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2005 Kawasaki W650 676cc Having passed my driving test on a motorcycle 36 years ago, I have had a number of bikes, the first being a 1965 Honda C200 which was second hand and cost me £50 in 1968. From this I progressed to a car and then had a Honda CD175, before purchasing a new Honda CB250RS in 1980. This being my first new bike I lovingly kept it for about five years. I then had 14 years without a bike, before returning to motorcycling with a 1971 BSA B50 in 1999, which I renovated and sold in 2004. This was a beautiful bike, but! With vibration, oil leaks and constant repairs, it was impracticable for commuting, and so to my second brand new bike, a Kawasaki W650. I had always desired a Triumph Bonneville, but without the vibration and oil leaks, and here was the bike that has the style and reliability without the discomfort. |
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The Kawasaki W650 was introduced in 1999 as a modern retro motorcycle not only styled, but also bearing a remarkable resemblance to the Triumph Bonneville of the mid 1960's. The 1960's Triumph represents the epitome of development from the original Turner 500cc Speed Twin, which broke all the boundaries in it's introduction. The unit twin had been stretched to 650cc with twin carbs and a chassis that enhanced it's reputation. A beautiful model with delightful curves and for many the perfect bike, but still prone to vibration, oil leaks and lacking refinement. This then was the ideal on which Kawasaki would base their re-incarnation with the refinements of superior technology gained with the passage of time. Looks are not everything, but they go a long way, and the W650 certainly has good looks. In an age when smoothly faired super-bikes rule the roads, the W650 turns the heads of the onlookers as it passes by. Turner and Triumph got it right, the looks, the technology and the performance. Add the counter-balance shaft to reduce vibration to an aberration, front disc brake to make stopping a reality, electronic ignition for reliability and performance, a five speed gearbox with positive selection, electronic speedo & tacho for smooth feedback to the eye, oil-tight seams on the engine unit with and oil filter, shaft driven single overhead camshaft with four valves per cylinder to give better breathing, a well tuned chassis with alloy rims and modern tyres and an electric starter for the modern generation and you have for some the perfect bike.
The original Bonneville frame was a disappointment and many riders fitted the engine into the Norton featherbed to create the ultimate bike of it's time, the Triton. No such problems here, the frame takes modern manufacturing techniques, materials and the old design principle from the Norton Featherbed frame, designed during the 1950s, to give a stiff twin loop cradle in traditional tubular steel. The main departure being a square box section top tube. The swinging arm again is traditional, but with square sided oval tubing, which again stiffens up the chassis and gives the taught handling required for this type of bike. Traditional 39mm front stanchions are oil damped and fitted with rubber gaiters, being matched by the old twin shock design with the shrouded springs for originality and adjustable pre-load. This package with the rubber mountings for the engine provides an excellent ride which the 1960's Bonnie rider would have died for. To complement this package an efficient 300mm disc brake with twin-piston caliper has been fitted to the front wheel instead of the single or twin shoe drum brakes of the 60's. Altogether making a very enjoyable package. |
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Conclusion A
winner for the modern motorcyclist who enjoys the 60's styling and also values the
comfort and reliability of a modern bike. This bike just keeps going, mile
after mile. Gone are the days of having to get out the spanners after every
ride. If you want sheer speed then pickup a Honda Fireblade, but this bike
will pile on the smile and give back the real enjoyment of a motorcycle on the
open road. No mess, this is a clean machine, which can stand on the garage
floor without embarrassment and will have passers by wondering if they didn't
own one like it when they were young lads in the sixties. Beware, people will
stop and talk to you about this bike, so be patient. |
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Improvements
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power plant has basically the same features that the original Turner engine
design incorporated, a long stroke twin cylinder with 360deg firing which
means the pistons rise and fall together. Instead of the cast iron barrels, aluminium
alloy has been used to save weight. A contra-rotating counterbalance shaft has
been mounted in the front to smooth out those vibrations. This engine is a wet
sump as opposed to the dry sump of the Triumph and the casings are split
horizontally in typical Japanese style making assembly easier. An oil filter
is mounted at the front where it is easy to change the cartridge. The primary
drive chain of the Triumph has been replaced by gears to provide smooth,
quiet, maintenance free transmission of power from the crank. The most radical
departure was the introduction of the single overhead camshaft
driven by a hypoid gear with an offset bevel drive shaft so familiar to Ducati
owners and early Norton racing engines. Quiet in operation, accurate in
performance and maintenance free, this is mounted in a tunnel on the right of
the engine, as was common with this type of mechanism, and stops the novice
totally believing this to be a Triumph Bonneville. The four valves per
cylinder are adjusted by shims and the rockers slide on their shafts to allow
this operation to take place. The big-ends are of the split type giving easy
access to the shells. This is no high revving Japanese screamer, but a
smooth torquey power unit pulling from 200rpm right up to it's 7500rpm limit.
