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Kawasaki W 800 Cafe vs. Royal Enfield Continental GT

Retro bikes in a comparison test

These two cafe racers are great twins: They combine the charm of crackling cooling fins with classic lines and even a vertical shaft. Old school style for beginners and advanced users, very human with 48 hp.

D.he best stories start with, “Well, that was so…” Well, what can I say? Well, it was like this: colleague Stefan and I were out with the two cafe racers fresh out of the box in a pleasant city on the Rhine to take all the beautiful photos for this article with photographer Jorg. After a few minutes in the port area, onlookers streamed in. They admired the style, aesthetics and feel: 18-inch spoked wheels, stereo struts and classic shapes. Up to tubular steel frames, round instruments and chrome-plated exhaust systems ugly on both sides. “That’s awesome, where did you dig up the oldtimers?” Enthused motorcycle fan Enda.

Two motorcycles with charisma

The Kawasaki W 800 Cafe and Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 look like they came straight from the Roaring Sixties. But they are brand new. And reduced to the essentials. Cooled by the airstream using traditional cooling fins. This message gets through. “Great, they don’t have too much electronics and bells and whistles on board, you can still do a lot yourself,” said Enda happily. "I think it’s great that the manufacturers are putting something like this back on." He is right. 20 years after the W 650, which was ennobled with cult status, and almost three years after production of the successor W 800 came to an end, there is again a vertical shaft Kawasaki! The W 800 is back, heavily modified. So now with ABS (rear disc brake too) and Euro 4 coordination including cylinder-selective lambda control.

Jorg Kunstle

The Continental GT 650 is also a 2019 addition. Well times are changing. The world’s largest manufacturer of machines over 250 cubic meters – 950,000 copies rolled off the assembly line in 2018 alone – has finally arrived, or rather back in Europe. With a development center in England and 650 twins that hit a nerve with honest mechanical engineering. Earthy and grounded. The sister model Interceptor (page 118) has just started the MOTORRAD endurance test over 50,000 kilometers. But we drive the coffee machines here and now: narrower, two-piece handlebar halves, set back footrests, a flatter hump seat and a smaller tank cite the best British cafe racer spirit. Bumpy, strangely shaped M handlebars and a lamp mask around the day-bright LED headlights make the Kawasaki look like a coffee grinder, in contrast to its sister Street. Maintaining tradition: Royal Enfield has been producing motorcycles since 1901, initially in England and then in India. In the form of the W1 and Interceptor models, both brands had in-line twins with (a good) 650 cc in their product range as early as the 1960s. So: Does the Indian or the Japanese motorcycle have the most English character?

The trumpet is bubbling

Press a button – kicking was a thing of the past. Both twins spontaneously start work. Incredibly high for an extremely low compression long stroke (8.4: 1), the Kawa turns over 2,000 revs when starting from cold, while idling. Noblesse works differently. Only when the engine is warm does the synchronous rotor reveal its true, balanced character – both pistons move up and down in parallel. The Kawa bubbles even more beautifully, right into your heart. It sounds more confident and dull, "juicy", has the fuller beat. She prottelt and murmurs wonderfully to herself. Thanks to the even 360-degree firing sequence, as with BMW boxers. One forgives the flat laid “peashooter” silencers, which are not typical of a cafe. It is only shortly before the blower ears that it interferes from the left to the right to promote torque. After all. As steadfast as a brewery horse, the Kawasaki gets going. Practically unstoppable. This is a real long-stroke experience. This cold-blooded horse on wheels pulls in the final fifth gear even on 1,500 tours and hangs very softly on the gas. The upright shaft motor doesn’t have to prove anything, thanks to its large flywheel it is also at rest. In this configuration it is unique. If you are looking for experiences in the lower speed range, this is the right place. The twin declines at 7,000 turns. Any questions? That definitely gives a feeling of power. Sure, 48 HP don’t bite wildly in the asphalt. So what? The W 800 has a balancer shaft, because it pulsates and pulsates clearly.

Jorg Kunstle

Same, same, but different is the Continental GT. Right from the start. The Indian twin is more agile. It also has a slippery clutch that can be pulled as smooth as butter, but is minimally more difficult to dose. Its 270-degree crankshaft imitates a 90-degree V2 with its uneven firing rhythm. Produces a pleasant, beautiful staccato, sounds pleasantly subtle. And slurps heartbreakingly from the airbox. Unusually for a twin, the Royal Enfield has completely separate exhaust systems on the left and right. Good vibrations? Hardly knows this cultivated twin, two balance shafts (!) Do a great job. Of course you have to twirl the short stroke, it has a millimeter more bore, but a good 15 millimeters less stroke, more. Yes and? Does not matter. The Indian flatterer feels good about it, quite beefy. Just under six seconds here and there for the sprint from zero to 100 are after all sports car level. The Royal Enfield feels more sporty and comes out of its pockets faster. If you stir a little in the closely spaced Indian gearbox, you show the W 800 easy the two sloping, voluminous roadster exhausts in Norton style. The secret? Is the significantly shorter overall translation.

