Kawasaki KLX 300R

We're willing to bet that most off-road enthusiasts are acutely aware of this by now, but in case you haven't heard, two-stroke off-road vehicles manufactured after January 1, 1997 are now prohibited from operation on public lands in California. For those of you operating two-stroke machinery outside of the Golden State take note, for this may very well foreshadow the future of off-road vehicle design. Sure, consumer demand still influences direction of the motorsport market, but laws have a funny way of creating rapid change. No need to remember the Alamo, just think back to when three-wheelers were on showroom floors. It's a raw deal for many reasons but let's face it - are you really going to wait for clean-burning two-stroke machines to go into mass production? Give us a call when they're ready - we'll be out enjoying the latest thumpers until then.

Different Strokes

A while back we were invited by Kawasaki to their KLX300R introduction in Idaho. We were so completely delighted by the bike's handling prowess that we hurried to compare it side by side with one of our all-time favorite four-stroke trail bikes - Honda's XR400R. The XR is powerful, nimble, and way too much fun. Both bikes present great values, but which one is right for you and why?

Apples to Oranges We admit that comparing a single cylinder motorcycle to another that has nearly 100cc of additional displacement may initially seem unfair. However, we found that given the proper conditions the KLX could hang with the Honda. Sure, we initially considered throwing the XR250R in the ring, but after spending considerable saddle time on the smaller Honda and the Kawasaki, it's clear that a fair fight would have to include the 400.
Let's get the displacement issue out of the way. Using the highly accurate MO Dynojet dynamometer to measure rear wheel torque and horsepower, we've generated plots to illustrate the unique power characteristics of each bike:
 

Source Motorcycle.com