New (to Me) 2000 Kawasaki W650

I'm going to be doing that soon as well. My fuel hose all looks pretty good but it's going on 15 years old so it's probably time to replace it just in the interest of safety.

Hey theandy, I'm in Portland, too--you just missed the PNW Wrally.

Welcome to the club!

orsurf76 and GoonerYoda thanks for the welcome, and yeah sad to have missed the Wrally-- and looks like our awe.some. summer is finally coming to a close.

Thanks MFP. I jiggled and fiddled and got the fork to lock and key out too, thanks. Told you: stupid questions.

Now on to tightening up the loose gauge pod.

I've just fitted new 2-into-1 header pipes and a Supertrapp silencer to my W650. The plan is to modify the bike for long distance classic trials, but if that doesn't work out, I'll use it as a street scrambler.

The headers were fabricated by Cafe Racer Customs (CRC) Motorcycles in north London to my specification. Because of the certainty of dropping the bike in the sections, I wanted a tight curve on the left cylinder and the common pipe to be as close to the frame as possible. That way, hopefully, the exhaust doesn't get dented. CRC followed my drawings and I'm pleased with the result.

The brackets that hold the silencer are only temporary; a permanent bracket is going to pick up more of less on the original mount for the standard silencer.







I've got a question now. Does anyone know of an air filter conversion other than the K&N filters? I need to narrow the bike because the footrests are moving rearwards and I'll be standing up on those rests. The narrowing involves removal of the side panels and the standard airbox. I'm looking at something like an SV650 or some other 650 and that means fabricating a new airbox. I don't want to re-invent the wheel so any advice will be gratefully received.

May not be necessary. The gauges (and the tail light) are rubber mounted and are designed to wiggle a bit. You can feel the Allen-headed bolts that hold the gauge cluster brackets by turning the handlebars and fondling up underneath the top triple-tree and see if they're tight. (Umm, sorry about the verb there, just seems appropriate. ).

The brackets are attached to the gauge cluster by, IIRC, phillips headed screws on their underside. Easy to feel during the aforementioned fondling exercise. Harder to get to if in fact they are loose. Either a right-angle screwdriver or remove the headlight bucket--which isn't that hard to do.

But most likely they're fine and you can just go ride with orsurf and enjoy the bike!

As ORexpat has mentioned tightening probably is not needed in the cluster because of the rubber mounts. My instrument cluster also seemed loose but when I did my handle bar switch I checked the allenhead bolts and the screws and everything was tight. I ended up putting some little plastic shims where the cluster mates to the bracket that holds it, so far it works good enough.
The next question you might have will be about the buzzing/vibrating headlight bucket when you accelerate through the gears or just rev the engine. I tried some home brewed remedies but no dice as of yet.

Those pipes look great. The bends are nicely executed.
Quick question, what exactly is "long distance classic trials"?

They all do that. My fix was to apply some plastic tape to a small arc at the top of the headlight bucket to remove any play where the headlight ring snaps on. You may need to try several different tapes as I did. Eventually I got rid of the buzz.

Thanks acap650, that makes total sense now that you mentioned it. I was too focused on where the bolts attach the headlight bucket to the fork ears, never even thought about the headlight ring.
Did you use a foam backed tape?

No, but that might work. I tried a few different types of electrical tape until I found one that worked. I've done it more than once but the last one has done the job for a few years. Good luck.

Looking back over these posts, it struck me that our Dubs are so well engineered and built that vibrating headlight buckets and the occasional cracking fender are about all we have to talk about. Well, unless a bike's been allowed to sit for too long with gas in the carbs . . . . Very few serious issues, by and large.

Speaking of these sorts of niggles, I've been experimenting with seats and pads again . . . I'll post something after a couple of hundred miles on the latest home-built Frankenstein butt holster.

I will give it the 'ole college try in the next 2 weeks and let you know how I make out. Thanks again.

This seems to be so true about the W. Just like the scene in Bladerunner if you are familiar with the film when Dr. Tyrell mentions the motto of his replicant manufacturing company: "More human than human".
Kind of like Kawasaki telling Triumph that the W is "More Triumph Bonnie than Triumph Bonnie".
I saw a W at a bike show last year and painted on the gas tank like WWII aircraft nose art was the saying: "A Betta Bonnie".
Triumph diehards were not amused but they did acknowledge the W's virtues none-the-less.

I've ridden both, prefer the W.

Same feeling here, unfortunately it took me almost a year and a half to find my W.
Better late than never.

In the UK, long distance trials (LDT) are organised by a number of clubs; the only ones I'm familiar with are the ones run by the Motorcycling Club (MCC) http://www.themotorcyclingclub.org.uk/ . They run three LDT. The format is start late evening or early hours of the morning, follow a route card of a few hundred miles of normal road and along that route tackle a number of off-road sections and special tests. The event has classes for almost every known vehicle; bikes, three-wheelers and two-wheel drive cars. They take place in January, Easter and October, so the weather can be freezing, wet or beautifully sunny, or a bit of everything. Terrific fun

An interesting take on a modified W650 :huh


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KAWASAKI-...0789509?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item33960d5a05

The front fender is hand made I believe!

Wow. I'd say that's obscenely overpriced for what it is. I love his add-on to the description where he says these sell for £3000 or more. I wonder if he can guess what the difference is between those £3000 bikes and his.

OMG, what a hideous apparition. I've seen some nice custom W's around but this sure isn't one of them! What a waste of a nice engine . . . .

Having said that, I'm also the guy who's still got the PO's original ding in the fuel tank that I've not bothered to have removed . . .