Kawasaki, you're killing me. I know this is how you build hype around a forthcoming new motorcycle, but come on, show me the damn bike already. It's been a year now, and, paraphrasing The Mandalorian, "I would like to see the baby."
Of course, I'm talking about Team Green's new KLE adventure motorcycle, which it teased the public over a year ago. And to which the company teased the motorcycle again with a new video it dropped a few days ago. But my anticipation and impatience might be due to me being a hardcore Kawasaki stan versus giving the company grief about its marketing efforts.
That said, based on the video above, as well as what we've been able to glean from it and other sources, the upcoming KLE might be truly well worth the wait. And, hopefully, this video, where we see more of the adventure motorcycle, means that it's finally coming soon. In fact, Kawasaki states as much.
The video in question is titled "Life's a Rally. Ride It." and shows what looks to be the Pacific Northwest of the United States, somewhere I'm headed to in a few short weeks. In the video, we see an adventure motorcycle, complete with spoked wheels, making its way through the fire and logging roads that zig-zag the backcountry, with the upcoming motorcycle sliding in the dirt.
We also get a shot of the front wheel, which features a single brake caliper and rotor, and a quick shot of the exhaust. But that's about it. Yet, I hear you asking how we know this is the forthcoming, and heavily teased, KLE? Easy, the description of the video says so, stating, "Where the pavement ends…the rally begins. Est. 1991. Coming Soon. Stay tuned for more. #KLE #RideIt #Kawasaki #GoodTimes."
There you go. Debuted in a hashtag.
Little is known about the upcoming KLE, but the KL nomenclature may mean that it's a sportier or hot version of the mule-like KLR lineup. That said, Kawasaki could make something that's wholly new and runs in the same circles as Honda's Transalp or Yamaha's Tenere. I'm not sold on that, but it'd be cool for sure. More likely, however, is that it's a 650cc-based off-roader, which has been heavily rumored.
We'll have to wait and see. But given how Kawasaki has launched things in the past, as well as the "Coming Soon. Stay tuned for more." lines of the video's description, I'd put my money on this motorcycle debuting at this year's EICMA which starts in about a month. So we won't have to "stay tuned" for that much longer.
Thankfully.
