Kawasaki

[@martinmulder7432]

Less reis, smoother

[@berttompkins9096]

The KLR650 IS THE SAME WAY!!! 5 SPEED wide ratio. Torque is easy to one finger clutch wo stalling and 5th feels like a 6th.

[@antbonyziemiak208]

It definitely has the torque to do so. By the way… the W stands for WONDERFUL !!!

[@knutarvidhansen3300]

After 284oookm on my nice W650 I feel experienced enough to comment this good article. After worn out original 15t sprocket I felt the torque of engine could take 16t (slower acceleration was no topic for me, I drive economic style). So tried it for 80kKm. Ok, I saved some fuel, but thought I had to shift more often between 3-4-5th when going quick (I like to go quick). And if you go quick with 16t you will not save any fuel. About fuel consumption: I once drove an eco run countryside in Norway (curvy and hilly) following legal speed limits. Result: 518 km in 6h58min with 14,3 liters gasolin. Later I choosed 15/38 which fits me perfect, plus the speedo shows close to 100% correct (although that doesnt bother me at all). With W800s more torque I guess 15/37 is perfect! By the way, do u know that most germans choose to go with 14/39 on their 650s? If u like to go fast, but dont like to grind your nice mufflers on tarmac I can give you 5 simple and cheap ideas. 1. Lean your heavy body into inside the curve (it also eliminates the wobling on bad roads). 2. if u have the wide steering bar, buy the smaller one. 3. Buy stiffer springs in front fork to fight against the centrifugal forces. 4. Skip the original Bridgestone tyres and go for Bridgestone Battlax BT45 (Ive tested some other tires, not all, but these works). They are actually so good that I once crashed, because leaning angle was so big that the frame hit the ground and then "game over". See this on youtube: Harzring crash. Finally 5. Swap rear tire from 130/80 to120/90, it only lift your tail 4mm, but more important is that distance from center wheel to outside tyre means u dont have to lean so much at the same speed, also due to centrifugal forces (I can explaine this more exact if anyone dont understand). Besides this, additionally it also gives u lower input force on the steering bar when enter the curves. Totally this small cheap hints can make u go aprox 10% quicker in the curves without destroying your mufflers. Extra, if u want your left muffler to hit the tarmac u have to rebuild your sidestand step. Finally, if you want to see what your bike can perform, check my german friend on youtube: "Kawasaki W650 Fahren!" by windi53

[@dirtyadventure8481]

@@knutarvidhansen3300 Wow! Your comment shows me that you’re one of the very rare Überpassioned souls who really loves this bike as much as me. 284K is very impressive indeed. I have so many questions for you. I don’t know where to begin. What’s your compression of the engine like? Try to measure it. (I have a video how to do that) What engine parts did you have to replace to reach 286K kilometres? When did you replace the clutch for example? Do you know where can I order the European rear rubber mud flap for the rear fender? I really need it in Canada, but we don’t have for sale. About sprockets… Did you know that in Japan all Cx model number bikes after 2006 came with 15/37 from the factory? The w800 copied that ratio from late models of w650 it seems, but I will definitely try 15/38 too and check out your friend’s channel. Thank you for all the tips. If you want to chat further let me know and I’ll send you my email. Please subscribe, because I will need your perspective on my future videos. I’m preparing a new batch of Winterization videos about electrical work, brakes maintenance, valve shim replacement etc. Farvel.

[@c.m.2123]

What a great tutorial, thank you! There's another video out there of this mod done to a newer W800 and apparently the speedometer is also inaccurate on these even with the slightly different stock gearing. I think this is true because I have always wondered why I get passed so much on the highway... turns out I must be going 5 mph too slow!

[@dirtyadventure8481]

Thanks 🙏 Yes, the fundamental problem is with the chosen design of speed reading off of the engine sprocket nut. Kawasaki doesn’t think that it’s a big enough problem to fix. On a W650 it’s easy and cheap to solve this by swapping to a 16t sprocket. On a W800 it’s not that simple; as you must swap the rear sprocket to a 38t (or 39t) as well; otherwise, 16/37 is way too tall of a ratio for w800. I’m going to update my description for this video to include my findings after riding on a 16t /39t on W650 for a few more days.

