Kawasaki W 650 Junkyard Dog in the driving report

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Kawasaki W 650 Junkyard Dog in the driving report

Extractor hood, camping stove, bottle opener

No, it is not pronounced Dschankia Dog, but Dschank-yard Dog. What is meant is the dog from the junkyard. Read here how the Kawasaki W 650 Junkyard Dog got this name and whether it is really snappy.

"Here it is switched pneumatically," he says. His finger points to an aluminum lever on the left stub of the handlebar. The lever looks a bit like a dead bottle opener. So it goes well with the rest of the bike. Because somehow everything looks like you’ve built in stray parts. "I was watching what?" He says and grins quietly to himself.

Kawasaki W 650 Junkyard Dog in the driving report

Extractor hood, camping stove, bottle opener

The W 650 is built for a customer who wants to start the eighth-mile race at Glemseck 101 with it. He values ​​a bizarre appearance. And performance. Of course. ”Quirky appearance, aha. Right. The front fairing alone would be sufficient for this. O-Ton Penner: "A discarded meatball." Which means something like "an old chest protection that police officers wore during operations."

In the corridor, down from the yard, into the traffic

Ulf prances around the W 650 and explains the modifications: The stern was optically matched to the bow – "Mad Max" style, the engine with its original 676 cm³ drilled out to 850 cubic meters. Special camshafts, larger inlet valves and cylinder head machining allegedly help the vertical shaft engine to produce 90 hp and 96 Nm. Measured on a test stand in Northern Germany. Which doesn’t mean anything. “I don’t want to chat a lot here. It’s best if you drive, ”Ulf grumbles, and the ignition key is already dangling in front of my nose. "I already explained to you in advance how the circuit works." Yes, he did.

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Gargolov

Wild construction: The name Junkyard Dog may not be a coincidence after all.

A small 12 V compressor, which is commonly used to re-inflate car tires in the event of a flat tire, sits under the fork bridge and presses air into a reservoir. The compressor is activated via the horn button. It probably doesn’t work anymore, I think when my bottom tester drops onto the Spartan seat. The handlebar stubs, which are mounted quite low, pull the upper body over the tank in a sporty manner. After briefly pressing the E-Start button, the Twin babbles expectantly. The stainless steel elbows are a Penner in-house development and flow into two legal silencers from Shark. It no longer sounds modestly stuffed like W 650. It sounds more lustful, mysterious and dull-bassy. Despite the pneumatic gearshift, which should be good for a few tenths of a second or meter on the eighth-mile race, you can also shift gears with your left foot. So: in the corridor, down from the yard, into the traffic.

The 850 cubic twin hangs well on the gas. He implements commands from the right hand surprisingly spontaneously. The two Mikuni 36 flat slide valves are guaranteed not to be entirely innocent. You breathe completely freely, with the air you breathe being brought in through a self-made ram air system. But honestly: That could also come from the junkyard. Because it looks like someone has led the badly used hose of an extractor hood into a defective toaster – “Mad Max” style. As Ulf said so beautifully: “Ram Air is of course nonsense. But at least this way the junkyard dog gets fresh, cool air from the front. "

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A credible 90 hp

Whether that will do anything remains to be seen. Because I’m standing at the traffic lights next to two guys whose arms dangle casually from an extremely flat sports car of Italian origin. They laugh. Your sunglasses act like a mirror. I see a short man crouching behind a meatball bowl. The extractor hood hose stretches out into the open behind his left leg, and behind his right is an aluminum bottle that one would commonly identify as a tank for a camping stove.

Full concentration. After the traffic lights, the two-lane road immediately turns onto the motorway. THE opportunity to try out the pneumatic circuit, I think. Pressure on the horn. Flllllllrrrrrrrziiiip. The compressor pumps. Irritation in the sports car. Left thumb on the bottle opener. Ready when you are, gentlemen. Green! Damn it, the junkyard dog not only barks ready to attack, but also turns male right away. The front wheel is far in the sky, I have to take off the accelerator for a moment, but still upshift before it hits the ground again. A pneumatically controlled cylinder takes over the work of my left foot. While the next gear is slipping into the toothing, the clutch is not automatically disengaged, but the ignition is briefly interrupted. The dog sprints off as if the catcher were after him. The sports car? Somewhere in the rearview mirror. 90 hp? Quite believable. Not only does the Junkyard Dog look fierce, it is also strong and aggressive. But, as it turned out later, had no chance against a couple of souped-up 1000cc four-cylinder bikes on the eighth mile on Glemseck. 

Junkyard Dog details

Gear change: The pneumatic circuit was implemented at low cost. A small 12 volt compressor pumps up to 15 bar pressure into the aluminum container. This compressed air activates a pneumatic cylinder, which shifts the gears via a deflector. The switching process is triggered by a lever on the left handlebar stub and the ignition is briefly interrupted.

Engine: Basis: W 650, drilled out to 850 cubic meters, compression 10.5: 1, larger inlet valves, special camshafts, power: 90 hp at 7700 rpm, 96 Nm at 5800 rpm.

Additional: Acront rims, VA spokes, fork: Yamaha XS 850, fork stabilizer, front wheel: Yamaha XS 650, Wilbers struts, Shark exhaust, LSL footrests, fuel pump: Yamaha Virago, 36 mm Mikuni flat slide carburetor, further information at 04 21 / 5 15 99 64.

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