Why I Still Choose the Kawasaki W800
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- Опубликовано: 26 сен 2024
- A follow up video to the 2022 video I made "Why I chose the Kawasaki W800" where I detail why I still favor the Kawasaki W800, with its excellent riding capabilities, its beautiful retro motorcycle styling, and it's terrific handling. If you are considering a modern retro or modern classic motorcycle, I highly recommend checking out the Kawasaki W series!
This channel is about riding motorcycles in New England, Vermont Specifically with a focus on the Kawasaki W series. Other motorcycles are featured, including the BMW G650GS and the BMW R1200CL, with more to come?
Right on! All the vintage twin nostalgia, plus the modern goodness and reliability! A killer bike indeed.
I couldn't agree more - thank you for commenting!
ALL motorcycles are cool and it doesn't really matter what you ride as long as you do it! I'm about to be 62 soon and started out at age 7 on a 3 hp Briggs & Stratton homemade minibike that my father put together. Next was a 1972 Suzuki 50 Trailhopper, 1971 Honda SL100, 1973 Suzuki TM 125, 1975 Suzuki RM 125 then jumped to a 1979 Yamaha 3 cylinder 850 special at age 19. Next was a 1976 Harley SuperGlide 1200, 1988 Honda Intercepter 1000, 1995 Yamaha Vmax 1700 , 1981 Suzuki GS750, 2002 Husquavarna 610, 1970 Honda CB350 (Restoration project) and ultimately a 1994 BMW R1100RS. I've rented other bikes in Peru where I resided from 2010 - 2017 in the city of Cusco (Ande Mountains) for day and weekend excursions and some of these were BMW 1200 GS, BMW 800 GS, Honda Transalp 700, Honda Africa Twin 1000 and a Honda CRF300. On vacations to SW Florida, I've ridden friends bikes such as Harley Road King, Harley V-Rod, Harley Fatboy, Harley Softail duece and a 2002 Bosshoss V8. (intimidating, heavy and way too much HP) Now, I'm looking to replace the R1100 Beamer with a 2003-2004 K1200 BMW (4 cylinder) which are awesome bikes for the price tag between $2500-$4,000. I have never purchased a new bike and probably never will as I agree with you in letting others take the depreciation.Good luck with your channel, new subscriber here! :)
Thank you for subscribing! Nice to have another long-term rider in the community! You have had a mix of bikes in your stable over the years! I had a 1998 K1200RS that I absolutely loved, it felt like a sane rocket. ;) I appreciate you commenting!
High praise from you and fellow owners in the comments here. It's great to see! The term "cult classic" is overused, and I think applies accurately here!
@@markfortin8286 I would agree 100%!
Thank you for commenting!
I have a 2020 Kawasaki W800 Cafe. About 3500 miles on it now! Beautiful, quiet, sophisticated...totally enjoyable! Kawasaki's heritage masterpiece! Thinking about Michelin Road 6 to replace K300 bologna skins!
I am right there with you a heritage masterpiece!
Thank you for commenting!
The W800 is a nice bike. Own one for 13 years now, previously owned a W650 for some years and then updated when the 800 came out. I like the W800 more and prefer this machine. Have ridden now 80.000km on it. The bike is very reliable, has enough power in my opinion and can be a good touring bike. Went on tours in Europe several times. I polish the bike and its metal part from time to time and take care of the bike. The finish could be better, but if you do so, it will still look good after all these years and km. Even as an outdoor bike like mine.
80,000km is impressive! I'm so glad to hear a long term owner of a W800 who still loves their bike. I find the W a perfectly respectable polite and well mannered motorcycle, I absolutely love owning mine!
@@bigbluemotorbikedog Me too. I also own a CB1100 out of 2013, also reaching selfridden 80.000km in this year. And an Enfield Chrome Classic 500 EFI with now 32.000km on it. I love to go out on a ride with these different classical beauties. Each has its own charme.
Great summary video of why you would choose the W800 again. Th W800 provides an incredible riding and ownership experience for those who don't need dotted lines to look like solid lines as they pass by. The best retro all rounder there is. More capable than a lot of people might think. Still running the Dunlop tires and they have yet to provide any surprises. I think I am just used to the bike moving around a bit just like the machines of yore. As I commented in a previous video, you have to let the W have its reins and let it move around a bit and don't fight it. The Road Classics will be on the menu when the time comes.
Cheers
Bob
@@Bob-xc2us thank you for commenting Bob! I always enjoy reading what you have to say.
