Kawasaki W650 650cc Reviews

johnhutchwales's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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I knew there was a brilliant bike in there the first time I rode one: but the Kawasaki W650 650cc only gets 4 stars in standard trim, because it does have some weaknesses. Original Bridgestone Accolades are downright dangerous, with ZERO grip in the wet. Don't wait till they wear out (probably never). Replace with BT45s. Suspension is pretty poor and Hagon mods don't really fix it: they just change it from bouncy and mushy to bouncy and harsh, because there's no rebound damping to speak of with either set up. Replaced with Maxton acrtridge fork internals and rear shocks, but other quality kit available, including Ohlins. Seat is awful: replaced with Corbin, which is very comfortable solo or two up. Other additions: Renthal road bars (cos I love them), Hepco & Becker frame/cases (brilliant), EBC pads and braided line. Now it goes, handles AND stops as well as it looks. Cruises all day at 85 mph+. Totally stable. Goes round corners like a good 'un. Sounds fabulous. Incredibly flexible and tractable (20 to 110 mph in top without snatching!)
So ... I paid £2600 for a bike with 1500 miles on it and spent £1200 getting it right. That still works out good value for a bike that suits me better than anything else on the market. Real world performance. Real character. Better than an old Bonnie, without the vibes, leaks and breakdowns. MUCH better than a new Bonnie, which to me has all the character of an over-fed Honda Dream. This really is the bike that (old) Triumph should have developed in the 80s and 90s. Kawasaki simply took over where they left off.
If you own a W650, hang onto it and keep improving it. If you fancy one, buy it before they start becoming collectable and rare.
Pillion view (Liz): DO NOT SELL THIS BIKE. EVER.

50s gringo's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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sure hope kawaski still builds this machine.

Guest's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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Just thought I'd mention that several years have passed and I still have my Kawasaki W650 650cc. It's still one of the best all around motorcycles I've ever owned and I've been riding since 1969. A deer collided with my Connie and I in November 2006. RIP Connie. And almost ME! Replaced it with a V-Strom for touring and hauling. But I am always drawn to the W650 when I walk into my garage. Every ride makes me love it more.....

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The Kawasaki W650 650cc is a wonderful bike, an inside glance at how close the Brits got to getting it right.

philmar's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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All that has been said before and more.....
How do you feel when you open the garage door and see your bike?
Buy a W650 and feel the difference.
You don't need to be 50 to get it, but in my case, I cannot put a price on the Stargate back to my youth which this bike provides.
And you don't have to ride quickly to prove anything........and you are seriously cool because it ISN'T American or Italian.

nobby plancton's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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This Kawasaki W650 650cc bike turned me from a Mod into a Rocker.... I was a lifetime Vespa enthusiast, I loved the Mod styling and the whole 60's retro thing (born in 1967) but I had this gnawing feeling that I was in denial about my real desires.Eventually,having been forced to do my full bike licence in order to ride my new Vespa GTS 250, (which I thoroughly enjoyed) I realised that what I really wanted was a classic British 1960's MOTORCYCLE.However, I knew that I needed both performance and ...

freddies's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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Now a proud owner of a Kawasaki W650 650cc in many ways including ownership of a red/cream modle for past 3 yrs, its now7 yrs old as purchased secondhand
I have mounted many new manufacturers extras to it for my pleasure all of which fitted perfectly and been a boon to enable its use for conveying camping equipment without any problems of diminished performance in any way.
Its reliability comfort and sheer pleasure it gives me to ride in my later years brings a smile to my face from the moment I ...

driftershooter's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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I have had an awful lot of bikes from cruisers to sports, but this Kawasaki W650 ticks all the boxes for me. It beautiful to look at and a real fun machine to ride on the Welsh twisty A-roads, doing 50-60 mph. I regularly get 80 mpg which is a great bonus nowadays. I like the low down grunt, feel and sound of my unmolested standard bike, the pea-shooters make a lovely burble. The bike is so light and corners superbly. I tend to change bikes often but i won't be parting with this one, definately ...

