Kawasaki W 175 road test review - back to basics | OVERDRIVE

[@selvanspn]

Never compromise with the proportions of a bike or styling in general. Royal Enfield survived and is now dominating only because of looks and sound.

[@senotriusneo6354]

Someone speaking the truth finally

[@vikasshelke5544]

RE was only 4 stroke bike from its start days .It survived 2 stroke times that was it's main challenge. RE kept business up inspite of its worst sales in past . It picked up only after 2005 and is now market leader

[@bonjovi1354]

@@vikasshelke5544 yup .very true

[@twowheeledparadox]

RE is gaining respect internationally not only because of looks and sound. Their recent products are actually very good overall.

[@Plough78]

​@@twowheeledparadox indeed... My 2021 Fireball Meteor is an absolute joy....! Ideal for this location.... (North Thailand.) *Crap Game*

[@gspkmr]

I test rode it, damn smooth revving engine. Don’t care what others say. I’ll buy it soon!

[@muthulakshmimuthiah4804]

did it have kick start

[@srnk3416]

Did you buy, how is it?

[@anni5735]

@@muthulakshmimuthiah4804no

[@anni5735]

@@srnk3416was fairly better than what people anticipate…. It was my first and I am happy I bought a lighter bike. Has less vibrations too. Best in mid range speed😊

[@muthulakshmimuthiah4804]

reported issues in headlamp water clogging in rainy season

[@md.farooqpeerzade2717]

I think @ this price point W250 makes more sense with the same looks @ specs. It's all about the power .......

[@seepranavg]

When they alunch it, your expection too would like to have 350cc one

[@lvvenky9973]

If Kawasaki is betting on their brand pull to produce volumes, they are due for a surprise like Honda's Hornet. The hasty slashing of prices by 50k by Honda for their 300F recently is evidence of the competition from Indian manufacturers.

[@sris8483]

Better Mileage, better comfort, better control in busy city roads... more over Kawasaki refined engine at a lower price ... finally some retro that has reason to buy than just looks and name tag

[@abishekraj1842]

remembering my childhood days looks like old kawasaki Boxer AR which cost on road 35k 20 yrs back

[@georgecarlinn6288]

KB 4S

[@senotriusneo6354]

Wait a few months for the price revision. If the great Honda can revise their prices after launch,so can Kawasaki.

[@varunverma2187]

Who is even waiting for this bike.

[@samirpatil3121]

Brilliant review 👏 I have read and seen many of your reviews, and I think you are good 👍 As far as the w175 goes, looks perfect for me! My only motorcycle is the RX 100,last of the lot, still going on!

[@phonezone166]

I am totally fall in love with this bike...

[@kaustubhkeer]

Well being a bit harsh, I feel it’s only gonna provide spares for RX100 restoration projects 😂😅

[@aditya4397]

Hello @overdive and @rohitparadkar. The Honda Unicorn is similar in engine power torque and kerb weight. If we ignore the looks, would you feel Unicorn is a better option considering the gearbox braking and suspension systems?

[@vaibhavkaushik2966]

Honda hai!

[@MrTransporter5]

Decade old bike ...

[@vikasshelke5544]

Unicorn is any day better on price point alone. Kawasaki looks like entry level100 cc

[@virajvrooms]

Kawasaki is bullet proof. You need to buy this bike if you want to own one forever. Which I guess no one does these days. This is for those digital nomads, early retirement kind of customers who want to own a no fancy tech or plastics bike but still need some punch to tackle the kaccha irregular roads. So Unicorn it is.

[@indiacha]

Definately Unicorn 160 will be a wiser man's Choice.

