned up so the KLE could be used just for commuting and joy riding, not that the two were mutually exclusive. I soon found that the bike was absurdly easy and safe to wheelie on, I never knew you could have so much fun on a single wheel! Equal fun could be had doing rear wheel slides, for absurdly there was a single rear disc of huge power fitted. The big 17'' Dunlop Trailmax would slide controllably in the wet or dry, whilst the 21'' front enhanced straight line stability and stayed on line with a tenacity that was confusing for such a trail orientated tyre. When both tyres were worn out with less than 5000 miles on the clock I was impressed enough to fit a second set.
By that mileage rust was eating away at the exhaust and trying to break through the grey frame paint. Considering that the bike had not yet braved an English winter this was a bit of a let down. The O-ring chain was rather impressive, requiring only a couple of adjustments, despite having to suffer constant wheelies and enough neglect to let it gather an outer surface of rust. I gave it a full service in October, easy enough once you get the plastic off - only two carbs and eight valves to adjust.
The plastic handlebar muffs were useful in the winter as they kept the rain and gale off my hands. However, the rest of the plastic was useless, the neat looking fairing screen delivering a veritable deluge of rain and wind to my visor. In its favour, the bike had fork gaiters and plastic shrouds on the discs.
Riding the bike through all weathers soon had it covered in grime and in the cold morning winter air the engine sounded like a right bag of nails until it warmed up, something that seemed to take an age, the temperature gauge rarely getting more than a millimetre past the beginning of the scale. In the six months of commuting it did 4000 miles with perfect reliability, although I did note a gradual decrease in suspension compliance that allowed a bit of wallowing in fast corners. In February I adjusted the preload of the rear shock to maximum and this seemed to sort that problem out.
With just over 9000 miles on the clock I gave her another full service, having previously changed the oil every 1000 miles. I also had to change both sets of pads and knew that very soon it would need a new chain, adjustments having become much more frequent.
When subjected to a jetwash, a days worth of elbow grease and a couple of tubes of Solvol it came up okay. The exhaust rust had reached complete coverage level and I had to touch up the frame paint in several places. Also, some of the fasteners had broken out with the dreaded red rash and the wheel spokes were beyond help. The motor was as punchy as ever, if anything even better as they seem to take 5000 miles to fully loosen up.
Trail bike thingies are beginning to make a lot of sense on our decayed roads. In equiping the KLE500 with proper road mudguards and a far from radical suspension package, Kawasaki have produced a sensible road bike for our times, based on the well proven and presumably cheap to produce 500 twin engine. The plastic bits you either like or loathe; to my mind Kawasaki could go another step still and completely dump all the plastic bits to produce a raw road bike.
Owners of British twins will be appalled by the running costs, although plastic reptile riders forced down market will probably find them a welcome relief. But as with the GPZ500, a little more effort and thought could have produced an even better bike.....don't let that worry you, the British disdain of trailsters will probably mean some wonderful bargains in the used market during this year.
Anon.
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KLE500's are cheap and interesting motorcycles, but not ones that inspire much love or terror and trepidation. Powered by a vertical twin where most trail inspired bikes are big singles and none the worse for it, in my humble opinion - large thumpers needing bloody great balancers to quell the vibes but which also absorb loads of horsepower.
A late '92 model for £1375 in a private deal was a brilliant bargain for a two year old model, some scratches on the fairing and panels keeping the price reasonable. The past owner, one of three, reckoned he'd experienced no more trouble than from his pushbike. I only noticed that the latter was a pre-war job, more rust than paint, on sealing the deal.
The KLE's 500cc motor's derived from that of the well regarded GPZ500, a watercooled DOHC parallel twin with the distinction of having a hyvoid primary chain drive - presumably to appeal to owners of old British twins used to short lived primary chains, although the Kawasaki hyvoid item is long lasting if noisy and giving the transmission a loose feel.
The KLE's detuned from sixty to fifty horses in the search for more low end torque, although it didn't take the radical step of employing a single carb. The 180 degree throw crankshaft probably wouldn't allow that indulgence due to its odd power pulses but at least allows a mere single gear driven balancer. The engine is never entirely liquid smooth but the vibes never reached a level where they intruded. Much better than the big singles and way ahead of the old British twins.
If taking away the GPZ500's top end power wasn't bad enough, the KLE also weighs an extra 20 pounds at 392lbs dry. That's suicide for a bike that may be used off-road and guaranteed to turn off road riders who'll much prefer the GPZ's lower mass and extra power - that's why KLE's are relatively cheap!
