You don't see em much....

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1966 KAWASAKI W1 CUSTOM
Vehicle Description: 9421 Miles W1F-00520



RARE 1966 KAWASAKI W1 650 TWIN

This vintage kawasaki is the "proverbial" Blast from the Past !!!
I am the second owner of this rare version of Kawasaki's copy of
the early BSA A10. I have spoken to the original owner and was not
able to get any documentation , but believe this to be a 1966 model.
Serial number on frame W1F-00520 and on motor W1E-0524.
This bike was bought from this area new and has been in original
owners basement until 2007.Unfortunately then brought "outside"
and left for junk. When I got the bike I lubed the cylinders,(that were
not stuck!!) and put in some new plugs.The gas tank was and is perfect
inside so added fuel,had to do major work to carb.This style carb
apparently had history as did this one of seizing the slide inside
the barrel of carb. I got it free and cleaned bowl, cleaned and set points,
then about 5 kicks and it fired right up.The clutch was frozen up so could
not shift.Ran till warm then changed oil and cleaned screen.Restarted and
rolled down the hill dropped in gear and with a little work clutch freed
right up.Had to change the chain and do a little repair to throttle cable
and now it starts right up on usually second or third kick cold,first after
started !!! I did all these alterations due to the fact that all the original
chrome was real rusty (see pics) !! I decided that I would try to go for the
cafe racer , sport look but did not alter any mounts or drill any holes or
cut any wires so if anyone wants it can be restored to original condition.
All original parts go with the bike if wanted.
As is this bike runs awesome but does have a couple normal age related
maintenance issues.Has a couple oil seal leaks ,( drive sprocket shaft seal,
and carb is rough !) I put some used shorty mufflers on and wrapped the
pipes because they were rusty.Built custom seat from 1976 H2 tail section
and added small turn signals and mirror to get inspected.I have put on
about 100 miles and it runs awesome and appears dependable.It has
possibly the original front tire 3.50/18 Dunlop and a Goodyear 400/18
rear.They both hold air fine and arent even weather cracked.Anyway I
really would like to get an enduro bike so would like to sell or trade. Any
questions please email.Come take it for a ride and lets talk !!!

I have never seen one on the road...wouldn't mind acquiring one, though

Hi Martin and Michael,

The W's are still very popular in Asia and Australia. I've got the last of the series, the W3. They're real shakers.





The front end on mine is stock though I really like the twin leading shoe on the one in the auction.

Bill

Thanks for the photos, Bill...I had forgotten you are one of the lucky few

Verry nice Clayton. Can't help but notice the Triumph style air cleaner. Is that stock? Some pics have it and some looks to have an airbox of some sort behind the side cover. A lot of parts to it seems to be lifted right off a Triumph. (they can mix your paint too)

Norm

Locozuna wrote:

Verry nice Clayton. Can't help but notice the Triumph style air cleaner. Is that stock? Some pics have it and some looks to have an airbox of some sort behind the side cover. A lot of parts to it seems to be lifted right off a Triumph. (they can mix your paint too)

Norm

Hey Thomas,

That bike is stock and yes the air cleaners will swap to a Triumph.

Did you notice that the instruments are straight off of a Z1? They're stock as well.



Check out the separate transmission and BSA shaped timing cover.

Bill

KZCSI wrote:

...bike is stock and yes the air cleaners will swap to a Triumph. Did you notice that the instruments are straight off of a Z1? They're stock as well.

Check out the separate transmission and BSA shaped timing cover....

Very interesting to recall Kawasaki was already doing Brit knockoffs even in the pre-unit days. :lol:

Imo, curvature of the exhaust headers is beautiful.

Good Luck!

Thanks Patton,

Ma Meguru, decided to switch from a 360 crank to a 180 crank and all they got was BUZZ along with the Brit shake. Can you see the linkage that moves the shift from the right to the left? The cherry bomb mufflers are almost prescient Brit.

It's all stock.

Bill

I bought the most recent version of the W650 (correctly, an EJ650) in January. It is a 2000 model. This version was introduced in 1999 and produced until 2008, but they were only sold in North America in 2000 and 2001. Unlike the W1-3 bikes, mine is a copy of a Triumph, rather than a BSA. From the left side it is a dead-ringer for a unit Bonnie, but from the right side the vertical shaft cam-drive spoils the effect - although it does confuse some folks as it looks a little Ducati single-ish!

It has a balance-shaft, so is pretty smooth to ride. Although it has about the same HP as my KZ, it has a LOT more torque, and the power band is much lower. It also weighs about 100lbs less - so it is pretty quick! Mine is lightly modified with clubman bars, bar-end mirrors and a "Nitrohead" seat to make it look a little cafe-racerish. I am contemplating rearsets.

Bike looks good, sounds good, and is fun to ride. It is regularly mistaken for being an old Bonnieville! I have never seen another one on the road - and I believe they only sold about 2,000 of them - so that makes it pretty rare.

AND.... some pretty cool custom versions:

Nice bike Limey. Been watching vids of the newer W and something draws my attention. It looks like the front is undersprung. Most vids I see although it's tough to see with the gaters looks like all the travel is ate up under normal riding with some lightweight riders. Is the front air supported? Progressive? Could just be these old eyes too. Looks like some great exhausts are avail too. Like the Tracker scrambler type pipes and the Dunstall slip on's. Nice. Thanks!

I agree - the front suspension does seem "soft" to me, but it doesn't bottom out. The bike handles very well and it is very comfortable - even on rough road surfaces.

I have heard that the front suspension caused some handling issues with the US bikes as they were sold with high bars as stock. Apparantly, changing the bars to a lower version, or to clubmens like I have, puts the rider's weight further forward and eliminates the problem. Interestingly, only the US bikes had the high bars!

On the 2001 model, the rake angle was changed slightly to address this issue as well - mine is a 2000 but I can't say I have a problem with it.

Biggest downside to it - Z1 don't carry spares!

Do the new W's have a separate Tranny? I had a SilverWing and had a old Honda 360 rat POS. Did like them twins! Got a 72 Trident now that is a strange beast. Really like the powerband and it is remarkably smooth. In the vids of the W650 I like the sound but there also seems to be a lot of mechanical noise too. Do you find this also? Other than Z1 not having parts how is it getting both stock and custom parts? Other suppliers?

No, it is a unit engine on mine - the older W1 - 3 may have had a separate box. Only mech. noise I notice is the whine of the cam drive - but it isn't bad.

Service parts (filters, brake pads, etc) are readily available and other parts can be obtained through a Kaw dealer - they were sold until 2008 in most of the world so factory support is still available. Custom parts are a little harder - my seat came from Japan - but there are some parts made over here (rearsets for example) and a LOT of cafe-racer parts from Europe that can be obtained.