2001 Kawasaki KE 100 dual sport motorcycle review

[@theyrealltaken3]

My grandma bought me an '87 for my first bike just before she passed. Same thing just different color. Fastest 9yr old in neighborhood! Love you, Big Grandma! Thanks for reviewing. Nostalgia

[@juliehokin6736]

This is one of the best reviews i’ve seen.

[@jasperdomacena6491]

This is one of the best small displacement bike Its 100cc engine packs quite a punch 11hp stock but when I had it ported, rejetted and fit a new expansion chamber You can easily get 17hp from it Which is a lot for a light bike Can easily reach 85mph

[@trevorjameson3213]

I had one of those back in the early '80's, it was orange. Great little bike, it's what I rode when I was 15 to get my motorcycle license. It's actually an excellent small trail bike too, so light and easy to maneuver, and it will climb pretty steep hills too.

[@thevoxofreason8468]

I too wanted one of these around 1990, before I was old enough to drive. They were so affordable and looked like so much fun. Unfortunately, I never got one, but fortunately I've had and have several dirt bikes, dual sports and street bikes. I think it's time for me to add one of these to my little collection.

[@theecho11585]

My first motorcycle. Got a brand new one in 1997 when I was 12 years old. Eventually took the road legal stuff off and just trail road it. Good memories

[@tiggypeebs]

Thanks for this review! This was my first bike at 15. I still have it and am looking forward to restoring it and using it in the place of a vespa.

[@dieears3139]

The format in which you did this review was really good man your channel is gonna grow. When you showed all of the specs so simply as you read them off

[@joshmx7161]

Just got mine 2 days ago, 560 original miles (600 now that I've ridden it a bit). I weigh 135 and got up to 55 on a long straight road, however I didn't push the bike to its limit so it could probably do more. Don't buy a KE100 for its speed or looks, buy the damn thing because of the huge smile it will bring to your face when you ride it. At 16, this bike is the most fun bike I've ever been on, and I've owned many.

[@jermainephillips5179]

Excellent review.prolly one of the best narratives I've heard on any review.your a natural.my buddy had one of these bikes in the mid 80s we beat on it pretty good.

[@hastyhillfarmand4x480]

I got one of these as my 2nd bike up from a Honda QA 50 and I loved it, I rode it unbelievably hard and it lasted 2 years for 500 bux in 2003

[@genxmurse7019]

My first bike was a white one with a blue seat in 1985. I don't know how much I weighed at the age of 15 back then, but I could sustain a top speed of around 63mph. Unfortunately in doing this, the bike would have carburetor issues and stall out without warning, leaving me stranded on the road a few times. I remember the shop wasn't forthcoming in revealing the specifics of the problem, leading me to conclude it was a simple fix, and easy $ for them. It just wasn't meant for the daily street, which is what I used it for. After a few months, I couldn't wait till I would turn 16, so that I would get past the legal threshold of the 125cc limit, and get rid of it for something more powerful & reliable.

[@kimberleytagle2553]

Used to drive one back in 2000. We have it as a company service to use when were buying some spare parts for our trucks a few blocks away. Ours is also green in color. Yup, no need to premix coz its oil injected. The tank has a small circular see thru glass where you could see 2 holes to indicate the min and max of the 2t oil that you put on it. Used it mostly on trails as we lived on the foot of the mountain. It was the 1st bike that i rode. I miss those times, and i miss the bike too. Im from the philippines by the way. Great review. Keep it up.

[@shannonbowlingchannel]

I bought one of these back in 2010, it was a 2001 model, it would do 56MPH, then I put on a K&N Air Filter and got it up to 65 on the exact same road.

[@eightosaurusspelunk1598]

This was my first bike. I bought it new from kawasaki in 2001. It was a great bike.

[@TheEnduroClub]

Nice Video! I had mine restored and modified to a mono-shock. Great bike. I had it for over 20 Years!

[@tinypurplefishesrunlaughin8052]

I weigh over 200 and my mildly modified ( kx 80 exhaust and re jetting cleaned up ports with lighter aluminum wheels) will run well over 65 when leaning out of the wind to streamline the torque within the powerband will slowly come on from below 55mph and smoothly almost imperceptible if not expected to happen, no surge just a slow steady increase in speed and rpm, amazing little thing if well balanced and in optimum performance.

[@mikeashbaugh7773]

Very good video, I had a 1972 G4 trail boss, a1974 G5 100, now a 1999 KE100, your Visio is spot on!

