2021 Kawasaki KLX300 Riding Impression

Dirt Rider

Kawasaki is one of two manufacturers to increase the engine size of its 2021 mid-displacement dual sport model for more power and fun on the trail and street.  Find out more: https://www.dirtrider.com/story/tests/2021-kawasaki-klx300-review/  Video/edit: Evan Allen Photography: Jeff Allen  Motorcycle Riding Gear Helmet: Klim F5 Koroyd Goggle: Klim Edge Off-Road Jacket: Klim Forecast Jersey: Klim Mojave Gloves: Klim Mojave Pants: Klim Mojave Boots: Sidi Crossfire 3 SRS  Read more from Dirt Rider: https://www.dirtrider.com/

Transcript

00:00 Hi everybody, thanks for tuning in.

00:06 My name is Evan Allen and I'm here today for Dirt Rider testing out the new 2021 Kawasaki

00:13 KLX 300.

00:15 If this bike looks familiar, it's because it sort of is.

00:20 Although this is a new bike for Kawasaki in their 2021 lineup, it's mostly the KLX 250

00:26 from last year, bored out to 292cc's and badged as a 300.

00:33 Today we're out on the trails in Southern California.

00:35 We're going to swing a leg over this thing, get it dirty, and find out, is the KLX 300

00:41 better?

00:42 Stay tuned.

00:46 Alright everyone, welcome back.

00:49 We are now in the saddle of the 2021 Kawasaki KLX 300.

01:00 The KLX 300 comes in at a price point of $5,599 for the lime green, the Kawasaki green.

01:10 For another $200, you can upgrade for the gray/black camo colorway that they offer,

01:21 which I would assume is a pretty popular colorway for them.

01:24 I personally like my bikes having color on them.

01:27 I like the classic Kawasaki green, but it's a cool option that they give the buyer.

01:34 Not bad too, $200.

01:38 Starting with the powerplant of this motorcycle, it's the same engine as the KLX 250 for the

01:47 most part.

01:48 It's got the same stroke, it's just the bore is 42cc's more, making it a 292cc engine.

02:01 It's a single cylinder, 4 stroke, dual overhead cam, liquid cooled engine with a 6 speed transmission.

02:16 What gets this thing down the road is a 21 inch front wheel and an 18 inch rear wheel,

02:23 which is the standard dirt bike wheel sizes, which is going to give the owner, rider, buyer

02:32 of this motorcycle a lot of options for tire choices.

02:37 Right now, this is in its stock trim completely, so it's got a pretty street biased dual sport

02:48 tire.

02:49 So, the knobbies don't offer much traction in this kind of stuff, but that's a simple

02:54 fix if you're going to ride a lot of dirt, you simply just get some more aggressive knobbies.

03:01 The 6 speed transmission is fairly wide.

03:05 First gear is short and pretty usable in some of the tight stuff, but it's second gear that

03:11 I struggle with a little bit because I find myself in between first and second a lot,

03:17 where first it's getting revved out, a little herky jerky, kind of bound up at the high

03:23 end, and then I click the second and there's just not enough low end grunt to kind of pull

03:30 you up a little hill or out of a hole in second gear.

03:34 So you do find yourself being a little bit busy with the shifter in first and second

03:40 gear.

03:41 Second gear, however, when the trail gets a little more flowy and opens up, it really

03:51 is just the most usable gear for me off road because it'll chug out of the corner if you're

03:58 not going too slow, and then it likes to be just revved up real high so it'll continue

04:05 to produce power.

04:09 And then here, first gear is nice, second gear, on some of this real tight stuff, second

04:19 gear is a little too long on bottom.

04:25 Then just shifts to second right there, back down to first, and back to second.

04:34 Got a little downhill momentum.

04:40 These tires prove to be challenging at this kind of stuff.

04:47 It's hard to really trust that front wanting to lean it over into these corners or even

04:52 under braking.

04:59 Especially on the brakes, like right there, you want to lean it over on the brakes, kind

05:03 of initiate the turn soon, but the tire's telling you no.

05:14 Little bottomed out there, felt it through the foot pegs on the rear.

05:29 Alright everyone, that's going to wrap up this onboard review of the 2021 Kawasaki KLX300.

05:42 And as this ride comes to an end, my final thoughts on this bike are, you know I think

05:49 Kawasaki did a good job taking the already existing KLX250 and just sort of pumping some

05:58 new life into it with a bigger engine, a few performance parts from the KLX300R to make

06:07 this a really well-routed machine for a pretty big range of riders.

06:13 Different skill levels, everything, different terrain, it proves fun no matter what.

06:19 And all for a price tag of less than $6,000, can't really go wrong with that.

06:26 So if you enjoyed this video, please hit that like button.

06:31 If you want to continue to see content like this, go ahead and subscribe and drop a comment

06:39 below and let me know what you think and what other bikes you'd like to see reviewed on

06:43 this channel.

06:45 And of course don't forget to check out the link in the description where there'll be

06:50 a full written article, a lot more in-depth about this KLX300.

06:58 Thanks for tuning in!

07:00 [engine revving]

07:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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