Vulcan 800
VULCAN 800
CYCLE WORLD TEST
KAWASAKI'S MILWAUKEE CONNECTION
KAWASAKI SAYS THE VULCAN 800 IS MORE THAN JUST another new model. It is the first bike to reflect results culled from an intensive study of the cruiser market and the people who ride the kick-back machines.
"Until now, we built cruisers based on what we thought people wanted," said Kawasaki Director of Sales John Hoover at the bike's press introduction. "Before this motorcycle was designed and built, we brought the Japanese designers and engineers over here to see what people are riding, why they are riding them, what they like and what they don’t like. It was a two-year process.”
That effort was made because the cruiser market in the U.S. and abroad is expected to show strong growth in the years ahead. While the Vulcan 800 is the first Kawi cruiser to be based heavily on rider-oriented research and development, it won’t be the last. Hoover says lessons learned will be applied to other new bikes.
Judging by the Vulcan 800’s styling, at least, the most important lesson Kawasaki learned is that Americans are riding lots of Harley-Davidsons these days. No other Japanese cruiser, not even Honda’s new American Classic Edition, has been so blatant in its mimicking of Milwaukee machinery. It's as if someone at Kawasaki laid a sheet of tracing paper over an FXSTC Softail Custom. The result is inarguably easier on the eyes than Kawasaki's previous cruiser efforts, which had an affected, dime store-toy look to them, especially the slab sided Vulcan 1500. Yes. the Vulcan 800's styling is derivative. but it's also crisp and well integrated.
And some of this impersonation has side benefits. Gone are the funky. forward-mount air-cleaners of other Vulcans, replaced by an easily accessible Harley-like round cover located smack-dab in the middle of the motor's vee on the right side. Hoover says ease of owner maintenance is one of the things cruiser riders are looking for: "People don't want it to be a big production to do something as simple as change or check an air filter." Riders who want to indulge in such things should be pleased with the 800's arrangement; only one bolt must he removed to access the air filter.
Thoughtful touches aside, Kawasaki is limited in the items it can add to the Vulcan 800 and still be price-com petitive with other Japanese cruisers. It's a story you've heard before and will hear again, but for all of Kawasaki's work to figure out what American riders want, the dreaded dollar-yen situation is such that the company's engineers faced constraints. So, there's a single disc in the front, mated to a rear drum brake, and rather than a shaft or a belt, Kawasaki fitted its Amen-cruiser with chain final drive. This helped hold the Vulcan's price to $6699, half the price of the Softail Custom it replicates-and you probably won't have to put a deposit down and wait a year for the Kawasaki to be delivered.
You won't find much cost-cutting in the engine depart ment. Forward motion is supplied by a new, liquid-cooled, eight-valve V-Twin, its cylinders splayed 55 degrees. A single cam spins atop each cylinder. Down below, a one piece crank turns in two plain bearings. Two-piece, forgedSteel connecting rods work offa common crank throw. Hoping to accentuate that lumpcty-lump V-Twin feel, Kawasaki has juggled balance factors to give the 800 approximately 50 percent more flywheel effect than the Vulcan 750 (which remains in Kawasaki’s line). A gear-driven counterbalancer churns away inside the engine cases; allied with a rubber front engine mount, it knocks down the worst of the vee-motor’s vibes. At highway cruising speeds, footpegs and handgrips are free of tingles, images in the rearviews are crystal-clear.
Also almost absent are visual clues suggesting the engine is anything but air cooled. Company engineers speak with pride about how well the radiator is hidden between the frame tubes, and how neatly the water hoses are tucked away under the tank.
There’s little bragging about engine output, though. Understandable, because hooked up to the CW rear-wheel dynamometer, the 800 mustered a grand total of 42 horsepower, 11 less than the Vulcan 750 we tested last year. On the plus side, the powerplant boasts a flat torque curve seemingly hand-sculpted to put power right where you want and need it. There’s more torque at lower rpm than produced by the 750 engine. Amazingly, the milder 800 does not suffer in straight-line performance against the 750: Quarter-mile times are within 4/100ths of a second, and the new bike actually is better at top-gear roll-ons. Thank Mr. Torque for this.
On start-up, less than a minute of choke is all that is required before it’s go time. An easy-pull, cable-actuated clutch feeds power to a five-speed transmission that doesn’t dazzle or disappoint. That impressive low-end power-42 foot-pounds of torque at 3000 rpm-lets you chug away from stop lights ahead of other traffic, the dual exhausts serving up the best thumpa-thumpa allowed by the noise cops (aftermarket pipe-makers will love the Vulcan 800). The torque curve is so flat-there’s 38 foot-pounds at 6500 rpm-that in fifth gear at freeway cruising speeds, a blast of acceleration is always on tap.
Should the power burst involve a lane change, that, too, happens quickly. There’s a narrow, 21-inch front tire, which makes for precise steering. In keeping with The Look, a broad-shouldered 140-series Bridgestone 16-incher brings up the rear. At lower speeds, steering’s almost too quick. Cool looks or otherwise, the big, skinny front hoop almost flops into turns at slow, around-town speeds. Speed up, though, and the Vulcan’s steering becomes neutral, with little effort needed at the handlebar to swing through turns.
Although Kawasaki says the Vulcan chassis was developed by the same team that worked on the ZX-7, there’s only so much ground clearance that can be engineered into a low-riding cruiser. In this case, there's not enough: Hard parts bang off the deck even in moderate cornering. Even within the scope of this motorcycle’s intended use, ground clearance could be greater. The plus side of this equation is that seat high is commendably low-28.2 inches.
