Kawasaki W800 Street: All You Need To Know

Here’s everything you need to know about Kawasaki’s latest retro motorcycle for India

Kawasaki recently launched the W800 Street in our two-wheeler market, the Japanese brand’s second retro-themed motorcycle after the Z900RS which was launched last year. The W800 is a part of Kawasaki’s W lineup of retro motorcycles, and if you’re wondering what the bike is all about, you’ve come to the right place!

Price and availability:

The Kawasaki W800 is priced at Rs 7.99 lakh (ex-showroom, India), and is sold via the SKD (Semi Knocked Down) route in the country. Bookings are officially open at all Kawasaki dealerships across the country and deliveries will commence from mid-August onwards. The availability of the motorcycle will be limited in the first lot, so bookings will close after the brand achieves the targeted numbers. That being said, Kawasaki has not revealed the planned numbers for the Indian market.

Classic on the outside, modern inside: 

The motorcycle’s design has been inspired by the legendary 1966 Kawasaki W1, which was known for being the largest capacity (650cc) motorcycle from Japan at that time. The W800 Street comes with a pretty classic-looking design with a round headlamp adorning the front, wide easy-to-reach handlebars and twin-pod circular instrument cluster. Complementing the minimalistic side panels are twin chromed out pea-shooter exhausts which are reminiscent of the bike’s vintage counterpart. While the headlamp is full-LED, the indicators and the tail lamp is traditional bulbs. The instrument cluster houses a small digital inset for odometer, tripmeter readouts among others.

Comes with a vertical-twin air-cooled engine:

Powering the Kawasaki W800 Street is a 773cc vertical twin air-cooled motor with a 360-degree crank offset. It produces 52PS at 6500rpm and 62.9Nm at 4800rpm. The powerplant is pretty old-school and is devoid of any electronic rider aids. The engine works in conjunction with a 5-speed transmission with assist and slipper clutch. This assist feature reduces the clutch lever effort while the slipper clutch prevents the rear wheel from locking up while downshifting aggressively. In comparison with the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, this motor makes 4.4PS and 10.9Nm more. 

Underpinnings:

The motorcycle is built on a double-cradle frame made of high-tensile steel. It employs traditional fork with gaiters and the rear comes with dual shock absorbers. The motorcycle comes to a halt using a 320mm disc up front and a 270mm disc at the rear - both grabbed by twin-piston calipers. Dual-channel ABS is offered as standard. The 18-inch spoke wheels are shod with Dunlop K300 GP tyres measuring 100-section at the front and 130-section at the rear.

Rivals:

Oddly, Kawasaki has chosen to bring this motorcycle via the SKD route whereas the Japanese brand’s much more powerful and advanced offering the Ninja ZX-10R is sold as a CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kit. At its price bracket, the Kawasaki W800 goes head to head with the Triumph Bonneville T100, which is priced at 8.87 lakh. Considering the T100's price, the W800's pricing seems to be reasonable as it makes only 3PS and 13.83Nm less. That being said, the T100 does offer a couple of electronic aids and a more advanced liquid-cooled engine.

What makes both theses bikes suddenly seem ridiculously expensive is the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650. It isn’t too far behind in terms of performance numbers and at Rs 2.5 lakh ex-showroom, the Interceptor is the most affordable mid-capacity bike in India, offering staggering value for money!