Kawasaki W Series
In 1967 the K2 was enlarged to 625cc to become the Kawasaki W1. The Meguro styling was replaced with a sleeker fuel tank, sportier mudguards (fenders) and other details intended to appeal to export markets, especially North America.
The W series are sometimes described as Japanese copies of the 650cc BSA A10, but this is inaccurate. The A10 has a long-stroke engine of 73 mm bore x 84 mm stroke, whereas the W1 and its successors have a short-stroke engine of 74 mm x 72.6 mm. This "over-square" short-stroke engine will tend to accelerate more quickly and potentially achieve a higher revolutions per minute. It will also have a different "character".
During the W-series' production run an increasing number of multi-cylinder models such as the BSA Rocket 3/Triumph Trident, Honda CB750 and Kawasaki's own Mach III and Z1 offered more rapid and less vibratory performance compared with the W series' 360° crank parallel twin. Nevertheless, Kawasaki revised the model in 1968 to become the W2 Commander (with variants including the W2SS and W2TT) and again in 1972 to become the W3. Kawasaki ended W3 production in 1975.
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