[@Bob-xc2us]

The speedometer on my W800 reads exactly 3% faster than you are actually going. When the speedo says 60mph I'm actually going 58.2mph based on a Garmin GPS. I don't think that is too bad and is better for not getting speeding tickets. I think I will stick with the 15/37 as the motor sounds about right to me at 75mph. (4200rpm). That's 120kph here in Canada and that's reasonable speed for our four lane highways. Faster can get you a ticket. A slightly fatter tire on the back will also correct the speedo if you can find one. Changing to a 16T front sprocket will change the speedo by almost 7% slower so it would now read 4% slower than you are actually going. Not good when encountering the gentlemen in blue. I haven't met too many of them that have sense of humour. (humor for our US friends)

[@VS-vo3rd]

Привет ! Для меня это новая информация на будущее. Буду знать. Спасибо ! В том году я снимал крышку ведущий заезды, чистил от грязи. Снимайте больше видео про Kawasaki w650. Это очень полезно.😊❤

[@rogerthedodger5788]

Brilliant video tutorial. You are very thorough in your explanations. Thank you! Ill absolutely think about this when i replace the chain. Ive subscribed to your channel. Mine is a 2003 flatbar model. Your bike is in beautiful condition. Look forward to more videos. Ps like your channel "Fallout" graphic!

[@dirtyadventure8481]

After riding on a 16/39t for a while I now recommend 15/37t setup when you change the chain. On higher rpms (>4000rpm) 16t is a tad too tall and acceleration is slightly reduced. It’s not a huge deal, but now I understand why Kawasaki ended up installing 15/37 on all W bikes after 2006. I don’t see any difference in fuel efficiency after swapping the front sprocket.

[@rogerthedodger5788]

@dirtyadventure8481 Great! Thank you for the update. Perhaps my first step should be to count the teeth that are there now. Who knows? This might have been done . The speedo is over optimistic as is.

[@antbonyziemiak208]

I’m in the US. 2001 was the last year here. It came with the “high” bars, or buckhorn style bars. The next year it came with the flat bars. I spent about $500.00 US to get a flat bar kit from England. Came with the proper flat bars and proper cables. I like the look and feel of the flat bars. The in command position.

[@fiend4mojitos]

Great video, however I would leave the transmission in neutral, in case the brake slipped to avoid any damage the sudden torque would do to 1st gear. Did you put the star washer back on before the nut?

[@dirtyadventure8481]

Yes I did. I captured it in the video.

[@pnwoods]

Thank you, much. ... I just acquired a 2000 W650, .. and need to learn all aspects. .. Trying to find tutorial/video on valve/shim adjustment. There's one here, on KZbin, by an Italian, but, I don't speak the language. ..... Previous bike was an '84 Honda VF1100c Magna, .. 20 years ago. .. Hope to adjust to the power difference.

[@dirtyadventure8481]

I have a valve check video on my channel. Do the valve check to determine if you need a valve shim replacement or not. Chances are you don’t need a shim replacement at all. In case you do need to replace a shim or two all you have to do is to remove the old shim and put it the new shim. You don’t really need a whole separate video on it… Use the valve shim replacement table in the service manual to find the height of the replacement shim. This makes me think that I do need to create a new video just for the shimming procedure…

[@antbonyziemiak208]

@@dirtyadventure8481yes I would very much like to see that video on replacing the shims sir !!!

[@dirtyadventure8481]

@@antbonyziemiak208 I’m planning to do another valve check during this winter and I’ll definitely film the shim replacement. If you really want to see how it’s done you can watch how I did it on my KTM 390 Adventure bike that I sold to buy the Dub. It’s a long video, but the principle is the same. You can scroll through it because it’s way too detailed than you need. Search my channel for that video. It’s fascinating (boring for most people) :) It’s much easier to do the shims on the W than on KTM that’s for sure. I met a fellow Dub 800 rider and he said the dealer charged him $1500 bucks for valve service and regular oil change, checkup that they usually do. I scratched my head. Poor dude. Guys do yourself a favour learn to wrench on the W. It’s a perfect bike to wrench on.

