5 Kawasaki Motorcycles That Are Cheap And Easy To Maintain

Robert Pirsig's 1974 travelogue "Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance" chronicled a road trip he took in 1968 with his 11-year old son Chris and two friends from Minneapolis to San Francisco and back. Along the way, Pirsig stopped countless times to make small repairs on and adjustments to his bike, using his wrenching as a meditation on quality and self-improvement and a way to bond with his son. In 2019, Pirsig's widow, Wendy, donated his 1966 Honda Super Hawk, tools, and toolboxes to the Smithsonian Institute, and the museum's website noted that his book "tells a story about the relationship between people and machines that made Pirsig a pioneer in the human–technology interface and do-it-yourself maintenance and repair." 

The later generation Super Hawk ranks as one SlashGear's most affordable classic Honda bikes, and Honda ranks at the top of our list of the best motorcycle brands of all time. The top four spots were all taken by Japanese manufacturers, including Kawasaki, which placed third. Kawasaki is probably most well-known for its utterly hellacious Ninja series of superbikes, but it dedicates much of its energy to making sure every motorcycle that leaves its factory is subject to the same rigorous quality control as the Ninja H2R, which offers eye-popping performance and stability-enhancing systems like traction, braking, and launch control, but starts at $58,100. Most of Kawasaki's bikes are far less pricey and can be maintained by DIYers like Pirsig. 

Here are five Kawasaki models that should fit under your budget leaving ample room for tools and parts.

The next stop on Kawasaki's full-sized price sheet at $5,599 is the KLX 230SM, a supermoto-class bike that has a 233cc four-stroke motor, chain drive, and six-speed transmission, and weighs less than 300 pounds, according to the manufacturer's spec sheet. The KLX 230SM has 17-inch wheels with optional ABS, direct fuel injection via a 32 millimeter Keihin throttle body, a telescopic front fork with 8 inches of travel, and an adjustable rear shock with 8.6 inches of travel. 

It also features electric start and comes in two colors: battle gray (pictured above) and lime green. It has a steel frame and long, padded one-piece seat that sits 33.3 inches from the road surface. Bruno Maia of Top Speed called the KLX230SM a "light and compliant motorcycle," and added, "It's as simple as they come, easy to service and maintain." For complicated repairs or major mechanical failures, Kawasaki offers its Protection Plus plan with terms of one, two, or three years. 

Another Kawasaki that is manageable for most DIY mechanics is the KLR650, a dual-sport model with a single-cylinder fuel-injected 650cc engine. The KLR650 was introduced in 1987 and updated for the 2008 model year, getting updated brakes and front fork and a newly designed swing arm. The 2024 model starts at $6,899, and choosing anti-lock brakes adds just $300 to that price. 

Charles Pennefather of Top Speed included the KLR650 on his list of models appropriate for DIY motorcycle maintenance newbies, noting that "its simplicity will make it very easy for aspiring mechanics to build confidence." He added that he couldn't "think of many other motorcycles that are well suited to someone who is beginning their mechanic career." Much of that simplicity can be attributed to the KLR650's one-cylinder engine, which produces a respectable 39.1 pound-feet of torque, according to the manufacturer's website. Adventure Rider called it the "Swiss Army Knife of motorcycles." It pointed out how the 21-inch front wheel was able to pull riders over uneven terrain with little effort, and the "toolbox sits cleverly where you do not have to pull the seat off to reach it."