Kawasaki W800 long term review - 25000km owner opinion
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2024
- Here comes the long term user's honest review of the Kawasaki W800. As I have this motorcycle long enough to say something about it (25000 kilometres or 15k miles) - I decided to make this review to show you what can you expect and what do I think about my dubya. An honest review from an owner who actually uses the bike, not just looks at it. Is it better than the UK best-selling Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 or the modern Triumph Bonneville? Let's check it out what do I think.
Also I will show you here how to polish the engine covers of W800.
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▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
0:00 - Initial thoughts
3:52 - Kawasaki engine oxidation and polishing
6:48 - Final review of the W800 - thoughts and ride
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IMPORTANT! TO ALL THE PEOPLE TELLING ME I'M NOT CLEANING MY BIKE OFTEN ENOUGH or any bollocks of this kind - a short explanation, as I don't have enough of free time to reply each one of you every single time!
As I clearly see none of you saying that live in the UK I will tell you this: here on the island we have really humid winters with cold but rarely freezing temperatures. The humidity in ventilated but not heated garages hits 85% daily, so that plus salt on the roads is causing bikes/cars to rust and oxidize much faster. Cleaning the salt helps, but not riding it in the winter helps even more. And you know what? I almost never rode it in winter! Instead it was kept it in the garage cleaned when it got dirty. So - the only problem here is that protective clear coat on the engine is rather weak plus the alloy used on that engine contains some zinc which is prone to oxidation. End of story! My other bikes which I treated the same way - were doing better than the W, however each one of them had some faster rusting issues long term. ACF50 is the solution most people are using here, but I didn't know about that earlier. Anyways - if you are going to tell me that you or your friend had one "W" and it was all nice and shiny ever since bought... think twice if you are certain that you or your friend lived in the UK and was riding 6k miles a year on that bike. If so, check if you/he/she had expensive heated garage. If not, then shove your advice where it belongs... and before saying anything more check the ads with used W's in the UK and you'll learn that most of them are developing same issues after a few British winters!
Bang on. Unless you're one of those anal people that has the time to clean a bike after every ride then it will suffer because of a UK winter. You also need to have the facilities to spend that much time cleaning, most people are lucky to have a shed. Plus cleaning outside in the UK at any time of year can be pot luck given our weather. The way I see it a bike is there to be ridden, if you want something to polish then buy a pukka vintage bike.
@@kevinclayton4491 amen to that ;)
Hi uncle Long Beard , another trick i like to do is when i get home after a ride and the bikes hot , i like to get my compressed air powered oiler can and give it a dusting of some spare oil to give it a drink , also enjoy mixing a spoon full of twostroke oil in with the petrol for some upper cylinder lubrication , plus it smells good when your beating it up past your mate :) cheers Digby , yeah hoping to buy a w800 eventually! Cheers
Agreed, British weather does not help. As for the bike, always thought cylinder black paint would have made it more 'retro', and why does it weigh 25% more than a genuine Meriden Triumph even though it has much more alloy & plastic - OK, starter motor & bigger battery are extra weight, but that would not account for the huge difference. Otherwise I like my 800.
@@percyprune7548 Indeed the bikes were lighter once and much more easy to ride thanks to that fact. It's not just the battery and starter. It's rotors, counter balance shafts, catalytic converters, thicker and less flimsy frames and bigger diameter suspension. Some of those things are quite nice to have... but only some ;)
Brilliant clip. Ive never done a vid myself so always appreciatte people like you who do an honest and very useful cracking job of a vid. Thanks again.
I’ve had mine for a few years and it’s been super reliable. I have about 50000 kms. My engine looks near perfect after riding from -5oC to 40oC. It must be salt.
Could be salt but plenty of people in the UK have the same issue
I recently bought a new 2019 W800 and added a Cozy sidecar and i absolutely love the bike. Being 68 it is a absolute joy to be able to continue riding.
I had the sidecar attached to mine as well. Brilliant machine. But what I love the most is how this bike handles in the corners which I obviously lost with the chair. And as I have as a second bike - Harley which is terrible in the corners - I decided to attach the chair to that one :) Anyway, I'm certain you will enjoy your setup. It's a lovely and totally reliable machine with character.
Buying a bike at 68! Good Lord, taking my hat off!
@@scaryfear21 You only live once,might as well enjoy the time you have
@@Soul2burn 68 yrs-young ! I'm the same age, i have 3 bikes and ride them hard . I sold my fast-bike beginning of the year, found myself doing 180k's too often
@@kdsowen2882 Boy do you sound like my twin lol
I too, love them all from 50cc to what ever! I love the old BSA and Triumphs, the Royal Enfields and the new Triumphs. But I must agree, the Kawasaki W800 is the best looking. Ride safe and enjoy every journey.
I think exactly the same ;)
Cool video buddy!
I really like the look of the w800 it’s the perfect sunshine cruiser
Just beautiful 🤜🤛
thanks for the comment buddy. It is a good looking bike indeed ;)
Great Review! Much more use than specs - also got me watching the wales trip and looking forward to watching the up north one.
