• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

John Dice New bikes for '26 memorial thread.

The one thing I was looking for on that new KLE, specs on the crank throws,
180, or 270, doesn't say.
180's with 305, 350 Hondas, kind of buzzy, lots of side x sides run them.
My Triumph, 270, creamy torque, with a killer snarl @ 90 mph.
Ibex is 270,
 
Last edited:
good question about the KLE crankshaft … idk the answer, but I’d be shocked if it wasn’t a 180 deg crank … Kawasaki vertical twin cranks tend to look like this:

82FCFB69-809B-470D-A4C8-9DB51C582B53.jpeg

my old EX500 engines had a fancy balancer shaft to help deal with the rocking vibes of its 180 deg crank. :dunno
 
Last edited:
CDONA said:
The one thing I was looking for on that new KLE, specs on the crank throws, 180, or 270, doesn't say.
Click to expand...

Kawasaki increased the stroke on their 180° crankshaft parallel twin to create the slightly larger version
bore 70 mm • stroke 51.8 mm • 399 cc
bore 70 mm • stroke 58.6 mm • 451 cc
 
ha ... that's fun to think about:

"A longer stroke provides a greater leverage advantage for the crankshaft, similar to using a longer wrench on a bolt, which increases torque."​

when I was clubracing I wanted to drop a 454 crank in my EX500, and increase the bore to stay at 500cc, with the idea of increasing HP with the increase in red-line RPM that a shorter stroke might provide ... also was interested in moving the bore away from the intake valves a bit. :blah

anyway ... one concern about going to a twin from the mighty single cylinder 650 was having to deal with missing the low-end grunt with the twin, compared to the big single. :dunno

I guess the reality is that 3/10ths of an inch isn't much ... (6.8 mm or .267 of an inch)--iow, I probably couldn't tell the difference in torque between a 400 cc twin and 450 cc twin? although maybe I could between a 300 cc twin and a 450 cc twin ... idk.
 
Last edited:
I'm thinking that the KLE would be a real handful, for me, on single-track.

I basically avoid single-track stuff on my KLR. :x

one of the things guys are complaining about with the new KLE is its low ground clearance of 6.8" ...

the old pre-gen KLR had about 9" of ground clearance, as an example--which was considered low for riding single-track. another example is the DRZ, with 11" of ground clearance.
 
Last edited:
Initial reviews says this is a fun and practical bike.



www.ktm.com

2026 KTM 990 RC R - NEVER STOP | KTM United States

Almost twenty years ago the KTM RC8 showed that KTM could adrenalize riding on asphalt as well as offroad. Since then the journey to a next-gen, track > Read more
www.ktm.com www.ktm.com
PHO_BIKE_DET_KTM-supersport-990-rcr-desktop-action-2_%23SALL_%23AEPI_%23V1.jpg
 
Digging Dani’s helmet BTW.
 
budman said:
Meant to be ridden in the same position you were in when the womb.
I cannot even get my foot with my terminator knee on the peg.
Click to expand...
LOL!!! It's for young men.........young men with a lot of $$$. No thanks, I'll stick to my 2005 ZREX1200.
 
Interesting ad.

Not the normal suck up to the American public stuff. :cool
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top