KLR Timeline – ’A’ and 'E' models
Iron Jungle had a website that I referenced frequently, as it had yearly photos of all KLR650s produced since the beginning. When the site disappeared, it seemed that this legacy needed to go on, so I’m using some of the photos from that site as well as other photos and input from others to improve on what was there. Thanks to everyone that has contributed!
This group of photos is still a work in progress, so if you have a good photo of an original bike for any model year, or information about North American vs. Non-North American bikes, contact me at watt-man@cox.net .
I’m also working on a production history as well. It will be a while before I publish information of production by model year and month. Generally speaking, it appears that the 100,000th KLR650 was produced in 2007, and the bike’s popularity has risen in recent years, now selling more than three times as many bikes per year as they did in 2003 and earlier.
It appears that in the early years, there were North American bikes (denoted “NA” in the photos) and a separate set of color schemes used on Non-North American bikes (denoted “Not NA” or “NNA” in the photos). There are also “B-model” (Tengai) and “C-model” (KLR650C) bikes that are not covered here. The last 'A' model KLR650 was the 2007 model, and in 2008 the designation became "KLR650E" so both model lines are covered below.
Happy viewing.
1987: So far from what I can tell, this is one of two model years where the Non-North American bikes have a separate color scheme. I’m using a factory shot from 1987 of the ‘blue’ bike which almost looks like navy blue, but every one I’ve seen is the same blue as all North American bikes up through 1993. You know how cameras can vary. That white rear fender will make it all the way to ’93. The first two years are the only ones that reference “liquid cooling” on the bike, in these instances on the rear side covers.
1988: Wow, 4 versions! The second year where Non-North
American bikes have a
separate color scheme. Most commonly
seen are the blue bikes; in
1989 and 1990: The photo on the left appears to be a pre-production photo from Kawasaki. The 1989 and 1990 bikes look the same, but the engine displacement was printed on the seat as shown in the photo on the right. I believe the left photo from Kawasaki simply has a 1988 seat.
1991, 1992 and 1993: Engine displacement has shifted back to the rear side covers. So far I’m under the impression that you can’t tell a 1991 from a 1992 from a 1993. The only non-stock items I see here are the tires.
1994 and 1995: These are the peak of the “Malibu Barbie” KLR years. Wild, eh? Check out the purple fork gators and purple seat.
1996: The beginning of an 8-year run of green bikes. However, the 1996 model year is quite unique in that many changes occurred during the model year... changes to the cylinder head, balancer sprockets, cylinder, countershaft sprocket retention method, clutch, and flywheel rotor to name some. It is not my intent to catalog all the changes here as they are more clearly documented at Chris Krok's informative KLR650 FAQ. It does appear that the full run of 96's utilized the black engine, and I believe it's the only way to cosmetically tell a 1996 from a 1997 and 1998 bike, where Kawasaki made the change to an engine color of "hammertone" which is more of a silver/grey.
1997, 1998: I’m unaware of how to tell the two years apart cosmetically. If it wasn't for the engine color issue, the '96 looks like these bikes.
1999: Now we’ll get into a string of years where it’s easy to see the differences between each model year. Although this photo appears to use a different color of plastics from the previous year, the '96, '97, '98 and '99 bikes all use the same color green.
2000: A well-defined one-year model run.
2001: Another well-defined one-year model run. It might not be clear in this photo, but I believe 2001 and 2002 both had brown seats and brown fork gators.
2002: The other brown
seat / brown fork gator year. Production
shifted to
2003: The last green-only model year. I believe the same green was used on the 2001, 2002 and 2003 bikes. The seat and fork gators went back to black in 2003. I'm still working on earlier production rates but it appears there were about 2,500 to 4,000 bikes a year made up through 2002. Then the increase begins. In 2003, Kawasaki sold ~3,900 bikes, but that was over a 14-month production run, which is an annual sales rate of about 3,300 bikes.
2004: Green is changed to red, the rest stays the same. This red is used on 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 models. The “650” designation is still on the rear side covers, but is now a small sticker. I haven't had an "NNA" bike to post in a while but here's an '04 from Australia, and what do you know, the rear fender extention still seems to be a quick way to tell them from NA bikes. Don't be confused by the non-stock seat and tires, the rest of the bike on the right looks stock. In 2004, Kawasaki sold ~4,400 bikes, but that was over a 9-month production run, which shows the increase, now at an annual sales rate of about 5,800 bikes!
2005: The “650” designation goes onto the gas tank shrouds, so it leaves the rear side cover placement where it had been almost from the beginning. This is the first time that the rear side covers are blank. This is the last of the traditional "A1, A2, A3..." identification scheme - the A19 was as high as that designation went. See below for the change in 2006. In 2005, Kawasaki sold ~6,100 bikes over an 11-month production run, which shows another increase, now at an annual sales rate of about 6,700 bikes!
2006: First time that
North American bikes are available in more than one color. The bright “
2007:
2007: The last A model is produced. Following in the new designation format, the 2007 model is the A7F although some mistakenly call it the "A21". The green bike goes to black, and the red bike is offered again. To meet release of the 'E' model late in the first quarter of 2007 (flyer above), 2007 KLR production only runs 8 months and stops in December 2006. Still, these bikes are snapped up by those who want the 'old style' KLR, and Kawasaki builds ~7,100 bikes... that's impressive enough, but that was in only 8 months which is yet another increase, an annual sales rate of about 10,600 bikes!
2008: The KLR650E is released. In keeping with the new designation format, these are the E8F. E is for KLR650E, 8 again for model year, and F... again guessing as the decade. This was the most serious redesign since the bike’s inception in 1987. Three colors were offered. These pictures, like the one a few photos up of the first E models, are pre-production images with a different rear brake line and caliper that was not sold to the public. See the 2009 models below to see what caliper and brake line were utilized for the '08 and '09. Overall, the 2008 model gained around 17 pounds although the published value climbed by 51. The 2008 weight at 386 dry is accurate… the 2007-and-earlier advertized weight of 337 dry was a lie since day 1. It was more like 369 dry. There were over 15,100 bikes produced for this model year - a new record - but to be fair, the very early start meant that the 2008 model was manufactured for 17 months. The production rate was almost identical to 2007, with the 2008 models being built at a yearly rate of 10,700 bikes/year. At this point, Kawasaki claimed the KLR was their 4th best-selling bike of their entire lineup.
2009: The E9F is released. Frames and racks go to black for the first time and three color combos are maintained. The ‘green’ bike was changed to black with green. Production still seeems to be climbing; over 7,500 bikes have been manufactured in the first 6 months of production. If this holds, that's an annual rate of 15,000 bikes a year! The KLR already has a great aftermarket due to the incredible interchangability between bikes, but this increase in production since the 2003 model certainly helps us as well.