Tanshanomi's Snap Judgments

Kawasaki W650

Thu, January 7th, 2010

Kawasaki W650
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1999-2000 Kawasaki W650
Performancewww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
Not a powerhouse, but smooth and friendly. Very much in keeping with the bike's character. Straightforward, honest design; no fake fins or beauty covers. It didn't need the complex, expensive, totally cool bevel gear valve actuation, but it really has it. Lean carburetion the only minus.
Handlingwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
Narrow chassis handles easily but reamains secure at speed. Again, not known as a bike for pushing the envelope, so extremes of grip and cornering mean little.
Lookswww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
Perhaps the most attractive bike to come out of Japan in the last 20 years. Yes, it copies the looks of the classic Triumph Bonneville, but it copies a suburb bike superbly — not slavishly, falsely, or to the detriment of function. (If you can show me a bevel-drive Bonnie, I want to see it!)
Reliabilitywww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
Solid construction and over-engineered. Nothing fake or chintzy. But will repair parts evaporate in the USA within a few years?
Practicalitywww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
Harkens back to the era when 'do-it-all' standard bikes really could do it all, but with reliable electric starter and modern switchgear.
Desirabilitywww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
Drop-dead gorgeous, graceful, lithe, and troublefree. A better update to the Bonneville legacy than Triumph's pudgy, awkward-looking attempt, by far.
Overallwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com
I love this motorcycle. The only downside is that used examples are rarer than hens' teeth in the USA.