[@lonerider6945]

Finally the commuter bike i was waiting for from Kawasaki... For the sake of God please reduce the pricing. It will sell like hot cakes... This is not a re encounter but the perfect family man bike. At least I should thank for that

[@sksadilettante5685]

Kawasaki thought too hard to say "Fine, you want outdated retros that have puny engines and worse brakes? Because they made you nostalgic? Here you go! That will be ₹2 lacs by the way"

[@struggler5960]

Please never convince with this positive review of this bike. This Kawasaki bike halogen bulb turns on when you turn the ignition on. Which is the major disadvantage of this bike. Headlamp should turn on when the engine is running. So this will drain the battery and damage the battery much earlier than expected. Running this BS6 bike on discharged/damaged battery will affect the life of various sensors, fuel pump, fuel injector and the much expensive ECU. So this proves that this bike is not reliable in the long term. Don't waste your money on Brand only, buy a perfect motorcycle.

[@vijaykothawale6001]

Very nice illustrations and explaination of the vehicle. Thanks Rohit Paradkar for authentic review of the W175 .I think it is alternative to the legendary great YAMAHA RX100 ,for those nostalgic raiders of then 1985 to 1997 era😃😃👍

[@SurajSinghTomarArya]

This will be one of the biggest disaster for a major manufacturer in India. It simply doesn't even look classic enough which is its main selling point. You can see the Indonesian version is more premium with ribbed seat, chrome bezels on meter, W800 like indicators, fat fork gaitors, sleek exaust pipe etc. Indians have made it clear that they want performance now, while Royal Enfield is making 650cc for Indians Kawasaki is selling 175cc, tells you who cares more about the market.

[@abhijeethjnair]

Trust me except for mileage and maintenance cost, RE Hunter is just pure heaven.Tell me one brand other than RE that sells a 350cc for 2lac onroad. At the price of MT-15, you're getting a bike which looks, feels and sounds heavenly than a 150cc. So let alone W175, this thing feels like a decade old design. Feels more like Bajaj Kawasaki Boxer that used to sell decades back

[@fringeanomaly9284]

350 with mileage & maintanence of 350 but power of 200s REs should get better transmission and better torque

[@sigh9032]

the main issue is it doesnt feel like a 350 but rather a 200 when it rides. a bit more power and you will feel much comfy crusing at 100kmph. Yes sure you wont be doing speeds above 120 on an RE, but a bit more power means much stressfree engine thus longer life.

[@twowheeledparadox]

@@sigh9032 You have it backwards. More power from the same displacement means a stressed engine. Same amount of power from a bigger engine means less stress.

[@twowheeledparadox]

@@fringeanomaly9284 The transmission of the current 350 is fine and efficient enough not to cause too much loss of power. It is one of the reasons why the 0-100 of the new 350 is about 14-15 seconds while it was about 25 seconds or so for the UCE.

[@scandaddy9444]

I'd rather put in a bit more money and buy the CB350 hness or the RS instead of the RE hunter 350

[@GeetchandraOkram]

This light motorcycle with adequate power and comfortable looking is the choice of people like me who dream to drive motorcycle at the age of 40+. Thanks a lot❤

[@itsmeee7364]

Now it's 1.22 lakhs price reduced by 25,000 it's better to buy now

[@noahlapuz3853]

best 8:42:00 spent on YT.... congrats to team OD~

[@Toll-Traveller]

W175 is already dead on arrival. CT125x although a segment lower and 1 lakh cheaper is compared with W175. So a second death. If Bajaj brings CT150x, third death for W175. With no service center or even showroom in tier 3 or 2 cities what is Kawa thinking? First sack your over enthusiastic 'MBA' marketing guys. However good your engineering maybe your marketing team has failed to price this commuter bike under 1.5L OTR price. You've done all needed like single channel ABS, normal suspension setup. Its your mktg who have screwed little chances by over pricing it.

[@niranjanprasadys]

Yes. I own ct125x disc variant. It's far better than this w175.

[@hemalmehta873]

Well explained and reviewed systematically

[@UjjwalPratapSingh45]

I think it's time for the lauch of P180 with that round headlight. If only Bajaj listen.

