I’ve owned a 2000 Kawasaki KL250 Super Sherpa for about six years now. Here’s some history, facts – and opinion based on personal experience – about this 250 cc dual sport motorcycle:
First, the facts:
The KL250 came out – in the Japanese home market – in 1997 and in the United States in 1999. It was sold through 2003 here (and continuously in Japan and other markets) and then again in the United States in 2009.
It’s a fairly rare bike, but there’s a devoted, if small, owner’s society out there.
(See here http://www.klrworld.com/forums/index.php?board=76.0 for one of the many KL/KLR owners’ forums/)
The KL250 weighs 282 pounds, has a tube steel frame with an aluminum swingarm and “Uni-Trak” monotube/coil shock rear suspension. The engine is 14.5 hp DOHC single. The transmission is a six-speed w/cable-actuated (non-hydraulic) clutch. It features a digital dashboard with twin tripmeters and clock, but no tachometer, temperature warning light/gauge or gas gauge.
New MSRP was $4,999. I picked mine up with less than 2,000 miles on it for $2,000.
Many people confuse the KL250 with the more popular KLR250, but they are very different bikes.
The Sherpa, for openers, is more on-road oriented than the KLR – at least, as it comes from the factory. For example, the KL250 has street-intended tires that are helpless on anything more challenging than gravel – and comes with a low-mount front fender. The original/factory chromed aluminum handlebar is also fairly delicate and can be easily bent if you drop the bike off-roading. The turn signals do have flexible stalks but they, too, are easy to damage when riding off-road.
One of the first things I did to my bike was to install the high-mount front fender and replace the street-minded factory tires with much more aggressive “90-10″ (90 percent off-road) knobbies. I swapped out the factory handlebar, replacing it with an aftermarket (reinforced) tube-steel type that’s much tougher and also a little shorter, for clearance off-road. Finally, I replaced the street-oriented (and chromed) factory rearview mirrors with flexible plastic off-road mirrors. (The turn signals/stalks can be easily unplugged prior to riding if you head off-road. This, in my opinion, is the best solution for that issue.)
These minor mods made the bike much more off-road capable without screwing up its on-road capability (or legality).
Functionally, one of the major differences between the KL250 and the KLR250 is the engine. Both bikes have 250 cc singles but the KL’s is air-cooled vs. the KLR250′s water-cooled engine.
I am partial to the air-cooled engine of the KL because it’s inherently simpler – and also inherently lower maintenace. There’s no radiator to break when you’re out in the woods – and you never have to worry about replacing coolant or tearing a hose.
It’s true the KLR’s water-cooled engine makes a bit more power and handles high-heat summer days better – but the KL will still do about 90 mph, all out – and it can maintain 60 MPH with a 200 pound rider (me) on board. It’s actually pretty quick off the line and feels stronger (or more advantageously geared) over 50 mph than the KLR.
I think the KLR250 has “gruntier” gearing – and a slightly lower top speed.
A weak point is the hyper-lean factory jetting, which makes the KL250 very cold natured and hard-starting if the air temp. is less than 40 degrees. The good news is this is easily (and inexpensively) taken care of by swapping out the lean pilot and main jets with richer ones (use a 130 main, Kaw part #KW92063-1103 and pilot jet #45-20) and removing the brass air screw limiter, then setting the air screw to 2 and 3/4 turns out.
I did this the first month I owned my bike and it made a tremendous difference for the better.
Another difference between the KLR ad the KL is the frame – and seat height. It is a physically smaller bike than the KLR and you sit much lower in the KL (seat height is 32.7 inches). This is a plus for shorter riders as well as new riders. But taller riders (I’m 6 ft 3) can ride this bike, too. The downside is the KL’s suspension has less travel than the KLR’s – and if you are a heavy person (over 150 pounds) or ride aggressively off-road, the bike will bottom out more easily and the ride is definitely harsher.
Another difference: The KL250 has disc brakes front and rear whereas the KLR (older models, at least) has a drum rear brake. Having ridden both, I can vouch that the KL stops quicker and has better braking feel.
Another KL feature is the gold-anodized (and spoked) rims. They’re nice-looking and also expensive looking.
A downside is you’re limited in terms of the width of the rear tire you can mount because the KL250′s swingarm has less space between its bars than the KLR’s. I have a friend who owns a circa 1997 KLR250 and he was able to mount a much wider off-road tire than I could. But in real-world off-road use (no “extreme” motocross stuff) I have found that the KL will absolutely keep up with a KLR using the same tire – even if the KLR’s is larger. I have taken the KL down some pretty hairy fire roads where I live up in the Blue Ridge mountains – and the bike got me out of there, too! It has tackled stream wading, two feet of snow – and I have found it to be a tough, tenacious little thing.
