Honda CB1100 was not my first choice

[Ole]

WOW

I just saw that the new SR is kick start only!
No magic button. THAT is real retro,,,,

[tomas_imp]

Actually the W 800 and the W 650 are retro copies of the Kawasaki W2 from the 60s which kawasaki inherited when they acquired Meguro Motorcycles of Japan which originally produced that version of the 650 twin.

It does mimc the W2, but when the W650 was sold in the USA, most magazine articles referred to the W650 as a better copy of the Bonneville, then the retro Bonneville itself.

[flynrider]

Actually the W 800 and the W 650 are retro copies of the Kawasaki W2 from the 60s which kawasaki inherited when they acquired Meguro Motorcycles of Japan which originally produced that version of the 650 twin.

True. It was the W1/2 series that were copies of pre-unit Brit twins.

[rboe]

It is a little bit of semantics. Kawasaki did a retro of their own 650 (which was a licensed bike from England, not a copy) not a retro of the Bonneville. They have legit roots to the design.

When the CB's first came out they killed the British twins but this time around I'm not sure. The bikes are attractive to either your twin fans (vertical parallel twins no less, not your V twins) or your inline 4 fans. Should be plenty of room for both in the market. That said, it would be kind of funny if in the retro market the I4 kicked the parallel twin's butt again.

[tomas_imp]

It is a little bit of semantics. Kawasaki did a retro of their own 650 (which was a licensed bike from England, not a copy) not a retro of the Bonneville. They have legit roots to the design.

When the CB's first came out they killed the British twins but this time around I'm not sure. The bikes are attractive to either your twin fans (vertical parallel twins no less, not your V twins) or your inline 4 fans. Should be plenty of room for both in the market. That said, it would be kind of funny if in the retro market the I4 kicked the parallel twin's butt again.

Motorcyclist, January 18, 2003

"For those bent on getting all Smithsonian about it, the W650 does have its own genealogy, a short strand of DNA from Kawasaki's first Bonneville impressionist: the '66 W1. Created prior to the discovery of styling in Japan, the forgettable, 624cc imitation of a preunit British 650 twin.
One look tells you the '01 W650 wants to be a '69 Bonneville even more than Triumph's new translation. From its chrome fenders, real rubber fork gaiters and faux-Smiths gauges to the alloy rims and peashooter mufflers that let a 360-degree vertical twin (a.k.a. both pistons rising and falling together) sound like one, the W650 is the more-convincing Elvis impersonator."

[thessler3_imp]

I have a real retro bike in my garage - a 73 Ducati 750GT. It has Amal carburetors that wear the slides out quickly, spoked rims that need truing every couple of years, kick starting which aggravates my 66 year old right knee. The points ignition sucked too but I replaced with an electronic ignition. The good part is the bike has a comfortable riding position, sounds great, handles pretty good and is a lot of fun to ride.

I would be very happy to see more bikes like the W800 imported - retro look and riding position but with modern components. However, the real problem is that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a bike through US emissions, safety and noise compliance tests. The reverse is true when trying to export US bikes to Japan or Europe. Why not a universal set of standards? Every company is afraid of competition from foreigners.

[Cormanus]

A couple of crappy pictures of a couple of far from crappy retro bikes—