[@diwasgurung7524]

If i have 2 options than i will choose kawasaki 😊

[@codeN1NE]

This reminds me of the Kawasaki Caliber 125. Hudibaba advertisement

[@Milo_Minderbinder]

Very interresting bike, indeed. Reminds me of the TR250 (~15 ys. ago), which was a reminiscent of the early KLs from the 70's. For perfect look, it needs a larger front tire (min. 19"), knobby tires and a kick starter (I've seen the closed mounting hole in right engine case already... 😂)

[@karthik.g63]

Honestly I'm just not able to figure out what customer Kawa has in mind for this. Don't get me wrong, I think its cool and would love to rent one and ride it around, but would never buy it. Its too niche of a product to attract commuters and too little of a bike to attract premium buyers.

[@sandip0503]

i just purchased this awesome

[@aashutoshbhagat2677]

After seeing the acceleration timings of W175, Lord FZX be like: Finally a worthy opponent, our battle will be legendary 🤣😆😎 On a serious note, kawasaki should have launched the W250 to fight the RE Hunter 350 . Of course some idiots would say 350cc but Kawasaki doesn't care about India enough to manufacture a brand new 350cc bike from ground up just for India. Kawasaki is not owned by your father 😝. But what they could do is bring the W250 to fight the Hunter 350 and price it between 1.6 to 1.7 lakhs ex showroom . But they bring this to the party and price it at 200 and 250cc bike's price with no equipment or power to brag about .Heck even the looks aren't good reminding people of Bajaj CT110😂. Right now even the Hornet 2.0 is looking good at 1.38lakhs ex showroom price. That's a proper power commuter which people buy . It has enough pep for city commutes and occasional trips on highway easily. Top speed is also around 130kmph. Much better if you just want a power commuter or the good old Yamaha FZ25 if you go further with other Japanese counterparts. Reliable fun practical workhorses they are if you are not into the retro bike thing . I didn't consider Indian bikes from similar price points because Kawasaki has launched this as a commuter and it needs to be compared with its Japanese counterparts from 180cc and 250cc segments. RTR 200 4V NS200 and Bajaj 250 twins are too sporty to be even considered as its competition. 😂

[@SoftwarePractice]

Yes 'price' is an issue. But surely , there are people who would love a lighter retro.

[@heytiwariiloveyou]

Bike needs a price correction just like cb300f. This bike should have looked simple. But all add-on the engine (o2 sensor, catcon, sai etc) hampers the classic looks.

[@SuperImbadude]

Then emission will be controlled by shoving the exhaust up yours?

[@BecauseOshoSaidSo]

Kawasaki w800 is legendary.. would have sold my meteor to anyhow get my hands on it..but its only coming in black colour..thats holding me back.. instead of criticizing Kawasaki..we should say something about criminal taxation policy of government

[@rbernardify]

It's a decent looking bike like a mini bullet, but it's not for tall guys. Like you said, Kawasaki should reduce the pricing

[@LloydJ]

Looks quite ordinary...not sure many people will take to it

[@abthevoyager]

after hearing all the points i feel the bike should have - few more CCs say 200/250 top speed around 120~140 kmph 6 gears the current Indian market is best suited for 250 cc engines with touring ability But this W175 more suitable for commuter segment makes sense except prize which i agree

[@sheoyabut255]

So what we get is a business class looking motorcycle and a skinier version of W175. What's next? Price increase? Sorry, but if I am looking for a classic motorcycle on a budget, there far better options because this still lacks abs and still on drums.

[@chinmoykalita5959]

Request a comparison video between FZ-X and W175

[@kush5749]

FZ-x to kachra h

[@hariharan-si1ic]

Honda unicorn bs6 beats this w175 163.71cc 14.1nm torque@5500 unicorn definitely compensate w175. Personally I like w175 engine sound. Hope the engine reliability like honda. This w175 fit for daily commuting & did long drive in the speed range of 80kmph.choose this w175 for suitable purpose.

[@arjunsukumaran2540]

That ninja 175 was absolutely spot on r15 is yet to be challenged

[@rakshanpoojary439]

They're gonna mess up the pricing bit.

