If you want to build a pukka desert sled but don’t have a Meriden-era Triumph lying around, the Kawasaki W650 is the next best thing. Sure, you could pick one of Triumph’s modern classics?but with a more compact frame and a smaller 649cc mill, the W650 is a good-value option on the secondhand market.
Ask any owner, and they’ll recount the many times their W650 has been mistaken for a vintage British machine (despite the fact that Triumph never used a bevel drive on their twins in the 60s). Karles Vives and his crew at Fuel Bespoke Motorcycles know this well?which is exactly why they based their latest project on a 1999 Kawasaki W650.

?This is the Fuel Catalina GP,? says Karles. ?It?s a real desert sled motorcycle, like the Triumphs people used to ride in the American deserts?or on Catalina Island in the 60s.? ?Our choice of the Kawasaki W650 was not accidental. Kawasaki locked in the retro look so perfectly, even Triumph fans do a double-take trying to distinguish one from a period Meriden bike!?

With a vintage ad for Ted’s Triumph providing guidance, Fuel figured out what they needed to change on the W650. Back in the day, desert sleds were built with functionality in mind, rather than flawless lines?and that ethos is still intact here.
Fuel have wisely decided to keep the stock Kawasaki tank, along with its rubber knee pads. But they?ve crafted a generous, period-correct leather seat to sit atop the uncut frame, with plenty of padding and roo...