[@vijahast]

I have a 2000 w650. I really like the relative ease of maintenance and repair. I wonder if a 37 tooth rear sprocket will have the same effect? One thing I dislike is the 15/39 ratio it has now … most riding is done right around 3500rpm, where most of the vibration occurs. Moving that vibration may make a more comfortable ride.

[@dirtyadventure8481]

@@vijahast Thanks for your input. check out the description for this video. I posted an update there about my latest findings for this ratio. In short, yes, 15/37 is probably the best ratio for both W800 and W650. No wonder they switched to this ratio in Japan after 2006 model I recon.

[@seanfahey9787]

I did the opposite with my w800, I put on a 14 tooth sprocket for more acceleration. It’s fun but as you mentioned, you end up crushing in 5th at 60km hr. I’m going back to stock and just use a particular gear for longer. Some more compression in the engine would really wake the bike up.

[@dirtyadventure8481]

Yeah, for w800 stock ratio 15:37 is best. I even updated the description of this video to mention this.

[@Bob-xc2us]

@@dirtyadventure8481 My W800 with 15/37 stock sprockets will cruise around in fifth gear at 50kph and will pull smoothly to highway speed without shifting. It really makes it nice to not have to continually down shift and up shift if you're not in hurry. Its still accelerates faster than most traffic while leaving it in 5th gear and is only spinning at 4200rpm at 120kph. Very smooth at this speed.

[@dirtyadventure8481]

@@Bob-xc2us Yes, but I still think that it’s missing the 6th gear ⚙️. A side note: Even though our bikes can do it, cruising at below 2,500rpm (50kph in 5th) is not recommended, because it puts way too much stress on the piston pins. If you care for engine longevity keep the tachometer needle above 2500rpm in any gear… Even setting your idle too low < 900rpm reduces the oil pressure and harms your valves. Motorcycle engines are not diesel engines and should not be treated like ones. ☝️ Diesels have reinforced pistons and pins, so they are designed for low rpm conditions, motorcycle engines are not. Our bikes are designed to be used above 4000rpm. Shifting gears above that number is really pleasant and smooth. This bike has a preference; ether keep it 2500-3000 or keep it above 4000rpm.

[@Bob-xc2us]

@@dirtyadventure8481 I understand your view on engine rpm and at wide throttle acceleration I would agree with you but for putting around and lazy acceleration there is no excessive stress being put on the rings, pistons etc. Yes, wide open throttle acceleration in high gear at these low speeds will eventually hurt the engine Page 74 of the W800 2022 manual recommends shifting from 4th to 5th at 45kph(27mph). It would appear that Kawasaki does not feel that putting around at 30mph in fifth gear is a problem for these bikes. These are long stroke, low rpm and low compression engines. They are not the same as other higher revving motorcycles engines. You operate your motorcycle at the higher rpm and you won't be hurting it. I will operated mine within the parameters recommended by Kawasaki and I won't be hurting it. I do rev it and give a good high rpm run from time to time to keep the cob webs out but I do not operate it under high load at low rpms and I assume that Kawasaki's recommended shift points Are for low load Putting around and lazy acceleration.

[@antbonyziemiak208]

My 650 owners “booklet “ says the same thing. At 27 miles per hour you can put it in 5th gear and stay there all day. That’s one of the things I absolutely love about the W, that low down torque. Every bike I’ve ever had I tried to emulate the low engine speed of Harley Davidson’s. This bike comes the closest to it without the weight,bulk, and expense of a Harley. Beautiful machine to ride and look at !!! It think it actually has a longer stroke than the Brit bikes it emulates, let alone the “modern” Triumph’s!!!