Hope you'll enjoy. Cheers
I love the retro look of the bike and the lower pipes.. I love my interceptor but the fit and finish of the 800 is always worth a second look. 😍
Both those bikes are great. I love interceptor as well. Cheers
If you had washed and maintained it, there would be no need for all that effort to restore it!
Instead, there would be even more effort to clean it on a daily basis... Fair enough.
I dont buy a car or a bike to be its slave. Are u a slave or your material things?
@@Dranreb865 I take care of everything I own so it doesn’t end up looking like this. This is just neglect
It is not necessary neglect, every Japanese bike that I've owned has had that protective clear coat wear off, Honda, Suzuki's, Yamaha, Kawasaki is the worst. Suzuki's lasted the longest. None of my BMW'S EVER DID THAT! I FEEL that without the clear paint on the aluminum surface it will stay nice a lot longer. No need to sand the paint off to polish it. The corrosion is under the clear coat!
Imagine what would happen to an Enfield bullet with this level of care or rather lack of it!
Hi.Just finished watching your review.I’m 71,gone full circle,road,sports,adventure back home now.Your review,plus Brittany run,bang on.You take care!Thanks.(Mine is black)Kiwi
Hi mate. Glad you enjoy yours. I think is a brilliant bike when you check all the other kinds and want a chilled out reliable ride.
Love what you said and totally agree with your article.I bought my w800 in 2011 and have done 70.000 enjoyable kilometres I love the bike.
I'm 65 and have owned motorcycles since 17 years old. Awesome
Just found this review. I passed my test in 1976, my first 'big' bike was a very tatty s/h Triumph T100P, my next an almost as tatty 1968 T120. I have had all sorts of bikes on an off ever since until recently buying a VStrom 650 (my first ever Japanese bike) which is when it struck me how HUGE many modern bikes are and how manageable my Triumph's were by comparison. Interesting to hear the W800 has 'classic' proportions, I have to say it's a bike I have never really looked at, but I love the way your bike sounds, just like one of my T120 / T140 engines....except without the top end rattle.
Indeed, modern bikes are massively overgrown. Same with cars but never mind that. In fact w800 is almost same size as classics. And it's totally reliable
Favourite retro bike....W800 Street, picking it up from the dealer tomorrow. Thanks for your videos, I’m enjoying them very much 👍🏻
Good choice, you will be happy with it as long as you are not power greedy ;)
@@UncleLongbeard It's old school cool...just like me, don't need crazy speed anymore. I bought this bike for cruising around, even though it's in break in right now, that torque is beautiful as well as the sound. I looked for your video on opening up the pipes and the fuel commander but could not find it.
@@modernblindcleaning4351 I never made detailed video about the exact mods I made. I think that the most info is in this one or maybe in the 2 exhaust videos I did.
Beautiful restoration job, Mr. Lots of elbow grease. Thanks for your review. I just purchased a 2000 W650. Cheers!
If you don't expect it to be super fast, you won't be disappointed
I own a 2019 W800 Street and am insanely happy with it 😁. It has the black finished engine and I've found Harley - Davidson black engine spray does a superb job of keeping it looking like brand new or even better than new.
Good choice of bike. And black should do... And it's easy to repaint ;)
@@UncleLongbeard Good point, and by the way the two days worth of polishing was time well spent, what a difference!
I just bought the 2020 W800. I love it, very smooth bike
Glad you enjoy it.
Ha ! I love this review ! Ten minutes hating on the corrosion before casually mentioning that everything else is completely brilliant :D
The W is a real throwback to 70's UJMs that were used for every reason, and the riders would bond with them. Great review mate.
:D I'm glad you enjoyed. And I had to find something to complain ;)
Thank you for the honest review.
My pleasure! But I think I should update it soon - as I'm close to doubling that mileage soon ;)
Good review. Modern retros aren't really my cup of tea, to be fair. Which means they're not something I would want to own myself. But in terms of looks I thought the Norton Commando and the RI Interceptor looked really good.
Good job with that sanding and polishing!!!
I love all the bikes, just some of them a bit more ;) Thanks for the comment buddy
A cracking review. I've had a w800 for a year now, and have come to deeply appreciate it like you. My only mod is a gel pad on the saddle so my arse doesn't catch fire after an hour on the standard saddle. Enjoyed this, thanks mate ,!
I'm thinking about the gel pad as well ;) cheers mate
Dudley Dave - Which pad did you find works well? My boney ass also finds the stock seat a little unforgiving.
@@dougfielding8215 Got a secondhand tourtecs pad for a Harley. Thought it would be too big, but its perfect.
After several rides a Stone from my kidney came down and made me having big pains, the saddle-comfort is absolutely poor, I´m thinking of getting me some gel-pants:-) to avoid suffering, but nevertheless I love my bike.
@@auto4287 I tried gel pants ;) not working :D
Ale pięknie go wyczyściłeś!
All the old Japanese bikes had that Clearcoat. Your polish work turned out great. Semi- chrome polish will keep it that way. Think you should paint the cylinder barrels black.😊 dig the megaphone exaust!
