2008 Kawasaki Klr650: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 129 complaints
129
Total Complaints
2,000mi
Median Mileage
Exterior Lighting
Top Issue
0
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

800 25th Percentile
2,000 Median Mileage
4,012 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Exterior Lighting
79
Structure
8
Shock Absorber
6
Turn Signal
6
Engine And Engine Cooling
6
Electrical System
4
Engine
4
Springs
2
Exhaust System
2
Equipment
2

Severity Assessment

0
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"SHOCK PRELOAD ADJUSTER ON MY 2008 KAWASAKI KLR 650 BROKE. EVERY 08 KLR I KNOW OF, THIS PART HAS FAILED. AT THIS TIME THE REPLACEMENT PARTS ARE FAILING JUST AS FAST. KAWASAKI SO FAR IS REPLACEING THE PARTS UNDER WARENTY, HOW EVER THEY HAVENT UPGRADED THE THE PART TO PREVENT FAILER, YET. I HOPE THIS I..."
"REAR PRE-LOAD ADJUSTER ON 2008 KAWASAKI KLR650 SPINS FREELY. CANNOT ADJUST SUSPENSION TO RIDERS WEIGHT. *TR"
"REAR SHOCK PRELOAD ADJUSTER FAILS TO ADJUST PRELOAD, THIS CAN LEAD TO DANGEROUS LOADING CONDITIONS IF USER IS UNABLE TO PROPERLY ADJUST SUSPENSION. *JB"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Exterior Lighting 79 complaints
25th: 926 mi Median: 2,100 mi 75th: 4,009 mi
Structure 8 complaints
25th: 350 mi Median: 800 mi 75th: 3,750 mi
Shock Absorber 6 complaints
25th: 1,388 mi Median: 1,500 mi 75th: 1,508 mi
Turn Signal 6 complaints
25th: 687 mi Median: 800 mi 75th: 1,200 mi
Engine And Engine Cooling 6 complaints
25th: 6,100 mi Median: 7,500 mi 75th: 16,300 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 13 TX: 13 IL: 10 PA: 9 CO: 7 NC: 6 FL: 5 VA: 5 WA: 5 LA: 4

Who Files Complaints?

7%
Original Owners
93%
Second+ Owners

Kawasaki Klr650 — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
2001200

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28