Kawasaki W800 - Fresh From The Box

[mrbreeze]

it's pretty, but it's got a drum rear brake and inner tubes. That's a little too 1974 for me.

[sargev55]

Originally Posted by mrbreeze

it's pretty, but it's got a drum rear brake and inner tubes. That's a little too 1974 for me.

thats exactly right, except thats the point. a classic new bike.

[oldxr]

That looks like a perfect bike for general daily use.Kind of reminds me of an old Honda cb450 from the 70's.Our lust for technology has forced us into riding complicated fashion statements.I lke the riding position of these kind of bikes.A buddy had a Ducati equal to this(light weight.long seat) that was a nice ride but too expensive.I am getting old and I dont like having to adapt my body to a bike.I like the drum rear brake-no brake fluid to leak .I could throw the giant loop bag from my dual sport bike on it and do a week or 2 of riding.If gas ever got really expensive in rhe USA (above $10/gallon) Kawi could sell a few of these

[acap650]

Originally Posted by mrbreeze

it's pretty, but it's got a drum rear brake and inner tubes. That's a little too 1974 for me.

Yeah, tubes but that's the price we pay for the pretty spokes. Nothing wrong with a drum rear - it'll lock the rear tire and I can't remember when I overheated a rear brake. I do 90% of my stopping with the front.

[ferrix]

Originally Posted by acap650

Nothing wrong with a drum rear

I am not too fussed about it in principle either. But when I took W800 for a test ride I thought the brakes were the weakest part of this otherwise lovely package, and I'm not talking about the drum - I don't expect much from the rear brake anyway. It was the front that seemed very, very weak to me. It probably does the job in the end... but it had me worried.

[Scrivens]

The brake shoes/pads probably just needed bedding in. They are certainly powerful enough for the bike and both are very progressive with excellent feel. You don't use the brakes much anyway as the engine braking is very effective, especially when playing in the twisties.

[sargev55]

Originally Posted by Scrivens

The brake shoes/pads probably just needed bedding in. They are certainly powerful enough for the bike and both are very progressive with excellent feel. You don't use the brakes much anyway as the engine braking is very effective, especially when playing in the twisties.

more than likely someone comparing the brakes of the w800 to their r1, v-strom, 1200gs etc.

ever tried to use the front brake of a 79 guzzi v35? death grip the thing and it will work :)

[NJ-Brett]

A very nice looking bike.
I would not mind an older 650.
We need more choices in the US.
All we get is 600+ pound sportsters, the little TU250 and the rare V7 classic.

I would even take a w500, it would be better (lighter) on dirt roads.

I used to run the K70's on my Daytona, not bad in the dirt really, but the tall soft sidewalls suck if you get a flat.
And the old bikes also came with rim locks...

[Speedo66]

I've got a similar brake setup on my W650. I admit they were pretty weak when I first got it. I changed the pads immediately to EBC HH pads, and after they bedded in, the change was dramatic. The rear is still a little weak, but that's OK, not looking to lock it up back there anyway.

I saw the W800 when I was in Sweden a month or so ago, and it's a pretty bike. There is also a "limited edition" with a black and silver tank, and gold anodized wheels.

See this post for photos http://advrider.com/forums/showpost....postcount=1147

[Barnone]

Loop,
Very nice W800. I have the W650 here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Just about the perfect bike for around here like you pictures of your W800 suggest for your area. I have the Avon Distanzias on my W and they are decent in the gravel.

From Motors

That's my 2001 W650 in the center. Kawasaki imported the W650 in the USA for 2000 and 2001 after a lot of people requested them but they did not sell in sufficient quantity.

[RickS]

Nice bike!

[argentcorvid]

The W series,would make a beautiful scrambler. (probably because of the whole Triumph knock-off thing they have going on)

[sargev55]

Originally Posted by argentcorvid

The W series,would make a beautiful scrambler. (probably because of the whole Triumph knock-off thing they have going on)

lets hope we see one. obviously, it would be fairly easy to do aftermarket, but it would be very cool as a factory option.

[davidji]

Originally Posted by acap650

Nothing wrong with a drum rear - it'll lock the rear tire

That is what's wrong with it. Drums had a few problems, but the biggest is poor modulation. Yeah as you pointed out most of the braking is in front, who really cares about the drum in back? I do a little. It's not like having a drum in front though.

One of the biggest turn-off for me in custom bikes is when someone converts a disc in front bike to drum.

[Loop]

Originally Posted by ferrix

I am not too fussed about it in principle either. But when I took W800 for a test ride I thought the brakes were the weakest part of this otherwise lovely package, and I'm not talking about the drum - I don't expect much from the rear brake anyway. It was the front that seemed very, very weak to me. It probably does the job in the end... but it had me worried.

I'm guessing it was a low mileage one so, as someone has said, it'll take time to bed in as there's only a single front disk. I don't have a problem with the brakes personally, still running it in but it seems fine. I have always used the rear brake along with the front and in wet and/or icy conditions I use the rear a lot more, I suppose it depends on your riding. It's not a sportsbike. Glad you liked it otherwise though, the bike suits me perfectly.

Originally Posted by mrbreeze

it's pretty, but it's got a drum rear brake and inner tubes. That's a little too 1974 for me.

All part of the appeal to me. A properly set up drum rear is fine, and you can even adjust how strong or weak it is just by twiddling the adjuster with your fingers. My other bike that I use for trail riding has drums front and rear and I've never had any trouble not being able to stop. As for the tubes, well I'll be taking it off-road, as shown in the photos, so tubes are a good thing. I use to worry about taking my Bandit off-road as the tyres were hugely expensive. If I can just change an inner tube, I'll be more willing to ride the places I like to. I know tubed tyres deflate quicker and so on but like I've said, never had any problems when that has happened in the past either with my current trail bike or any of the dirt bikes I've owned which have all had tubes.

Originally Posted by argentcorvid

The W series,would make a beautiful scrambler. (probably because of the whole Triumph knock-off thing they have going on)

Surely you mean "continuation of their (Kawasaki/Meguro) own bikes that date back to the original K1 which they made under licence from BSA in the 60s as a close copy of the BSA A7"? The W650 was out a couple of years before the current Hinckley Bonneville was.

And anyway who cares about any of that "they copied them" stuff? I bought it because I liked it as soon as I got on it, everything else is a moot point. I can't stand bike snobbery, or any kind of snobbery actually.