Nice review 👍
Thanks
So nice to hear a proper 360 degree twin - the traditional sound.
Quite the transformation!
Wonderfuil review. I have a w650..and modified it a lot. i want a 2020 W800 so I can get ABS, rear disc and traction control but I do not know how to do the mods in the injection system, so I am sticking with my w650. I love it too. It is simple to modify to carbs when changing the exhaust. I live in Japan, and we have to do a two-yearly inspection to re-register the bike. They do not allow many mods, so I have re-install the old exhaust system for that. I wanted to do a monoshock too, but they said I will fail that inspection. Anyway, beautiful bike. Well done. Subscribed.
I think it's easier to do minor modifications to fuel injection than carbs. You just need power commander or EJK controller, o2 bypass and of you go. Also, easy to remove before the inspection ;) Cheers.
@@UncleLongbeard really! Thanks for that. Got me thinking.
Thanks, it all makes sense about choices 👍.
this is beautiful bike lloing forward to own one soon
Really leaning towards one for my first bike. Love the look. Seems fast enough for me as well
The salt is what does the damage. It looked great after you polished it. Great job.
salt plus British humid winters. Anyways it still looks nice after 2 years
Thank you for this video, though I really cannot decide between W800 or Interceptor 650, I just can't decide, I love both, I know it's personal but what would you choose if you HAD to choose only one ? Thank you
If you're choosing between RE and the W, I'd say it's an easy choice for me. Even the interceptor is a pretty reliable bike, you still have some issues like clutch gone in 10k miles, same with wheel bearings and a few other things. No issues like that with Kawasaki.
As a professional polisher a 360 grit will take out dullness with fat. Then a sisal mop to cut out lines and dullness with alloy polish in bars from industrial polishing supplier. A stitch mop on a spindle with polish will give it a deep shine and a spray laquer will protect it from salt etc but wont last on parts that get hot. Reminds me of the old BSA twins a bit. ❤❤❤
Shortened reverse cone megaphones from wassell are cheap and universal silencers. Will work with carb easier.
Nice video with some useful information. I enjoyed your French motorcycle excursion, too. Very brave of you to go on a long tour with a bored teenager.
My W800 Cafe has a black-painted engine. Hope the coating proves to be more durable than your clear-coated engine. Weather in the northeast US is not much better than Great Britain.
to be honest, it was just slowly getting worse but turned that bad after last year's trip to Scotland and later the Wales. And I guess that the continental weather in the US is not that humid as here. Average annual humidity here is around 80... ish. Thanks for the comment mate.
@@UncleLongbeard Oh, it gets humid here in the northeast. Maybe just more sunshine and a little less rain. A think the biggest factor in that kind of corrosion is salt air, and I'm not far from the ocean. The advice I was given to ward off corrosion is to keep the bike clean. But wiping the entire bike down after every ride is more than I'm willing to do.
I've got the same problem. I like it clean but not after every bloody ride
I think the W800 is possibly the most "authentic" of them all.... but I love the Moto Guzzi V7 more.... but I am biased! :D haha
Nice review UL :-)
V7 is class, I love it too
Thanks for the great review! I am debating between this and the Triumph T100. What is your height? Would the W800 be too small for someone 183cm tall? Thank you!
I'm 180cm and the bike is fine, so 183 should be fine as well. I would go to the dealer and test ride it first or at least sit on it.
@@UncleLongbeard thank you very much!
Enjoy your videos! I have a 2019 w800 street. Was thinking about replacing the seat as I am feeling lot of vibrations… I don’t mind it for short rides but when on long rides it gets painful. The seat you have isn’t stock..So it didn’t help with vibrations? Does look better tho. Any tips to reduce seat vibrations?
I don't mind the vibrations but the seat is hard and uncomfortable. Not much can be done with that really
You dont drive long enough trips! My W650 stock seat starts ass aching after 200km, after 400km it (not the seat) is sedated and you can carry on almost forever. My longest trip in one day was 1713km. I live in Norway where we have a lot of curvy roads, that keeps both my brain and butt occupied so I dont feel the problem that awful. Dont waste money for new parts, happy driving!
Hi! Just bought a 2011 model and really enjoyed your video:)) Did you use the sandpaper and polished manually? And what kind of polish do you use?
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Y81ZS6N/ref=syn_sd_onsite_desktop_155?psc=1&uh_it=c6d0e98f000e00f2ca29588be8753fc8_CT&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzQ0M3SzY0VUc5MjUzJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzU5NDY4MlBERDNWVTNBOE1XRiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTgxMDIxMks0Q1RaT0E2STVHTiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNkX29uc2l0ZV9kZXNrdG9wJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
Would this work?
wet sandpaper 300, 600, 1200 then 3000 and after that felt buffing wheel with brown polishing compound. I used this one on my angle grinder amzn.to/2Rq8WDc but yours should work as well
and the polishing compound - amzn.to/3uwOhvK
Great video and the bike is a stunner! One question: is the power output "enough" for doing motorway overtakes? I'm not a massively fast rider but I would want something that's happy to sit happily at 75mph and manage a few uphill overtakes on the A1M. Is the W800 ok for that or does it start to run out of puff?
yep, 75 is fine, 80 is so so, 85 not fine ;) and the bike is accelerating reasonably fast up to 90 so you can easily overtake
You may be interested to know, that in my country we have never needed to spread salt on the roads in Winter. This means that our cars and motorcycles last much longer. People in England looking for vintage cars that were exported to my country from there come over to buy the ones here because they are in great condition, where as all those in England of the same vintage are rusted away.
