We’d been collectively itching to get our mitts on Kawasaki’s new W800 since spotting one on the Team Green display stand at last January’s International Motorcycle Show. Fans of retro cafe racers have long lamented to loss of Kawasaki’s original W650 from the lineup, but after some 17 years the very British-feeling air-cooled parallel twin is back. This time, the W has faced down all the emissions nightmares that caused its demise in the U.S. market by adding electronic fuel injection. The difference is evident from the first thumbing of the starter button: instead of the famously uneven idle of the carbureted 650, the W800 purrs to life with a steady whirring sound emerging from its trademark bevel drive shaft running vertically along the right side of the engine.
The 800 is fairly dolled up compared to its former self, with loads of visual accents vying for your attention. The LED headlight rests within a small bikini fairing and is a complex, multi-beam work of art. The subtle two-tone brown and black paint and matching cafe seat reach a BMW R nineT level of quality. The rear drum brake has been supplanted by a drilled disc with two-piston caliper while the front two-piston Nissin disk set-up remains unchanged. That’s fine as the linked ASB (which is standard) works perfectly, slowing the 479 pound bike with ease. Whenever managing editor Kim Love rides her W650, passers-by comment on “what a cool old Triumph” it is. Kawasaki must enjoy this mistaken identity, having reduced the size and number of their brand logos on the 800, preferring to adorn the fuel tank with horizontal stripes and a capital W.