[@mrfourtysevenman]

Don't think of it as a slow bike. Tell your buddies it's more of a "fast moped" and you will come off cooler -hobbies aren't about having fun. It's about seeming interesting

[@nightwalker9828]

two strokes are fast but their vibration is so annoying

[@danieldemayo6209]

This was my first bike....not what I wanted but I’ll say it was dead reliable. Road it every day and not one problem. Next bike was an rm125 and blew it up on the 3rd day....

[@mohammedgangat5799]

Dude i have superbikes and i can honestly say i enjoyed riding one of these more than my R1

[@paddow101]

Same with me! My “real bike” is a 2007 Honda 919 and this little Kawasaki gets ridden just as much

[@joelabbe6185]

Great review! You hit all the important details, and your assessment of its strengths and weaknesses was spot on. Bought a 2000 second hand with 3,000 miles. I doubt it ever had any maintenance as every spoke was loose. Still had its original Bridgestone Trail Wing tires. Super fun little bike, but as you said, it's one the new rider will outgrow quickly. Buddies took me to all their known trails (some hard enduro...MEANIES) where the poor bike begged for mercy. Pushing it too hard and asking more resulted in two top end rebuilds in a year. With shed space cramped, it was time to pass it on to the next nostalgic owner. Future owners should know that anything beyond trials type treaded tires are very hard to find in the 17 and 19 inch sizes. So long as you keep in mind what the bike is and is not, it will reward you with lots of smiles. And the exhaust note is very reminiscent of my childhood in the 70's. And THAT I think is the true beauty of this machine!

[@davedave2882]

Got one brand new in 1987 for my 15th birthday. it was white an green.i loved it!

[@matttriestodothings]

Hey man, great video. I've picked up the same bike, 2001, and I'm making some decent progress. Like you said, there's not too much on KZbin about these bikes, so I appreciate that you added to the scant collection. Anyway, I'm curious about your blinkers and electrical. It seems substantially better than mine. Do they blink at a reasonable rate? And are you running a stock setup? Mine blink like every 4 seconds and are not bright. Thru in an AGM battery that I thought would help, but it didn't help much. I saw yours briefly in the video and it seemed a lot more reasonable. Starting to wonder if I need to go through the thing and find out if I have a weak ground somewhere in the system. Cheers.

[@paddow101]

Yes sir, stock set up and i get a new batter every 1 to 2 years. They’re only $20 or so and unfortunately they dont last very long but they seem to make the turn signals blink reasonably well as long as the battery is in good shape.

[@supergmx1046]

I bought one a few years ago. The previous owner put a 12 volt voltage regulator and wired it to run without a battery. Though it blew a flasher and I am just riding it on trails and let my nephews learn to ride on it. I want to get everything working again and put it in the street legally. I will try and find a 12 V battery if I find one that can fit in the frame. I was thinking of upgrading the headlight as well.

[@matttriestodothings]

@@paddow101 Thank you. It sounds like a I may have a poor ground OR i'm running 12V bulbs. Now that I think about it... I bet someone replaced with 12V bulbs. I think I found a source for some 6V LEDs to try out.

[@gmh101358]

I had a yellow g5 1972 my first bike. I paid 465.00 brand new for it....I was 15 in 72 got my drivers license and rode the little sucker everywhere .....after 6000 hard miles i sold it for a 73 Suzuki TS185 . I could get 62 mph our of mine ....i was about 160 pounds.....

[@hardtarget2359]

@Tim Allen The older ones had pre-mixed gas.

[@dustinlee4566]

My very first bike was a 97 ke100 this brings back memories. Looking back it was a great beginning bike.i was 11 years old. I could get mine up to 70 mph going down a little hill beside my old house lol

[@mcprocrastinator7921]

damn this really was an excellent video, im gonna chuck this baby in 1 of my playlists. I even think i might buy 1 of these! (Currently I have a CBR1000RR 2015, but this looks so fun as a second bike!)

[@xfactor4598]

I broke into street riding with a 1999 model. Perfect for where I rode. Fun city or local bike.

[@willyd4850]

Outstanding review, thank you!

[@darrylmain925]

fond memories parents got me one in '82. traded up in 84 too the 250 KLR

[@IrnMaiden304]

Had one, for 6 years. Was a good little bike for what it was.

[@Jordendog]

Can not go wrong for the money. You can still find nice low mileage examples out there that haven't been butchered up.

[@Jimmy_Watt]

I bought my 1998 in excellent condition for $1350 two years ago, and I love it for short trips, and putting around town. These are great motorcycles.

[@NickRobinsonRatkat]

Nice review, they are great little bikes

[@smallbore7025]

I had one back in the late 70's..

