Kawasaki W175

Overview

The Kawasaki W175 is one of the newest additions in the company’s Philippines lineup. It has been in the frame for its retro appearance in the small displacement capacity. It has been designed to take on the retro cruisers from Royal Enfield and takes the riders to a throwback to the times with two-stroke engine were the killers.

The company has designed the W175 to be the pick for the people who love to ride in pride from the past as every bit of the motorcycles portrays the same, starting from the design to the ride ergonomics. It is priced around PHP123,000 in the country.

Design

The styling of the motorcycle has its resemblance to the rich heritage of Kawasaki from half a decade. It is carved and sculpted keeping in mind the history of “W” range when the W1 was introduced as the largest displacement motorcycle from the Japanese automaker back in 1966.

The motorcycle has smooth flowing design everywhere and does not have even a single element of brashness. The rounded headlamp and the straight seat will definitely take you in awe. The motorcycle comes with spoke wheels and does not have even a single element of modernisation in that section. The rear view mirrors too, get the rounded appeal.

The single, yet classic analogue dial for the speedometer. Even the odometer is in the old-school form, which adds to the retro-ish character of the motorcycle.

Ride & Handling

The Kawasaki W175 is a joy to ride motorcycle as every bit of it is very rider-focused and comfortable. The seat is very well cushioned and the ergonomics are very upright and the footpegs are set at a comfortable angle, complementing the lean angle of the single piece handlebar.

The engine isn’t the most high-revving unit in the segment and hence, you wouldn’t need to pull the throttle to make it respond. The power is smooth and not outright and jolty. And since the maximum power and torque comes at lower revs itself, the engine does not get strained a lot, therefore being content with the air-cooling system.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

The Kawasaki W175 is a very smooth motorcycle with linear power delivery throughout the rev range. The 177cc engine is air-cooled and has a single cylinder setup. The total power that is churned out by this motor is 13.05 hp at 7,500 rpm along with a peak torque of 13.2 Nm, which comes at just 6,000 rpm. Hence, the engine isn’t such that you would need to rev very hard to extract the peak power and torque.

The power is sent down to the wheels via a 5-speed gearbox which is very smooth and offers seamless up and downshifts. And since additional body weight has been kept to a bare minimum, the motorcycle does not vibrate a lot while being revved hard.

Braking & Safety

The motorcycle does not have a lot of safety features included in the package as it isn’t the outright performance bike that would require the likes of ABS or thick sticky tyres. However, the primary braking is done by disc brakes up front and drums at the rear.

Some other basic safety features include a pass light switch, which is extremely handy under the dark sky. However, since the motorcycle does not have a backrest or a grab rail for the pillion, things might get a little tricky while you are cruising at high speeds with a pillion at the back.

Verdict

The Kawasaki W175 is indeed a very retro-ish motorcycle and every bit of it resembles the same. It does not have any prominent or direct competitor as such but does come up against models from the same price band or engine displacement.

However, it serves as the perfect model to begin with. It is an alternative to the bikes like the FZi or the TFX 150, the latter being the more premium one. It is more expensive than any other commuters in the segment given its premiumness and retro characters.