Triumphrat

JonCG · 10-28-2005

I walk though London a couple of times a week and I've been spotting what I thought was an old Triumph parked on the other side of the street. So the other day I went over to take a better look (as you do) and discovered it was a Kawasaki W650!

Does any one here own one of these? Or has anybody ridden one? I'd never dream of replacing the T100, unless it was with another T100 and I'm not even sure about that, but I did idly wonder about hunting down one of these as well...

Any thoughts appreciated.

jon

Mancha · 10-28-2005

I don't have one of these, but they're pretty popular bikes outside the USA (I thought). People turn them into all sorts of other styles, so there must be a variety of aftermarket parts available for them.

Here are the results of a Google image search:

W650 images

Shorty · 10-28-2005

Jon...they were discontinued in the US about 3 or 4 years ago, but are supposedly still available in Europe and Japan. To see a comparison to a Standard Bonnie go to:www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roadtests/testfinder
Then go to the Kawasaki column and click on the 2001 W650 compared to Triumph Bonneville. Various articles have been written on these two also compared to the HD 883 on the internet.

Shorty

Odysseus · 10-28-2005

You can also check out this article on the Real Classic website (published by the old Classic Bike Guide crew) for a direct comparison between the 790 Bonnie and the W650: http://www.realclassic.co.uk/triumph04032200.html
The Kawasaki comes out on top, sad to say. This page is an article just on the W650: http://www.realclassic.co.uk/kawa030213.html
If you can get hold of TWO magazine's February edition, they also ran a W650 against a Thruxton and an Enfield around London and down to Brighton, and they loved the Thrux and hated the W650.

JonCG · 10-28-2005

Thanks for that. I was vaguely aware of the W650 but hadn't seen a model close up. I was impressed by how sweet the engine looked in the flesh... If only it was a real Brit twin!

Jon

Thunder_Forever · 10-28-2005

just get a triumph, i say

JonCG · 10-28-2005

Quote:

On 2005-10-28 12:25, Thunder_Forever wrote:
just get a triumph, i say

Two Bonnies, now there's a thought...

jon

feliz · 10-28-2005

I've actually been thinking of picking up a nice used one if I can find one, good luck, the local Kawa dealer tells me they couldn't give them away when they were new but they've become a bit of a cult bike and now has a waiting list for used W650s.

Lots of good road test and comparisons on the net, MCN rated it over the new Bonnie as did several other publications.

dazco · 10-28-2005

Someone correct me if i'm worng, but i could swear kawi made a bike just like it in the early 70's. This may just be a reissue of it.

boozefighter · 10-28-2005

One of our local Jap bikes dealers had the blue and silver W650 on his showroom floor for over 3 1/2 years and it finally sold this past spring. Nice looking bike and they sold for cheap money. Now I see they are getting popular. I've even known of people buying these and re-badging them as a Triumph, removing all hints of Kaw markings. To the uninitiated I'm sure they would pass. Nice looking but not a substitute for the real thing. Joe