[@supermoto9799]

There's a Ninja 200 150 and 250 out there in the foreign markets. Instead of going into Royal Enfield territory they should try to properly challenge r15 and rc390. Same with Honda. They're all trying to steal from Royal Enfield while Yamaha has been picking their pockets all these years.

[@diaz5621]

It is very apparent this bike belongs to those commuters,who want that retro rajdoot charm with international badging of kawasaki wiith decent fuel efficency,if kawasaki had put a decent price tag on this bike it would have been rage in rural india

[@2ndgowdru162]

I booked this one

[@balajinagappand7627]

How is the bike . Would you recommend to book ?

[@2ndgowdru162]

@@balajinagappand7627 have good experience with this 1) Easy to maneuver(Light weight) 2) Mileage 40km/p 3) service cost is High (1st service 3450rs) 4) Get everyone's attention ***Recommendation 7.5/10

[@deepaksahay3526]

RX100 looks alike, now it depends upon marketing segment. Price must be not more then 1.25 L else heavy competition with others can make it out of the market.

[@The21stCenturyEngineer]

color aur ho sakte the.... par black bhi okay hai....baki sab theek hai suspension thode springy hai.... par ride quality sahi hai....baki sab theek hai brakes thode spongy hai... par tez chalana hi nahi chaiye na....baki sab theek hai 90km ke upar mar jati hai... isse tez chalana hai toh car le lo....baki sab theek hai

[@srinathtg4623]

This is like poetry or song lyrics 😀

[@The21stCenturyEngineer]

@@srinathtg4623 It was inspired from the sarcastic letter a solider receives in the movie 'Border' 😅

[@srinathtg4623]

@@The21stCenturyEngineer oh great, I dint know that

[@alexmercer3001]

Its funny how, Kawasaki killed its Ninja 300 which was a superhit on its category, by never updating it, and wants to buy into Indian customers' hearts. Isn't this irony?

[@sigh9032]

and their servicing costs are extraordinarily high. I own a Ninja300 and my 3th servicing costs freaking 9K. FOR A 300. its the same story for their 650s as well. At this point buying a cbr650 at 4L more is much better proposition than Ninja650 cause hondas servicing is dirt cheap(as in affordable, not the quality).

[@supermoto9799]

@@sigh9032 cbr 650 at 4L where ?

[@alexmercer3001]

@@supermoto9799 he meant 4L more buddy.

[@twowheeledparadox]

@@alexmercer3001 The Ninja 650, Ninja 636 and KLR 650 are really old models that have not gone through too many updates. That's just how Kawasaki roles. Motorcycles are not mobile phones. They do not need to be updated every quarter. Still, some premium features in their multicylinder motorcycles would be welcome.

[@twowheeledparadox]

@@sigh9032 Yeah, I don't know Honda manages to provide reasonable service costs even for flagship bikes like the Africa Twin but it absolutely works in their favour. Well, at least the customers are happy.

[@faustinepimento298]

Kawasaki guys failed to do their homework.... gone are the days when customers only cared about buying a decent commuter. The new gen customer demands performance, looks and feel all at an reasonable price tag. RE is well aware of this and even Honda has entered the competition. What was Kawasaki thinking?

[@SurajSinghTomarArya]

That tumor on exaust pipe is an hedious. This bike doesnt look beautiful compared to Yamaha RX135 and RD350. Kawasaki should have manufacturerd W400 or W650 to compete with RE 650s. Their business development team has 0 ground knowledge of Indian market. This is another example of Kawasaki insulting Indians, they continue to sell outdated Ninja 300 here which has been discontinued worldwide.

[@prashantdeshmukh7195]

they shud have given the kick start option too

[@mathewpothenvarghese6989]

Kawasaki is very good bike, only two things is bad ie Price little high and no service centre's available for all over the India , also Kawasaki is not allowed spair parts counter sale , in the condition How this bike can maintain public.....?

