Taken advantage of a few nice days in a row, done a few pointless perambulations on the Interceptor and W800. While allowing meself to ponder on the comparison between the two
First thing to say, no clear winner. Both are good bikes - great bikes if you like that sort of retro thing.
Out with Polly yesterday, 2013 W800 SE with ~37,000 miles, easy to confirm it's the best bike in the garage. Went along some of the same backroads and lanes I had ridden on the RE the day before. The suspension is compliant but controlled. I upgraded years ago to Hagon shocks, with adjustable damping and preload, plus Hagon progressive fork springs and their recommended oil. Just easy and natural along those type of roads, at a similar gentle pace.
The day before, had been impressed how much better the RE is since fiddling with its suspension - different model of Hagon shocks with adjustable damping and preload, plus pre-load adjusters in the forks, which I wound out to lowest. Oh, it's difficult but I'd say Polly pips it, seems like less work maintaining reasonable progress on minor roads.
But Polly benefits from more torque. Or at least, the torque feels better spread. Engine size is 773cc versus 648 for the RE, that's near as dammit 20% more capacity and I suppose with similar power output the larger engine jolly well should have a fatter curve? Both are quoted at 47 HP.
And with only five gears, I was doing less shifting with the Kawasaki. One section where on the RE I was running 5th gear and changing down to 4th for an uphill bend. Polly was perfectly happy to stay in top.
Top is higher on the W800. 60 mph shows about 3,300 rpm, vs 3,900 on the 650.
So on those bumpy backroads, the Kawasaki suspension coped better and the power delivery was better. Riding at reasonable but not fast speeds for the roads, neither bike ever made me feel unsafe.
Today, out on the RE, did a few miles of minor roads, different ones, and again it felt choppier than the W800 would have done. But when we got on to smoother, more open roads, the Interceptor felt really great. Smooth, no fuss, can't feel the suspension working. More involving because you have to select the appropriate gear, but do that and attack the road with a bit of verve and hey, felt more powerful, maybe sounded better too?