Kawasaki W 800 Cafe Style 2013 — Specifications

Who remembers the English café racers of the 1960s, those machines cobbled together by kids eager to get from one café to the next faster than the bloke next door? Kawasaki remembers very well, and with the 2013 vintage W 800 Cafe Style, the Japanese manufacturer attempts to capture that rebellious spirit. Attempts, because between a sincere homage and a cosmetic disguise, the line is sometimes thin.

On paper, the recipe has plenty of appeal. You get the solid foundation of the W 800, its 773 cc vertical twin set at 360 degrees, putting out 48 horsepower at 7000 rpm. Nothing brutal. But this engine doesn't play the power card: it bets everything on torque, with 62.8 Nm available from just 2500 rpm. In plain terms, it pulls hard down low and delivers a flexibility of use reminiscent of engines from another era. The compression ratio held at 8.4:1, the 77 x 83 mm bore-and-stroke typical of a long-stroke design — everything about this architecture breathes smoothness and availability rather than performance. The five-speed gearbox confirms the orientation: you're not here to push the limits, but to savor each gear engaged with a crisp, satisfying click.

On the style front, Kawasaki has dressed the W 800 in a fork-mounted bikini fairing that evokes urban circuit racing of yesteryear, and a single-seat saddle with its little padded cowl that reeks pleasantly of the worn leather found in London pubs. The color schemes play the unapologetically retro card, and the whole package exudes real personality in a car park. Let's be honest though: a true café racer wears clip-ons, not a raised roadster handlebar. The W 800 Cafe Style remains above all a cruising machine that's slipped on a Sunday racer's costume. For showing off at a terrace café, it's deadly effective. For attacking a track, you'll need to look elsewhere.

The steel double-cradle frame, the 39 mm telehydraulic fork, and the twin rear shocks form a classic but effective package. The manageable 790 mm seat height and 216 kg wet weight make it approachable, including for smaller riders. The braking, however, deserves discussion: a single 300 mm disc up front with a two-piston caliper, and a 160 mm drum at the rear. It's consistent with the era the bike seeks to evoke, far less so with modern safety standards. Compared to a Triumph Bonneville or a Moto Guzzi V7, which already offered more reassuring equipment at the time, Kawasaki makes a debatable authenticity choice. The 14-liter tank also limits long-distance jaunts, even if the twin's reasonable fuel consumption partially compensates.

At 9399 euros in 2013, the W 800 Cafe Style was aimed at lovers of fine mechanical objects, urban riders who want to ride in style without chasing adrenaline, and motorcyclists holding an A2 license thanks to its 48 horsepower sitting right at the legal limit. It doesn't claim to rival sportbikes or gobble up motorway miles at a theoretical top speed of 171 km/h. It offers something else: a simple pleasure, an engine that sings true, and a silhouette that tells a story. Provided you accept that the story has been romanticized.