@@bigbluemotorbikedog Ditto
Can't believe how many comments and thoughts. Thanks kindly to all. My thanks to this channel for the detail and background on a bike which honestly is so unknown. I saw the 650 years ago and wondered what the heck it was as never seen such a thing and didn't know it existed. The entire background of this bike is so appealing. An homage to my very favourite rides - British twins. I've owned BMW's twins and K's. Triumph and Norton. Got tired of the service support or lack of and the reliability. Or the pricing for service which for a simple twin was ridiculous = BMW. Went Japanese and never looked back. Incredible quality, reliability and all that. Ninja 900, CBR600, and found Honda VFR's for over 20 years. A 01 and then a 07 RWB anniversary. Beautiful machines and toured on them across the country. Five years ago went on sabattical from bikes as wanted something more upright. Comfortable and frankly more character. A bimble bike, with capability to do much more if asked. This thing is built bomb proof, a heritage which is more authentic to me than the new Triumph, easy to service diy, and is absolutely drop dead gorgeous. And has the best engine note to me in my years of riding.
I couldn't have said it better myself! The W series are wonderful motorbikes, my favorite motorcycle so far in my riding career.
Thank you so much for commenting!
I drive the W800 in Germany. I am very happy with it.
@@Aquarium271 awesome to read that. Thank you for commenting!
This is my favorite motorcycle for sure. Right now it's not in my budget, so I got a 2024 kawasaki versys-x 300. I absolutely love it. It's a great machine. Someday I'll get a W800 😊.
@@NewHamburgShenanigans how are you enjoying your versys?
Loved when you said N+1. It is exactly how I look at things! (My wife thinks it is the formula for hoarders)
@@waynesmith2287 it may have multiple applications!
Sweet ride. A friend gave me his '71 W1-SA(P) that he imported from Japan and I began restoring it but never finished, and sold it to a guy in Florida. It was Police white but I'd repainted it in the '71 black/orange candy scheme when the sale took place. Perhaps it's still out there running around..... I certainly hope so. I too owned and rode several airheads including a few R75/5s from '98 through '08. Ride safe, brother.
@@spokanefut thank you for commenting! Nice to have a fellow airhead fan on the channel! Keep the shiny side up!
It's funny you describe new bikes as insect-like transformers. I have been calling them "insectile", for several years now! :D
Great minds think alike!
Just like a lot of modern cars. All shaped like some kind of beetle and hard to tell the make from a distance.
I came back to bikes a year ago (age 53). I had a long list of "mid sized/powered" bikes that I thought would fit the bill. Hinkley Triumphs, DR 650's, SV 650's, CB 400's and quite a few older bikes were on my list. My intention was to buy one of these, keep it for a while to get my "chops" back, sell it and "upgrade". Mileage and condition under a certain price were the only determining factors as to which bike I would choose. A 2015 W800 came up with only 900 miles on the clock and it looked like it just rolled off the factory floor. It also had a very motivated vendor.
I purchased the bike unseen, something that I wouldn't usually do.
What a stroke of luck that was. I can't speak high enough praise of this bike for my use case. It is everything described in this video and then some. It really is an ideal "real world" bike. At "normal" speeds, it's an engineering marvel, in my mind. So easy to live with day to day, yet so much character.
I can see another bike joining it in the garage one day, but I can't see another bike replacing it. As for upgrading? This is enough bike for everything I throw at it.
I love my W - it's definitely my favorite bike in my stable, which says a lot. Definitely a bike I'll keep! How lucky to get a 2015 with only 900 miles!
@@bigbluemotorbikedog There's an "X" factor. Cheers for the reply.
thanks for saying what i would say. love the W800 Cafe of mine. i now know why you did not buy the Cafe version. i only wish that it came with a center stand, as i am not paying over 200 dollars for one. only issue i have with it.... well it is rusting in parts, but i do not have a garage, so i guess that is expected. i am glad you said 50 motorcycles is to many. i have a thought of 6 motorcycles, is the perfect amount. so i am still good with that number.
Thank you so much for commenting! I love that joke (50 motorcycles is enough!)
The center stand is nice to have, especially during winter storage and working on the bike. What are the six bikes you currently have in your stable?
Hi! I treated the fenders, the lamp holder and the chain guard at the inside, especially where there are folds, with ACF 50 and a spray wax commonly used for cars. After a few days in the summerheat it is no longer sticky at all.
@@besenwieslersepp1011 Great tip - thanks!
@@bigbluemotorbikedog i have a thought of 6, do not own 6 yet! so i have the Kawasaki Concours14, W800 Cafe. as to fill out the stable, looking at getting this fall a Honda Trail 125. when i move, i will pick up a KLR or even maybe a Royal Enfield Himalayan , all depends on when i move. then i am still not sure about the 5th bike as it will be a sport bike... I was thinking the 90's or early 00's. and last one will be a bike for fixing, a Harley Davidson Sportster. it checks all the box's for a 2 wheel dependent enthusiast.