[@blackisback74]

with the container for 2-stroke oil under the seat does that mean you don't have to add it to the gas that it does it by itself?

[@frankthefarter3475]

Correct. It is an oil injector that mixes the oil with the gas while you ride so no need to premix it with the gas

[@garywinterbottom6073]

I had a ke100 78 model in yellow back in 87.😊

[@brmelectric]

Best review. Thanks.

[@Hannahnadine2016]

Great vid. I’ve got a 74 Kawi g5 it likes to be right around 40 mph lol perfect for back roads

[@elonmust7470]

I wanted one of these so bad as a kid. It just stood out in the showroom.

[@paddow101]

EXACTLY the same experience as me. 12 year old me remembers wanting one so I picked one up as an adult. 25 years later and it still doesn’t disappoint. Brings out the kid side in me riding it!

[@samuelred4540]

$5 a month? who do u have for insurance and do you have any tickets and how old are you, I only ask because I'm being offered the exact bike

[@paddow101]

I’m 37 with a perfect record. I may have misspoke....it’s $7 a month haha

[@nathanestes1342]

I'm getting one tomorrow for $400, but it needs carborator work.

[@medikate8277]

EntryCentral AKA Nathan Estes. Did u fix the carburetor?

[@hectorcolon419]

Yo your bike sounds nice and quiet and not loud have you made any changes

[@paddow101]

no, I think I just made the audio a little quieter so I could voice over it. the bike is 100% stock

[@nathanestes1342]

I got mine for $150, but the carb needs to be rebuilt.

[@VikingWolf84]

The Headlight isn’t an issue, just switch it out for a bright LED light that’s what everyone else does.

[@blackisback74]

How long can you keep it pegged at 50mph without blowing it up?

[@frankthefarter3475]

Ive ridden mine at 55 MPH for a few minutes. Never blown it up. It seems best at 45 MPH (And under)and can do that all day. It’s just not comfortable going 55 since it’s so light.

[@paddow101]

@@frankthefarter3475 same experience here.

[@blackisback74]

@@frankthefarter3475 good to know. I have a 1989 Honda CR125 water cooled 2-stroke that does 70 mph and I usually Cruz at 50 miles an hour, but it's constantly going back and forth on the pipe making it difficult to keep a cruising speed and I'm thinking that's just indicative of all 2 stroke bikes

[@paddow101]

@@blackisback74 it’ll do 55-65 depending on your weight, but it’s screaming and it doesn’t feel comfortable. Not sure how close to red line it is since there’s no tac but i have to imagine it’s working hard

[@blackisback74]

@@paddow101 so to just trail ride and cruise then it would be what? 40-45mph?

[@whitelistqd7815]

Nice review I’m getting my grandpas 1976 KE100 fixed

[@techpixvo]

I´m getting one tomorrow for my girlfriend. We live in argentina and its only $200 us. Thats so cheap it´s shamefull. XD Seems like a fun bike for short distances.

[@dylanlockler1039]

Kawasaki should bring this bike back!!

[@aidan8092]

Just got one real fun honestly!

[@airbender669]

I have a 99 I think it was a very good choice for my first bike

[@supersaiyanswag]

great review.

[@carll.freemanjr.9867]

I had a 97 model ke100 and I'm 270 pounds and mine went well over 55 mph factory. If yours only does about 55 factory then they seriously fucked some shit up between 97 and 01..

[@robertedwards6731]

lmfao!

[@evelynfortt6317]

I use to have a 100 size dual I miss it

[@carsongrant4265]

That's cool I have a 90 mc1 dirtbike and its fun to ride on the side streats but gota watch out for the cops

[@GroundZ3R0Gamer]

Would this be a fun trail woods bike 🤔

[@paddow101]

Depends on how hardcore the trail riding is. As i mentioned in the review, light trail riding is probably fine. This is not a motocross bike and the people that ride it like that end up complaining about it being a “bad” bike. Which it definitely is not

[@hectorcolon419]

But she looks sweet I got one but needs work I’m working on it nice and slow. Disabled and purchased it really cheap so I can have something to do but my hands hurt a lot. Reminded me of a bike I wanted.

[@greydonparker7344]

I weigh 170 and after a bunch of carb cleaning and tuning and a new spark plug I got up to 60.5 mph

[@tp73717]

Hey fam just pulled this out my bosses yard he said it ran wat do I do to get it running

[@zeemir1030]

Hi Dear I watched your KZbin video with KE 100 I am impressed because you give lots of info about this bike I have 1983 model I just finished reworked on this bike if I get chance I will share some pictures. Thanks Zee from Lahore Pakistan.