I had a similar problem with my W800 and polished it. You certainly provided a lot of details about the corrosion. However, you spent a minute on cleaning it. I didnt use sandpaper but I did use an angle grinder or drill to polish the metal. I really didnt clean the screws well enough because they are seated into the engine. I think that I would have to remove each one individually to clean them properly. Also some parts of the engine are hard to get the angle grinder to. I would have liked to see how you did it.
I used both angle grinder and sand paper ;) I didn't clean the bolts and surrounding areas but those are barely visible. Unfortunately I haven't recorded the polishing process itself but possibly I will the next time I will have to clean this or something else maybe. Thanks for the comment
@@UncleLongbeard well it's good that you highlighted the main problem with the W800. At least the versions with the polished aluminium engine casings. I also had the problem with the rusty rear suspension. Other than that, the bike is good. Thanks for reply
@@UncleLongbeard What did you use to polish it? I just used a product called Purple metal polish. It works well but I'm always looking for ideas. Any ideas about how to stop it from oxidizing again?
@@markfs Just brown and later blue polishing compound amzn.to/2O29iOT
I don't think there's a good way of protecting it from oxidizing after polishing. But at least the lacquer won't peel anymore so it will be much faster to clean or repolish it again
@@UncleLongbeard Thanks for the reply and for the link. You've been very helpful.
Yes, you're right. It takes only a few minutes to get it shining again.
Great clip. 2 Questions : Did the tulip exhausts pop much and What difference did the EJK controller make ?
popping is caused bys SAI valve pushing fresh air to the exhaust. It will pop quite loud on every aftermarket exhaust. The only solution is to block it. With EJK you can adjust levels of injected fuel accordingly to exhaust you use. So it basically runs better and is a bit faster.
@@UncleLongbeard Bit of a daft question I know but do you think the EJK unit was worth just under £200 for the improvment?
@@tcuttter I estimate that in total it's 10 up to 15 percent of performance improvement when combined exhaust, snorkel removal and ejk. Is it worth it? You need to answer yourself.
@Uncle Longbeard Great answer. I had in my mind if you could actually feel a good difference and it defo wasn't a placebo effect I'm getting one. Thanks again.
@@tcuttter i can definitely feel the difference but it doesn't make it fast 😂
You mentioned doing a few of modifications to make the bike better. Would you recommend it to someone who prefers to just go with stock?
no ;) I just didn't like how smooth the bike was and wanted it a bit more aggressive. And I was always customizing a lot. If you enjoy stock - don't bother.
Now you've got the engine cases sorted, go take a look at Stuart Fillingham's channel as he's got some really good advice on how to protect that vulnerable alloy from further corrosion. He knows what he's talking about as he used to be a professional in the trade. Good video as always.
I've seen the video you're talking about, nothing new for me but I polished quite a few things in my life :D What is the most annoying part of it is that you basically need to do some quick 30 minutes polishing once a month to keep it tidy. All the chemicals will just limit the shine or will not last long. It also depends a lot on the alloy compounds factory used. And for what I see, the alloy used by Kawasaki is much more prone to oxidization than let's say the old school bikes aluminium alloy or the Enfield's one. Cheers
Is the 2020 w800 prone to this type of corrosion as well? That would upset me
@@dhhjsjzjzjjhsjsjh Almost certainly & not just Kawasaki. Triumph Bonnevilles with Alloy cases and other bits are very prone to it. That's just chemistry though. Either get black, powder coated ones or enjoy polishing & applying chemical protection. Carnauba Wax is one option which helps, but not eliminates corrosion, especially in Northern European salt-laden winter conditions. In dry areas like say Colorado or California, Spain, etc there may be fewer issues of this sort.
@@CornishMotorcycleDiaries thanks for the reply. I’m either getting a W800, Interceptor 650 or a v7iii
@@dhhjsjzjzjjhsjsjh You would love any of them , ride them all , buy the one that feels/rides the best . Guzzi came 3rd in all the reviews /comparisons of those 3 bikes, but if it makes you smile the most..........
Best looking retro out there!
We agree!
Great review, music a bit overpowering when you're talking...
