Kawasaki KLX230 Launched At ₹3.30 Lakh

After months of waiting Kawasaki has officially launched its entry-level dual-sport offering, the KLX230, in India at a staggering ₹3.30 lakh. This is quite the steep pricing point that we were not hoping for despite being localised. After all in this price range, the Japanese bike will find itself amongst the likes of the Royal Enfield Himalayan, the Triumph Scrambler 400X and even the current KTM 390 Adventure, with the new version soon to arrive shortly too. All of these bikes pack a larger engine, more features, and are quite well rounded, in comparison. Heck, even the Hero XPulse 200 4V Pro, which the Kawasaki KLX230 will ideally go up against, is priced way more attractively and will be far easier to maintain. 

The KLX230 is powered by a smaller 233 cc, oil-cooled engine which produces a paltry 19.73 bhp at 8,000 rpm and 20.3 Nm at 6,000 rpm. The engine is nestled within a rugged perimeter frame that is sprung by a long travel telescopic fork at the front, and a uni-trak rear shock. It rides on 21-/18-inch spoke wheels shod with proper dual-purpose tyres. Wrapping up this purpose-driven, practical architecture is a very typical enduro design of a compact bikini fairing, elevated front fender, and a minimalist tail section. Keeping matters further minimal are just two colour options – the brand’s signature Lime Green and Battle Grey. 

On the features front, while the Kawasaki KLX230 gets the advantage of a fully digital instrument cluster, it's a less premium LCD console. It does support Bluetooth connectivity and thereby runs Kawasaki’s My Rideology app, which in turn further gets you call/SMS, and mail alert – but not turn-by-turn navigation. Meanwhile, the dual-headlight is an LED unit, but the tail light and turn indicators are again bulb units. 

So, from a pricing point of view, the new Kawasaki KLX230 comes across as quite a hard sale. Especially, with the XPulse 200 4V Pro in the mix and the soon-to-be-launched KTM 390 Enduro R arriving at a similar price point with a lot more capability on hand.