BREAKING: Kawasaki’s Most Affordable Bike Is Here!

After teasing its launch, the Kawasaki W175 has finally been launched at Rs 1,47,000 for the Ebony variant and Rs 1,49,000 for the Special Edition (ex-showroom India) in India. This comes nearly two weeks after the bike’s specifications were leaked.

What’s The Price? Who Are Its Rivals?

Kawasaki has priced the W175 at Rs 1,47,000 (ex-showroom India). It hence competes with the Yamaha FZ-X, for which prices start from Rs 1,32,900 (ex-showroom Delhi). The bike also acts as a smaller-engined alternative to the Royal Enfield Bullet 350, which is priced Rs 1,70,840 (on-road Delhi) onwards.  That said, the introductory price is only available for a limited number of units and its deliveries will start in the month of December. 

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What’s New?

• In terms of styling, the W175 looks like a scaled-down version of Kawasaki’s bigger retro-style bike, the W800 Street. The halogen headlight, teardrop-shaped fuel tank, ribbed seat and wire-spoked rims all scream retro.

• Powering the W175 is a 177cc single-cylinder engine that makes 13PS and 13.3Nm, same as the Indonesian-spec bike, despite it being a carbureted bike, while this one is fuel-injected.

• The underpinnings include a telescopic fork and dual shock absorbers, with a 270mm disc up front and drum at the rear for braking. The bike comes with single-channel ABS for extra safety.

• The W175 gets 17-inch wheels at both ends with skinny 80- and 100-section rubber at the front and rear, respectively.

• Tipping the scales at 135kg, the India-spec W175 weighs a substantial 9kg more than its Indonesian counterpart.

• Other changes include a 10mm higher seat at 790mm and a fuel tank capacity of 12 litres; 2 litres less than the Indonesian W175.

ZigSays

Given the recent rise in its popularity, Kawasaki could be looking to get a share for itself of the entry-level retro-style bike segment with the W175; its most affordable and only single cylinder offering in the country. That said, the asking price is on the higher side given what it packs. It’ll hence be interesting to see how it does in a price sensitive market like ours. The retro space is dominated by Royal Enfield and at that price point and displacement, it'll be tough for Kawasaki to rival the chennai-based bikemaker.