The Kawasaki line-up in India now includes the W800, a modern-classic motorcycle. Ideally, it competes against the Triumph Street Twin and the Ducati Scrambler Icon. However, the W800 also has an unlikely rival in the country; the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650. We find out how the two modern-classics fare against each other on paper.
Styling
It is pretty clear by now that the design of the Kawasaki W800 Street and the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 has been inspired by classic motorcycles. Both ride on spoke wheels, sport round mirrors and a round headlamp and offer a single-piece seat with a ribbed pattern. The motorcycles are also embellished with chrome. However, the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 has more chrome components that give it a more retro look as compared to the W800 Street.
Features
The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 offers a dual-channel ABS, a twin-pod instrument cluster with a small LCD screen that displays two trip meters, odometer and fuel gauge. The Kawasaki W800 also offers a similar instrument cluster setup and information. Nevertheless, the W800 Street comes equipped with a full-LED headlamp along with LED lighting for the tail lamp and turn indicators; a feature that the Royal Enfield completely misses out on.
Performance
Powering the Kawasaki W800 is a 773cc, parallel-twin engine that churns out 47bhp of power and 62.9Nm of torque. On the other hand, the Interceptor uses a 649cc, parallel-twin engine which also produces 47bhp of power although at 52Nm, the torque figure is lower than that of the W800 Street.
The W800 Street’s motor comes mated to a five-speed gearbox with a slipper clutch. Meanwhile, the Interceptor’s engine is mated to a six-speed gearbox.
Cycle Parts
Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Kawasaki W800 Street ride on 18-inch wheels at both ends that are suspended from telescopic forks upfront. At the rear, the W800 Street gets a twin-shock setup. The Interceptor also gets twin-shocks at the rear but this setup is gas-charged and preload-adjustable.
Braking on the front is also similar on both motorcycles as they use a 320mm disc brake. For the rear, the W800 Street uses a 270mm disc at the rear while the Interceptor 650 uses a 240mm disc brake.
Pricing
Here comes the interesting part. Kawasaki brings the W800 Street in India via the SKD (semi-knocked down) route and has pegged the bike at Rs 7.99 lakhs. On the other hand, Royal Enfield manufactures the Interceptor 650 here in India itself.
The manufacturer has managed to price the motorcycle at an impressive Rs 2.50 lakhs; that is a whole Rs 5.49 lakhs cheaper than the Kawasaki. Moreover, the Interceptor apart from the LED lighting and with 10Nm lesser torque offers everything that the W800 Street does making it incredibly value-for-money.