@@besenwieslersepp1011 thanks for the tip, funny, i just bought ACF50 as i hear all the European riders use it. i had a hard time finding it. i could find it, but everyone wanted a lot of money for it. then i had to break down and reopen my Amazon account and purchased it there. this stuff is like Franks hot sauce, you can put this s#it on everything! lol, except for tires and breaks. again thanks.
I can't help but wonder how a bevel gear Norton would look and perform.
@@RUSTY-A-L hoping one day they make one and we can all find out! Thank you for commenting!
I really like the 360 degree firing order. I owned a 2012 Triumph with this firing order and I loved it for 6 years. Why do all the parallel twins (except Kawasaki)want to sound like Harley's any way?
I have no idea. Some say that 270 degree cranks are smoother, me personally I like knowing there's cylinders working away to move me along. I prefer the 360 or 180 degree for inline twins, (the 360 degree is the 'true' parallel twin (as the pistons move together). Such a glorious sound.
360 is the real deal. And noticeable big time. British.
@@dgordon130 hear hear!
This is a bike I have been looking at for some time. I've hesitated as some have said viby, but I've owned Nortons and Triumphs way back in the past and I understand the W does have a modest counterbalancer setup. But it's a 360 twin which to me is the whole piece of the sandwich. :-) I think the vibes will be fine. There is one for sale in my area at a huge discount, a 2022 and extremely close to pulling the trigger. :-) I'm 63 and just want a nice characterful ride which I think this will address right in the bullseye.
I think it will, I'd take it for a test ride, the W has a 'vibey' range which peaks at about 3500 rpm, at higher and lower rpms it's really a smooth engine. Having plenty of character and being a beautiful bike are core elements of the Kawasaki W Series. Let me know what you decide!
I have 6 bikes. No bike intrigues me like this one. I like your thinking. Hope you do buy. Know on way in…. I do… that they sit when you go to sell.
I have 6 bikes. No bike intrigues me like this one. I like your thinking. Hope you do buy. Know on way in…. I do… that they sit when you go to sell.
I have 6 bikes. No bike intrigues me like this one. I like your thinking. Hope you do buy. Know on way in…. I do… that they sit when you go to sell.
Good
Luck
Love that bike
Excellent thoughts on an excellent 'retro' bike. I too am turned off by the insect/transformer look especially when it serves no purpose (I understand that some added bodywork can serve a purpose). I also prefer easy access to all the mechanicals of the bike without having to first strip off its 'skin'. Because of neck problems I have to have a very good windshield (no head shake or front torso pressure) or I cannot ride. I presume a good one is available for the W800. I also put Michelin Road Classics on my Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, great tires.
@@doughoffman9463 excellent feedback on the road Classics on the Interceptor. There are windscreens that fit the W, up to pretty large ones. Thank you so much for commenting!
Hello mister, nice vid and nice bike!
A question here, I saw you put on michelin road classic, are those tube tires like OEs? Or you have to convert rims to tubeless?
I have a 21 W800, it is kind of hard to find matching pair and also being tube compatiable.
Greetings! Mine have tubes in them and work flawlessly. Great question!
@@bigbluemotorbikedog Thank you very much!
It’s a beautiful bike.
I can't think of a time when I got off it and walked away without looking back...
Insects. Transformers. Wow. Perfect descriptions of today's motorcycles. Personally, I can't stand them. I haven't been on a bike for years but if I make the leap it will be the W800, Royal Enfield Interceptor, or maybe the new BSA Gold Star (I like the idea of a thumper). I toured Europe in the early 1970's on a BSA Royal Star (500 cc, single carb). Compared to any bike out there now, that BSA was a complete utterly pathetic dog. But on mountain roads, seaside roads, back country, barely two lane, roads, it was a joy. It was even OK on highways--not great and kind of scary but doable, except German autobahns which I very quickly learned to avoid. Stuart Fillingham is another really good (as in he's hones, he owns the bikes, and gives long-term ownership reviews), sometimes sardonic, channel--he focuses on RE's and, lately, the new BSA.
I watch Stuart Fillingham as well, good content! The BSA is a cool looking bike, I don't have a dealer for BSA anywhere near me, but it would interest me to take one for a spin, same with Royal Enfield. The build quality on the W800 is superb. I absolutely love mine.
Nice bike, but I wish they would make it on a larger frame for those of us that are taller.
