A look at India Kawasaki's latest and most affordable motorcycle, the W175

With a starting price of ₹1.47 lakh, the retro-styled W175 is now officially the brand's most affordable offering in India. Here's a look at what it offers.

The Ninja 300 is no longer Kawasaki's most affordable offering in India. In fact, it's been replaced by the new single-cylinder W175. Available in two colour options, Ebony & Candy Persimmon Red, the former is priced at ₹1.47 lakh and the latter demands ₹1.49 lakh (ex-showroom). Based on first impressions, the W175 simply looks like a shrunk-down version of its elder sibling, the W800, which makes it one elegant-looking machine. So now, Kawasaki has two of its retro-styled models on sale here.

And speaking of retro, the elements on the W175 that reiterate this design include a round-casing halogen headlamp, 17-inch spoke wheels, a black-coloured telescopic front fork and dual shocks at the back, a peashooter-style muffler and a simple semi-digital metre console.

Powered by a 177cc single-cylinder air-cooled motor, the W175 is good for 12.9bhp @ 7,500rpm and 13.2Nm of torque @ 6,000rpm. These figures may not look like much, but given that the bike only weighs 135kgs, they should offer more than adequate performance. The bike comes with a five-speed gearbox and is built on a double-cradle steel frame. A single-piece ribbed seat sits at a height of 790mm and the rider has 165mm of ground clearance at his/her disposal.

As far as the chassis goes, the W175 rides on a 30mm telescopic front fork (with 110mm travel) and dual hydraulic-spring shock absorbers (with only 64mm travel!). Stopping power comes from a single 270mm disc at the front (with single-channel ABS) and a drum set up at the rear. So, for the asking price, the W175 isn't too large on equipment.

Bookings for the Kawasaki W175 are open pan-India, and deliveries are expected to begin sometime towards the end of this year.

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