Thanks buddy
6:00 Nice result. Maybe with a bit of work between it could nearly always look like this? I have a Z900RS. Very good bike, but maybe I will change to a W800. Don‘t need the power of the RS, like simplicity and the W800 could remind me to times where I started driving motorbike in 1979. I bought a Honda CB550 F2 for my first bike. She was blue and had 50hp. That has been always enough for riding. The new W800 we can get here is also blue and has around 50hp. Maybe a „back to the roots“ for me.... 🤔
No, work in between wouldn't change the fact that there was oxidation happening under the protective coating. Well, maybe if I would clean the bike EVERY day it would be better. But trust me, I'm often cleaning the bike when it's getting dirty. Basically, damp British climate along with simple protective paint and a bit of salt just don't come together and after a few years caused that protective paint to peel. I seen that on many W's here but my other bikes withstand it much better. Same weather, same owner, same cleaning... just a different aluminium alloy
Thanks for sharing a great video on how to restore a W800 to its former glory. I have a similar model (2015 W800) which is starting to get some oxidation on the forks and covers so I'm happy to see that sanding & polishing can be so effective. Did you have to paint the cooling fins or just sand/polish as well?
yes, I had to paint the fins a bit
@@UncleLongbeard What kind of paint did you use? Dedicated engine paint? If you can recommend a brand/colour match that'd be great. Thanks.
It looks great ...in the end.
true :)
Nice video ! But exactly where do you keep your bike ? One thing you didn’t mention that exhaust pipes never turn blue . This being an air cooled motorcycle
I keep it in the garage. The pipe have another pipe inside. Watch my tulip exhaust video
Do you feel a lot of vibration when riding the bike? Thanks for the video.
some but nothing annoying. I come from heavy vibrating classic bikes so for me the W is just tickling me.
great review! thinking about buying one, how is this buke for a taller person? e.g 6.1 or 185 cm
a bit too small I would say, but if you make the seat taller and move the footpegs by an inch it would be perfect. Go to the dealership and check a new one
Well damn. I guess I should clean up after wet rides! I usually ride in fair weather and park in a garage. I want mine to stay shiny pretty 🤩
Thanks for the vid!
I think that the problem were wet rides but mostly british winters - with humidity over 80% all the time. Now I have insulated garage and no sign of more oxidation
@@UncleLongbeard I’m in Georgia, USA Super humid all summer…
I’ll be wary. And get better garage doors🧐
I have a 2019 W800. The bike has a Cozy Rocket sidecar attached. It is a joy to own except for the battery location. I had to have a brand new bike towed for 45 kms as my battery slowly loosened and the connection would not allow the current to flow. That has made me nervous owning a bike with no Kickstarter
I never had a problem with the battery. And as long as I would enjoy having kickstarter just for fun, I don't feel I need it for any safety reasons. When your battery is weak you can still push start the bike but better off replace it.
It is afterall serving its purpose 👍
That corrosion/oxidation is REALLY bad! My first bike that I bought in 2014 was a 2007 honda, which had it's share of rain/dirt/etc over the years looked pretty much brand new compared to this. It's .... weird..
Fantastic job on the polish though! Amazing! Do you think that will speed up corrosion long term?
I think that it's not the corrosion which made it look that bad, but actually just a bit of corrosion on the aluminium causing the protective paint to peel off. Also, it wasn't that bad really until I went to Scotland ;) And there... wet, cold, wet, probably salty... Anyway, so far it doesn't look bad at all. Just a tiny bit of oxidization which you can remove with soft cloth really.
Mate you've done pretty good job polishing the bike parts.
I think you live bear the sea for it to get so much oxidation
Well, I live in central England - 100 miles from the sea but it's pretty damp here.
Nice one brother
Oh, that looks a bit like my old Royal Enfield Bullet 500 after it was stored under not ideal conditions for a couple of years. I am very surprised ! This from a japanese company with so much experience in building motorcycles. I was contemplating the W800 but then found a nice V7 Racer... I am glad I did. Btw. the Bullet also looked great straight out the shop....
I got both, so I can tell you the exact difference. Bullet's engine is not oxidizing even without protective paint. The W paint lasted a few years but later the oxidation started to begin and protective paint started to peel of. But on the other hand - W800 have no sign of rust except rear shocks. No rusty chrome or missing paint. And on the bullet every chrome part have rust spots ;)
@@UncleLongbeard I bought my bullet in the year 2000 in Dubai as I resided in the Middle East. Fresh out of the shops she looked really great and shiny in blue and chrome. As you might know at the time kick--start only :). Imagine, it was late December when she was delivered and I put her under the Christmas tree in the living room. ;) Tos for boys...
Hi, thanks for the video. Really interesting. I was looking at T100 /Sreet twin. however, after watching this I'm not sure now. I like W800 too. I currently ride a 79 Shovel (fun but reliability 🙄) and 84 R100 RS( love it). So I'm used to old slow vehicles and fancy something more reliable and modern. So what would your advice T100/W800.? Im more inclined to Kawasaki🙄🙄Cheers🙏🙏
For reliability take W800 all day long. I know people with 100 000 km on the clock with ZERO issues so far. But Triumph will be faster for certain. Thing is that W800 is not specifically exciting when it comes to power delivery (but it's not slow). So it's up to you what are you looking for. I still have other bikes but choose mostly W800 as it always works. And that was the idea when I bought it. That I will have other bikes I can work on, but there needs to be one which is always ready and working. And that works like a treat.
