Kawasaki KLX 230 S dual-sport bike spied testing

- Spied with a saree guard and front license plate

- Likely to be localized for India

- To go up against the Hero Xpulse 200 4V

Kawasaki seems to be working on expanding its portfolio as it was recently spied testing the KLX 230 S dual-sport offering in India. The Japanese brand is expected to be working on localising the motorcycle and selling it here as a road-legal offering.

The KLX 230 S test mule was equipped with India-centric elements like a saree guard and a front number plate. It was also carrying some testing equipment at the back which means Kawasaki might be executing some mechanical changes to make it more suitable for the Indian market than the iteration sold abroad.

The KLX 230 S is sold in standard and S variants in the international markets. Kawasaki might prefer launching the latter in our country due to its more accessible seat height of 830mm as against the former’s 884mm. Needless to say, seat height and its accessibility act as a big deciding factor for Indian customers. The trade-off of the lower seat height is the lower suspension travel and ground clearance of the S variant than the standard trim. Typical of dual-sport bikes, the KLX 230 is quite compact and incredibly light with a kerb weight of 131kg.

Powering the motorcycle is a basic 233cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder engine, power and torque output numbers of which are not revealed by Kawasaki. However, we expect them to be close to 19bhp and 20.6Nm since that’s what its non-road-legal iteration, the KLX 230R S makes. Other hardware details of the bike include a purpose-built perimeter frame which rides on a 21-18-inch spoke wheel combination with a single disc brake at both ends with ABS.

If Kawasaki localises the KLX 230 S and prices it competitively, it will go up against the Hero Xpulse 200 4V. The official launch might not take place before the end of this year or early 2025.

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