New (to Me) 2000 Kawasaki W650

There's a $500 California tax on motorcycles....because California is gonna Cali. :stoned

Well folks, wish me luck. Heading to OK tomorrow to pick this up.

http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/mcd/3435763979.html

Negotiated down to 3K flat. Bike was dropped on the left side. Must have been walking pace. I have more detailed photos that show light scratches in the stator cover, an abraded turn signal lens, mirror and some scratching on the left pipe. Looked pretty minimal. Ssid there is also a blemish in the top of the tank, guessing from a tank bag. 39K miles. Most unfortunately is the lack of knowledge of the original owner. However, when the cheapest I have seen them go for recently is $3800, I think it is a fair price. Wont sting much to modify it a bit and ride it knowing it will never be a pristine example. I was planning to put lower bars and bar-end mirrors on anyway.

Anyone have ideas on reasonable exhaust replacement? I like the dual pea shooter look. All I can find so far are Emgos at about $100/side, but no way to retain the crossover. Everything else is a full system from $800 on up:eek1. Anyone else not running a crossover pipe? Any noticeable performance decrease?

If anyone knows a reason to pass this one up....speak now or forever hold your peace

Bike looks pretty good in the pictures - $3K seems very fair. I don't know of any W650-specific exhaust systems here in the US -- though there may be some of which I am not aware. There are several systems available in Japan and Europe. The best sounding one I have heard (on YouTube) is made by a Japanese company called Posh-Faith.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K60L5zjw3xo

Good luck and drive safe, be sure and get back to us about the bike. I must have clicked on that ad a dozen times.

Sarah

bjenson641,
Don't see how you can go wrong at that price plus as you say you can modify it to your heart's content and not feel guilty.

A good place to ask your exhaust questions is the W650 Yahoo group. The files there contain just about everything you can do to a W650.

Keep us supplied with photos of your new to you W.

<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/g74Db1AzEGrHqMC6Ur05S9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WKWY49Y2ARg/T9SCR0sumlI/AAAAAAAAAFk/iLGXJlix0Mw/s800/IMG_0930.jpg" height="600" width="800" /></a>
I get a kick out of mine every time I ride it.

Did they ever make a luggage rack for these bikes?

At one time a company named 5 Star (or Five Star) made one that fit the W. I picked one up in the flea market here and have been pleased with it. From what I know it should have been a perfect fit on my 2000, but I had to drill out the holes a bit to make it fit right. Not really a big deal, but its no longer pristine, then again, I'm not looking to enter it into any luggage rack beauty pageants any time soon...

Spike

What a beautiful machine..congrats. I won't start telling you how jealous I am cause there ain't enough room here.....

Kawasaki made/makes(?) an oem luggage rack. Hard to find, maybe Japan? Used USA?
W800 rack might fit.

google "Kawasaki W650 luggage rack" for lots of aftermarket hits.

Some photos of luggage racks at http://www.captainjakes.com/w650/650Gallery/otherpeeps/otherpeeps.shtml
and
http://www.captainjakes.com/w650/650Gallery/otherpeeps/otherpeeps2.shtml

There are a few exhaust ideas here http://kawasakiw650.co.uk/14.html

Good luck with the purchase.

Have you heard the OEM exhaust? Its got a beautiful tone, deep, a little rumbly, just what you'd expect to hear. Try it first before making changes.

Thanks for the opinions guys!

Depending on how bad the scratches are, I may do nothing. I did listen to a bunch of sound clips and agree that the mellow low stock tone is nice. Some of the aftermarket ones had almost a whistle to the note and of course much louder. I will probably only replace for aesthetic reasons. Besides, I would much rather spend money on suspension. I've ridden enough to know that suspension is where the money goes.

Speaking of suspension. I see Hagons are popular, anybody do progressive 412's? What about something a little more premium? Do Elka, Wilbers, Ohlins make shocks for this bike? I usually go for the best bang for my buck when choosing upgrades. That means if i have to spend a little more to get a huge increase in performance, I will do it. If spending a huge amount more nets a little better, I will not.

Not looking forward to the 8 hr drive ahead of me today. hope it pays off

I had a Ventra bike pack system on my 2001. it allows you to switch from rack to touring bag mount to grab rail by just loosening two screws. I liked it in that it did not mess up the lines of the bike (I left the grab rail in most of the time) yet still had the flexibility to add quite a bit of easy-on storage for touring when needed. 'Nice stuff:

http://www.ventura-bike.com/products/bikepacksystem.aspx

Nice sound - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qp5Xz0Vrv4Q - but why not just buy a Scrambler :huh

As for shocks - I fitted Hagons on my W and they were a good move If you want to go with aftermarket shocks, most manufacturers will have something suitable - so just get a pair with the required spring rate and eye to eye length.