[@paddow101]

Thank you! I wanted to provide a bunch of info because I had a hard time finding it myself when i was looking. Glad you liked it!

[@Veryfastslowcar66]

sorry let me just correct you real quick, suzuki still makes the tf125 and ts185er which are both street legal dual sport bikes

[@paddow101]

Oh wow really? That’s great news. I haven’t seem them in the US. I may have said this was the last “street legal 2 stroke” as well in the review. This market needs to make a come back. I’ve only seen the Honda and Kawasaki street legal 125s recently but I had only seen dual sports in the 250cc range. Which aren’t bad but there’s just something about a 100cc that I love.

[@Veryfastslowcar66]

@@paddow101 Yeah definitely, believe there only still available in japan and new zeeland right now but i'm sure if you got enough people interested you could get you're local suzuki dealer to get some in not sure how that works

[@emiliano29171316]

great vid

[@paddow101]

Thank you!

[@gypsyjessye]

Good review, thank you!

[@takumisato7126]

Whats average MPG on these?

[@trevorjameson3213]

You can expect 90 to 100 mpg with this model. We had one years ago up in Colorado that we left in the shed to ride when we went up there for vacations. It's great as a small trail bike, and pretty darn good on the gravel country roads, easily cruising 45 mph. You fill up the gas tank, and it seems to run forever without running out of gas.

[@itzkat5920]

I have a 1990s Ke 100 with buddy pegs but unfortunately it has no chances of running

[@madplanet3351]

First ever bike I had 1980.

[@Lorestat]

Well Done! Very nice Bike.

[@treyheinerichs2299]

got a 1996 for $200 lol runs great just no lights tryng to get them all for it to make it street legal.

[@bryonpeck122]

I just bought one ready to go for $375

[@jonnorman7818]

Not sure where you got the idea that the ke was the last production street legal 2 strokes what about dtr’s that went on to 2003 then went to dtre and dtx up till like 2007 maybe a lil longer

[@cheddarshredder6572]

I'd mess with the jetting you should be able to go over 55 with 99cc's especially if it's got the 6 speed. if the Yamaha dt50 can do 55 the ke can do better. I'd also switch to pre mix. I don't know why but I want one of these things kinda bad, but then again I bleed 2 stroke lol.

[@midnightraiin4035]

Great!

[@paulyadams]

you can get 16 to 20 hp out of them with minor mods, race rotory valve ( or cut rotory valve) a re jet and it makes them a completely different bike

[@Douknowgregg]

paulyadams1987 where could I buy a race rotary valve and what size jets would you recommend I live in NY 70 miles north of NYC elevation is 354' I'm not sure how to match elevation with what kind of jets to use. I have a 97 ke 100 registered and ridden on the road. I live on a 55mph road so it would be nice to have a lil more pick up when crusing with traffic although the bike works well I was thinking of building a tuned pipe for it as well. going to buy a used ke 100 exhaust chop the pipe 1/4 way up from the flange and weld a pipe of ebay I've used before when I used to build motorized bicycles. Its a slight exspanion chamber with a muffler on the end. Decent pipe I've got a 77 ke 100 I'd test it on before damaging my bike if it doesn't work properly or it spontaneously combusts.

[@paulyadams]

hi mate, it is much easier to cut your existing rotary valve as trying to track down a old green streak one is very difficult, if you follow what this guy has done it is much the same as mine. www.thejunkmanadv.com/the-25-bike.html

[@Thekeithbrewer]

Turned mine into a tracker

[@garrettblaster]

I could get mine to around 63 but after 50 it was worthless

[@Husration]

is 1000 dollars worth it for this bike?

[@paddow101]

If it’s a good one. They’re a little bit hard to find so one that’s in good shape can demand a premium.

[@GatesRapes]

Mine was a G4 ,, 10 speed

[@aamirsajjadqureshi8844]

I remember something

[@davesnothereman699]

have you tried ducking down? lol maybe get up to 60

[@MisterMr1]

My 97 ke100 will hit 65 mph & I weigh 200 pounds

[@bullshitpeople6086]

Wanna sell it? Lol

[@paddow101]

nope!

[@Thekeithbrewer]

Stop redlining that thing it’s making me cringe

[@frankthefarter3475]

He wanted to show the top speed...exactly like he said. Also, the people in the videos can’t hear you 😂

[@TylerTheBassCreator]

Its a 2 stroke stop being a baby😂

[@paddow101]

@@TylerTheBassCreator exactly! They’re meant to be ridden like that!!

[@deesnutz42069]

I wanted one of these so bad when I was a kid in the 90s lol