2016 Kawasaki W800 Final Edition
With Euro 4 emissions regulations coming
down hard on motorcycle manufacturers in Europe, many are removing
large-displacement air-cooled engines from their model range. This includes
Kawasaki, who have divulged that 2016 will be the final year of production for
its retro-styled Brit-bike look-a-like W800.
While air-cooling gives engines, notably
parallel-twins in the British style, a distinctive look, the ‘fun’ police have
decided that in the interests of environmental conservation, such power plants
are no longer acceptable. This means the 773 cc parallel-twin, with SOHC and
four-valves per cylinder, will no longer appear in Kawasaki’s line-up in 2017.
First introduced in 2011, the Kawasaki
W800 could never be termed a best-seller, but it did develop a fanbase,
especially in Europe. This was because its power output of 48 PS and 65 Nm of
torque allowed it to fall under the EU A2 license class, which allows for car
driving license holders to add-on the A2 class with minimal testing.
The final edition of the W800 in Europe
will be produced in limited quantities, and come in a Candy Brown/Sunset Orange
paint scheme that is reminiscent of Kawasaki’s 650 cc W1 from 1966. The
original Kawasaki W1 (pictured above, left) was Kawasaki’s first ‘big’
four-stroke motorcycle, and based on the BSA A7 – also known as the Shooting
Star/Star Twin – from the fifties.
Retail price for the Kawasaki W800 in
Malaysia is approximately RM 58,000. Its closest rival is the 2016 Triumph
Bonneville Street Twin, which displaces 900 cc and retails for RM 55,900,
including GST.