There’s only one thing I about the KL250 I really don’t like – and which I consider a liability for an off-road bike : It has electric start, without a kicker back-up.
The KLR250 has a kicker.
I just prefer a kicker, regardless – but for off-road bikes, I think a kicker is a must-have. Anyone who goes off-roading knows this scene: You’re out in the boonies, and just rode through a puddle you thought was three inches deep but which turned out to be three feet deep. The bike stalls out. You heave it out of the muck and try to restart it. If it’s electric, you may only have a few seconds of juice – maybe none at all, if the battery fried out.
If it doesn’t light, you’re screwed.
The best you can do is try to find a downhill stretch and roll-start the thing. Maybe there’s no hill.
But if you have a kicker, you’ll get it started again (unless something’s broken or seriously off-kilter). It may take awhile and your leg may get sore, but so long as you can kick that thing, eventually, it will light off – and you won’t have to push/pull it home.
Or go get your truck.
When I got my bike, I spent a lot of time researching whether it would be feasible to retrofit a kicker. There is a plug on the side of the engine case where a kicker lever would go (it looks like). But after asking a lot of questions, I found out that doing this mod would involve a lot more work and money than I was willing to throw at it. Instead, I always make sure the battery is at peak charge before I even think about going off-roading – and I never ride alone, just in case. Having to hump it several miles out of the wilderness because the bike won’t start is not my idea of fun!
What else?
On the plus side, the Sherpa requires very little upkeep. It takes 1.6 quarts of oil (w/filter change) and both the drain plug (underside of the case) and the filter access (under a cover on the righthand side of the bike; just unbolt two 10 mm bolts) are easy to to get at. An oil/filter change takes less than 10 minutes and costs under $10.
There’s no radiator, so no coolant to change or hoses to sweat. Other than periodic chain tension checks/adjustments and a valve clearance check every 7,500 miles or so this bike doesn’t ask for much. It gets 60-70 MPGs, depending on how it’s set up (expect mileage to drop with off-road knobbies and jetting, etc.) and is extremely reliable. I’ve put mine through some pretty harsh off-road situations – and also run it WOT on the street for 10 minutes at a stretch – and it didn’t seem to cause the bike any harm. It runs as well today as it did when I bought it six years ago.
The KLR is still the better all out off-road bike, mainly because of its superior clearance and suspension travel. But the KL is a bike that can do 90 percent of what the KLR can in real-world off-roading (unless you motocross) and it’s a better bike on-road that costs less to keep, too.
It’s a neat bike that’s good as a first bike/learner bike, or a commuter bike, or (like mine) a rugged trails bike that’s still able to knock around local roads.
I give it an 8 out of 10.
Throw it in the Woods?
This was a really accurate webpage, I have a 2007 super sherpa, its a great bike, I totaly agree it should have a back up kick start, beyond that its really durable bike I have crashed ten or more times and it always gets back up and keeps going.
Hey Jeremy – welcome!
The Sherpa’s a fun, inexpensive and reliable bike. I keep mine on a trickle charger at all times to make sure the battery is always 100 percent – which helps deal with that absence of a kick start back-up problem!
have a03 krl 24000 mi. got it w/321 m1 in 05 while resideing in az. the verde vally it is one great bike .any dirt road forest service road there has had my tire tracks . been in oh. for 5 year runs great 88 mpg at 65 on a123.7 mi run have replaced seat w/ cushman pan lowerd it w/dog bones ,made wind screen .installed heated hand grips the type that go under the grips, and hppo hands for winter rides.made a rack out of half in. sq. tube attach to turn signals and hand grab rails .
The one thing I don’t like about mine: electric-only start. I much prefer a kicker. Mine eats batteries – even though I keep it on a trickle charger. And if you drop it in the woods (in water, especially) you can very quickly deplete the battery trying to get it going again. With a kicker, you can always get it going again, eventually.
you have aproblem some place ,my own battery was new o5 aug. and has been a o.k. discharged it once by leaveing the electric hand grips on over nite re wired before morning coffee,never dunk motorcycle in water.ride a bit slower till you can do water crossings with out falling down,i to hadto learn those lessons ,back in the day.
The problem I’ve got is it’s cold-natured and doesn’t start up immediately; so you spin the starter – and wear the battery down. I use a shot of ether to get it going when I leave the house. but on the trail, if you haven’t got the ether… I know the underlying issue is probably factory lean jetting.
try leaveing the enrichner , choke , on for at least amile in cold times that should solve that problem if not see at top of thread about changing main jet and pilot jet etc…
Done that! It still takes several minutes to warm up sufficiently. I did change the main jet because I was able to find replacement (richer) main jets. But I’ve had no luck finding a pilot jet or other parts (other than stock). This (the lack of aftermarket parts or parts being hard to find) is an issue with the KL.