Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

The Tengai has less suspension travel. a lo w e r sea t height , and less ground clearance than the KLR650-A4. It's more suited for t h e street than d irt. strong a nd progressive. The front bra ke on bo th bikes squeaks ba dly . Both rear brakes work adeq uately, bu t wo uld someti mes hea t up and lose thei r effectiveness u nder prolonged use. On dirt roads, rider s who like to dra g th e rear brake th rough th e co rners migh t run into thi s nuisan ce every no w a nd the n, espe cia lly in hot weather. Swa p p ing to to p-qualit y bra ke flu id sho u ld hel p , if not elimina te, th e problem. Except for color, the Tengai and the KLR have the same engines. Because o f its more stree t-orie nted tires, th e T engai has a smoother a nd q uieter ride on th e pavem ent. Bu t even wi th its semi-knobby tires, the KLR-A is quite smooth on the ro ad , also. Born mo torcycles are p lenty last at the top of th e rev range. Bottom-end power isn 't anything to bra g abo u t, but bo th mot or s p u mp out good pow er from midrange o n u p: O n a secluded, flat , dirt road we to p pe d bo th Kawasak is out at just over a n indica ted 100 m ph, a nd neither missed a bea t, desp ite hold ing th ese speeds for rather long pe riods of tim e. Cru ising a t 65 a nd 55 m ph on th e highways, th e Kaw asak is perfor m com fortably, but sligh t vibration can be felt th ro ugh the handlebars. T he mirror s vibrate like craz y, -tho ug h , ca us ing blurred, ghost-like images. The five-speed transmissio ns pe rform smooth ly, a nd finding neutra l whil e waiting a t a traffic lig ht or a t a sto p sign is simple. Leani ng over fo r the turns is sligh tly easier o n th e Tengai th an on th e KL R-A. The lower-travel and sti ffer sus pe nsion on the Tengai ar e ben ef ic ial h er e , w hil e the to p heaviness of th e KL R-A is a drawback. Pl us, si nce the KL R -A's long- travel suspension is na tu rall y softer , there is more for k a nd shock movement resu lti ng in front-end d ive and rear-e nd sq uat whi le entering a nd exiting tu rn s. Pavement ends Because o f its longer-travel sus. pen sion, ligh ter overall weight and mor e d irt -o rientated ti res, th e KLRA is mor e tun ed for th e d irt than the T en ga i. Bu t to our su rp rise, th e T en gai performed on dirt roads far better th an we a nticipar ed. T he 'T enga i's most o u tsta nd ing cha racteristic on the dirt is th e wa y . it slides. On smooth d irt roa ds (and the key word here is smooth), th e T engai loves to be pitched into the turns with just enoug h rear brak e to slide the ba ck end around. Gentl y ro lli ng o n th e throttle, the Tengai will straigh ten u p smoothly and set you up ni cely for the next tu rn . But you have to a ttac k these typ e of tu rns with vigila nce, because th e ti res really don' t hook up all th at well on the d irt and trying to pull the T en gai ou t o f a ta ilsp in or a fro nt-end was hout ca n be d ifficu lt (no t to mention scary !) T he KLR-A also slides well, as long as you do n ' t p u t too much trust in the fro nt tire. It doesn 't stick much bett er th an th e Tengai's tires; in fact, The brakes are much stronger on the Tengai than the KLR650-A4. th e T enga i's tir es some times felt more p redic table on th e dirt th an th e KL R 's. Weird. But when it comes to bu m p y dirt roa ds, ruts, roc ks a nd narrow tra ils, the KLR -A is the cho ice o f th e two. It 's definitely not a nimble handler like a KDX200 or ot her o ff-roaddesigned mot orcycles, but the KL RA ca n .get th e job done quite nicely, al be it