Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

I-K wrote:

RG wrote:...I have no idea why do they need to produce this bike.

FWIW, I'd be imprssed with this thing if Kwak offered it with a plastic tank, wire spoke wheels and a muffler which didn't double as a bashplate so it could do some serious dirt work.

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ok..i get the plastic tank...i get the zorst thats NOT a bashplate...but why wirespoke wheels??

do they have more "give" or less likely to crack or sumthin??

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwie

id rather take an ER6-n *actually while at kwaka today one stole my heart for under 10 grand..* so i think i know what ill go for one day

Neka79 wrote:ok..i get the plastic tank...i get the zorst thats NOT a bashplate...but why wirespoke wheels??

do they have more "give" or less likely to crack or sumthin??

Let me guess... is it something to do with weight?

Neka79 wrote:

I-K wrote:FWIW, I'd be imprssed with this thing if Kwak offered it with a plastic tank, wire spoke wheels and a muffler which didn't double as a bashplate so it could do some serious dirt work.

ok..i get the plastic tank...i get the zorst thats NOT a bashplate...but why wirespoke wheels??

do they have more "give" or less likely to crack or sumthin??

The latter. Notice how even supermotos run spoked wheels... that's the reason.

Plus, steel spoked wheels are heavier than cast alloy ones. That means more rotational inertia and more stability, which also comes in handy in the bush.

I'm seriously contemplating making a middleweight dualsport the next bike I get (there are simply too many gnarly dirt roads between Canberra and Melbourne for them to go unexplored), and it shits me that Kawasaki have *nothing* worth considering in the segment.

The KLR650 is too heavy, too big and has crap brakes, as would be expcted of a bike designed over 20 years ago.

At the moment, the front-runner is a Honda XR650R with an aftermarket tank. Would it really kill Kawasaki to design a new big-bore single?