Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

The Nomad also gets self-canceling turn signals a first for Kawasaki. As for performance, Kawasaki did make a few changes to both the Nomad and the Classic tha tare worth talking about, one of which is the addition of another gear in the nowfive-speed transmission. Basically, Kawasaki stuck another gear between first and second to (in Kawasaki's words) " ... intensify acceleration." Hear! Hear! The new gear ratios for the Nomad and last year's Classic are as follows: (Nomad) 1st gear - 2.500 (40/16); 2nd - 1.590 (35/22); 3rd - 1.192 (31/26); 4th0.965 (28/29); 5th - 0.781 (25/32). ('97 Classic) 1st 2.294 (39/17); 2nd 1.375 (33/24); 3rd 1.035 (29/28); 4th 0.781 (25/32). You might notice that top gear remains the same. Kawasaki also made a few fine-tuning altera tions to improve performance from the eightvalve, SOHC, 1470cc, V-twin, watercooled engine, and one of those changes' was to slightly reshape the fins on the cylinder heads to accommodate larger connecting ducts from the air filter, thus increasing airflow and, at least in theo. ry, increasing power. Plus, a new Keihin CVK40 carburetor features K-TRIC (Kawasaki Throttle Responsive Ignition Control). This is a feature that connects a throttle-position sensor to the ignition so that timing can be automatically varied in response to different throttle settings and engine rpm. The combination of K-TRICand the larger connecting ducts result in what Kawasaki claims is better engine response, improved 1999 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Nomad Specifications Engine .four-stroke. V-twin, SOHC. eight-valve 1470cc Displacement , . 102.0 x 90.0mm Bore x stroke . Cooling .. ...Liquid . . . . . . (1) Keihin CVK40 Carburetion w/K-TRIC Ignition . . . ..... Digital Transmission .5-speed Frame .. High-tensile steel. double-cradle Rake/trail.. . 32°/188mm Suspension Front ... . .41 mm hydraulic fork Rear .. , .. Dual hydraulic shock. air adj. Wheal travel ..............5.9 in. Front . Rear .. ....3.9 in. Tires Front. Rear .......... ..... 150/80 x 16 in. . .150/80 x 16 in. Brake. Front . . . . . . . . . . . .. . Dual disc Rear .. . Single disc 0/A length 98.8 in. OIA width 37.6 in. OIA height. . . . ,58.3 in. Ground .....ranc. .. . .. 5.3 in. Seat height .28.7 in. Dry weight (claimed) • . . . . . . . . . N/A Fuel capacity. . . . . . . .4.2 gal. Whealbaee _ 65.6 in. MSRP ............• , $11.999 (Left) Kawasaki squeezed out a little more power from the 1470cc V-twin motor and squeezed another gear into the transmission_ (Right) The Nomad has increased footing with a wider front tire. (Below) A wider seat and repositioned floorboards improve ergonomics. midrange power and lower fuel consumption. . Both the Nomad and Classic feature a new "carburetor warmer" that routes coolant through a thermostatic valve to a fitting just under the throttle plate for quicker and smoother warmup and consistent running. To accommodate more accessories, a new dual-rotor alternator produces more power, and the balancer gear, now run off the crankshaft, is separate from the generator rotor. Other engine changes include a larger oil pump for extra lubrication, and a 30-percent-larger radiator core for increased engine cooling. Also, the radiator fan now spins faster for better cooling when the engine is hot. Now that the Nomad is' carrying more weight, the high-tensile-steel, double-cradle frame has been significantly beefed up via larger 42.7mm-diameter (from 34mm) main pipes, and a biggerdiameter steering-head pipe, which also uses larger bearings and new gussetting. Speaking of the head pipe, it has been moved forward an additional 55mm to decrease fork offset to 5mrn from 60mm. The net result of these frame changes is a whopping 188mm \Tail (up from 123) in almo'st the same wheelbase (65.6 inches). The front brake on the Nomad features dual, rather than single, 280mm discs; the brake master cylinder and calipers are larger as well. In addition, the width between the forks is 30mm greater to allow space for the extra brake rotor. A single 320mm disc brake clamps down on the rear wheel. In the suspension department, airadjustable rear shocks are used, and they also feature