Kawasaki Klx110l
Kawasaki KLX110L
ROUNDUP
QUICKRIDE
"Gee, Dad, can I ride it now?"
BIG KIDS, SMALL KIDS, grown adults acting like kids-it doesn't matter: Kids of all sizes and ages enjoy pure, unadulterated off-road fun on Kawasaki’s 2010 KLX110L. Just looking at it, you know that it’s a bike intended mainly for youngsters, but you might find it impossible to get Dad off the thing long enough for his offspring to ride it.
Though the KLX110 has been around since 2003, the L model is new this year.
It’s a slightly taller version of the base KLX110, with longer suspension travel and a manual clutch mated with a four-speed gearbox (previous 110s had three speeds). The L also has a standard one-down, three-up shift pattern with neutral between first and second, while the base 110 has an automatic clutch and locates neutral at the bottom. Aside from those few differences, the two are the same.
Both models have more power for 2010, along 4~ with taller seats (one inch higher on the 110, 2 inches on the 1 1OL), restyled bodywork mimicking that of the big KX-F moto crossers and, best of all, electric starting. A sealed, 3-amp 12volt battery provides the juice, with no key required for starting; just flip a simple onloff switch, push the button and go. The 18 pounds of weight added by the electric starting sys tem, longer suspension and four-speed gearbox didn't bother our adult (in calendai years only) riders, but some actual children may have a little more trouble picking up the 1 1OL after a tipover than they would with last year's bike.
Revised cam timing and a new, freer-breathing si lencer help give the 11 OL's air-cooled, 111cc four-stroke engine more oomph all across the rpm range, from idle to rev limiter. The power output is perfectly linear, too, so there are no omigod! surprises for newbies, no dammit! disappointments for the expe rienced. Fun for everyone.
Thanks to suspension travel that’s generous for a bike of this size and type (5.5 inches up front, 5.2 at the rear), as well as a decent amount of damping, the 110L can be ridden quite aggressively and controllably by fast little kids. Most adults tend to bottom the suspension often, and taller people wouldn’t mind a higher handlebar; but neither factor is an issue for these riders, because they’re usually too busy giggling to notice—or care. Riders in between those two extremes might find the 11 OL’s suspension a wee bit on the stiff side, but not enough so to keep them from bopping around the riding site from dawn ’til dusk.
That’s really the essence of what the KLX 110L brings to the party: the desire for anyone and everyone to ride it, and ride it, and ride it, and then ride it some more. If you’re still in diapers or just graduated to Depends, this bike obviously is of no interest to you; but for practically everyone in between, the KLX 11 OK will put a smile on your face you won’t be able to wipe off for a week. —Ryan Dudek