I also said a bit more about that here: ruclips.net/video/zPrjkqNNr4c/видео.html
Dear Uncle Longbeard, I bought a W800 actually in August 2020, it´s the new Model 2020 and I´m very fascinated about this bike, but it is "shooting" sometimes when I get off or I´m changing the gears. Do you think this is normal? What can or should I do? Thanks for answer
It is normal, all modern bike issue. It's caused by KCAS system (clean air system) which can be easily removed... after warranty ;)
Would it be better if converted to hardtail?
My favorite retro-bike, is my 1981 TR1 XV1000, vintage reg=$58 per year, customised to look Vincent-esk, Goldstar seat, barking mufflers, no plastic. When it gets too heavy for me, I will get a 'W'650/800, or RE650, whichever comes along first, in my 'budget' range. Your bike sounds great. Dave Aotearoa nz
XV is a brilliant base for a custom but I hate the starter motors on that bike. Also the carb setup with all that vacuum nonsense was defo less than ideal. I had 2 750's in my life and both had issues. Is there any permanent fix for that available nowadays?
To be honest even it's a great bike I always preferred XS650's
@@UncleLongbeard Yes, people are obsessed with customising them, mine is only 'tastefully-done' . The TR1 has the exact-same starter as the 1100 Virago , still a bit crap , but better than the 750 . The crazy vaccuum-enricher 'thingy' can be deleted, many choose to throw it all away and fit flatslides, ignitech ignition etc. Not cheap though. I only bought mine because it was mostly-sorted out and was reasonably-priced. It reminds me a lot of my old Ducati GT750 to ride , and I'll never be able to afford one of those again ! I'm also lucky to have a 1973 TX650 project-bike that is almost ready to ride , so I will soon have a decision to make , or sell both and buy a modern 650 maybe...Dave
Would the sandpaper and polish method work on headers on any bike?
It won't work on old chrome, but it will on stainless steel... And of course aluminium
Own the W800 for 13 years now ridden 80.000km on it. The Kawa is very reliable. Been on tours in Europe several times fully packed. The bike is a good allrounder. I ride it as Kawaski has build it. Did not change anything with the engine. Mounted a windshield and saddlebags for more daily riding comfort and practicability.
The finish looks good but you have to have a regular cleaning and care routine, otherwise it will look like your bike in the beginning of the video. Especially if you ride in salted wintertime or longer rain periods.
I own an Enfield EFI 500 Chrome Classic an a CB1100. Love all of my bikes. The W800 is something in between powerwise and with its paralleltwin. I own the Kawa for the longest time and it is something special. But all my bikes are something special to me, I wouldn't have bought them if not. I like (modern) retros more than most bikes being on the market in the last decades. Does the W look better than the Enfield or CB for example? It depends on your eyesight. I don't think so, the W looks different but very good.
Love the W800 Cafe, although I also love the Guzzi v7. Just wish there was a tubeless option on the W800.
Indeed. Tubeless would be nice to have. Personally I'd welcome 900cc and 70hp. That would satisfy my needs
When I lived in the UK if using a bike in winter I used to give the engine cases a weekly wipe down with WD40, it kept the worst corrosion away. Here now in rural France on unsalted roads i do not have that problem.
that makes sense
How's about your oil consumption ?
I have "street model" from 2019. and it consumes some oil, more then a half of liter betwen oil changes. I change it every 6 - 7k km (despite manuals saying every 12k km,...)
yes, there is some oil consumption. It's perfectly normal. 100ml per 1000km is absolutely fine for every vehicle. And the W doesn't have big oil tank so it gets hot and very thin - therefore easy to consume. Especially when you ride in hot climate and mostly higher revs. In my experience it consumes more oil when I ride it faster. I'm replacing my oil each 10kkm and I use 15w50 for the summer which is better oil IMO for the W and lowers the consumption as well.
Looking to buy one of these. The 2024 has blacked out engine. Don't ride in the rain so my bikes stay looking new.
sometimes you don't have control over riding in the rain ;)
Do you not use ACF 50 in the winter months? Just to give the bike a little xtra protection.🙂👍
I use it mate ;)
Very good review (the music is very noisy)
what exhaust pipe do you use? Stock?
ruclips.net/video/h9QtGPE6Dao/видео.html
w650 original seat from the 1999 model (original) that you added is really hard... I have one on my w650. :)... did you wet the sandpaper before applying elbow grease??
that seat looks the best... but... ;) Yes, wet paper.
Though a little expensive, I find that an AirHawk seat pad works great. Much cheaper than an accessory seat mind you.
@@dougfielding8215 I bet the air hawk is brilliant but it is another thing to carry and it looks bad on the bike. I'm going to use another foam on the stock seat which is much softer. It should sort it out.
@@UncleLongbeard I know what you mean, I bought a large Sharpee black marker to shade in the red stripe on the AirHawk so as not to draw attention to it.
