New Kawasaki KLR650 Coming For 2021?

Visit Kawasaki’s US website right now and you’ll be faced with an image of six motorcycles under branded covers alongside a message that says “Coming November 23.” There’s also a countdown clock ticking away the hours, minutes, and seconds until those covers are removed. But that’s a long time to wait, so what can we make out from the firm’s teaser pictures and video, and does it really tell us what new models to expect?

A bit of investigation reveals that every single machine under those covers is actually an existing Kawasaki model. That means we should either be expecting moderate updates rather than all-new machines, or that these are just placeholders that approximate the shape and size of the 2021 machines that will replace them. Either way it gives a good guide as to what to expect.

Like the accompanying teaser video that Kawasaki released, we’ll start with the smallest new model in the lineup. It’s a dual-sport-style machine, and although we can only see the bottom third of the wheels, a hint of brake disc, a dash of chain guard, and the tiniest glimpse of suspension linkage, those parts are all perfect matches for the KLX250—a bike that’s already available in the firm’s range.

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So what do we think the new machine is? Our best guess is that it’s a road-going KLX300, derived from the 292cc KLX300R dirt bike. The KLX300R already shares more than a little with the KLX250, including a near-identical chassis and a bored-out version of the same engine, with the same 61.2mm stroke but a wider 78mm bore instead of the 250′s 72mm.

The second machine in the teaser is, on close inspection, virtually identical to the first but with supermoto-style rubber on smaller, 17-inch wire wheels. That can only mean one thing—it’s the D-Tracker X. The current D-Tracker X, or KLX250SF, is simply a supermoto version of the KLX250, though it’s not currently sold in the USA. So if there is indeed a new KLX300 in the pipeline for 2021, then a D-Tracker X variant is also sure to be coming. As with the KLX250-based teaser, the wheels, brakes, chain guard, and suspension linkage peeking from under the cover in Kawasaki’s image perfectly match those of the existing D-Tracker X.

The next two models to appear in the Kawasaki video and its countdown picture are clearly variations on the same theme, and with their clear sportbike silhouettes there’s little doubt that they are the next-generation ZX-10R and ZX-10RR. Once again, a close look at the few elements that can be seen under the cover appear to confirm it—the wheels, brake discs, and what can be seen of the bellypan and exhaust underneath the cover are absolutely identical to the current ZX-10R.

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That can mean one of two things. The more likely scenario is that Kawasaki has simply used the existing ZX-10R to create the teaser, rather than going to the hassle of draping a cover over the real 2021 model. Alternatively, if it is the next-gen bike, then it’s a small update, since there’s no change to those visible parts.

Moving on, we come to perhaps the most intriguing of all the bikes in the Kawasaki countdown. Vaguely sporty in shape, it’s illustrated in the teaser video with a section of racetrack footage, even though it’s clearly not a full-on race replica.

So what’s the bike in the picture? None other than Kawasaki’s supercharged Z H2. That makes it something of a puzzle, since the Z H2 is already a box-fresh new model, far too young to be considered for an update. So either the bike in question is another semi-naked streetfighter—like a Z1000 replacement—or a new variation on the Z H2. If it was a Z1000, why not use the old model for the teaser image though? The fraction of exhaust and wheels we can see are clearly those of the supercharged Z H2, not the normally aspirated Z1000. Our guess is that this could be a higher-spec version of the Z H2—perhaps a toy-laden SE model, following the template of the H2 SX SE+, or a Carbon model like the Ninja H2 Carbon.

The final bike in the teaser is also the one that’s likely to be the best seller of the bunch. Without beating around the bush, it appears to be a replacement for the eternal KLR650.

Look at that curved bash guard poking out from under the cover—it’s a perfect match for the old KLR’s. The same goes for the wheels and the chain guard that can be seen, and even the bolts holding the footpegs on are visibly identical to the KLR650′s. There have been rumors for months that Kawasaki is going to launch a KLR700, with some suggesting the engine could even be a twin, based on the Versys 650′s, rather than the thumping single of the old model, to bring the fight to Yamaha’s Ténéré 700. It looks like we’ll find out for sure on November 23.