Hard facts

For 100 km / h, the Kawa in fifth gear is enough for just under 3,800 turns, the Continental then turns 4,400 times in sixth. As a result, the 650 pulls through slightly better than the 800. Whereby 6.7 and seven seconds from 60 to 100 and a beat 9.5 and 9.7 seconds from 100 to 140 have nothing to do with speed. The Continental GT is no lightweight at 216 kilograms. But the 223 kilos of the Kawasaki should be maximum for unrestricted A2-compatible motorcycles. Haste makes waste. The Kawa has the liter output of an Opel Corsa, 62 hp per 1,000 cubic meters. This hardly stands for racing qualities. Then why the whole attitude? For celebrated casualness. After all, with a bit of a run-up, the speedometer needle on the track clears the 160, i.e. 100 miles per hour. That was really something back in the wild 60s … The lamp mask of the W 800 Cafe offers an approach of wind protection. On the other hand, you have to make yourself small on the Continental GT in a submissive Kamasutra stance in order to defy the hurricane. Hold down.

Jorg Kunstle

Instead, the Indian walks straight ahead, not being disturbed by bumps. The W 800 is different. Although its steel frame is reinforced at critical points, says Kawasaki. In addition, the 800 now has a telescopic fork with 41 instead of 39 standpipes. Your swing arm looks noble and stable. But even driving over bridges or changing the motorway lanes near top speed (170) makes the Kawa swing its rear happily. A Honda CB 900 F Bol d’Or from 1981 remains more relaxed. The Kawa chassis is soft to the touch and reacts very sensitively to interference. It can hardly be due to the underdamped struts alone, because the dampers of the Royal Enfield could also use more rebound damping. Both pairs of shock absorbers snap out too quickly after compression and bounce happily. Yes, these undercarriages are simple. It can knock you out of the saddle on rumbling stretches. Really modern motorcycle chassis roll more comfortably over bumpy slopes and remain much more relaxed when the road construction is tough. It would also be insane if all the aluminum bridge frames, rocker arms and upside-down forks of the last 30 years hadn’t brought anything.

survey

Voted 1160 times

Which retro bike do you like better? Kawasaki W 800 Cafe or Royal Enfield Continental GT 650?

I like the kawa very much!

Clearly the Royal Enfield!

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So: Anyone who knows Japanese chassis from the early 1970s will immediately feel at home on this duo. A lesson in driving physics follows on small, extremely curvy roads in the low mountain range: both of them scurry nimbly through the Winkelwerk on the narrow 18-inch tires (100 mm front, 130 mm rear). The Kawasaki folds down easier on its Dunlop K 300 GP. But this slight turning has a downside: In tight corners (roundabouts!), The W 800 continues to dive, irritating. Overall, it looks wobbly, also due to the unstable straight-line stability. There is always a lot of movement in the chassis. Embarrassingly early for a cafe racer, the Kawa’s footrests scrabble, scratching their initials into the asphalt. That’s why Stefan called the W 800 “Funkenmariechen”. On the other hand, the Kawasaki only steers stubbornly on the brakes and stands up noticeably when decelerating in an inclined position. All of this results in a rather inhomogeneous driving behavior. “You never really know what the load will do next, ”complains professional driver Stefan. When braking hard, the fork locks and twists. Is it because of the improved brakes compared to the earlier W 800? Now the friction coefficient pairing fits: The brake has bite and a decent pressure point. No comparison to the once so dull and muddy stopper.

The Royale scores

The floating Tokico saddle still has only two brake pistons. This also applies to the Royal Enfield’s front Bybre stopper. This is Brembo’s low budget Indian brand. The brake should be a tad better controllable, has no very clear pressure point. In return, the load remains on course when braking in curves. The Royal Enfield is more precise, more precise and more neutral. It feels stiffer in a good sense and offers a lot more freedom of lean angle. The Continental GT rolls on Pirelli Spotscomp tires from Brazil. Your spring elements work off the asphalt relief very neatly. In short: the Indian motorcycle drives better! It’s also better to sit on. You’re just merging more with the Royal Enfield. There is something about enjoying the good feeling for the front wheel and parking your feet further back. That the knee is more likely to take place under the tank, the knees come close to the mighty cylinders? Free, because a rail on the cylinder head prevents hot flashes.

Jorg Kunstle

Sitting on the Kawasaki is much more unbalanced: The seat is too narrow in the front area, the thigh support is small. The wide tank spreads the legs wide apart. The stylish knee cushions are very welcome. It pinches and pinches behind the curved M handlebar. Especially since the footrests are not only low, but also too far forward. Only the passenger sits better on the W 800. This is ensured by the more relaxed knee angle and the lush seat bench in the rear area. A pillion passenger sits strangely on the Royal Enfield: the bench falls sharply backwards, the pegs are higher. The passenger sits like a monkey on the grindstone. Hold on tight! Let’s talk about processing: With the Kawasaki, the cables and plugs are all too open-hearted. In return, it shines with two elegant, adjustable hand levers and practical luggage hooks at the rear. On the Continental GT, the area of ​​the tank filler neck should be better painted.

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