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PHIL KLAWSUC'S

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THE W TWINS ..WHAT ARE THEY ?...WHERE DO THEY COME FROM ?...ARE THEY STILL OUT THERE ?...WILL THEY EVER RETURN ?

WELL THE TWINS IN QUESTION ARE THE KAWASAKI W~SERIES TWINS MADE BETWEEN 1965 AND 1974 . A TOTAL OF AROUND 27,000 WERE PRODUCED IN THIS TIME AND THERE ARE QUITE A FEW STILL OUT THERE .THE MAJORITY WERE SOLD ON THE JAPANESE HOME MARKET BUT QUITE A FEW WERE SOLD IN THE USA WHERE THEY CAN BE BOUGHT FOR A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS. ..TRYING TO RESTORE ONE IS EXTREMELY HARD ,THE MAIN PROBLEM IS TRYING TO LOCATE PARTS , NEW OR USED ..SOME OF THE PARTS ARE COMMON WITH OTHER MODELS OF THAT ERA AND CAN BE FOUND AT SOME OF THE OLDER KAWASAKI DEALERS BUT EVEN THESE ARE RAPIDLY DRYING UP .

WILL THEY EVER RETURN ? YES THEY ARE ALREADY AMONGST US ! THEY HAVE BEEN IN HIBERNATION FOR OVER 25 YEARS BUT HAVE CUNNINGLY DISGUISED THEMSELVES AS W650'S ,BUT BEWARE ,THE NEW GENERATION ARE MUCH STRONGER.!!!...................

.HERE ARE SOME SIGHTINGS :~ S... ............................................................ . ...... .. . .. ...

......mommmm

	1965 KAWASAKI 500 MEGURO KAWASAKI ENGINE BUT STILL MEGURO BADGED . CHANGED LATER IN 1965 WHEN MEGURO WERE BOUGHT OUT AND THE KAWASAKI EMBLEM APPEARED . OCTOBER 1965 SAW IT BORED OUT TO 650 CC WITH DESIGN AND COSMETIC CHANGES .
1966~1968 MODEL W1 INTRODUCED IN 1966 , IT WAS KAWASAKI'S FIRST COMPLETE "BIG" BIKE . SOLD 3,282 OF THIS SINGLE CARB MODEL UNTIL 1968. CHANGES~ 1967+ ENGINE AND GEARBOX MODS . ----------------------1968 TWO TONE SEAT COVER
	1967~1969 MODEL W2SS + W1SS THE 68 AND 69 WERE CALLED CALLED "COMMANDER"s INTRODUCED 1967 KAWASKI PRODUCED 1,996 OF THE TWIN CARB MODELS . THEY ALSO MADE 251 AS A SINGLE CARB MODEL (W1SS) . CHANGES~ SEAT , PIPES ,INSTRUMENTS , 19" FRONT WHEEL
1968~ MODEL W2TT 624 OF THE HI~PIPE TT MODELS WERE MADE IN 1968 . CHANGES~ PIPES , INSTRUMENTS , LEFT SIDE COVER (INC.TT EMBLEM)............

1969~MODEL W2TT

CHROMED GAS TANK DROPPED .ONLY 15 TT MODELS MADE

THIS YEAR .

CHANGES~PAINT , PIPES , INSTRUMENTS

1969~ MODEL W2SS (COMMANDER)

THE FINAL YEAR FOR MAJOR EXPORTS OF THE W~SERIES ---

BIKES AS SALES WERE POOR . ONLY 41SS MODELS MADE .

CHANGES~ AS ' 69 TT EXCEPT SIDE COVER .

..1970~1972 MODEL W1S~A

..PRODUCTION CONTINUED FOR THE JAPANESE DOMESTIC MARKET

..AS THE W1S~A .

..CHANGES~ COSMETICS , L.H. ENGINE COVER , MINOR ENGINE MODS..

..INSTRUMENTS . TAPER MUFFLERS FOR LATER MODELS .

..1973 ~ MODEL W3RS " ROADSTER "

...MORE STYLISH LOOKS FOR THE FINAL 2 YEARS .

.. CHANGES~ COSMETICS , SEAT , TWIN DISC FRONT END

...Z~1 STYLE INSTRUMENTS .

.....

...........

..11973~1974 MODEL W3A RS " ROADSTER "

...WITH THE PRODUCTION OF THE Z2 750 AND LATER THE Z650 AND

...Z750 TWIN IT WAS THE END OF THE ROAD FOR THE PRE ~ UNIT W'S

...CHANGES~ COSMETICS.

...1999 MODEL W 650

..NEW UP~TO~DATE VERSION HAS UNIT CONSTRUCTION AND

..BEVEL GEAR SOHC 8~VALVE HEAD ...

..5 SPEED GEAR BOX , DIGITAL IGNITION AND ANTI~VIBRATION

..ENGINE BALANCER MAKES THE RIDE MUCH SMOOTHER .

....POLICE MODELS

...1073 W SERIES POLICE BIKES WERE SOLD OVER THE YEARS .

...HERE IS A 1967 MODEL .

KAWASAKI MADE A W1R , A RACING VERSION OF THE SINGLE CARB W1 .

............................................. PRODUCTION TOTALS FOR KAWASAKI W~SERIES.........................................................

..............W1 .......W1P........W1S........W1SP........W1SS........W2SS........W2P........W2TT........W1SA........W1SAP........W3

1965.....55

1966.... 2422..... 22

1967.....797 ......192 .......160 ......................201 ..........1221......... 12

1968.... 8 .........112 ........1929 ....................50 .............729........... 48 ...........624

1969................................2759...... 274 ...........................41 ............................15

1970 .............................................206............................ 5 ..........................................3663

1971----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4463 .........121

1972 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------....-----------1744.......... 86 .........1103

1973----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.----------1728

1974 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1599

............W1........W1P.........W1S.........W1SP........W1SS..........W2SS..........W2P........W2TT.......W1SA........W1SAP..........W3

TOTAL .3282.... 326 .......4848........ 480 ..........251 ..........1996 ..........60......... 639........9870......... 207......... 4430

*.LINKS TO RELATED SITES .......

.KAWASAKI MUSEUM .. ..........w site japan...--.......-...W3 SITE JAPAN. ..............kjell's site norway .

.classic kawasaki club u.k. ......w site germany

* FOR THE NEW W~650 RELATED SITES CHECK OUT ..W~650.AND DICK TYM 's NEW W~65O SITE WITH LOADS OF RELATED LINKS .

..THIS SITE WAS CONSTRUCTED BY PHIL KLAWSUC , ENGLAND . I HOPE THE INFO IS OF SOME USE OR INTEREST TO YOU .IF YOU HAVE ANY "W"RELATED FACTS , STORIES OR KNOW OF THE WHEREABOUTS OF ANY PARTS , NEW OR SALVAGE , I WOULD LIKE TO HERE FROM YOU . IF I CAN HELP ANYONE WITH INFORMATION REGARDING THE W's LET ME KNOW , I'LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO .

..CHECK OUT THE 'W' PARTS , ACCESSORIES .. ......TOP OF PAGE.......... E~MAIL ME