There is a flat bench seat from Omega Racer that can allow you to significantly change the geometry (depending on how far back you sit but may make the lean forward a bit steeper.
Lovely video. Have a new subscriber :) Greetings from Germany
Thank you for subscribing! Where in Germany? My Mum is from Remscheid.
Still a nice bike. There's plenty of lovely alternatives out there now, so we all have lots of choices. Given the very valid comments about rider demographics it's probably no coincidence that manufactures are offering more retro and upright styles. I just wish that footrest positions and seating positions were more comfortable across their ranges as increasingly I only find adventure style bikes have the right riding position for my dodgy hip and back.
What's happened to practical stuff like full length mudguards too...?
I agree, what happened to full length mudguards!?!? I prefer them a lot. (I think it's just easier to get tires on and off and do maintenance with the shorter mudguards) - but I do prefer the full mudguard front & rear. I have three bikes including a 'baby' adventure bike (2011 G650GS) and I like the seating position on all three of my bikes even though they are very different. I actually find the most relaxed seating position is on my 2003 R1200CL, and the most neutral is the W800, while the easiest to stand up on is the G650GS (I did put a touratech seat on it, which decreased the reach to the bars and increased my knee bend, but only ever so slightly). I'm glad you did find which bikes fit you best, anything that helps keep us riding I think.
Is this bike good for two up riding? I want to downsize but still be able to take the wife sometime.
@@kevinmim6490 I would think so, honestly I have never taken a passenger on my W.
Different strokes for different folks. I've owned eighteen bikes in the last nineteen years, and the W800 has been my least favoured.
@@atinshed thank you for commenting! You are right, have to find the bike that fits and inspires you!
Were there any issues with cables or wiring using the bar risers? I'm ready for them myself.
@@fiend4mojitos I was able to keep the stock cables with the 28mm risers.
I put 20mm risers on My W and the wires were snug getting the bars up onto the risers but were fine once the bar was in place. I would think the 28mm risers that Big Blue Motorcycle Dog used might the practical limit. The 20mm bars gets me sitting more upright and takes away the "looking up" crook in my neck that I can get on longer rides. Now if only the foot pegs were just a bit further forward to reduce the angle on my worn out knees and hips. Old joints don't like to be locked into on position for long periods of time so i doubt that different peg location would really make any difference. Did not get this in my younger years and it is not really the bikes fault.
Always nice to see your videos Big Blue. An update on my 2023 W800, I’ve managed to put 7300km in 3 months. Love the bike, but definitely need to upgrade a few items. Bar stem riser for sure to alleviate the forward leaning. A fur/gel seat pad before I consider an aftermarket seat, the stock seat is unbearable after 1.5hrs. A small wind/bug deflector, thinking of the Dart unit from the UK, and for safety reasons, louder horn(s). Over the off season, some reliable panniers as well to allow for weekend getaways… Keep up the great content!
@@clanky44 I have the Dart fly screen on my W800 and it dose relieve the chest pressure at speeds above 60mph but it does introduce a little more buffeting at helmet level. I can live with that.
I would get a crook in my neck from looking slightly up due to slight forward lean from the low handle bars. I installed 20mm bar risers that bring the bar slightly higher and slightly closer to you. This seems to help the crook in the neck issue. I am just under 6 feet so If you are a shorter rider you may need the 28mm risers that Big Blue Dog installed.
I may consider the gel or sheepskin option for the numb bum syndrome after a couple hours. After market seats will undoubtedly be a bit lower and I need the opposite. My bike came with the stock seat and the factory lower seat. I like the look of the lower seat as it does not have KAWASAKI written on the back of it and keeps people guessing but increased the bend in my knees and hips. The stock seat does this too but I can ride longer before feeling any discomfort. I short rest stop helps.
Do you know anyone looking for the stock lower seat?
@@Bob-xc2us I just ordered 22 mm risers from Webike. I will report when I get them on.
6:02 did I hear a cat?
@@bearcatracing007 you did!
@@bigbluemotorbikedog video approved 😂
@@bearcatracing007 I have two tiny panther brothers (same litter - black American short hair) named John McGuinness and Michael Dunlop. (Isle of Man TT racers - named so because of their awesome zoomies)
🫡
😼😻
I like it, but i hear it has corrosion problems.
@@chadkline4268 I haven't heard that, however it is steel... so there is that to consider. Mine is garaged when not using it.
i miss the old bikes....ive been looking for a Ossa ...cant find anything worth owning...sad days
@@NoNameNoFace-rr7li I'm unfamiliar with Ossa, I will look them up. Thank you for commenting! I love learning new things