Friendly on the dirt, fun on the road and priced to tempt fresh adventurers, the revived KLE500 makes a convincing case for keeping things simple
Adventure bikes have spent years being marketed like they come standard with a lifetime supply of fork seals, a drone cameraman and a sponsored entry into World Rally Raid. Every launch video seems to show a hero rider jumping a river at sunset, drifting down a dune and then staring thoughtfully into the distance, while the rest of us commute, find a dusty trail or three and call it a big day out.
For Australian riders of a certain vintage, the KLE badge recalls a time when adventure riding was practical and unpretentious. First launched in 1991, the original KLE500 carved out a niche as an all-roads all-rounder packing a friendly parallel-twin engine from Kawasaki’s roadbike family. Its trail-ready chassis, upright ergonomics and versatility made it perfect for tackling the commuting slog during the week and wandering down a shire road on a dirty weekend.
The new KLE500 arrives in a more competitive market but the underlying philosophy is very familiar. Once again, Kawasaki is targeting riders who want the option of adventure without sacrificing everyday comfort, usability and value. Just as the original drew its character from a road-based twin out of Kawasaki’s GPZ and EX500 line, this new one is built around the firm’s current 451cc parallel twin, shared with the Ninja 500, Z500 and Eliminator 500.
At first glance, the KLE ticks a lot of boxes. It has a 21-inch front wheel, long-travel suspension, upright ergonomics, spoked rims and proper adventure-bike styling. In SE trim, it also adds a taller screen, large skid plate, metal handguards, a colour TFT display and LED signals, giving it a more purposeful, premium look.
Factor in a price of only a smidge over $12,500 and it sounds like you can have your mudcake and eat it too. The only fly in the adventure ointment is a perceived lack of ground clearance, but whether that’s an issue in the real world is a question worth putting to the test.
ON ROAD
The KLE’s quality reveals itself within the first few kilometres of bitumen. Kawasaki’s little twin cylinder is lively, polished and unexpectedly entertaining for this segment. It’s borrowed from the firm’s sporty middleweight family without major internal changes, and that influence is obvious the moment you start working the throttle. Peak power arrives at 9000rpm and the engine likes to be worked, but that doesn’t make it overly peaky or thrashy. Instead, it gives a spirited top end, and where some lower-capacity adventure bikes dish up power like a lukewarm servo pie, the KLE comes out with a pub schnitty packing extra chips.
Kawasaki has packaged the large airbox high in the trellis frame, and the result is an intake note that gives the bike some real personality. In fact, at the top end there’s a motorsport howl that seems incongruous from a bike with this silhouette, like if a cat barked at you. It feels smooth and eager, with a free-spinning nature that makes it a joy to wind out.
With 45 horses on tap, the KLE doesn’t surge forward with lazy low-rpm torque in the way a larger single might, but once the tacho starts climbing, it fairly fizzes with character. The gearing makes the most of the available midrange too, so at freeway speed there’s enough poke to overtake without fuss. While there’s some high-frequency tingle through the ‘bars at 100km/h (around 6000rpm), it’s never enough to spoil the experience. Wind protection from the SE’s taller adjustable screen is very decent at legal speeds too, with just a little buffeting around the helmet apparent when you’re on the freeway.
The six-speed gearbox’s shift action is wonderfully snickable and light. To be honest, I’d always have a quickshifter if you’re throwing one in, but the KLE’s cogs swap with the satisfying click of an alloy retractable pen without the need to bother with the clutch lever at all if you back off the gas momentarily.
Around town, the Kawasaki is easy to manage, narrow through the middle and light on its feet. At low speed it feels balanced and unintimidating, while the tall riding position gives a good view ahead in traffic, allowing you to scythe through peak hour like a kelpie through a sheep pen.
On a flowing backroad, the KLE is great fun and not just by adventure-bike standards. The chassis feels composed and the bike is happy to be tipped into corners with more enthusiasm than its 21-inch front wheel might imply. The engine itself is canted forward and rotated around its output shaft in a sportbike-derived layout that lowers the centre of gravity while centralising mass to give the bike a light, agile feel.
Credit also goes to the quality of the KYB hardware, with a 43mm upside-down fork, and to the general sense of cohesion in the package. On sealed roads you can tip the KLE in sharply and trust it to hold a line without feeling like a camp chair with a missing rivet. The single 300mm front brake rotor feels more than adequate despite the lever liking a good squeeze, the dual-purpose IRC tyres have plenty of grip, and the KLE carries itself with a poise that makes belting through winding backroads a proper hoot.
Comfort is another strong suit. The seat is tallish at 870mm but the ergonomics are roomy and relaxed. Once I settled my weight into the suspension I still found I could get the balls of both my feet on the ground (I’m 178cm tall). There’s good legroom, an easy reach to the ‘bars and an upright position that works for daily riding, weekend runs and longer expeditions when the wanderlust strikes. The seat itself is decent for a few hours, although it’s not exactly a leather couch from Harvey Norman. Fuel economy is also excellent at around 3.9L per 100km, giving the KLE a touring range well over 300km from its generous-for-this-class 16-litre tank.
There are some omissions, although I doubt many would quibble at this price. There’s no cruise control, no ride modes and no TC, but the only one of those I really missed was cruise control to give the old right wrist a break on the long, boring bits before I made it to the trails. I doubt I’d ever use TC or ride modes on the modestly powered KLE, so they’d just add unnecessary complexity. Beyond that, lever adjustability is absent, and the rear shock offers preload adjustment only.
OFF ROAD
Ergonomically, the KLE works very well standing up while you bomb down a dirt road. The tall seat, high ‘bars and peg placement create a posture that feels quite dirt-bike-like for a middleweight, giving a straighter, more relaxed stance on the pegs. The smooth bodywork through the seat and tank junction also lets you move around without catching knees and boots on awkward edges.