Suspension is in keeping with the Vulcan’s mission profile. The dollar-yen demon put a non-adjustablc, 41mm fork on the 800, and it’s a softie. Like the Harley Softail, the Vulcan uses a hardtail-look swingarm out back, its single shock well hidden-it lurks in front of the rear wheel, and it takes a good, long look to find it. Rear-wheel travel is a claimed 3.9 inches, about the same as the H-D setup. Overall, the ride is plush and well-controlled, with only the occasional ambush by an errant pothole upsetting the bike’s composure. On backroads, the aforementioned groundclearance limitations mean you'll run out of space before you run out of suspension.
On the whole, the Vulcan’s riding position scores points. A broad, comfortable seat helps, and reaches to the pegs and handlebar are moderate, though a Vulcanizcr’s right leg does rest against the protruding air cleaner. Sitting upright, there is a moderate wind blast to the chest. All in all, the Vulcan is great place to spend a meandering Sunday afternoon. The key word is meandering, because rapid speeds or healthy headwinds leave an 800 rider feeling like lie's
water-skiing and the tow rope is extra taut.
Ah, but Kawasaki's come up with some items to address that matter, and others. Borrowing another page from Harley-Davidson’s Book of Success, Kawasaki has commissioned a range of Vulcan 800 accessories. Four different easily removable windscreens are available-tall and short versions, priced around $150, are available clear and smoked. Mounting kits add roughly $50 to the price. We sampled the tall, clear screen, finding a marked improvement in rider comfort-at 65 mph, only a few scraps of wind curl around the unit.
Further options include small, chromed engine guards, three different sizes of leather saddlebags, each available in plain and studded varieties. The largest bags hold enough for a carefully planned weekend’s worth of necessities. Prices range from $190 to about $350. Mounting supports add another $44. Finishing off the aft-section options are short and tall backrests, a small rear rack and a leather tool pouch (plain or studded) that straps to the backrest. Fully equipped, the 800 takes on a dramatically different appearance (see our cover shot); add spotlights and fishtail mufflers to complete the faux-Fifties look.
Words like “look” and “appearance” take on added importance when the subject is the Vulcan 800. Fundamentally, the 800 offers nothing beyond appearance that is strikingly better than the Vulcan 750, which retails for $600 less. And
while Kawasaki says it is not competing with 1 larley-Davidson-while it speaks delicately of the 800’s greater technical sophistication and s m oo t he r p e r fo rman c e than is found in the “traditional” cruiserthe fact is the Vulcan 800 is a bike that unabashedly takes the look of a Big Twin and tries to sell it at Sportster prices.
This may turn out be genius strategy, and, certainly, the new Vulcan works as well as any cruiser on the market, Japanese or American. But designing a bike to look like another is one thing. Engineering in soul and tradition is quite another. With all its questionnaires and surveys and focus groups, Kawasaki claims to have taken the pulse of America’s cruiser riders. Whether or not the Vulcan 800 takes their hearts remains to be seen. £3
KAWASAKI VULCAN 800
SPECIFICATIONS
$6699
EDITORS' NOTES
THis w VULCAN IS A NiCE ENOUGH cruiser-it sure looks better than the old ones. Of course, big nationally fran chised restaurants serve a respectable plate of barbecue ribs, too. To me, though, ribs and cruisers are about something more than "nice enough" and "respectable."
(iimme a ramshackle rib joint over a nicey-nicey place any time. The cut lery may be plastic and the cups might be paper, but there's something genuine about those eateries. The ribs are better, too; at least it seems that way.
As for the Vulcan, it runs well and is comfortable, but I'll take a Sportster 883 Deluxe, which is $500 less expensive than the Kawi. Is it unfair to compare the two? I think not, and I think it's a comparison lots of buyers will be making. An 883 is fun, if a touch crude, and there's a slew of after market accessories available. Most importantly, it's the Real Thing.
-Robert Hough, News Editor
KAWASAKI MUST HAVE A WEIGHT-LOSS specialist on its corporate payroll, because unlike Honda's nostalgic American Classic Edition or any current Big Twin-powered Harley-Davidson, the Vulcan 800 is one of the lightest-and best handling-over-750cc cruisers on the market.
Sure, ground clearance is marginal and a stone-stock ZX-6R makes nearly twice the horsepower, but for around-town cruising and the occasional weekend tour, the Vulcan's a gas. What's more, the suspension doesn't hammer you into oblivion; while softly sprung, the fork and shock are nicely controlled good, because shock preload is nearly inaccessible). _~
My advice? Avoid the wait and whacked-out pricing of a Harley and buy the Vulcan. Trust me, the fortune saved would be better spent in part on an accessory windshield and studded saddlebags-or a weekend in Tahiti.
Of course, you could wait for a slimmed-down Vulcan 1500. Now, that would be a real Big Twin.
-Matthew Miles, Managing Editor
JUST HOW GOOD A SOFTAIL CLONE IS the Vulcan 800? Get this! Harley riders actually wave when they see you corn ing-at least until they get close enough to sense something's amiss, then their hands shoot down with the speed of light. I'd almost buy a Vulcan just to watch their reactions. Great fun.
Look, I have no problems with Japanese bike-makers applying `Amer ican" styling touches to their cruisers. Harley-Davidson, after all, does the same thing. Willie G. and the boys did not invent the bobbed rear fender, the 21-inch front wheel, the sissybar or staggered dual exhausts. They all came from the fertile imaginations and bloodied knuckles of America's bobjob and chopper builders.
I do wonder, though, what the Kawasaki design teams that launched the mono-wheeling Mach III, set the world afire with the mighty Z-1, and let loose the steamrolling ZX series think about the ethics of, in effect, Xeroxing a corn petitor's model?
I suspect I know the answer.
-David Edwards, Editor-in-Chief
