Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127936
RIDING IMPRESSION 1'---1_999_Ka_w_ss_ak_i1Ij_u_lca_n_15_00_N_om_a_d ,. ------' ," By Kit Palmer ,...... ..... - ~ l-< p.. <:t: 26 s the name suggests, the allnew Kawasaki omad is de igned for the open highway, and so what if you have no particular place to go? The omad will get you to wherever you end up in cruising style and, thanks to new saddlebags, you can even stay there overnight. Like many motorcycle manufacturers, Kawasaki has noticed that cruiserbike riders are traveling farther and farther on their iron steeds than ever before, and Kawasaki wants to accompany them on their journeys. Now it can with the Nomad, Kawasaki's latest (and its first) entry into the cruiser-tourer bike market, a market-that is already filling to the brim wi.th formidable heavyweight machines. The Nomad's competition is stiff, with the likes of Honda's ACE and Valkyrie Tourer models, Harley-Davidson's Road King and Electra Glide tourers, and Yamaha's Royal Star Tour Deluxes, among others. But Kawasaki's rookie should fare well. When the decision came to build a touring-cruiser bike,. Kawasaki did not have far to look for a good, stable foundation on which to build its own rig. Of course, that foundation would be Kawasaki's already-popular Vulcan 1500 Classic. So, for the most part, the groundwork was already done, and all Kawasaki had to do was add thl" ~ing amenities and voila - you're roJun' and rumblin' on down the highway. SoUnds easy, but Kawasaki will tell you otherwise. Some of those amenities are easy to spot, like the new, color-matched, detachable and locking hard saddlebags, which we can tell you from experience are fully water/rainproof. Kawasaki experimented with top- and side-hatch bags for the Nomad and, to our disappointment, they went the side route. We've become accustomed to the top-hatch bags found on some of the other cruiser models, but the side-opening bags 01) the Nomad are okay and we could live with them just fine, a lot of which has to do with nifty bag liners and easy-to-use latches. To make room for the new saddlebags, Kawasaki was forced to change the exhaust system so that the dual mufflers exit on each side of the motorcycle instead of both on the right side. Another obvious change is the addition of a windscreen - a touring must. The screen, complete with sub-shields on the fork tubes, has a 50rnm range of up-and-down adjustability, but tools are required, albeit only a single 12mm. wrench. Other visual changes from the Classic include rear tip-over bars and fivespoke cast-aluminum wheels that replace the chrome wire spokes. The really observant will also notice a larger/wider (150/80-16 from 130/80-16) front tire and an equally wider fender. The sides of the rims are also polished and grooved for a distinguished look. Kawasaki made a few ergonomic changes to make the Nomad more touring-friendly, such as repositioning the floorboards 65mm rearward, and widening and repadding the seat. Even the passenger compartment got more comfortable due to the replacement of footpegs wi th floorboards and installing a wider and recontoured seat pad. Kawasaki also responded to the request of previous Classic owners to widen both the clutch and front-brake levers. (And they do' feel a whole lot better.) (Top) The Vulcan 1500 Nomad is Kawasaki's first en1ry into the cruiser-touring market. (Above) The Nomad started out as a Vulcan Classic 1500 but grew saddlebags, a windscreen and lot more.- except price. At $11,999, it's only a few hundred dollars more than the Classic.