It's not all bad, the upright riding stance's wonderfully comfortable up to 80mph, a marked change from most modern bikes. The 33 inch seat height ain't as radical as many trailsters, especially as the first couple of inches of the eight inches of suspension travel (yes, I can boast I've got a full eight inches...) are very soft and compressed under the rider's mass. The rest of the suspension travel worked well, taking out the heaviest of the bumps and holes.
I was impressed by the fork gaiters, keeping the seals nice and clean, although they could also hide the marks showing the legs had been straightened after a crash. I checked mine, once having a pair of GS125 forks snap on me, but they were okay. I was less impressed by the horrible bit of plastic covering the front disc, but this was easily removed and given to next door's ten year old to use as a frisbee.
There was also a rear disc with a more attractive cover but given that the bike was running on wire wheels, with off-road pretensions, I'd expect a rear drum at the very least (even the 125mph GPZ has a rear drum) if not one at the front as well. It's tempting to replace the 21 inch front and 17 inch rear wheels with a set of 19 inch wheels off some sixties Brit with drum brakes.
I hate disc brakes. Oh, I know they are powerful, but that's an accolade that only stands up to reality when they are newish and haven't been subjected to a British winter. The rear brake creaked and occasionally locked up the wheel. The front brake clanged when applied during low speed stops and felt very remote at speed. I pondered whether it was the fluid going off, the brake hose going soft, the pads wearing out or being of an unsuitable type, the sliders corroding or the calipers on the way to seizing up. Or all of the above! I wasn't inclined to rip it all apart in the search for easy answers.
Also doubtful was the combination of a single disc with the long forks, though they were 41mm in diameter. I could feel them twisting up under heavy braking and it was quite easy to make the KLE lurch traumatically. I suppose it was a reasonable trade off between absorbing bumps and not having the added complication of a second disc.
Once the pre-load was turned up to its highest setting, the Uni-trak back end was quite adequate. The block pattern rear tyre, much more road biased than trail, would inch sideways on rough corners. It was nothing I couldn't control from my throne-like position of domination, the wide bars needing hardly any effort.
As mentioned, the power was biased to the lower end of the rev range but the engine still needed 3000 revs up in the taller gears. Not because of any grumpiness on the part of the motor but because it was attached to a bawdy gearbox that caused the final drive to whip around in suicide mode at low revs.
Strangely, heightening the feeling that the KLE was just an exercise in styling, the six speed box off the GPZ was retained despite the wider spread of power and milder nature of the plot. I would've preferred five gears and a much smoother transmission, even if the six-speeder had an acceptable gearchange action.
Another throwback to the fifties was a clutch that dragged so badly from cold that it could stall the motor on the first engagement of the day. Sometimes the gear would go home with a destructive sounding bang but once the clutch was freed up it performed perfectly. Once I'd learnt how to juggled the choke the mill fired up quickly on the electric starter, needing no more than a couple of minutes to warm up.
The easy going nature of the KLE was its best point. Sat comfortably, it didn't really matter if I accelerated in the wrong gear as the torque would pull the motor through, and the mildest muscular effort was all it took to control the old girl. I thought the bike was especially good for whipping through traffic, when the tall seat gave improved vision - I could spot the complete plonkers miles off.
It was a fair match because they could hear me coming, after about six months the baffles were shot and the exhaust was a complete rust bucket. What a load of rubbish! There was also a 2000 to 3500 rev flat spot that made town riding rather awkward. The exhaust wasn't excruciatingly loud so I left it to fall off - due to the usual naff design loads of junk has to be taken off before the headers can be removed. Stupid! The rest of the finish was pretty degenerate, needing loads of Solvol and polishing to keep the corrosion at bay. I kept having flashbacks to the fifties and a similarly wretched Raleigh moped!
I haven't done a high enough mileage (6000 miles on top of the 15000 already done) to wear out any of the consumables that were all newish when I acquired the bike. Fuel consumption was terrible considering I haven't taken the bike above 80mph, around the 40mpg mark, which with not much more than three gallons before reserve doesn't give much of a range. Again, the much faster GPZ's more frugal. Kawasaki really need to work the engine over properly to exact more torque and better economy. At least the motor should, in its detuned state, be tough and long lasting.
There are lots of things wrong with this bike, then, but when the cost is taken into account an entirely different picture emerges. It's worth living with a few faults at these kind of prices.
J.D.