Kawasaki KL 250 Super Sherpa

The fact that the small dual-purpose Kawi can be bought for half the money that Harley owners pay for accessories doesn’t mean that the bike misses modern goodies such as electric starting and multi-function digital instrumentation while the fit and finish is excellent, like on any Kawasaki motorcycle.

But let’s not drift away from the main subject here, which is the 249cc, four-stroke, DOHC, four-valve single powering the Sherpa. This is built to deliver good low and midrange torque, immediate throttle response while being highly economic. The fact that it does that while the bike travels both on and off the road is Sherpa’s greatest quality. The quarter-liter motor is fueled by a 34mm Mikuni BST carburetor, features CDI ignition and vibrations should be almost undetectable due to the presence of a gear-driven balancer.

The 63 mpg that Kawi claims the Sherpa is capable of are, if it is to go on the manufacturer’s hand here, definitely achieved by the presence of a sixth gear. This enhances the bike’s ability to commute cheaply and the maximum speed that it achieves as well – 80 mph.

The Sherpa comes with decently sized multi-spoke wheels (21 inches front and 18 inches rear), but there’s plenty more behind those units. A 36mm telescopic fork offers 9.1 inches of front wheel travel while at the back, the Uni-Trak single shock is preload/rebound adjustable and capable of 7.3 inches of wheel travel so there’s no doubt that it will deal with tough riding situations properly.

There’s a skidplate protecting the air cooled motor, but at a ground clearance of 10.6 inches there aren’t many chances for the small thumper to suffer from hits. The seat is 32.7 inches high. Also taking in consideration the fact that the Kawasaki Super Sherpa has a total weight of 282.1 lbs (with all the fluids included), it makes for great representative of the starting level of the dual-sport class.