2021 Kawasaki W800 Review

Feeling overwhelmed by all the tech in your life? Might be time to slow things down a touch.

Photography by Rennie Scaysbrook

The air-cooled parallel twin is almost as old as the motorcycle itself. This engine layout formed the backbone of the British motorcycle industry during its heyday of the 1950s-’60s, but it’s near impossible to find such an item flowing from the British Isles today (Triumph’s retro-styled bikes are all liquid-cooled).

For that, you need to head east to the Land of The Rising Sun and check out the retro-looking, sounding and riding, W800.

Inspired by the company’s W1 that ran from 1965 to 1974, the $9199 Kawasaki W800 runs a 773cc air-cooled twin mated to a five-speed gearbox with a very un-retro-looking slip and assist clutch for a lighter lever pull and to prevent the back wheel from chattering under brakes when downshifting.

It’s an aesthetic that doesn’t hark back years but decades. The two-person stepped plank seat, lashes of chrome on the wheel guards, dash surround for the analog rev and speed counter and all over the engine—even the rubber fork gaiters have that hippy 1960’s vibe about them.

The pea-shooter mufflers that exit under the twin shocks give such a muffled, farty exhaust note. You can tell the engine would sound better if only there was a bit more room for the exhaust gasses to escape, yet it somehow blends in with the overall ride experience nicely.

You really are transported back in time on the W800. The brakes are average, albeit assisted by mandatory ABS, and despite the uber-relaxed ride position, the pegs feel about an inch higher than they should be. It feels almost sacrilege to wear a full-face helmet when riding the W.

The five-speed motor gets the job done of cruising back roads nicely but it’s not a lot of fun trying to keep up with 80-mph traffic on the 405 freeway in rush hour. Using the W800 as an everyday commuter—unless, of course, you don’t need the freeway—is not the ideal scenario. You’re better to have this as a weekend café (remember going to those places?) ride, content to put it on the corner and have other people gaze at its beauty. And, trust me, you’ll get more than your fair share of admirable glances from onlookers as they try to figure out what British motorcycle you’re on.

We’ve become so used to performance retro bikes from companies like Triumph with the lovely Speed Twin that the Kawasaki really does feel old, even though it’s a 2021 model. The W800 has been around for eons, just not in the U.S. It first went on sale in 2011 to 2015, replacing the old W650, but we only got the W800 in 2019 when the current model was created.

It has its charms, no doubt, but the performance isn’t what I’d hoped it to be. Better damping from the front suspension would be nice, which would crash to the bottom of the stroke at the first hint of a pothole. Also, more power from the tiny two-piston front brake would be a win, too.

The W800 is a pretty little thing, caked in old-world charm and is absolutely not a motorcycle designed for fast thrashing. However, it feels a little antiquated, even for me, who loves classic riding. CN

2021 Kawasaki W800 Specifications

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