a 10mm-longer stroke, resulting in an increase of wheel travel from 3.4 inches to 4.0 inclles. The Nomad will be offered in two distinctive two-tone color schemes: Pearl Boulogne/Candy Arsenit green, and Amaranth red Mica/Candy Persimmon red. Both models will carry a cool suggested retail price of $11,999, which beats all of the aforementioned touring cruisers by at least $300. That's $300 that could perhaps be better spent on accessories to customize your Nomad. Kawasaki offers its own phone-booksized catalogue of accessories for both the Nomad and the Classic,,.and other Kawasaki cruiser motorcycles, as well. Kawasaki recently gave us an opportunity to log a few hundred miles on the Nomad and we came' away quite impressed with the motorcycle. Some of the things that stood.out in our minds were the Nomad's improved ergonomics and spunkier-feeling powerplant. The combination of the wider seat and rearward repositioning of the floorboards greatly improves the Nomad's comfort span, meaning this bike can be ridden for long periods of time before the need to stop and stretch takes over. Credit some of this to the windscreen, which does an admirable job of keeping wind blast off the rider's midsection. We set the windscreen right at eye level so you could peek over. the top or peer through the Plexiglas, which reveals very little in the way of distortion. Adding to rider comfort and con. ven-ience are the wider control levers and self-canceling turn switches, but taking away some of that comfort and conven-ience are the tank-mounted instruments and gauges. While this type of design is supposedly "cooler" when it comes to style, we would prefer to see the gauges mounted to the headlight to improve their visibility, especially when wearing a full-coverage helmet. Open-face helmets are fine for short, around-town truises, but not for long, semi-high-speed days touring on the highways, something that the Nomad is designed to do. The chin bar on full-face helmets blocks the Nomad's gauges, forcing the rider to make a conscious effort to tilt his head down more to check things such as speed and turn indicator lights. Maybe that's why Kawasaki put self-canceling indicators on the Nomad. On the subject of convenience, or should we say inconvenience, the oilcheck window on the sidecase is still next-to-impossible to read, as the lower frame rail blocks your view. The Nomad is still a little weak in'llie power department but is getting better. You can feel a bit more pull at midrange and the extra gear does, in fact, "intensify acceleration," just as Kawasaki said it would do. On top, we found the Nomad would hum along quite .nicely between 60 and 70 mph but could hold its own just fine at higher speeds for long peri: ods of time. The ride is smooth, thanks to its counterbalanced and rubbermounted engine, not to mention shaft drive. - Shifting the Nomad through its five gears is significantly cleaner than the early four-speed Vulcan Classics. Gone is that clunk-and-grind feeling between first and second, and shifting is overall much smoother and precise. The hydraulically operated clutch has excellent feel and holds up well in slow, stopand-go traffic. We also noticed and liked the Nomad's stronger front brake. It's not sportbike-powerful by any means, but the big tourer can be hauled in quickly, especially when aided by the back brake. We also liked that Kawasaki changed the fuel petcock on the Nomad. On the early Classics, reserve would come on way too early (about 100 miles), even though you had plenty of fuel in the tank. On our introductory ride, we never went more than about 130 miles on the Nomad before refueling, and in that mileage we never touched the reserve valve. Kawasaki gave us just a taste of what the Nomad can do, and we hope to get another chance to put some serious miles on the Nomad soon. But, for now, we'll just have to savor that taste, because the Nomad is truly a fine ride and becomes even finer when you consider the relatively small price tag. If you're shopping for a cruiser/ tourer, don't by any means forget Kawasaki's new Nomad. It could. be just the right bike to go 'nowhere in particular on. 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