'I've owned two of these Kawasakis. The first one I bought in 2009. I set out to buy a secondhand Hinckley Bonneville and tried two of them, a 790cc one and a later 865cc version. Both of these were nice bikes, but the engines were so smooth and quiet, with linear torque and acceleration, that they felt like a modern four, not a traditional twin.
'I then found a 2005 W650 being sold by a local bike shop for a customer. It looked a little more retro than the Triumphs, with its spoked wheels, fork gaiters, centrestand, tank kneepads, kickstart, rod-operated rear drum brake and fully chromed headlamp. I had to start it on the kicker as the battery was flat, but it started second kick. It felt a lot…
