Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic Specifications EngIne type ... Bore • stroke .. . pri~e. The coolest of all middleweight cruiser bikes recently is arguably the Classic version of the Vulcan 800, a near mirrorimage of the Vulcan 1500 Classic, one of the baddest of the baddest. The Vulcan 800 Classic was in a class all its own until Suzuki came out with its own lowand-long, middleweight cruiser, the Marauder BOO, and the battle of the 800s wason. When it comes' to the visual department, Suzuki obviously took a slightly different approach with the Marauder, giving this bike its own identity with a slightly more back-street, drag-bike styling yet still maintaining the required look for a retro cruiser. But perhaps the single most distinctive feature of the Marauder is its price. It's cheap, dirt cheap. At just $5999 the Marauder's price is simply eye-catching. The Vulcan 800 Classic cost some $2000 more but is still considerably less than most of the heavyweights; the original Vulcan BOO, with its skinnier, 21-inch front wheel (compared to the Classic's wide, 16-inch hoop) can be obtained for approximately $800 less. But you won't be able to detect any price difference by just sitting on the bikes, though each bike has its distinctive feel. The Vulcan has a more laid-back feel to it - the handlebars are wide and reach out to the rider, and the seat is low and spacious; the Suzuki, on the other hand, has narrow handlebars and the rider has to meet them halfway. If you don't like the factory's positioning of the Marauder's dual-post, drag-bike-type handlebars, that's just too bad because there just isn't much you can do about it since they're mounted solidly to the upper triple clamp. The Vulcan also feels slightly more roomy than the Suzuki; taller riders will feel a little squashed on the Marauder, and if you try to sit back to give yoI.\'" legs a stretcll, you'll find that the passenger pad will dig into your lower back and leave it feeling a little worse for wear. There just isn't much room for moving around on the Suzuki. As far as comfort, the Vulcan is one up on the Marauder. This isn't to say that the Suzuki is uncomfortable, it's just that the Kawasaki is a lot more posture friendly. The first time you throw a leg over the Suzuki, you'll probably spend a long time holding the key in your hand looking for a place to insert it. The ignition switch is hard to find at first, which seems to be the norm with cruiser bikes these days. Suzuki chose to mount the ignition switch on the right side of the bike at the bottom / fron t portion of the fuel tank, so you have to actually lean out to the side of the bike and a little forward in order to visually lock on to the switch. The Marauder's choke is a puJl-type, located on the other side of the bike, opposite the ignition. The Kawasaki also uses a pull-choke assembly, which is located on the left side of the engine, as well. Unfortunately, far too much effort is needed to pull the knob out on the Kawasaki, simply because there is too much resistance, for whatever reason, and since it's mounted behind the rider's left thigh, it's difficult to get good leverage on it. Just in front of the choke knob is the ignition switch. If you love the throaty rumble of the . .Liquid<:ooIed. 55-degree V·twin. SOHC. 4·stroke 88.0 x66.2mm ~.. . 805cc Com ratio 9.5:1 Carburetioll Kelhin CVK36 AI. cleaner Non·woven labnc element Lubrication sysIIe. . . ..... Wet sump ignition .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Dl9ital Clutch Wet. multi·plate T mialon 5·speed, constant mesh Drive system . . . . .. .Chain Secondary reduction ratio ... 2.470 (42/17) F.......Tubular. double cradle, hlgh·tensile steel Steering 38' Rak./tnlI .. . 32'/122mm Turning radius .. . .. , ... 9.5 ft. S 1on Frant Conventional telescopic fork Ree. . . . Swingarm, slngle·shock V-twin (or V-four) motors. But the Vulcan 800 changed all that. While it might not have the torque and throaty sound of the bigger bikes, it does have the right look that no other middleweight cruiser previously had. Plus, it exhibited other good qualities that the bigger bikes can only wish for, things like lightweight and nimble handling, and all for a reasonable a.... (Above) The Marauder and the Yulcan (right) offer what the bigger cruisers don't - agility. Both bikes are nimble on the road, just plain easy to ride, and make decent power for sub-l000cc Y-twlns. big cruisers, then you will probably be a little disappointed with both bikes. At idle, both the Suzuki and Kawasaki are relatively quiet. Snap the throttle a couple of times, and you'll just as soon let them idle again. The Vulcan sounds a little throatier than the Marauder but that's about the only real difference Petween the two. As far as power, neither bike has a huge advantage or disadvantage over the other. The Vulcan seems to pull (,ff the bottom a little more than the S\lZuki, but the So; uki seems to rev out a little b<,tter. TIley are both very close in overall performance but neither are particularly impressive when it comes to sheer power, though they do have enough to get the job done. Both engines are incredibly smooth and transmit very little vibration to the rider's extremities, but our Kawasaki