Kawasaki’s trademark green has been around for decades – they even identify their MX racing effort as Team Green. But today, we have a Kawi that works for a different green…the US Marine Corps.
The KLR650 is known the world over as a basic and durable dual-sport with a wide following and lots of aftermarket support, thanks to the fact that it basically went unchanged from 1987 to 2007. The 650 cc water-cooled engine was good for 37 horsepower. The USMC contracted with Hayes Diversified Technologies to create a military-spec bike based on the KLR650. Most of these bikes had their gasoline engines replaced with diesel engines, as the military uses JP-8 diesel for nearly everything. Read more about the conversion here on the New York Times – apparently at 55 mph the diesel bike could achieve 96 miles per gallon! Known internally as the M1030B1, the military bike received other upgrades over the civilian bike, like a AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery that won’t spill upon tipover.
This example is either one of the few bikes that didn’t get a diesel engine, or it was converted before being sold off into civilian duty. Either way, you’re getting the regular gasoline engine. Though it’s faded, the plastic is all there and intact. Everything is claimed to work well, though be aware that part of the military conversion apparently included having the key locked in the ignition switch. Find this Kawasaki KLR650 for sale in Seguin, Texas with a BIN of $3,500