@@UncleLongbeard is that an original w650 seat? no problem fitting? I have a 2019 W800 Street and I want the W650 seat as well
Hi from Australia - enjoyed your review. I was tossing up between the w800 and RE Interceptor but have ordered the 650 interceptor. The pricing and warranty are so attractive as well as the bike has excellent reviews. One area it seems to shine over the Kwacka is its fuel economy. Cheers
Hi Ian. That is really good looking bike and I hope it will prove to be more reliable than the older Enfields. It should be, but I still don't trust them as I had 2 Enfields so far ;) Nevertheless I'm pretty sure you will enjoy the bike. Cheers
Good luck with the Enfield, the choice is between an Indian made motorcycle and a Japanese made motorcycle let's think for one second, yep Kawasaki w800 is the better choice. I owned an Enfield it shat itself I also bought an Indian made KTM. Never again will I buy an Indian made bike unless I want a boat mooring, both bikes were rubbish. Buy a Japanese made motorcycle and you don't need to worry about warranty.
@@UncleLongbeard yes the earlier enfields had questionable reliability but this bike has been british designed from the groundup and has been around for a few years now with no major reliability issues. Its also been selling like hotcakes in Britain. I'll let you know how mine goes longterm.
@Ian W - I heard it's much better but I also seen a few recent videos with minor speedometer issues on the interceptor. It's just those small things which could make the difference. ruclips.net/video/AdnO49zBFgo/видео.html
@@UncleLongbeardI can handle small problems like that and the three year warranty is the first of any motorcycle manufacturer which is confidence inspiring. Dont get me wrong i really like the W800 but for an extra $4500 - it wasnt a hard choice. Hope you are staying covid free.
My favorite bike is the one I've been riding for 20 years, my 2001 ZRX1200R.
that's a beautiful bike... with disastrously ugly rear end. But I still like it
6:10 what do you think? Its look bloody fantastic
As far as the oxidation goes you have to properly clean and maintain the engine as well as the rest of the bike. I don't get how people complain about these things but in reality if you ride daily in all weather conditions you need to keep up with cleaning. If not it'll look like the underside of a car or under the hood of a car that never gets washed. Bikes are no different and even more vulnerable since all the hardware is exposed
You clearly didn't get the meaning of what I said. There are different alloys and some of them tend to oxidize more than the others - that is the basics of chemistry. Same as the cars - some are rusting faster in the same conditions. That is what is all about here.
@@UncleLongbeard you are spot on about the chemistry here. zinc is easily oxidized and should *not* be used in motorcycle alloys. it adds nothing to strength or appearance or ease of maintenance. it's used because it is inexpensive compared to better alloys. one suggestion: have you looked into silicone wax sprays for after polishing treatment? these easily applied coatings provide high corrosion resistance to metal surfaces. might save you the next 2 days of labor. keep on wheelin' !
In the market for next year, love the Retro Bikes of today and want one! But I want one to do it all, mainly Touring in comfort! The Triumph T120 and the BMW R1250R are the favourites! What else can I consider?
I can't tell you what will be comfortable for you and what bike you will enjoy ;) cheers
"I don't know where I'm going but that doesn't matter!" That's the stuff. Didn't realise the W800 made such a nice exhaust sound.
I live in a country with no snow (and thus no salt on the road) Never seen a W800 look that oxidized, it's real bad for such a short timeframe.
the cause of that was a mix of dirt from Scottish trip (wet and damp) plus English winter with average humidity being over 85% on average. Truth is that there are bikes which are withstanding those conditions better but to be honest it's not ideal for any bike really. But now I had much drier garage and no problem no more.
I had a couple of new Japanese bikes, a Honda and a Suzuki back in the 70s, the finish was exactly the same, a thin layer of lacquer over the alloy, which was great until the corrosion set in, then had to do the same, rub it all off and polish.
Do your roads get salt layed down in winter?
unfortunately yes
Hi.please tell me, there are big vibrations on the motorcycle?
No big ones but you can definitely feel it between 3 and 4k
@@UncleLongbeard Thanks.
how this bike compares to honda cb1100ex?
I don't know to be honest and would love to check that. For what I prefer on paper - 2 cylinders vs 4 and 50kg less in weight. Those two things are really important for my likings. But seriously, cb looks fantastic as well.
Hi.... What about the rear drum brake? Is it a disadvantage?... Thanks
Since 2019 it's got a disc with abs. I prefer drum for the looks. It works absolutely fine
Thank you very much, I asked because I am thinking of buying a second-hand 2014 model with drum brakes. It is a good idea? Will it work well in 2024? My main question was the drum brakes...thanks.
@@RoyRam-ip4kx nothing wrong with rear drum brake. It works well, but you won't have an ABS
As someone who rides 14k miles per year, you saved me money.
Should have got the blacked out SE model and MAINTAINED it.
Just 2 things - 1. I don't like black version, 2. it was maintained as every bike I have or had, and non was oxidizing like that. Also I don't think that there is anyone able to clean the engine under the protective coating... Cheers
Have not been able to locate a W 800 in the Bay Area and Boise as well need help?
thats the bike i want the most...it out-triumph the bonneville
exactly ;)
What about ground clearance? Isn't it too little?