always suffered a slight hesitation off the bottom. We suspect that, before we took delivery of the bike, the fuel tank was inadvertently overfilled, which can cause such hesitation when fuel leaks into the' bike's evaporative emission control system. There's a warning sticker on the bike's tank to help prevent such happenings. Otherwise, the Vulcan ran fine, just like the Marauder. The Suzuki's five-speed transmission changed gears a little better than the Kawasaki's, and the clutch feel on both bikes wa good. For .bikes offering little more than four inches of wheel travel in the rear and about six inches up front, the Kawasaki and Suzuki roll down the highway in a smooth and unruffled marmer. Small ripples in the roadway are soaked up quite well on both bikes, but the Kawasaki's single-shock rear suspension and conventional forks do a slightly better job than the Suzuki's dual-shock and invertedfork combination. Neither suspension system took kindly to big potholes or uneven railroad-track crossings, but what cruiser-bike suspension does? When it comes to straight-line stabilitY, the Kawasaki shines the brightest. At speed, the Vulcan sails down the road straight and true, as does the Suzuki, but as you start to slow down, that's when the Suzuki starts to exhibit a slight swaying-type motion, especially when rolling up to a stop sign. Here, the Kawasaki . B...... Frant Ree, .. TI.... Disc. 272mm. dual·piston caliper . .... Drum, 180mm Front . .. .. .. .. .. .. ... 130/90-16 In. Ilea, . .. . . . . .. . .. . 0/A length 0/A w1c11h .. . .. 140/90·16 in. 93.5 In. 36.6 in. O/A height . .44.5 in. Wheel...... . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . 63.0 in. Ground clearance .. . ,... . .5.3 m. Seat helght ...... . .27.8 in. Dr, ..elghHclalmecD .. 517.1 Ibs. Fuel Capacity .. .40 gal. Colors .Red/beige. blue/silver. blue'llreen/silver MSRP . _ ..$7999 .. SuzukiVZ800 Marauder Specifications Liquld·cooled. 45·de9ree V4win. SOHC, 4-stroke Bore • stroke. . 83.0 x 74.4mm Displac_ . .80Scc Compression ratio . ........... 10.0:1 Carburatlon . ...Mikuni 6DS36 (front>, 6S36 (rear) AI. cleene•........ Non-woven fabriC element Lubrication .ystem . . . Wet SUI1lP ignition ... . Electronic Clutch. . . . . . . . . . Wet, multi-plate Tran l.tIion S-speed. constant mesh Drive .y.....m ... O·ring chain Secondary reduction ..tlo _.. 3.200 (48/15) Double downtube. hi9h·tensile steel Steering angle, right/left . . . . . . ... .40' Rake/traU. . .....3S'/144.8mm Tumlng radius .. 10.2 feet Engine type rolls right up and sometimes you can even balance there for a while before having to put your foot down, while on the Suzuki, more often tl,an not, you'll find yourself flopping the front wheel from side to side, trying to keep your balance, as you wait to the very last moment before dabbing your foot. Because of the narrow handlebars, it takes significantly more pressure to turn th.e front wheel, as compared to the Kawasaki with its wide handlebars. Even with the Suzuki's long 64-inch (an inch longer than the Kawasaki's) wheelbase the Marauder handles the curves pretty well, as does the Vulcan. The Suzuki seems to have a bit more cornering clearance than the Kawasaki, but it doesn't take much effort on either bike to get the footpegs to kiss the pavement. Slowing down for those turns is of no major concern on either bike. Strong binders grace both bikes. Even the drums out back work well. When it comes to miles between fillups, the Kawasaki's larger fuel tank is a bonus. We usually managed about 140 miles before going to reserve on the Vulcan's 4.D-gallon tank, and about 130 miles on the Marauder's 3.4-gallon cell. Both Kawasaki and Suzuki went two different routes when it came to positioning their bike's instrumentation. In more cruiser-bike fashion, Kawasaki put theo speedometer on the fuel tank, which can be a nuisance if you like to use tank bags, while the Suzuki's is in the traditional location above the triple clamps. Overall, we liked both machines, but, between the two, the bike that got ridden most often at our office was the Vulcan, pretty much because of the comfort factor and its motor having a tad more torque. F..... ..... s..,.",,1on . .Inverted. telescopic fork Ree•.Swingarm. dual oil-damped shocks. S·way preload adj. Front .. _. Bra.... Frant Ilea. . n.... Disc. 300mm. dual·piston caliper .. Drum 180mm .130/90-16 tubeless ... 150/90·15 lubeless 01 A length . . .93.1 in. 0/A w1c11h .... 29.5 in. 01 A height . .. . . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. . ..43.7 In. Wheelbase . . . . . . . . . .. . .64.8 in. Ground clearance ..... . .. 5.3 in. Seat height ... . ..27.6 in. Dry welght Iclalmedl ..... '" .. .4S6Ibs. Fuel Capacity . .. 3.4 gal. Colors _ __.Orange/sllver. black/green MSRP $5999 Front ......... Ree, .. _ And, yes, we thought that the Vulcan Classic just look,ed cooler, too. But are these differences worth $2000? That's the big question. It pretty much depends on how important looks are to you, because, when it comes to performance both bikes are pretty evenly matched, though the Vulcan is, in our opinion, significantly more comfortable than the Marauder. At this point, the ball is in your court. ~

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