2001 Kawasaki W650
The real 'New Bonneville' with 4,100 miles
Very Rare in the U.S.A. - only sold here 2000-01
Please Wait for all Pictures to Load!
Apart from a real T-120, this is the only bike
on the road today where people will stop you and ask "what year is
your Triumph?" It happens to me every other time this leaves the garage.
I'm not kidding - I rode it to the old car cruise-in last Saturday night
and the guy standing next to it was telling his wife about his old girlfriend
and his T-120!
Seriously, Kawasaki introduced this bike in
1999, brought it here for 2000, made it better for 2001 (improved fork angle,
seat and more) then pulled back out of the US market, selling the bike elsewhere
through 2007. Parts are no problem, reliability is along the lines of 'bulletproof'
and this bike is nearly brand-new throughout.
This bike came to me a while ago in trade for
an older airhead BMW we had. The commercial airline pilot who brought it
down was the bike's second owner. He bought it from the original owner's
estate; this was an older man in northern VA who had owned a string of Triumphs
in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. The bike had been sitting for some years and
he and his son had made an effort to quiet down the bevel drive (making
it worse) and adjusting the carbs (making it better). However, his work
kept him from actually riding the bike. This is where I came in.
I put the bike on the road and ran a few tanks
of good fuel through it, clearing up the varnish in the Keihin 34CV carbs.
I also had my guru re-adjust the bevel drive to perfection, it clacks when
cold and whirrs when warm, just as it (or a Ducati) should. I changed the
oil (Mobil 1 with Miata M1 filter), adjusted and lubed the chain, then fitted
some Progressive 412 HD shocks to the rear (originals are in the box) and
proceeded to enjoy.
The bike is perhaps one of the most trouble-free
enjoyable classic machines I have ever owned. I'm not even sure why I'm
offering it for sale other than to make room for something different - I
own a Honda GB 500 Tourist Trophy that I will likely never part ways with
and this bike just does not get used as much as it should.
Offering both side and center stands (take that,
new Hinckley Triumph Bonneville) and incredible lines as well as the handling
and sound of the old bike combined with the performance of a modern parallel
twin (torquey at the bottom, rev-happy at the top) it is truly the best
of all worlds rolled into one machine.
The few flaws throughout include light scrapes
on both footpeg sliders since this is the one bike I frequently corner hard
on - the machine leans in like a sport bike, just like a real Bonneville
did, without complaint. I even lightly dragged the center stand side peg
recently - that surprised me!
Kawasaki's beautiful parallel twin 650cc mill
with its Triumph-inspired shape.
They even got this look really good. Heck, you
could take the electric starter out, this bike kick starts easier than my
Honda CT-90 even after months of sitting. I keep race gas mixed with premium
in all my bikes so the fuel doesn't seem to go bad as quickly or gum up
the carbs, plus there's that great CAM2 smell. Hey, New Bonneville, where's
your easy-to-use kick starter?
The alloy rim, spokes and Bridgestone tire are
all completely original.
An iconic look here! Real pipes like these cost
"New Bonneville" owners extra - not with the W!
Original rear Bridgestone and alloy rim still
excellent.
A great shot of the rear fender, taillamp, tailpipes
and rear suspension. Note original dealer sticker.
Forgive me if the bike has a few more miles
than this on it when you buy it. Like I said, I'm not sure why I'm offering
it for sale other than that it's just not getting enough use in my stable.
Unlike the modern Triumph, this has a trip-odometer that works because it's
digital; hit the button again and you get a clock too! I could go on and
on!
So that's it - if you don't see what I mean,
go buy a Hinckley bike for twice this much - else, you'll see the value
here.
The bike comes with its original spare key as
well as a factory service manual. There's also a great Yahoo forum - w650riders@yahoogroups.com
- with very attentive 'Iron Butt' owners, some of whom have over 100k on
their bikes. The Brits love these machines and they (along with most of
the rest of civilization) got the W650 until just a couple years ago. America
only got the W from 2000-01.
who am I / why am I selling
I'm Chip
Lamb, vintage car and motorcycle enthusiast - I run a small
collector automobile parts business and consult to the collector
automobile and motorcycle auction industry on a variety of different
levels. I write for a handful of publications including Keith
Martin's Sports Car Market & Corvette
Market magazines, Classic
Motorsports and more. I have a nice little collection of my own and
this has been a part of it for some time.
However, I need to use what I have - I can't
stand it when something sits for too long. As mentioned before, I have an
'89 Honda Tourist Trophy (GB 500) that I typically jump on before I ride
this bike as well as other machines in the stable. It's a tremendously-enjoyable
bike that I'm in no hurry to get rid of, but it's like having two old Porsches
of similar vintage - one a coupe, one a targa. You know you're not going
to use them equally without them having some additional distinction.
Normally, I would not solicit trades when selling
on eBay, but if you have a nice (for those who need a definition, the bike
above is "nice") BMW GS or other Dual Sport I could see a trade
up or down from the W as I do not have such a machine.
I'm also interested in the right '87-8 Ducati
Paso 750 Limited (Pearlescent White and in this sort of condition with no
apparent needs only need apply - please don't waste my time with bitsas
or needy bikes) and make a trade work for the right example. If the guy
in New Jersey with my dad's old bike that he bought new chimes in, I'm all
ears. Likewise, a nice Kawasaki 2-stroke Triple or a Ducati 600 Pantah are
two bikes I've always wanted to own. Again, there's no "relative nice"
or "nice for its age" in my vocabulary.
If such a trade is possible, please send a link
to pictures and provide other information to
me in an e-mail. Please do not offer me anything I'm not asking for,
that really rubs me the wrong way.
payment/shipping/pickup
Barring any of the above, payment is due within
seven days of auction close/Buy it Now option unless
alternate arrangements are made with me in advance of any bid. If you
cannot pay, do not bid. I am not a bank, there is no in-house installment
plan. Accepted forms of payment are cash or cashier's cheque. I am always
amazed at how many people seem not to read or comprehend these terms when
I write them.
Shipping/pickup must occur within fourteen days
of auction close unless alternate
arrangements are made with me in advance of any bid. If you are local
(20 mile radius of Bon Air, 23235), I'll simply bring you the bike myself
on receipt of payment. You can come with a trailer and pick up or hire a
good transporter like Jim Vangelakos
who runs up and down I-95 all the time with his enclosed trailer rig. Overseas
buyers are not a problem either provided you comply with the above terms
and hire someone to take it to a nearby port, such as Baltimore or Norfolk.
I will not make container/shipping arrangements for you, but I could even
be persuaded for a fee to trailer the bike to one of those ports as I occasionally
send cars overseas.
Bid with confidence, see my feedback, thanks
for looking.
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? CONCERNS?
E-MAIL
ME OR CALL 804-357-4926