[schitre05]

Few things I would like the kawasaki to change in this otherwise wonderful simple bike when/if it is launched here.

Dual front disk brakes
Single Rear disk brake (why still a drum brake on a huge capacity bike?)
ABS
Option for alloy wheels with tubeless tyres

[sadsack]

I have written to Kawasaki India asking them if there was any intention of launching the W 800 in India, since not only am I big Kawasaki fan, I am also a fan of the retro looking bikes and the W 800 looks like a million rupees. I was pleasantly surprised by the almost immediate reply that I received from Kawasaki India. I am reproducing it verbatim.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for writing to us. The nearest Kawasaki dealer will get in touch with you soon with details regarding the product of your query.

Terse, but there is enough in there to say that the motorcycle will indeed be launched. Otherwise why does the dealer come into the picture and more importantly will also give details. If there were no plans then I guess the answer would have been, Sorry we have no plans of launching the motorcycle now. But since that is not the answer I am hopeful. I hope I can afford it. I love this bike.

[payeng]

Sorry to burst everyone's W800 bubble.

2016 will be W800's "Final Edition". It is being discontinued after this and not being upgraded to meet Euro 4 Standards.

Link: Kawasaki UK

[sadsack]

@Payeng

The motorcycle is to be manufactured in Thailand. The MCN report as per the dealer (contacted by me) is purely speculative. It will come as an import as competition for Triumph and Harley Davidson retro ranges and is likely to undercut the cost by 2 lakhs like the Z 800. The dealer says it is 99% sure to be launched.

[timuseravan]

The W800 might be launched after all:
http://indianautosblog.com/2016/12/k...rship-in-india

Looking at the UK pricing, we can expect it to be priced at 7 lakh INR.

[FourWheelDrift]

Originally Posted by VR/46_Chet

Came across this today. Kawasaki has imported one unit of W800 from Japan.

Is there a good correlation between the declared value when a manufacturer imports a a new model for their internal purposes (in this case Rs. 4L), and the actual selling price in India as a CBU import ?

I am sure there must be data out there, that can support this hypothesis.

If so, we can then reasonably predict the actual selling price.

Cheers,

FourWheelDrift

[FourWheelDrift]

Apologies for the back to back posts. The time limit to edit the above one has lapsed.

Kawasaki's own Z800 is imported at a declared value of Rs. 3.54L. Please see https://www.zauba.com/import-kawasaki-z800-hs-code.html

We know what the Z800 retails for in the Indian market.

So, it is very likely that Kawasaki India will price the W800 HIGHER than the Z800.

Which will be a tragedy, in my humble opinion.

The new liquid cooled Bonneville T100 is being imported at 4.23L declared value (for the 2 tone painted variant). Please see https://www.zauba.com/import-bonnevi...0-hs-code.html and this is the logical direct competitor to the W800.

So, hopefully, the W800 is priced a good 50-75k lower than the new T100 at retail.

Cheers,

FourWheelDrift

[schitre05]

The T100 is a far superior product technology wise. So it may not be a realistic proposition to place the W800 against the T100.
However if this is launched with a rear disc and ABS and even if this is air-cooled, I feel the tables might turn in its favour with the price advantage and kawa reliability working for it.

[sadsack]

Okay now I am truly confused. While the ad posted by Payeng clearly says the final edition the dealer here says it is speculative. Now BikeWale has posted pictures of the W800 at the Kawasaki Pune Dealership. Autocar India says it is to cost around Rs. 10 lakhs. Maybe some of the bikes from the Final Edition will be sold here in India as well. Otherwise, like I said it is all confusing.

Here are the pictures posted on BikeWale from the Pune showroom

[payeng]

Originally Posted by sadsack

Okay now I am truly confused. While the ad posted by Payeng clearly says the final edition the dealer here says it is speculative. Now BikeWale has posted pictures of the W800 at the Kawasaki Pune Dealership. Autocar India says it is to cost around Rs. 10 lakhs. Maybe some of the bikes from the Final Edition will be sold here in India as well. Otherwise, like I said it is all confusing.

