KAWASAKI KE175
It’s a disc-valved trail bike and you don’t see many of them!
Scoop’s guide on the much-loved disc-valved trailie.
Anyone who has a thing for older trail irons really ought to sample one of Kawasaki’s sublime KE175S. Possibly not quite as poised on the dirt as a Yamaha DT175 twin shock, the Kwacker’s motor is a little peach and arguably the best of the bunch thanks to its unique induction system. That rotary-valve on the end of the crank gives the bike a level of instant drive on the throttle like little else. Yamaha had opted for reed-valves and these possibly gave the DT a little more tractability but not the punch. Depending upon market the KE175 ran from 1976 through to 1978 or 1980. Different regions received similar variations on a theme until the turn of the decade when the motocross-inspired KDX series appeared sporting monoshock rear ends. From here water-cooled engine alternatives appeared on the scene as Kawasaki grudgingly accepted that the stroker’s days were numbered environmentally. That said, liquid-cooling eked out the concept for a few more years. The KE’S basic layout had hardly changed since the early 1960s when the company
had first marketed a four-speed 175cc stroker single charmingly known as the Bushwhacker. Half trail bike and half roadster, the F3 was as close as Kawasaki’s single ranges ever got to a street scrambler. The design was heavily revised in 1971 into a full-on trail iron with a five-speed transmission and, cosmetics aside, this is how the bike stayed until Kawasaki started renaming its machines. The former F series became the KE series; KE denoting Kawasaki Enduro. This and the adoption of the nominal engine capacity on the side panel saw the former F7 become the KE175 for the 1976 model year. The bike, alongside its 125cc baby brother, sold in the UK in lowish volume for three key reasons. Firstly Kawasaki UK didn’t really push its trail bike side especially hard as it was gearing itself up ready for a sea-change move away from stinkwheels and on to less polluting four-strokes. Secondly Yamaha had maintained a strong off-road presence in the UK from the earliest days of the DT125/175S which were actually ATS and CTS. Thirdly and, perhaps most crucially, Suzuki swamped the UK market with TS185S sold almost disgustingly cheaply. The story goes that someone, somewhere (Suzuki Japan or its American importers) had grossly overestimated how many TS185 Sierras were needed for the US of A. When this faux pas became common knowledge Suzuki’s UK arm grabbed as many as they could and undercut the opposition. Against this the KE175 stood little chance. Sales of the small KES depended as much upon dealer proximity as anything else and their subsequent survival within the UK at least is normally down to happenstance. Most ended their days as farm or field bikes gradually rotting away before being moved on as just so much scrap. A decade ago two-stroke 70s and 80s trail bikes were only just on the periphery of the classic scene but times have changed substantially. Yamaha’s DT175MX is often seen as the ‘must-have’ period trail iron, thereby marginalising its competitors. However, we’ve spotted several importers bringing in KE175S and for not too much money either. If 70s trail bikes are your thing and you fancy something that’s just a little bit different we’d suggest a KE175 before they’re all gone. Great for a bit of old fart off-roading and equally happy on the Tarmac, you really couldn’t find a better, cuter, perkier sub-250cc trail iron.