Marcello re-visits his riding roots on the new 2024 Kawasaki KLX140R L and rates it over plenty of different terrain.
I got my first ever Kawasaki KLX140R L in April 2021 when I was 11 because my previous bike, a KLX110L, was too small and I wanted something with more power and better suspension. My big brother immediately said it was his, but we took turns until he got a bigger bike. We live on bush acreage so most of our riding was mucking around, chasing wallabies, goannas and bush turkeys. We also made some new single tracks to then see who was fastest around our loops. fast forward four yers and now I’m testing the 2024 Kawasaki KLX140R L for ADB! But back to my first ever KLX140R L…
We straight away put Bark Busters on because it’s a heavy bike at 95kg, and I was about 45kg, not that tall, and I dropped the bike a lot. It didn’t take long to get used to the extra power and better suspension of the 140. My brother and I got adventurous and went down into the difficult areas of our property with steep hills and sandstone bush rock everywhere.
That’s when I started getting serious about riding and my Dad started practicing with us on our crazy tracks. We would follow each other for hours but my brothers 300cc two-stroke was hard to keep up with and my Dad and I started modifying my 140.
First was a new seat cover and ProTaper handlebars, then suspension, which made a huge difference to the looks and performance. We could have modified the existing fork and a lot of people on the KLX140 Facebook group (19,000 members), do that. We chose the KX85 suspension because the triple clamps and forks bolt straight in. The rear shock fits pretty easy too.
I could hit things a lot harder now and we all started hitting logs and combinations of logs and then more logs! Because my riding was improving so much after a year on the 140, my Dad entered me in the Australian Hard Enduro Championship at the Wattle Flat round in NSW. I loved it but it was so hard.
I dropped my bike so many times and picking it up was so tiring, but the 140 power was better than the 85’s for the long hills because I was tractoring up. Kids on 85’s were wheel spinning and flipping like crazy. One thing the heavier bike taught me was good balance because crashing sucks. After the race, I practiced even more tractoring up hills and pivot turns.
We would go riding with adults and everyone was so shocked at how good the 140 was, especially up hills and in really rough tracks but the power wasn’t so good anymore now that I was used to it. I found an online shop in the US called Keystone Parts that makes buying parts for the bike easier because it’s so hard to know what to buy when you’re a kid. They have so many options for lots of bikes like the 140 but it’s explained really well.
First we put a Mikuni VM26 carby on, which came correctly jetted and with accessories so no mods were needed, and it made a difference but I was used to it in 10 minutes. So we ordered a big bore kit, race cam, and a new exhaust system. WOW it was so good. Crack the throttle and it would wheelie really easily, hills were never too steep and I could do stand-up wheelies now.
That was really good for a year then I reached a level where I needed to ride a two stroke. I had ridden a KX85 before at my house but it wasn’t good at the hard stuff that I liked. As I got better and older I tried a 112cc KX which is much better for my ability. Now I’m nearly 14 and own a KX112.
Riding the stock KLX140R L again was actually fun. It was so different to my modified bike. If I could choose to ride a bike around a paddock or on a farm, I would choose the stock bike because the suspension is stiffer and it’s easier to hit a rock or root and pop little wheelies. My 140 was geared really low where this one is easier to chill on.
It reminded me of the fun had three years ago when I first got mine. Except now I just wanted to ride slower, try slow wheelies or explore the bush without trying to rip it up. Although it’s not designed to be a high performance bike my Dad and I sure turned it into one and I learnt a LOT about bikes by pulling it apart and adding and changing things. It’s a good bike to learn about bikes, from riding to maintaining them.
If I think about two annoying things and two good things they would be a flat battery from leaving the kill switch on. There is no kick starter and I’ve been caught deep in the bush a few times because of that. The other is a broken wire in the loom near the steering stem, but the loom is simple and easy to replace and my Dad said it was cheap.
The good things, the electric start haha. I miss it so much now I’m on a two stroke motocross bike, and I miss the side stand too. I learnt to ride slow on the 140 and so many kids on motocross bikes can’t ride slow at all. Full lock circles and figure 8’s are really easy on this bike and some adults I know can’t even do that because they had fast motocross bikes as kids.
I think I’ll own another one when I get older because we never had any troubles with this bike, apart from the electrical things I mentioned. Green rules and adults are always so happy when they are riding a KLX140R L.
2024 KAWASAKI KLX140R L
ENGINE
Type Single-cylinder four-stroke, SOHC, two valves, electric start
Displacement 144cc
Bore & Stroke 58.0 x 54.4 mm
Cooling Air-cooled
Compression ratio 9.5:1
Fuel metering Keihin PB20 Carburettor
Tank capacity 5.8L
Transmission Five speed
Clutch Wet multi-disc
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase 1,285 mm
Seat height 800mm
Ground clearance 255 mm
Claimed Weight 95 kg (wet)
SUSPENSION
FRONT 33 mm telescopic fork, 180mm travel
REAR Uni Trak, single shock with piggyback reservoir, adjustable compression and rebound damping, and adjustable spring preload, 180mm travel
BRAKES
Front Dual-piston, 220 mm petal disc
Rear Single-piston,186 mm petal disc
RUNNING GEAR
Handlebar NA
Front tyre 70/100-19 42M
Rear tyre 90/100-16 52M
PRICE & CONTACTS
RRP $5,677
BROWSER kawasaki.com.au
WARRANTY Six months parts and labour