at a modera te pace. Sure, you' re going to have to wo rk harder to go half the speed on the trails as you wou ld on a KDX 200, but the th rill is sti ll the sa me. And when the trai l is over, you can hop on the road a nd ride into town to have lunch . O n th e Tenga i, though, you m igh t op t to skip the tig ht er, rougher trai ls in favor of the mor e wide-open , two track dirt roads, an d meet your KLRA-mou nted friends a t th e resta uran t. T he T engai has a n in ch less g ro u nd clearance than th e' KLR-A a nd just doesn't have th e sus pe nsio n to tackle the gnarly bumps a nd ruts. P lu s, you don 't wa nt to tak e a ny cha nces o f cras hi ng th e T en gai , especially a t speed, because of its fai ri ng. Dro pping the T en ga i in the roc ks cou ld dra in your bank accou nt, a lt ho ug h we did witness two fa ll s o n the T enga i o n a flat , rock -free dirt road, with liule more th an some ugl y scra tche s resulting. Which one is for you? Bo th machines live u p to the term "dual-purpose" wi th precisio n, a nd neit her far ou tshi nes the ot her in any specific ca tegory. We enjoyed both the KLR:A a nd th e Tengai very much a nd would be q ui te co nt ent livin g wi th ei ther one o f them in our garage. If off-roadi ng is your bag, th en th e KLR-A will probab ly be the bike for you. It 's a lill ie mor e sui ted to o ffroad riding th an th e T en gai , but it hand les th e aspha lt ex tre me ly well. T he exact opposite is true for th e T engai. Pr ice mi ght be an other co ns ider a tio n. The Tenga i is $300 mor e than the KLR-A a t $3899. If yo u still ca n' t decid e which o ne is best for you , there's a lwa ys the fli p of a coin . . . • Specifications KLR650-A4 & Terigai Tengai Engine type Liqui d-cool ed, .4 -stroke. single. DOHC. 4 -va lve Bore x stroke .•. .. .. . 100x83mm Disp lacement . .. .... . . . . •651 cc Compression ratio .• . . . . . . . 9.5:1 Carburetor CVK40 Keihin lubrication system . . • . Wet sump Starting system Electric Ignition system ... . ... ... . •. COl Spark plug NGK DP8EA-9 Primary drive Gear Final drive .... . . . ..... • . . Cha in Gear ratios 1 st 2.266 (34/15) 2nd 1.529 (26/17) 3rd 1 .181 (26/22) -. 4th 0 .954 (2 1/2 2 ) 5th 0 .791 (19/ 24 ) Primary reduction ratios 2 .272 (7 5/3 3) Final reduction ratios 2.866 (43/15 ) Clutch type . . . . • . . Wet multi disc Frame Sem i-double cradle. high-tensile steel Rake . .. ..... . . . . . .. . . . . . . • 280 Trail . .. . . .... . . . . . .. . • • . 4 .4 in. Front suspension . . . .. Telescopic air-adjustable fork Fork tube diameter ... .. •. 38mm Front wheel travel KlR -A4 9 .1 in. Tengai 8.7 in . Rear suspension . • . . Single shock Uni-Trak. swingarm Rear wheel travel KlR650-A4 9 .1 in. 7.9 in . Front brake KlR650-A4 • . . . . Disc 9 .1 in. Tengai Disc 9.9 in. Rear brake KlR650-A4 . . .. . Disc 8 .0 in . Tenga i . •. . . . ... . Disc 7 .9 in. Front tire ... . . • . . . 21 -in. Dunlop Rear t ire 17-in. Dunlop Claimed dry weight KlR650-A4 . ... • . 337.4Ibs. Tengai 350.6 Ibs. Overall length KlR650-A4 86.8 in . Tengai 85.6 in. Overall width KLR650·A4 37.0 in. Tengai 36.2 in. Overall height KlR650-A3 53.0 in. Tenga i . . . .• _ 51.2 in. Seat height KLR650-A4 • .. . .. .. 35.0 in. Tenga i . .. .. • .... . . . 34.3 in. Wheelbase ' KlR650-A4 58.9 in . Tengai 58.3 in. Ground clearance KlR650-A4 9.4 in . Tenga i . .• .• . . . . . . . . 8.27 in . Fuel capacity KlR650-A4 6 .1 gal. Tengai 6.07 gal . Color • .•.•..• • Blue /white/green Retail price . KlR 650-A4 . • .. . . . . . $3599 Tengai .. ... . .• . . .. . . $3899

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