what losing KLR means

Kawasaki is going to discontinue its KLR line of motorcycles. And I am sad.

I have a 2008 KLR. It is my second motorcycle. I'm the third owner. I bought it when it had just 3700 miles on it. I paid $3500 for it. I adore it. My KLR has taken me up and down gravel roads to gorgeous, remote camp sites and intriguing, hidden ghost towns and vistas too beautiful for words, as well as on many thousands of miles of pavement. My KLR has been to 10 states and provinces in the USA and Canada, and in 2020, it's taking me through Baja, Mexico. In addition to making me an "adventure rider," my KLR also been my backup transportation when I need to take short trips around town.

Though this is an "adventure" or "dual sport" bike, I'll probably never do a back country discovery route (BDR) with my KLR, because those "roads" are beyond my skills, but my KLR could! I may have struggled to get to Silver City, Idaho via the back road from Jordan Valley, Oregon, but my KLR didn't at ALL.

In addition to loving all that my KLR is capable of, and how easy it was for my husband to do things to it so that it was low enough for me to ride (I'm 5' 4"), and how durable it is (I've dropped it twice), this motorcycle is affordable, even if you buy it new. You can get a new KLR for about $6700. By contrast, other dual sport motorcycles cost FAR more: a new Honda Africa Twin costs about $13,500. A new BMW F 700 GS costs about $10,000. A new F 800 GS is $12,300. A new F 800 GS Adventure is almost $14,000. That doesn't even get into the 1000 and 1200s.

What the KLR has given me access to is hard to put into words, but I'll try: it's been central to maintaining any physical and mental health I've held onto through my 40s and into my 50s.

And that's why I am so sad to hear that the KLR is going away. According to Tri County Honda Yamaha Kawasaki Polaris in West Virginia, Kawasaki announced on September 15 that, after 31 years of production, the company has discontinued production of the KLR. Apparently, it isn't selling well.

My fear is that this is another step making adventure motorcycle riding only for people who are financially elite. I can't afford to spend $10,000 on anything at this point in my life, and probably never will. And I'm far from alone in being in that position financially.

If KLR sales are slumping, as they are for Harley Davidson, then Kawasaki has only itself to blame. I think all motorcycle companies do a LOUSY job of marketing. LOUSY. They will spend many thousands of dollars on photo sessions with greased-up almost-naked women, standing in high heels next to a motorcycle they don't know how to ride, but motorcycle companies won't bother to contact women who actually ride and that post fantastic photos of the places their motorcycles take them and say to them, "Hey, could we pay you a few hundred bucks to use these amazing photos in an ad campaign?" There's Facebook groups for women motorcycle riders, including niche groups like Women Adventure Riders for women that ride dual sport motorcycles. Are motorcycle dealers, designers and gear shops monitoring these groups and looking to see what REAL customers are saying? I rarely see product placement in movies or TV shows for motorcycles - do you know what it would do for sales to see a character in a halfway popular TV show riding a motorcycle even SOMETIMES? And I have never seen a motorcycle dealer have a display at a big event that attracts people under 50 or women - not at large concerts, not at big outdoor expos... Why not?

There are so many people, particularly women, who think about riding a motorcycle but have no idea where to begin - I know because they approach me all the time when they meet me standing next to my bike or when they find out that I ride, in gas stations and grocery store parking lots and at rest stops and campgrounds. They are buzzing with questions and then start with their comments about how much they would love to learn to ride but don't know where to begin. They also write me because of this page on my web site talking about how I got started riding and this page on how I started riding a dual sport. Why do they approach me? Because I'm approachable - I'm an overweight 50ish woman riding backroads and having an amazing time and I won't shame anyone for being hesitant or intimidated for their questions about riding a motorcycle, including off-road. I'm no Dakar Rally rider, and they see me and realize they don't have to be either to take a gravel road to somewhere really amazing.

I promote motorcycle riding because of my passion for it - imagine what I could do if I had something to sell, if this were my full time, paid job!

The motorcycle industry, at least in the USA, cannot operate the way it has for decades. It must change and it must cultivate new riders, not just hope people will come along. Baby boomers are aging out of their motorcycle riding years, and middle-aged and young adults are burdened with debt - and getting rid of affordable motorcycles is going to further turn them away. Plus, the demographics of our nation is changing drastically - and that means the customers for any product are changing drastically. By 2050, the USA will be a place where white people will no longer be in the majority: our minority population, currently 30 percent, is expected to exceed 50 percent before 2050. In fact, most of America’s net population growth will be among its minorities, as well as in a growing mixed-race population. Latino and Asian populations are expected to nearly triple. What is the image of motorcycle riding that will make this changing demographic want to ride? The peace of mind? The adventure? The fun? The empowerment? The zen? The escape? The feeling of connection to the environment and the road? The role someone assumes as a motorcycle rider, a role that is far different from that of their day job, as a software developer, a checkout clerk, a delivery driver, an accountant, a Mom?

If the motorcycle industry takes away affordable adventure motorcycles, they can kiss that part of their industry goodbye, because it WILL die out. Is that really what they want?

And if you DO have a motorcycle, check out the fantastic products my husband has to offer:

Adventure Motorcycle Luggage & Accessories
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Aluminum Panniers and Top Cases,
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Tough Motorcycle Fuel Containers, & More


Designed or Curated by an experienced adventure motorcycle world traveler
Based in Oregon
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Also see:
Nonprofits can learn from motorcycle manufacturers? Yes!