Triumph Street Twin Vs Kawasaki W

Paper Fight: Kawasaki W800 Vs Triumph Street Twin

Following the new trend of launching retro motorcycles, Kawasaki recently introduced the W800 street cruiser in the Indian market. The online bookings of the bike have already begun and the deliveries will commence by mid-August. This bike is the latest entrant in the 800-900cc cruising segment and will go up against the Triumph Street Twin. Let’s have a look at how these bikes compete against each other on paper.

Triumph Street Twin Vs Kawasaki W800

Dimensions

Despite being longer, wider and taller than the Street Twin, the W800 shares the same amount of ground clearance with the Triumph. The W800 also gets a longer wheelbase and bigger fuel tank than the Street Twin, which gives the Kawasaki a much bigger look, when compared to the Triumph. Even though the W800 has a smaller engine than the Street Twin, the latter is much heavier than the Triumph and also has a higher seat position.

Kawasaki W800 Triumph Street Twin
Length (mm) 2135 2090
Width (mm) 925 785
Height (mm) 1120 1114
Wheelbase (mm) 1465 1415
Seat Height (mm) 770 760
Ground Clearance (mm) 130 130
Fuel Tank Capacity (litres) 15 12
Kerb Weight (kg) 224 198

Kawasaki W800 side (1)

Engine and Transmission

The Kawasaki W800 gets a 773cc air-cooled engine, which can produce 52 PS of power at 6,500 rpm and 63 Nm of peak torque at 4,800 rpm. All this power is sent to the rear wheel via a 5-speed gearbox. On the other hand, the Triumph Street Twin gets a bigger 900cc liquid-cooled engine, which can put out 65 PS of power at 7,500 rpm and about 80 Nm of peak torque at 3,800 rpm. This 900cc engine is also paired with a 5-speed gearbox.

Kawasaki W800 Triumph Street Twin
Displacement (cc) 773 900
Cooling type Air-cooled Liquid-cooled
Power (PS @ RPM) 52 @ 6,500 65 @ 7,500
Torque (Nm @ RPM) 63 @ 4,800 80 @ 3,800
Gearbox 5-speed 5-speed

2019 Triumph Street Twin India Launch

Chassis

The Kawasaki W800 gets a double-cradle chassis, while the Street Twin gets a tubular-cradle. In terms of front and rear suspension set-ups, both the bikes get traditional telescopic forks at the front and a set of twin springs at the rear, for a comfortable and smooth ride. The W800 also gets a set of R18 wheels at the front and rear, while the Street Twin gets am R18 wheel at the front and an R17 wheel at the rear. The Kawasaki gets bigger 320mm and 270mm brake discs at the front and the rear, while the Triumph gets a set of 310mm and 220mm brake discs at the front and rear.

Kawasaki W800 Triumph Street Twin
Frame Double Cradle Tubular Cradle
Front Tyre R18 100/90 R18 100/90
Rear Tyre R18 130/80 R17 150/70
Front Suspension Telescopic Telescopic
Rear Suspension Twin Rear Springs Twin Rear Springs
Front Brake 320mm disc 310mm disc
Rear Brake 270mm disc 220mm disc

Triumph Street Twin 2019 Instrument Cluster

Features

Both, the bikes are equipped with dual-channel ABS and a Clutch assist system, however, the W800 gets the slipper clutch feature but misses out on Ride-by-wire. Another feature common among these bikes is the dual exhaust set-up. Despite being more expensive of the two, the W800 does not get different riding modes and both the bikes also miss out on dual-front discs, which is a must-have feature for bikes in this segment.

Kawasaki W800 Triumph Street Twin
Dual-Channel ABS Yes Yes
Clutch Assist Yes Yes
Slipper Clutch Yes No
Ride by Wire No Yes
Dual Exhaust Yes Yes
Dual Front Discs No No
Riding Modes No Yes

Kawasaki W800 instrument console

Price

With a price tag of INR 7.99 lakhs (ex-showroom, India), the Kawasaki W800 is almost Rs 55,000 more expensive than the Triumph Street Twin, which is priced at INR 7.45 lakhs (ex-showroom, India). Even though the W800 proves to be a decent bike on paper, does it have the capability of defeating the 900cc, Triumph Street Twin? We’ll find out soon enough, once we get our hands on this new cruiser. Stay tuned for more updates!

Kawasaki W800 Triumph Street Twin
Price (ex-showroom, India) INR 7,99,000 INR 7,45,000
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