The Kawasaki W800 is being showcased to gauge response from prospective customers. Should there be a considerable demand for the retro model, Kawasaki will bring the model to India. The timeline for launch though is yet to be confirmed.
Kawasaki W800 Final Edition
Kawasaki India's current line-up starts from the Z250 street-fighter, going up to the Ninja H2 and H2R. The company lacks a retro styled bike in its model range and with the growing affinity towards such models, now would be a good time to bring the W800 to the country.
The Kawasaki W800 is a vintage styled cruiser and is inspired from the Kawasaki W1 that dates back to 1966. The model went on sale in 2007 as a replacement to the W650 and has been immensely popular across European as well as Asian markets. In fact, the W800 is currently at the end of its life-cycle with the Final Edition launched and will be discontinued next year in Europe due to the stringent Euro4 emission norms.
Kawasaki W800 will be pulled off next year due to stringent Euro4 emission norms
With quintessential vintage styling, the Kawasaki W800 is an attention seeker with the spoke wheels, ribbed seat and a dual tone paint scheme adding to the vintage flare; while there is an abundance of chrome all over right from the fuel tank, mudguard to the engine and exhausts. Mechanically, the bike gets conventional front forks with twin shock absorbers at the rear, while braking duties are handled by a single 300 mm front disc and a 160 mm drum brake setup at the rear.
Power comes from a 773cc parallel-twin cylinder engine that makes 47bhp of power at 6500rpm and 60Nm of torque at 2500rpm. With a host of metal used in its bodywork, the bike tips the scales at 216 kg.
Internationally, the Kawasaki W800 competes with the Triumph Street Twin, Ducati Scrambler and Moto Guzzi V9 Roamer and Bobber and in India too will be rivaling the same. With the market opening for retro bikes in the country, the W800 will be an interesting addition and certainly we would like to see more of.
