COMPARISON I 2021 HONDA CRF300L VS. KAWASAKI KLX300
P100
Overall, both bikes handle well and
perform alike at slow speeds, but
your confidence will wane sooner on
the Honda compared to the Kawa-
saki as the trail pace picks up.
BRAKES :::
We preferred the braking perfor-
mance of the Kawasaki, which had
better bite up front than the Honda.
The Honda's front brake felt too
mushy for our liking and required
a good squeeze on the lever for
hurry-up stopping. However, this is
not a bad thing at all for the begin-
ner who is still trying to master
the scary front brake because the
Honda's is slightly more forgiving
than the Kawasaki's.
So, no real winner or loser in this
department either, but we must give
Honda kudos for at least offering
ABS, which can be disabled in the
back for off-road riding. Even some
of our experienced test riders won't
say no to at least front ABS on dual-
sport bikes when given a choice.
The Honda tested here was not
fitted with ABS.
ENGINE
PERFORMANCE :::
It's a close battle in the engine-
performance department between
these two. They are both excellent
performers, just a little different. The
Honda seems to feel like it benefited
the most from the added displace-
ment from the previous year.
The Honda benefited
the most from the
increase in engine
displacement.
Even experienced riders can
enjoy these bikes on trails as they
have enough power to climb decent
hills, chug through soft terrain and
accelerate rather quickly out of the
turns. Our test riders admitted that
it was difficult to feel a significant
power difference between the two
bikes, but side-by-side drag races
on the pavement did reveal that
the Kawasaki has a clear advan-
tage when it comes to
powering through
the gears.