There’s a reassuring feel to the weight distribution, with a rearward bias so that the front doesn’t feel nervous or overworked on loose surfaces. The switchable ABS means it can skid and slide too, although the relative lack of low-down stomp means you sometimes have to poke it pretty hard to break traction. On one trail sweeper I decided to employ a little rear-wheel steering only to instead find myself still pointed at the scrub, which caused some momentary consternation. Once you’re accustomed to revving it a bit higher though, the KLE will wag its tail happily and is a great forest track blaster. The suspension absorbs general chatter well enough, the steering stays calm and the chassis feels stable. If you’ve spent years on road bikes and want to start exploring gravel roads, bush tracks and the odd scenic detour, the Kawasaki says, “Let’s have a crack” instead of “Are you sure you packed spare levers?”
All that friendliness has a boundary though, and that boundary is under the engine. When the surface becomes rougher, rockier or more deeply rutted, the KLE’s skid plate can make friends with the terrain pretty quickly once the relatively soft suspension compresses beyond the available 185mm of ground clearance.
That limits the type of obstacles you can comfortably tackle and means some careful line selection is required to avoid the belly getting caught up through really uneven sections, which also places a ceiling on how ambitious you can be with your route – unless you’re happy to cop frequent bangs through the underside. The bash plate itself isn’t super heavy-duty, though the cross braces on the chassis underside give it a solid mounting base.
The low front mudguard also hints at the KLE’s dual-purpose priorities, and while the standard IRC tyres are fine in general use, they can fill up with mud quickly and lack bite in soggy clay. Add in the uncommon 140/70-17 rear tyre size, tube-type rims and an air filter tucked beneath the fuel tank, and it becomes clear this is not a bike positioned for Dakar-style exploits. It’s also no featherweight for the category at 195kg fully fuelled, although that does make it feel nice and stable at speed.
For riders who want to tackle hard enduro terrain on their ADV bikes, Kawasaki’s own KLR650 single is probably the better bet. But for gravel trips, weekend exploring and sniffing out camping spots off the beaten track, the KLE isn’t just capable, it’s positively inviting.
VERDICT
Perhaps part of the hubbub surrounding the KLE’s off-road chops stems from Kawasaki’s own ‘Life’s a rally’ pitch, because this is not a bike you buy if your weekends involve rock ledges, trench-like ruts or the sort of hill climbs that begin with someone saying, “This should be interesting.” What it is, though, is a bike that feels very natural and confidence-inspiring over the type of terrain most adventure riders will actually tackle. As a learner-legal, budget off-roader, it delivers the goods.
Its road performance truly stands out and the more kilometres I covered, the more it impressed. Kawasaki has a well-earned reputation for building great engines, and this little 451cc twin is another belter. Combine that with the KLE’s nicely balanced chassis and you end up with a bike that’s brilliant at the traffic slalom, as well as having great ergonomics and ample range for touring.
The SE’s added protection, improved dash, taller screen and visual upgrades are the kind of accessories most buyers would tick the boxes for anyway, though in a perfect world it would also come with cruise control.
The KLE is an all-rounder with genuine gravel-road ability and strong road manners rather than a hardcore adventure bike but, more importantly, it’s approachable.
It’s the sort of bike that can tempt you to find the unsealed way home without first requiring you to become a part-time geologist and suspension philosopher. And my hunch is plenty of KLE riders will get their bikes muddy for that reason.
✅ PROS – Lively, characterful 451cc twin, excellent road manners, solid and balanced chassis, comfortable standing ergos, near-400km touring range, strong value.
❌ CONS – Limited ground clearance, soft suspension restricts rough-terrain ambitions, no cruise control, tube-type rims, unusual rear tyre size.
THE COMPETITION
2026 KTM 390 ADVENTURE R – $11,395 ride away
398.7cc single-cylinder, 45hp
Wet weight – 176kg
Tank capacity – 14L
2026 BMW F 450 GS – $11,990 ride away
420cc parallel twin, 48hp
Wet weight – 178kg
Tank capacity – 14L
2026 CFMOTO 450MT ABS – $9990 ride away
449cc parallel twin, 44hp
Dry weight – 175kg
Tank capacity – 17.5L
SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE
Type Liquid-cooled, DOHC, eight-valve parallel twin,
Bore & stroke 70.0mm x 58.6mm
Capacity 451cc
Compression 11.3:1
Fuelling EFI, 32mm x 2
Transmission Six-speed
Final drive Chain
PERFORMANCE
Power 33.4kW (45hp) @ 9000rpm
Torque 42.6Nm @ 7500rpm
Fuel consumption 3.9L/100km (tested)
ELECTRONICS
Instrumentation 4.3-inch TFT, smartphone connectivity
Rider aids Switchable ABS
CHASSIS
Frame High-tensile steel trellis
Rake 28.0°
Trail 104mm
SUSPENSION
Front 43mm KYB USD fork, 210mm travel
Rear KYB monoshock, preload adjustable, 196mm travel
WHEELS & BRAKES
Wheels 21/17-inch spoked, tubed
Tyres 90/90-21; 140/70-17
Front brake 300mm disc, two-piston caliper
Rear brake 230mm disc, two-piston caliper
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase 1555mm
Seat height 870mm
Ground clearance 185mm
Weight 195kg (kerb)
Fuel capacity 16L
SERVICING & WARRANTY
Service intervals 12,000km
Valve inspection 24,000km
Warranty 24 months
BUSINESS END
Price $12,602 ride away
Colour Metallic green frame/white bodywork
Contact kawasaki.com.au