[@raviswarankar]

That exhaust pipe coming out of engine is an eye sore...🫣

[@SurajSinghTomarArya]

Yes, looks like a tumor. This is not present in International market. Due to Indian emissions they have to do this. But they should have modified their engine or muffler as Royal Enfield completly removed that bump in J series platform.

[@rohintonmistry1314]

1.77 lakhs on road is a ridiculous pricing for a 175 cc bike. There are many bikes in this category to choose from.

[@thestone3849]

All these bikes price wise doing the marketing job of RE very easy. With almost similar pricing and that too around 2L on road will make people to go to RE and the rest of the job will be done by the bank people to stretch the budget to boost the sales of All RE range in this price segment, So no surprise to see Meteor and Hunters sales would be rocketing. These Japanese companies are making we Indians a fool in terms of pricing, be it 2 or 4 wheels.

[@gijoraj623]

Thank you for the great Review

[@rebitasoubam5339]

Want to test drive.look like very comfortable bike , smooth engine.no vibration.right position of sitting.daily commuter, marketing, office, tour, party.

[@deepakhegde8173]

Reminds me of the rajdoot 175

[@gianlucabassi8853]

I have driven Honda, Yamaha, ... Kawasaki are the only bikes I loved...

[@muthulakshmimuthiah4804]

must Need rear disc brake for sure

[@21stCenturyLemonade]

All hopes on Honda with a new generation of RX100s !

[@himanshumeena6544]

It is exclusively for hard-core Kawa fanboys rather than people who wants a usable decently priced motorcycle.

[@sevenstars4817]

Looks like a Pakistani/afghani undersized bike we see...

[@aakashgain3928]

37mm front telescopic suspension tyres with 110/80 and rear with 130/70 and dont need to change the spoke beacuse the spoke make it look classy its 175 so fatter tyre will not matter thats all needed there will be no competition for this motorcycle

[@sanjayajena2831]

Can it run in e20 fuel?

[@krishnabeena1603]

Honda should bring CB190SS here in India

[@sharavankumar1716]

1.2 lac pricing would have been perfect

[@amarbaruah7800]

Available at Guwahati now.....?

[@firstnamelastname5761]

Why will anyone but this over Honda Unicorn? Unicorn is better as an authentic, time tested, retro commuter in a much cheaper price.

[@akhyarrayhka4048]

this indian spec is the best version the proportion is ideal

[@ShashiKumar-sv7un]

The headlight is enough for customer to forget this bike

[@siddhantasinghsomvansheey]

It's around 30k costlier. Especially when Hunter 350 is available with better sales network.

[@Gchethan31]

They were supposed to lauch this in 2004.

[@vipinsharma6841]

Main issue is Wrong Price Zone(RE Hunter and TVS Ronin)

[@Sundhara_Pandian]

I would rather buy a Bajaj CT 125x.

[@akhila0762]

Anybody there who took a test ride? Please comment your experience honestly?...I feel love at first sight...

[@vigneshr4509]

I took a test ride last week, Nice 👍

[@Ducktator1969]

Cheaper than in Indonesia And you get abs, fuel injection, fuel indicators

[@AK-db2ph]

This bike is an example of everything wrong with modern retro classic

[@ravishankarmalage1570]

Don't buy this bike its having over heating problem.....am selling in one month after using

[@mrscaramangas]

It will sell in single digits every month!

[@dr.narasimhareddy4726]

No body has understood Indian market like RE did in the last decade. this looks like Bajaj boxer. It cant even put a dent on RE sales. its a day one failure.

[@kapishgirdhar]

looks bad, no features, no power, worst option

[@suga667]

Buying mt15 make a sense

[@rebitasoubam5339]

Mostly bikes look like sports bike, pulsar,honda,hero.i don't sport bike because iam not sport in bike.wanted tour, party, office and other daily works.

[@amolshinde3800]

Kawasaki should launch z125 it's show stopper

[@itsmeee7364]

It will spoil the prestige of Kawasaki

[@santoshphatak7967]

Slightly grown up BOXER from yesteryears !!! And with this cost ??? I doubt .... 🤔

[@sunildsouza1389]

This bike seems to be a compromise...on all aspects. Will probably sell in rural areas and for the doodhwalla,.

