may be retiring the XS and found a nice new replacement!

[XS650D]

Was looking at a 2021 Kawasaki W-800 in blue .Looks really nice with the vintage look and sound
but with no constant need to wrench on. Dont get me wrong I've really enjoyed getting my 77D
looking and running great but there always something that needs fixed and I just want to ride the darn thing!
I think out of all the new Vintage look replica knockoffs, the W-800 is the best.Even the 360 degree crank rotation with both pistons rising and falling together same a the XS.They just added a balancer to smooth out the vibes a bit but it still feels like riding a real bike not a multi cylinder sewing machine.The front/rear disc brakes with twin pistons is nice.The switch gear looks like it came off my Yamaha XS. Motor,s not as pretty
as the XS but I can live with that. Now the problem is convincing the better half to let me get one. Im real close!

 

[Mailman]

Was looking at a 2021 Kawasaki W-800 in blue .Looks really nice with the vintage look and sound
but with no constant need to wrench on. Dont get me wrong I've really enjoyed getting my 77D
looking and running great but there always something that needs fixed and I just want to ride the darn thing!
I think out of all the new Vintage look replica knockoffs, the W-800 is the best.Even the 360 degree crank rotation with both pistons rising and falling together same a the XS.They just added a balancer to smooth out the vibes a bit but it still feels like riding a real bike not a multi cylinder sewing machine.The front/rear disc brakes with twin pistons is nice.The switch gear looks like it came off my Yamaha XS. Motor,s not as pretty
as the XS but I can live with that. Now the problem is convincing the better half to let me get one. Im real close!

That Kawasaki is a really nice bike, good luck to you!

 

[hovel]

Nice nostalgia bike. That model has been on and off the market in two different displacements since 1999. I appreciate that it is an alternate firing engine. The cam drive is unique - shaft and bevel gears. The concept has been around for 100 years but every other manufacturer got away from it. I wonder why.

 

[Raymond]

Have owned my W800 SE since new in 2014 and we've done more than 32,000 miles together. I think the motor is pretty - that seems to have been the main reason the designers opted for a shaft-driven cam with that tunnel, giving the engine a distinctive appearance maybe echoing 1960s Ducatis?





And I agree the W is the best of the retro-style bikes on the market. Traces it's heritage to the W1s Meguro then Kawasaki manufactured in the 1960s, which were basically BSA A7s built under a licence agreement.

They resurrected the W brand at the end of the last century as a carburetted 650, then it dropped from view due to emissions regs, before re-appearing as an 800 with EFI a few years later. Sold in Japan and Europe, but I believe they are only now being offered in N America once again?

Feels a lot like an old fashioned 650 twin, the 800 in particular has a lovely spread of torque. Bit more refined that the XS650, probably due to the balance shaft, though they have left enough feel in there so you know there's an IC engine not a washing machine motor pushing you along. The bike is on a similar scale to a 1970 Triumph TR6 I used to have or indeed the XS650. Put a modern Triumph Speed Twin in the line-up and the Triumph becomes the odd-man-out because it's too big and too complex.

I love my W and it's definitely a keeper. Easy to work on and I do all routine maintenance. Been 100% reliable. Have made a few changes - Motad stainless exhaust, Hagon shocks (plus progressive fork springs, not on show), side-panel badges removed, braided brake line and in one of the pictures the bike is wearing the re-stuffed saddle I had made up for touring with Mrs on the back.

And it looks like a real motorbike, which means you get engaged in conversations with non-bikers wherever you park the bike.

 

[XS650D]

Nice bike! The 2021 has apparently made a lot of changes.I read that I in 2019 90% of the bike was new.
Looks the same so not sure all the changes. I was concerned about that bevel drive but its apparently
pretty reliable. I think the front and rear shocks have been improved some although there's probably still room for improvement .
Other issue I have with the looks is the new LED headlight. Its way to modern for the rest of the bike. I would probably
remove that and install one from an older model. Wiring is probably the same .