Motorcycle specifications KawasakiW 800 2012 Charmer of the years

it had disappeared... only to return, more conquering and dapper than ever. Who? The W 650, of course! Sorry, the W 800! The one that launched the vintage niche at the end of the 20th century is back in business, with a bigger engine, more pronounced aplomb, and just as faithful to the spirit of its predecessor.

let's go back to 1999. Kawasaki launches the W 650, a faithful copy of Triumph's famous Bonneville. The same very British lines, the same type of parallel twin engine, the same displacement with 650 cm3 of playground for the connecting rods. Kawa sees it more as a modernized version of its 1965 W1. But no matter. The W 650 offers all the charm of a '60s Brit with the reliability of a modern machine. A 'classic', launched long before the craze of recent years, and eclipsed in 2006.

back in the spotlight in 2011. Still with that charming silhouette, that Bonnie profile and that taste for London streets, on a random ride through the cottony mist. An amusing game of revival: the W 650 revived the Bonneville 650, then the Hinckley factory revived its Bonneville by releasing it as an 800, then the W came back a few years later as an 800 too. Would Kawa and Triumph engineers stare at each other in a pub without recognizing each other?
Be that as it may, the style remains, and so much the better; we'd never have imagined it otherwise. The sausage pots are still there, as are the thick, flat, nostalgic saddle, the chrome mudguards, the spoked rims, the fork protection gussets... It hasn't changed, aged or slumbered.

during her convalescence, Madame W took the opportunity to revise a few details. Oh, nothing transcendent, just a bit of powder on the nose: new round indicators, a classy embossed W symbol on the tank, chrome headlight plates, new shock absorbers, chrome also on the fork covers. Stop, stop with the almond paste leaves; it's in the center that the cake has more cream. More displacement (98 cm3), more horsepower, and more torque, with maximum revs at just 2,000 rpm. Crankshaft timing is 360°, as on the old model - the pistons rise and fall at the same time. The result is a more-than-pleasant honking sound. What's more, this twin is not ugly to look at, with its distribution entrusted to a clearly visible side shaft, cooling fins and metal that seems almost alive.

braking is still in the nostalgia branch, with a more recent but not sporty rear drum, a single disc and a 2-piston caliper side by side. The frame is classic: tubular steel cradle, combined with a swingarm that's the antithesis of today's Superbikes. Okay, a hypersport engine would twist it in half at the slightest acceleration, but the W 800 is all about cruising and sixties charm. And for that, the chassis will suffice.

M.B - Manufacturer's photos