As featured in 'The Book of Deus', Ace Cafe 75th Anniversary Special Magazine, Displayed at The Bike Shed, 1999 Kawasaki 676cc W650 Custom by Deus Ex Machina

• One of the highlights at The Bike Shed III event
• Featured in the Ace Café 75th Anniversary Special magazine

With the growing popularity of nostalgia-inspired 'retro' styled motorcycles, it was entirely predictable that Kawasaki would reprise its iconic Z1/900/1000 range in the form of the Zephyr. What no one expected was that the Japanese manufacturer would look back even further – to the W1 of the 1960s – and produce an updated version of one of the first big four-strokes to be badged as a Kawasaki. Introduced in October 1965, the W1 was inspired by the BSA A10 650 twin but differed considerably in internal detail. Although it remained an air-cooled vertical twin, the W650 departed even further from the original BSA conception, boasting a shaft-driven overhead camshaft, electric starter and disc-braked cycle parts. Brilliantly styled and well equipped, it appealed to those who craved 1960s style but had no time for the oil leaks, dodgy electrics and general unreliability associated with British bikes of the period.

Since their introduction, the W650 and successor W800 have proved immensely popular with customisers, not least because the Kawasakis look more like 1960s Triumphs than the British firm's current offerings. The example offered here is the work of Deus Ex Machina, a company founded in Sydney, Australia by Dare Jennings, originator of 'Mambo' brand surfing equipment. Following the sale of Mambo, Jennings developed Deus as a centre of motorcycle customising in Australia and has since opened branches in California, USA and Milan, Italy. The company was one of the first to reinterpret the 'street tracker' or 'bobber' style in the modern idiom, a look which has since taken off worldwide.

This W650 street tracker was featured in the Ace Café 75th Anniversary Special magazine, was one of the highlights of the 'Bike Shed III' event in May 2014, and is pictured in the Deus hardback book and was sold at the Bonhams Autumn Stafford Sale in 2014 (Lot 257). The purchaser in 2014 subsequently passed it on to the current vendor in 2018, who took it upon himself to use it as much as possible and put it through its paces. A chance to visit Sydney by the current vendor in 2019 allowed him to visit the famed Deus workshop, where he was able to talk to the builder, Jerry Tagand, and receive copies of the build sheet for this very special motorcycle. Offered with an MoT until October 2024, the aforementioned copy build sheets, V5C and service invoices.
Offered with key