Here are the pictures posted on BikeWale from the Pune showroom

Its NOT an AD that I had posted, but Screenshot of the Official Kawasaki UK website. The Link to the source can be found in my post as well.

On the Webpage its clearly mentioned that this will be the last edition of the W800.

If launched in India, Kawasaki India might be clearing some of the remaining stocks on the W800 in India. Similar to how Ducati has done with the Monster 795/796, Panigale 899 and the Diavel in India - Models that have been discontinued / upgraded internationally.

Nothing wrong as long as there are customers who are willing to buy.

[//M]

Indeed a Kawasaki W800 is on display at the Kawasaki Pune showroom, got this pic as a whatsapp forward. Due credits to the original photographer.

It is displayed to gauge prospective customer's response and might be on display either at the India Superbike Festival (Amanora Mall) or at the Superbike Music Festival (Seasons Mall) during the weekend - 10th & 11th Dec 2016.

[Siddy]

W800 will attract classic bike lovers, power figures are not impressive at all at 48 bhps and 200+ kg weight this bike won't thrill me. Torque is good at 60 nm coming at a low 2500 rpm. Moreover, there is no abs and no rear disc brake.

Any idea about the pricing guys? Its a 800 cc parallel twin motor, would be in the 6-7 lakhs ballpark for sure!

[//M]

Originally Posted by Siddy

W800 will attract classic bike lovers, power figures are not impressive at all at 48 bhps and 200+ kg weight this bike won't thrill me. Torque is good at 60 nm coming at a low 2500 rpm. Moreover, there is no abs and no rear disc brake.

Any idea about the pricing guys? Its a 800 cc parallel twin motor, would be in the 6-7 lakhs ballpark for sure!

It will definitely attract classic motorcycle connoisseurs. Classic retro British charm mated to modern-day Japanese reliability. I think the 48 bhp and 200+ kg weight won't matter to its target set of customers, but yes no ABS & lack of rear disk brake is a downer.

Since it will be competing with the Triumph Bonneville T100, I think INR 7.5-8.5 lakhs would be a more realistic figure. But then Kawasaki has surprised us many times with their pricing in the past so the W800 may just undercut the T100 by more than just a few thousands.

[Siddy]

I just read that it has a low compression ratio of 8.4:1, so the engine would run cool. It has a heavy flywheel and does 120 kmph at just 4250 rpm, my kinda motorcycle I would say
W800 would be the perfect cruiser with oodles of torque!
If priced right, I might consider it as my next upgrade

[grplr02]

A friend has had a W800 for about two years now, imported from the UK. He loves the bike and has ridden it hard in this time period. We did two-week Ladakh-Himachal last year, and multiple week+ rides through remote corners of Bhutan. Lots of off-road, dirt-tracks, mountain roads, rocks, gravel, sand, mud, monsoon-riding - you name it and he has ridden this Kawasaki through it. The bike has performed admirably throughout, even though it's not designed as an off-road bike. Only issues have been flat tires and recently a broken clutch cable.

It's a great looking bike and has genuine British heritage. Meguro had license to produce the BSA A7 in Japan in the 1960s. Kawasaki acquired Meouro and made this BSA-derivative into their W1. Years later the W1 resurfaced as the W650, and then the W800. I was living in the US when the W650 was launched (I think it was 1999 or 2000) and remember being very tempted to buy it then, but held off knowing Triumph was coming out with the Bonneville range soon.

Lots of reviews of the W650 and the W800 mention the bike having more of a retro-Brit-bike feel than the Triumph Bonneville range.

Either way, nice bike, hope they price it right!

Pics of my friend's Kawasaki in Ladakh. Pic 1: Tsokar Lake area; Pic 2: Zing Zing Bar headed downhill to Sarchu.