With current suspension setup it's not easy to scrape the pegs
Le W800 est là et les ventes sont en hausse pour les grosses motos d'environ 60 Nm à 2500 rpm et les améliorations Kawasaki apportent sécurité et fiabilité! ✌✌
How many miles between valve adjustments?
I don't remember what manual is telling but I did it with 20k miles on the clock. It was still within the limit but I started to hear a bit of tappets ticking.
Don't matter the w800 can be done easier than triumph its a simple shim adjustment no need to remove tappet covour even the tappet slides to one side no need to remove camshaft
My first impression is that if you have the bike this long, it must tick almost all the boxes.
It does... one thing is that it could be a tad bit faster but it's speed is adequate to the looks ;)
@@UncleLongbeard l would prefer a lot more torque. I am used to 105 Nm of torque from my 1137cc big twin, and so this seems whoafully under powered. I don't think l will have mine as long as yours. Yes it looks good...but, l err more on the side of practicality every time, and doing touring miles on mine as l found out yesterday, above 60mph is not its forte, indeed it is a bit dangerous and quite flighty in the front end. As many BMW owners have said with telilever suspension, we have all been spoiled or lulled into thinking every other brand and bike would handle just as well.
I meant to add that l have just sold my 1981 xs650 Yamaha to buy this bike, and l would say the handling and frame geometry is on par with the Bonnie, having around the same wheelbase and weight, and fork rake and trail. The xs has an almost square bore and stroke though, and the Bonnie has a way over square dimension which could only be improved with a bigger capacity, l feel. For example you would never guess it had 9:1 compression. Its sweet spot in the rev range for producing power is up near 5000rpms (a little higher than l am used to, and there is no torque to get you there easily, you have to be patient instead), and you couldn't really describe its power delivery as linear, it could be described as hesitant or a reluctant response to twisting the throttle (rubber band like actaually). If l did a blind evaluation of its engine capacity by riding it, l would most likely have estimated it in the 750 range. Makes me wonder if the smaller 790 model with a more even bore and stroke dimensions is a better bike. That the extra bore in the 865 was a wasted exercise giving little or no noticeable advantage. But having said all that, a bike is a love affair, so l hope yours continues happily.
Are you still running original headers?
yes, I have custom ones but stainless which I need to polish first and make the custom brackets for the mufflers. And I need time to sort that out, so still using stock.
Love the bike, tastefully done. Will enjoy a before and after when you get them done!
Hello ! after seeing all the clips with the kawasaki w800 on your channel, I decided to buy this model but the 2023 version (blue). It is definitely the most retro model on the market, even more British style than the Triumph Bonneville: premium finishes and materials, lots of chrome, simple and reliable. I compared it with other motorcycles, and it really has no equal. By the way, do you still own the kawasaki w800? can you make videos with it if you still have it? bmw is neah
Yes, I still got it but I'll be riding BMW more as it's more fun for now. But who knows on the future
@@UncleLongbeardI’m still waiting for your videos with w800 🤣 is gorgeous bike and the exhaust ?make music not “sound”.
@@UncleLongbeard how do you reconcile with the huge gap from the rear wheel to BMW?😁
well mate i have a w800 2012 and its terrific fun just over 12000k,s very smooth and a grin always
it is a great bike as long as you expect your bike to be rather mellow
@@UncleLongbeard true ,i have my triumphs to be silly on ,the w800 has dependabilty reliabley and doesnt mark its spot but mate all bikes are fun even grubby ones (my fav)
Any bike would look like that if you ride all year round and haven’t taken precautions to stop it in the first place.
What you have done is done the work back to front which means it takes a lot more effort.
But still you have done a good job 👍
Tbh the biggest issue was humidity in the winter which affected poor paint on engine cover casings. Nothing more really
Nice, honest review. How did you decide W800 vs W800 Street?
When I was buying mine there was no new models. Anyway, I don't like matt black ;)
If you have any questions about the bike, or you want to add something - feel free to leave your comment.
Where did you get your W650 seat?
I bought it from a chap on a w650 facebook group but seen a few appearing on ebay sometimes.
@@UncleLongbeard thanks for your reply. I ended up getting the seat modified to make it flat and wider at the front. A bike has to be comfortable but modern designs seem to favour form over function in respect of seats
@@johnh2274 that's true
Is it tubeless tyre
You should've probably washed the bike much more frequently. I wash and lube my bike at least every 1000 to 2000kms, and i only use it in the warm season. There are also special protective spray-on chemicals.
I should do exactly what I'm doing now. Enjoying my bike and clean it when it needs to be cleaned. For sure it's not each 1000 km because the bikes are made to be ridden not to be cleaned all the time. And if the engine's protection is not enough to withstand that, I will just polish it when it looks crap. Also if you would take a look at my other videos or photos on instagram, you would probably know that my bike is perfectly clean almost all the time.
I'm not sure that bike is for me on the highway for long trips. Looks nice though. The 900rs might be a better choice for 7 hours a day long travel
it's probably a better choice for that but 7h on a motorway is terrible on every bike...
the noise on the background ( muzik ) is verre enoiing
I guess I improved the sound quality since that video