Kawasaki’s Retro Roadster Spied Again

The first sighting of the Kawasaki W175 on Indian roads was back in November last year. Now, after missing in action for eight months, the Japanese retro roadster has made an appearance yet again. The test mule spotted appears to be production-ready, and Kawasaki could bring this bike to India in the coming months.

The Kawasaki W175 is the smallest retro-styled motorcycle from the company. It is built around the idea of the British bikes from the 50s, just like its elder sibling, the Kawasaki W800 Street. When launched, the W175 will go up against the Jawa, Honda H’Ness CB350, and Royal Enfield Classic 350.

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Unlike the Honda and the RE, which use 348cc and 349cc engines respectively, the Kawasaki W175 is powered by a measly 177cc single-cylinder air-cooled engine putting out a modest 13PS and 13.2Nm. That said, the biggest strength of the kawasaki is its kerb weight. At 126kg, it is not just lighter than the Meteor 350 and H’Ness CB350, but also the newly launched Yamaha FZ-X by 13kg.

The Kawasaki W175 looks like a scaled-down version of the W800 Street. Everything on it -- from the halogen headlight and teardrop-shaped fuel tank to the ribbed seat and wire-spoke rims -- screams retro. Even the peashooter exhaust adds to its old-world charm.

Kawasaki has used a simple suspension setup consisting of telescopic fork and dual shocks. Even the braking hardware is traditional -- a single disc at the front and a drum brake at the rear. That said, the bike does get single-channel ABS.

The biggest challenge Kawasaki will face when launching the W175 in India is the pricing. While the brand has managed to price bikes like the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R competitively, the sales of Kawasaki Z900RS, W800 Street, and even the Ninja 400 were limited by their prices. Given that Kawasaki doesn’t have a manufacturing facility here, the bike maker needs to rely heavily on localisation. But even with that, we expect the Kawasaki W175 to be priced from around Rs 1.7 to 1.9 lakh (and nothing below that range).

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