[@UjjwalPratapSingh45]

Everybody is fighting just to defeat RE. It explains how large RE is now.

[@marktaylor9439]

In india

[@franklinghosh3559]

@@marktaylor9439 Highest selling motorcycle in UK in its category.

[@sigh9032]

@@franklinghosh3559 cause it reminds them of their "older days" and how "simple" bikes were back then. there, you got your answer

[@a.g.rhithwik]

@@sigh9032 winning is winning

[@bonjovi1354]

@@franklinghosh3559 o yea ?? Bunch old British guys love royal Enfield ..very few young folks buy royal Enfield .. and new beginner female bike... Also it's comes on cheaper side comparing triumph and others ..that's the selling point after that they change brakes to seat to exhaust some do change crappy suspension also

[@indiacha]

The problem is this bike just looks like a 175cc "Bajaj Boxer" from Kawasaki

[@TheLazyWandererMys]

However good the bike may be to ride, at its price, it looks more like the CD100 with longer wheelbase, rear looks like Boxer AT, even the front. And that matters alot, at least to someone like me. A bike should essentially pull at your heart strings, make you look back (not with regret). And that, is not something the W175 does. A 175 with power output of a 20 year old 150 and looks of a 100cc bike again from over 15-20 years ago. A big NO in my books.

[@antonydecosta6262]

I don't see a clientele for such products in India

[@dnyaneshpatil3921]

This isn't retro, this is just old and outdated. Kawasaki has launched this 20 years late, and even before 20 years competition had better options. This thing looks crude and anemic. Kawasaki shouldn't dilute their brand value by launching something as uninspiring as this. :(

[@kimphilbi9109]

My 90s RX100 is faster, nimble, retro and cheaper.

[@faustinepimento298]

Yes RX100 is still way ahead of the modern 100cc bikes, it's comparable to a normal 150cc of today.

[@ravivashisht4682]

Price should be 95000 only

[@prathameshghatol1230]

Looks like a Hero Cd100!💀🫥💩 it's gonna fail very miserably

[@gogoidhruba]

Yamaha 100 and 135 were also looks like cd 100 but can we compare them in terms of performance?

[@bapuly1836]

Well cd100 was a very successful motorcycle, given the fact that it was a reliable and fuel efficient bike and that is a big reason for a large group of people. Some People don't really care about performance, features and other bells and whistles but long term reliability and fuel efficiency

[@boringchannelutd.9401]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@infacted2932]

Agreed

[@faustinepimento298]

CD100 was actually a decent classic looking motorcycle for that time, it's actually the father of Splendor❤️❤️❤️

[@vettakaaranmedia664]

I hope they sell Atleast 100 of these🤣

[@VISHALCHAUHAN-ze7se]

bajaj cd deluxe with tvs ronin price 👏👏

[@vikasshelke5544]

That over shooted Exhaust pipe looks so ugly and out of proportion. Kawasaki could have designed the bike cleanly . Classic bikes need to have clean flowing lines and everything in place and proportionate. Just adding round head light and bare body looks doest make any bike classic looking. Bajaj Kawasaki 4S champion , Caliber 110 were so good looking and absolutely proportionate.

[@kodin9631]

#kawasakimalaysia bring it w175tr@classic#cafe to 🇲🇾

[@amlansatapathy2251]

at least they should give 16 bhp 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@greenphoenix56]

even 160cc scooters giving 14 hp what they were smoking while thinking of this design

[@amlansatapathy2251]

@@greenphoenix56 yes 😕

[@sachinwaghavadekar8972]

CT100 B. Same to same.

[@Mr.6speed200]

Kawasaki have 125 & 250 cc engine like Z & ninja

[@Kaboooooom]

What was kawasaki smoking?

[@किमजोंगउनब्राह्मण]

W350?! would have been a better option