We said this before, and we’ll probably say it again: adventure bikes are the Swiss Army Knives of the two-wheeled world. They’re built to take on all sorts of terrain, from highways to fire roads. They’re designed to work no matter the weather, and they’re packed full of electronics to make the journey safer.But this very addition of features means the addition of electronics – and electronics don’t play nice with too much sun, rain, cold, or dust. So, to have longevity, you need something that either has minimal electronics or trustworthy electronics. There is one default choice if you want an unbreakable adventure bike. It has been around for over three decades with minimal changes. This is the adventure bike that will outlive its owner. The Kawasaki KLR650 Adventure Is The Adventure Bike That Will Outlive Its Owner KawasakiThe KLR650 is a big, heavy dual sport bike. So big and heavy, in fact, that it qualifies as an adventure bike. And for the last thirty years, it has been used like one, because if you weren’t too bothered about features and performance but cared only about reliability and ease of maintenance, it would do everything you needed without complaint. Kawasaki has leaned into this role and has now put on sale a variant called the KLR650 Adventure, which adds a few features that make it good for a long ride. However, the mechanics are the same as the base KLR650. The Starting MSRP For The KLR Adventure Is $8,199 KawasakiThe base KLR650 retails for $6,999, while adding ABS to it bumps the price up to $7,299. However, the KLR650 Adventure has ABS as a standard feature, offers a unique paint scheme, adds hard luggage, auxiliary lamps, and a charging socket, among a few other things, for its price. There is no direct price rival to it, although it sits between the small up-to-450 cc adventure bikes and middleweight ADVs. Kawasaki KLR650 Adventure Engine KawasakiThe KLR650's engine isn’t exciting. It’s got a specific output that would make most modern bikes cringe, but the torque is plentiful. That low output also means that the engine is always unstressed, so you can ride it as hard as you like, and nothing will happen. Liquid cooling has been present on it since its launch, and fuel injection made an appearance a few years ago. There are no other electronics besides the ignition and injection. The Transmission And Final Drive Are Equally Simple A simple five-speed manual gearbox puts the engine’s power to the rear wheel via a chain. It is a wide ratio unit that makes highway running relatively painless. There is nothing else to report here – no assist and slipper clutch, no quickshifter, nothing. Kawasaki KLR650 Adventure Chassis KawasakiThe KLR has a semi-double cradle steel frame, which makes it great for off-road work. Preload and rebound damping adjustments are present at the rear. Spoke rims of 21/17 inch sizes don’t accept tubeless tires, but have ABS-equipped brakes. There is a two-piston floating caliper in the front, and a single-piston caliper at the rear. The ABS isn’t switchable. Kawasaki KLR650 Adventure Dimensions KawasakiThis is quite heavy for a dual-sport but quite light for an adventure bike of its displacement. That is mostly down to its choice of engine layout. The seat height is quite high, and you do get proportional ground clearance. Kawasaki does have a shorter KLR650 on sale, with a seat that is 2.2 inches lower, but that isn’t the Adventure. The fuel tank holds a massive amount of fuel for its fuel economy, which gives it an incredible tank range. Kawasaki KLR650 Adventure Features Lake Cumberland MotorsportsThe KLR650 believes in minimalism. That is why it doesn’t have things like a tachometer. Kawasaki did update the instrument cluster to an LCD one when it gave it the fuel injection, but there really isn’t much by way of modern features. The headlamp is now an LED one as well. The KLR650 Adventure specifically has a few standard accessories that make it useful for long trips.It includes a camouflage paint job, hard luggage, aux lights, frame sliders, a 12V and USB charging point, and a tank pad. You can opt for the luggage to require the same key as the ignition. Whatever Kawasaki doesn’t provide, the aftermarket will. The KLR has been around for so long and has such a loyal following that it is quite easy to customize it to your exact specifications. Kawasaki KLR650 Adventure Competition YamahaThe KLR650 Adventure doesn’t really have a straight-up competitor, but there are a few similar products to it. The most well-known is the Yamaha Tenere 700. This is the middleweight adventure bike to have if you plan on seriously going off-road and are on a budget. It costs $10,999, but you do get a completely modern ADV with all the electronics you’d hope it has.Beta On the other end of the spectrum is the Beta Alp 4.0. This is small and light enough to be a dual-sport bike, and it can hold its own with many of those. However, it has been designed to be a long-distance machine, and has a by-wire throttle and ride modes. Another thing holding us back from giving it the longevity award is the fact that its engine is built in China and is a new design that has yet to qualify for ‘unbreakable’ status.AJP MotosBut to truly match up to the KLR650’s simplicity and fearlessness off-road, we need something similarly simple and rugged. The AJP PR7 looks like it could compete in the Dakar rally tomorrow, and to be fair to it, it probably could. It has an LCD screen for instrumentation just like the KLR, but adds a Samsung tablet for things like navigation.It might not be as comfortable as the KLR over long distances, but with nearly a foot of ground clearance and AJP’s excellence at making off-road motorcycles, you could probably just point it like an arrow in the direction of where you wanted to go, and let it make its own road. There's just a small problem: it is nearly $6,000 dearer than the KLR! Kawasaki KLR650 Adventure Vs AJP PR7