The Baron's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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This is a great fun, bugs in your teeth, type motorcycle. It makes me smile when I see it. Smile when I ride it and smile when I finish riding it. The Kawasaki w650 is what a motorcycle should be. But lets be honest it is a back to basic motorcycle and I think that is most of its charm.

vivvie70's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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I have a 2000 model that I bought in 2004 with 20,000kms on it - it now has 60,000 kms on it - I often ride it to work, do weekend trips of about 1,000kms and also did a 5,000 km trip following the coast from NSW to SA and it hasn't missed a beat. It attracts a lot of attention, especially from elderly blokes who tell me about the Triumphs they used to own and who are gobsmacked when I tell them that it's a newish Kwaka.
My husband does all the maintenance on it & finds it really easy to work on ...

darrell meldrum's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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Sounded good looks jap carbs elect. 1953 BSA looks easy maintenance. No trouble with mine sold it back to the guy I bought it from - dumb on my part! I would buy again they only cost about $900 new 1968.

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I owned a Kawasaki w650 for 18 months. Good bike all round, but had problems with carbs freezing up very easily, even though they are fitted with de-icers. Went back to the dealer 3 times and they could not sort it out. In the end they fitted different profile carb sliders as recommended by Kawasaki. This helped a bit but did not cure it properly. Shame, other than that, had great fun on it.

morgantium's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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Lower bars are a must. Removing the baffles a must too. Gives a real bonnie sound and feel. Continental TKV 11 and 12 tyres make a huge difference to the handling.

bob the builder's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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I bought this cult bike in November of 05 with 14,000 miles, not knowing too much about it but have fallen in love with it. It has more than enough power for me and I've put 9000 miles on it.When it gets in its power band it is a lot of fun to ride. It has more than enough power to pass cars and on the interstate highways I have no problem doing 85 mph though it tends to hop around.

consterned's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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When it's cold I like to grab the left side handlebar and tuck in like a flat-tracker. I feel like luggage would be too heavy for this motorcycle but I like the Givi bags advertised on twistedthrottle.com, maybe I'll save up for those and the trunk. The guy who owned this before me lowered the seat for his wife, and it's comfortable even on a three hour ride to Seward. Driving an hour to work one day, debris came loose in the fuel system and stuck the needle or float so it wouldn't run, but ...

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I bought the W650 after a many year without a bike. I thought long and hard about what to buy. Since most of my recent riding had been farm work on light trail bikes, I thought that I should start on something mid-sized. I was thinking about a GS500 or an ER5 or ER6 on the one hand but was also considering a 650 trail bike like the DR650 or KLR650. I had read about the W650 but had hardly seen any on the road in Australia and the only one I had seen for sale in a magazine was too expensive.

O ...

tomplumb5's review has yet to be rated - Be the first!
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It feels great at 4000 rpms and above I love the deceleration pops the engine makes on sudden deceleration. I love the way it looks I've always loved the look of the Bonneville but didn't like the gas leaks oil leaks and lucas electrics. I'm in the process of selling the bike to make room for a new bike this is one of the few bikes I've owned that I will really miss.

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The Kawasaki W650 is a very good bike, and a bike which can travel with the big boys at a sensible road legal pace. It looks good, but needs some love and care when winter riding due to its silver mudguards and exhaust needing a clean.
A bike which I have been very happy with, and would buy again. It is economical and fast enough for me. I have ridden it from North to South a total of 250 miles in a day, and it has kept up nicely on a motorway, and given me the power to overtake. It is not a go ...

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My 2000 model has done 16,000 miles with only one breakdown, caused by a faulty ECU. I can get 8,000 miles from a set of BT45s and it never uses any oil. Braided hoses sort out the naff front brake nicely, and it's kind to chains and batteries too. I use it all year round, the 'old boys' near you will always help you out too. Get on one of these, find a steep hill with walls either side, then ride up it in fifth at 35mph. If the sound you hear doesn't make you drool, don't buy one, stick to y ...

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I own a 2001 W650 that was purchased new. This is my second W650 as I originally owned a 2000 model but sold it to buy my daughter a car. I missed it THAT much. Once you have been around one of these fine motorcycles it is hard to find a replacement that is so satisfying.
The W650 rides the way it looks. It imparts the experiences of yesteryear but leaves all the bad behind.
It is very attractive and always draws a crowd of admirers. In fact, mine won first place at a regional contest sponsore ...