Good luck - awaiting the write up when you get it home

For the rear, I have Progressive 412's on mine. I never road a stock W, but these seem to work well for me and I weigh 185lbs. You should be able to pick up a pair of new one for no more than $250.

Also for the rear, I've seen Öhlins 36E and S36D on a custom W650's. But you are talking $700-$1000 depending on where you buy them and how they are outfitted.

I put Hagon's on the rear, and Race Tech emulators & springs on the front. Recommended spring rates for both turned out to be higher than ideal, but workable.

Hagon's are better than worn out or deteriorated stock, but they're definitely budget stuff. If I had to do it again, I'd look farther, maybe toward's Progressive or Race Tech rears. Ohlin's has rear shocks for the Dub, and I've got Ohlin's on the GS. Superb stuff, and priced to match.

Hepco & Becker do, P/N HB-650286 01 02. Not cheap but it is well built and has a pillion rail.



This is my H&B full setup, which has a slightly larger, squarer rack.

Here's one in Northern (north bay) CA for sale. It's been on CL for 2 weeks. :huh

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/mcy/3515266806.html

Photo of a W800 taken from a thread on the Belgium bike show.

http://advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20474785&postcount=29

After battling 25mph headwinds both ways for over 1000 miles, its finally home













Below is probably the single biggest thing that led me to wanting a W. The engine is really aesthetically pleasing.


Damage from the drop below. If I had to guess, it rolled off the side stand. The scratches are really light. I might try to sand and buff them out...then re-clearcoat



Small tank ding, above and about an inch left of the "K" in the cream colored section. I may talk to a PDR guy and see if it can be popped out.


A few other things...


Seat cover shows quite a bit of wear. Even though I don't like corbin as a company, I may go for the gunfighter. I like the look!


Overall, I am quite happy. I stated earlier that there was no service history available. Not so good with nearly 40K miles:eek1. I bought this from a father and son mechanic shop. They are mostly car repair, but dabble in bikes. Had quite a few nice old enduros (60's and 70's), a Guzzi Breva, and a Harley sporty or something. I was worried that it might have been an abused bike that they just bought cheap and polished up on the outside for sale. After looking it over, I think it probably had decent service.

Here is a list of observations...

The thing starts easily and runs nicely. Very little mechanical noise. Beautiful exhaust note. I test road if for about 10 minutes and it was smooth, stopped and shifted well.

Has the factory tool kit, with surprisingly high quality tools!

No rust on the frame that I can find. Looks like it has been inside and rarely ridden in the rain.

Rear fender is broken, but included a new/used one. Unfortunately an old style. Maybe a factory recall take off? I can brace and install, or bob the current one for a slight cafe look.

Looks like it has new front brake pads.

Wheels in good shape, a few loose spokes in the rear, but spoke nipples are free and smooth. Wheels straight an true.

A newish EK SRX x-ring chain with factory front sprocket (has the little rubber damper). Using a factory front sprocket hints at a dealer service to me. Front sprocket teeth indicate around 8-10K usage in my estimation. I would guess it is the second or third chain/sprockets.

Front forks have been serviced and preload modified with PVC. Oil was nice and clean. Progressive wound springs, dunno if stock or not. I ran a claw down to the top of the damper tube, hoping to get lucky and find emulators...but no such luck.

Tank has no signs of rust inside.

Wheel bearings and head bearings are tight and smooth.

Oil is newer and clean, though the FRAM filter kinda sucks.

Tires have a bunch of tread, but they have DOT stamps from '08. Still, they seem nice and soft yet. I will just take it easy on them.

Both sides of the exhaust have dings. Left from the tipover and the right seems to have been bumped in to a curb under the front of the head pipe. I will probably just leave it for now, and keep an eye out for that perfect deal on a full system, or inquire at some custom shops locally and see what they could do.


It was just what I wanted. Picked it up for $3K. It has signs of use and isn't perfect, but that just means I can ride the crap out of it and do some tasteful mods without feeling that I have ruined a showroom bike.

Now on to the maintenance and mods!. I'll probably do a valve check, bearing grease, and fastener tightening before riding it this spring. Oh, and the air filter elements look pretty worn, time for replacements.