2009 Kawasaki reviews

I am very happy with this bike. For the money it is a good value. Show less

It's a great starter sportbike. I bought it new with cash a year and a half ago and this bike has yet to dissapoint me. I get a lot of looks and respect at the local bike nights including clubs like Full Tilt and the Ruff Ryderz. Exhaust is almost a mandatory upgrade though a piped parallel twin sounds like a 450 dirtbike. After the PC 5 and auto tune w/wideband 02 sensor, I should be done with upgrades. All in all, it's the best bang for your buck with reliability that comes from owning a Kawasaki. Show less

Touring the Rockies, carving canyons, two up or solo, this bike dishes out the fun factor in spades! It's one of the most underrated bikes - a must ride. Show less

This is my second street bike and third overall and it's definately a good bike. It has great power especially for my trips up to New Hampshire. It's a very comfortable bike especially on long trips. The handlebars can be a little buzzy, but it's a 650 parallel twin so that's expected. Anybody who complains about the comfort on this bike has never ridden a supermoto up to New Hampshire on the highway. My only complaints about the bike is it's weight. I come from dirt bikes and my last street bike was a Supermoto, but that's not a huge deal. I also am having to warranty the gas cap. The way the cap is made all the water just pools into the lock and it freezes up so I would recommend getting a keyless cap to remedy that. Show less

This was my second street bike and I love it. I even got some friends and my dad to get the same bike. It gets a ton of attention everywhere I go and in my opinion I couldn't have got a better bike. The speed and power it has is amazing along with the braking. It was also voted the fastest 600 on track in 2009! Show less

Still loving this bike. I did have one breakdown which is very rare. We lost a rear wheel bearing on this bike on the Blueridge Parkway. This happened in an area where we had 0 cell reception. Lucky for us a park ranger drove past after 30 minutes that we were able to get to help us. We also met some very nice people in Bedford, VA. who were lifesavers. Kawasaki fixed the problem but would not cover the rear tire that wore out totally on one side due to the alignment issue. Overall, I'm still happy with this bike. Show less

It all depends on what you want out of a bike. I live in the country, gravel roads (which sometimes means mud, ice, snow). When I do get to a paved road it's a highway. I have access to a lot of back country roads, paved and unpaved, straight and twisties, good conditions and terrible. I'm 58 and I haven't had this much fun on a bike, ever. I've dropped it so many times I can't count, crossing streams, getting hung up on logs, negotiating rocks, crossing low water bridges covered with slick moss, parking on a hillside and watching the kickstand sink in the mud, so I need something I can pick up. I can pick this up. And, it seems to be bullet proof, but if something does break (carry pliers to pull the shifter away from the engine after you drop it). It isn't going to cost an arm and leg to fix. As for comfort, it's upright, which is great. The seat is narrow, which is great for standing up, and I stand up a lot. It is fairly hard, though not bad. I bought a Corbin, which I didn't like. It passed on vibration, and it was too wide to comfortably stand. This isn't a highway bike. It will do it, but it's tiring. Having said that, that sixth gear is fantastic when you do get up to speed. And this bike is no slouch. I have made no mods except hand guards, which I recommend. Lots of folks want to do the slip-on exhaust and carb kit, which I may do, but if you're going three miles an hour on a steep, rocky hill, or 50 on gravel, you don't really need more power. The gearing is about right. Brakes and suspension work for me. I fill the tank at about 100 miles, and haven't run out yet, not even close. It sips fuel, generally. It's almost embarrassing to pull up the pump and put in a gallon or two of fuel, which is usually the case. I've used the reserve once, after spending most of the day going up and down trails, then hitting the highway to get home. It's a great weekend bike, commuter bike, on/off road bike. The only kind of riding I wouldn't want to do is long haul on a highway. It's light and simply isn't designed for it. But I would take it across the country on back roads. Show less

Now at 11,500 miles and love my KLR. Bar end weights are the best biggest improvement on the old model. At ~7k miles it left me stranded. The fix for no spark was to tighten the sparkplug cap onto the lead wire a 1/4 turn. Earlier at 500 miles the vacuum on the fuel cock came off and I learned that lesson. It uses more oil when I am consistently running 75-80 on the freeway. It's a great bike for the money. Never off road, but I know it will do great on fire roads. Show less

I have been riding nothing but bigger cruisers my whole life. I had an opportunity to get a Ninja 650R with 8 miles on it for 1,000 bucks. How do I pass that up? Riding this bike is a pleasure. Since I bought the bike I haven't been in my car since. I take it to work every day. If I had to say one bad thing about the bike. There is a slight vibration right between 58-60 miles per hour on the handle bars. But you can ride right through it. Overall, it's a great commuter and new rider bike. But if your looking for a speed demon, this is not the one for you. Show less

This is my first bike. Believe me when I say I had been "stuck" between going right for a 600 or getting a Ninja 250. I had heard there is no need to start with a 600, and that the Ninja 250 is all you need - that is 100% right. This bike is VERY cheap on insurance ($420/yr. full coverage) and packs the punch you need. It has the ability to top out around 105-110 and gets up to 60 mph. in about 5-6 seconds. For a 249cc motor, I am VERY impressed with this bike and don't see myself trading it in for a few years. Show less