Kawasaki W800

Really glad you are enjoying your Dub, @tranx.

Fully agree about the power characteristics - there's not a lot of power for an 800 but there's always enough available in real-world situations. The burbling is much improved by the Motad exhaust and it's a shame they are no longer trading. Must be other after-market exhausts available though.

I think it's a really easy bike for anybody to ride, though it obviously doesn't cut the mustard if you think you need a 180bhp superbike. Polly and I have done more than 35,000 miles together. She's starting to show her age a bit and has just been ridden through the Winter so as soon as the weather is good enough to drag the other bikes out the plan is to spend a bit of time and maybe even some money. Shhh, you never heard that.
 
Thank you for putting this up @TX650A Van Islander, a pretty fair assessment of the current W800. It's the newer model with rear disc - mine has a very 1970s rear drum - and a few extra engine/exhaust gizmos but in most respects the same as Polly.

In answer to the presenter's question late in the vid about retros available on the market in 2023, the order should be:
1st Kawasaki - best retro,
2nd RE Interceptor - very good, attractive price but not quite as well built,
3rd Triumph - too big, too modern, misses the retro target that Kawasaki hit,
4th BSA - at best a pastiche which will make a lot of people very happy but I'm not one of em.

Since my last posting in March I have fitted the chain & sprockets but Polly deserves a lot more attention. Would like to strip the bike down and deal with some of the ravages of time and winter. But also have a Yamaha which sometimes randomly shuts down and a Royal Enfield which could do with an engine rebuild. Mrs would say 'First World problems . . . '
 
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Very happy with my W800 Cafe which is adapted to be comfy and upright, feeling better than ever, now at more than 2000miles.
Still on original tires and think it has smaller 18" front wheel than standard.
It steers nicely with lowest preload on shocks i.e. very steady hands off and no tram lining noticeable.
 
In answer to the presenter's question late in the vid about retros available on the market in 2021, the order should be:
1st Kawasaki - best retro,
2nd RE Interceptor - very good, attractive price but not quite as well built,
3rd Triumph - too big, too modern, misses the retro target that Kawasaki hit,
4th BSA - at best a pastiche which will make a lot of people very happy but I'm not one of em.

I don’t know Raymond…..you know how much I love the Kawasaki, in fact I was peppering you with questions about the ownership experience when I was thinking about buying one. But I did take a test ride on a Triumph Street Twin and it was an absolute hoot to ride, and the exhaust note was perfect with a nice deep rumble.
IMG_5704.jpeg

Having said that, I think if I were going to buy either the Triumph or the Kawasaki, the Kawasaki would get the nod because of the easy valve adjustments. The Triumph shims are a pain in the ass!

I also think the Kawasaki really nailed the classic look!
IMG_5705.jpeg
 
The Triumph is a bigger, more modern bike and I'm sure it is excellent. But it's a fake air-cooled bike. The styling tries to make us think about a simple, light-weight, British, 2-valve air cooled bike such as came out of Meriden in the 1960s. But the current iteration is a more complex and heavier, water-cooled, 4-valve bike built in Thailand. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
 
That’s a 360 engine, correct?
The original Ws were BSA A7s built under licence, by Meguro and then Kawasaki. Read somewhere that when Big K decided to resurrect the W brand, they told the engineers to design the best possible parallel twin - had to feel good and look good. The engineers came up with a long stroke, 360° layout with a balance shaft to remove some but not all of the vibes and they settled on shaft drive to the cam because it looks good.

It has a lovely balance of power and torque - sources vary but I've seen quoted as 48 hp at 6000 rpm and 40 lb/ft at 2500 rpm.
 
Mrs suggested a trip to the Lavender Tearooms in Etal so the Dub was called into action for a gentle 70-mile round trip.


W800.jpg



And while we were there, thought we might wander along the lane to the castle and grab a photo for those in the USA who seem to like old ruins.


Etal castle.jpg



That is the gatehouse - you might spot further parts of the castle behind the trees. The cannons have been put there for decoration but are far too modern to have formed part of the castle's defensive equipment.

A successful outing - Mrs doesn't get on the bike as often as she used to but said she enjoyed the run.
 
Mrs suggested a trip to the Lavender Tearooms in Etal so the Dub was called into action for a gentle 70-mile round trip.


View attachment 243263


And while we were there, thought we might wander along the lane to the castle and grab a photo for those in the USA who seem to like old ruins.


View attachment 243264


That is the gatehouse - you might spot further parts of the castle behind the trees. The cannons have been put there for decoration but are far too modern to have formed part of the castle's defensive equipment.

A successful outing - Mrs doesn't get on the bike as often as she used to but said she enjoyed the run.
Absolutely beautiful. Thanks Raymond.
 
Great photos and story Raymond! Always love to see your beautiful and historic countryside. 😃 Nice to hear that your wife will still go for the occasional ride, sadly my wife lost interest a few years ago.
My wife never had any interest in riding and still doesn't. Happy for you Raymond!
Pics are beauty!
 
Well, said I would make up to Polly for being used through the Winter? Washed the worst of the salt and muck off a while back, recently fitted that new chain & sprockets, lubed the throttle & clutch cables. Also fitted the 'phat' saddle - see how that goes next long trip. Probably heading South of the Border next week.

Today, finally gave the dirty trollop the good seeing to she has been promised.

Before we got to Muc Off and water, took a leaf outa @gggGary's book and went over the wheel rims with a paraffin* rag. Spent a while on the wheel rims. Unsurprisingly, the rear has suffered much less the ravages of ten years and 35,000+ miles than the front. Front has thousands of small flecks of white showing through the black paint, rear cleans up sans blemishes. Cleaned as much of the frame as I could reach and the paraffin really shifts the dirt in all the corners. The mudguard braces looked rusty but came up well after a wipe - where they're attached there's just small areas of rust which has flowed along the brace so it all looks rusted. Used the rag on the engine cases, and a lot of the places where the black finish looked ruined by alloy salt coming though now look back to new-ish.

*Ooops - kerosene to our N American friends


PICT0716.JPGPICT0717.JPGPICT0718.JPG


There's still a lot more to do. More detail cleaning, bit of polish on the tank. Needing oil change and a service when I get back after the next trip. But now Polly perhaps looks like a bike with the honourable marks of time rather than filthy and neglected. Patina one might suggest?

Gratuitous shot of the office, 'coz this is the angle I like to see a bike from:


PICT0719.JPG
 
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