The Kawasaki W650 is one of those bikes that respond well to a light makeover. You know the drill: a new tank and seat, and maybe a bikini fairing and clip-ons. All easy to install, and without breaking the bank.
That?s not enough to satisfy Tom Thöring of Schlachtwerk, though. He?s a self-confessed performance junkie, and he?s pulled out all the stops for his latest Kawasaki build.

The clue is in the name: W854. Yes, the parallel twin has been bored out to 854cc, and then boosted even more with a race cam and K&N filters. With the help of Schlachtwerk?s own 2-into-1 exhaust system, this Kawasaki now records 70 horsepower at the rear wheel on the dyno.
?Schlachtwerk? is German for slaughterhouse: An odd name for a custom shop, but maybe that?s the German sense of humor. Tom is certainly no butcher, though. He?s trimmed all the fat off this W650 with a surgeon?s precision.
Minus fluids, it now tips the scales at just 162 kilos (357 pounds). Which puts its power-to-weight ratio and vital stats close to Yamaha?s very sprightly MT-07.
To get the weight down, Tom ditched the electric start system, fitted a lightweight battery and even lightened the alternator. It all goes to offset the weight of Tom?s own oil cooler kit, a necessary reliability aid for the highly tuned engine.

A more radical change is the front suspension setup: This W is now running 43mm forks and the triple trees from a Suzuki GSF1200 Bandit, with a 310mm brake disc and four-piston calipers to mat...