Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

1470cc Vulcans and, of course, the new Vulcan 800. Unfo rtu nately, the bik e we cam e to see was in short supply. In all, ju st four VNBOOs were on hand to ride two that were completely stock, one that was outfitted wit h Kaw asak i optional accessori es (i.e. sad dlebags, wi ndscreen, et c.), and one that had a slightly modi-, fied motor. I wasn't scheduled to ride th e 800 un til lat er in the afternoon on the first day, but this gave me a good opportun ity to get reacq uai nted with th e migh ty Vu lcan 88 and the su p ple 750. ' A ft e r re -ex perienci ng th e awesome torque and power of the 88, and then th e more d ocile an d smoother ride .of the 750, I was pleasantly su rprised by the 800 's ove ra ll p a ck a g e . It fit in s o m ew here b e tw ee n the 88 and 750 Vu lca ns. While it migh t not ha ve th e staggering torque of th e 88 (bu t what bike does?), wh ere max torque is deli vered at just 3500 rpm, the Vu lca n 800 itself d e liv ers consider able torque a t the twist o f th e throttle . The Vu lca n 800 rea ch es p eak torque a t the same 3500 rpm as the 88 , d eli v erin g a cla im ed 47.7 ft.-lbs. of to rqu e. And the power doesn' t d rop off sharply, ei ther. Th e 800 p ull s wi th authority as long as you d on' t rev it out too long in each of th e bike's five gea rs . Kawasaki claims th e 800 develops max horsepower (60 hpj at 7500 rpm . However, if you short-shift the bike, it'll arrive at freeway speeds in a h u rry . It might not pull as ha rd or reach 55 m ph as quickly as the 88, but the 800 feels significantly , p epp ier th an the 750 and seems right about in th e sa me league as Honda's H O American Classic. Occ Bu t more importa ntly, how does it sound? Real good. The 800 has a fairly deep an d rich tone, and there's enough of a ru mble that sho u ld appeal to cruiser en th usiasts . It m ight not pop qui te as hard as a Harley but does ge t its message across clearl y. In ot her words, it' ll turn h eads, as was th e case when we cru ised down Beach Boulevard throu gh Holl yw ood , Fl orida, o n ' o u r w ay to Miami Beach, w here we wou ld sp en d the ni ght before contin ui ng on to Key West the nex t da y. Flori da is n ' t the be s t pl ac e in th e country to test a street bike's cornering prowess si nce there are few t u rns on Florida' s flat landscape, but th ere' s no : better place to test a bike's straigh t-line stab ility, so me thing tha t the Vulcan 800 ha s plenty of. Despite th e skinny front tire, the 800 maintained a stra igh t cou rse without s ho wi ng a ny signs of head shake or wobbling ove r rou gh gro und. The r ear s us pension soaked up the bumps as well as could be expected for a cruiser, and the front en d felt a tad on the soft side. Wh ile the Vu lcan 800 has mor e than enough stop p ing power to get the job done, b oth the fro nt and rear b ra kes require a fair amo unt of pressure on the lev ers, and the feel is a little m us hy. A m o re re sp ons iv e front b ra k e woul d make us happier. You ca n a lso lea rn abou t a b ik e ' s ergonomics on end less stre tches of highwa y like the ones we rod e on in Flori da. I found m y self starti ng to re posit io n myself on the bike's sea t after abou t the first 20 or so miles but, overa ll, I thou ght the Vulcan fit m y six- foo t -o ne-i nc h frame quite w ell. The se a t is w id e enough, and th e s ma ll b ack -suppo rt built into the sea t really help s out on the long hauls. The handleb ars reach out to th e rid er, a n d th e foo t pegs aren 't mounted too far forward - compared to other cruiser bi kes we've ri d den. The handlebar / sea t/ foo tpeg re lations h ip for ces the rid er to lean back jus t slightly (Left) There is no shortage of crame; the dual exhaust pipes are doub le-walled to prevent disco loration. (Below left) Kawas aki went with the "chopper" look by giving the Vulcan a skinny , 21-inch, spoked wheel and long rake. . (Below) The Vulcan featu res a tank-mounted s peed ometer and is driven off the rear whee l. Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Specifications Engine type Fourstroke, 55 V-twin, w/gear-

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