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/128233
do uble -cradle fram e, which features a l arg e -d i am et er , b o x -section single tu be backbone. Co uple d to th e frame is a simple but elega nt rear steel p ip e sw ing ar m suspension with a direct action single shock. T he rear suspen sion provides 3.9 inches of travel and incl udes sp ring p reload and rebound adjustment. U p front , large 49 m m forks p rovid e pr ec ise steering feed back and 5.9 in ch es of travel. The Vulcan 2000 rid es on cast alu minum 16-inch whee ls with a 150/8 0 fron t rad ia l ti re and a hu ge, 200/ 6 0 rear radial ti re - the biggest stock rear t ire on a p roduction V-twin cruiser. D ual 300 mm front disc brak es w ith fou r- piston calipers and a sing le rear disc brake with two-piston cali pe r bring this big cru iser to a sto p. The Yulcan Mean Streak 1 6 00 has 100ccs m ore displacement than last year's bike. VULCAN 1 6 00 M EAN S TREAK 6R . A central ram air du ct inc orpo rated in to th e no se of t he fai r ing p ro vides cool, d en se air to the ai rbox, wh ich is situated between the fra me tubes . Other features include multiref1ector headlights, fo rge d aluminum handlebars t h at are gun -drilled to reduce weight, LCD display with radi al ta cho meter and digital speedometer, as well as a stop watch fun ction and LE D tail light. N INJA ZX- 6 RR The ZX -6RR wa sn't quite the smash in g su c c e ss on th e r a c et ra c k that Kawasaki had in mind after int roducing the bike in 2003 . The ZX~RR returns to the 2004 Kawasaki lineup w ith u pg rades t o t h e engine a nd ch assis fo r m ore perform an ce. With feedb ack from Kaw asak i fact or y ro a d ra c ers T on y Me iring and Tom m y Hayden , both o f wh om co mp et e abo ar d ZX -6RR 'sp ortb ik es in AMA Supersport raci ng, seve ral mod ifi cati ons have been made to im prove th eir co m petit iveness. T he en g i n e i s a liquid - c o oled, DOHV, 16 -va lve, 599c c , four cy linder , and it receives new cams , larger int ak e valves, a rev ised inta k e system and new gear rati os fo r the six -speed transmissi on. Th e co m b u st io n chambers have been res haped , as ha ve th e pisto n cr owns , and hav e had a molybdenum coating added to th e skirts to reduce fri ct i on and me chanical l oss. The inta k e ports are sma ll er to fu rther increase i nd u c ti on ve loc it y, inta k e val v es are 0.5mm larg er for better b reathing at all rpms, and cam shaft p ro fi les h ave be en ch ang ed t o pro du ce more lift. Gear ratios for the oil pump have als o be en c ha n ge d t o reduce m echanica l loss . F our larg e -bo r e 38mm throttle bodi es handl e th e fu el -injection sys tem with twin inj ect ors per c ylinder one located near the airbox and the other near the intak e man ifold. A 32 b it high -spe ed m icropro cesso r control s ig nition and fuel- injecti on m ap p in g . A ce n tra lly l o c ated ram-a i r duct co ntributes to intake efficiency. A m ulti plate wet cl utch with back - torqu e lim it er tran sfer s p ower t o a revised c lose-ratio six -speed t ra ns mis si on for better on-track perfor m an ce. Th e aluminum frame's perimeter is de sig ne d w ith the p r e ssed sh e ets welded together to produce remark able st reng t h and low weight. T h e su bfra me is made from lightweight aluminu m and is ea sily removed for c onduc t i n g rout ine maint enanc e (c rash damage) . The rear sw ingarm i s also m ad e from aluminum and features in terna l ribbing fo r high torsiona l rigi dity and low w eight. It utilizes an adjustable p ivot that allows riders to fine -tun e handling for specific conditions . Th e Kayaba rear shock featu res a piggy back reservoir and a thread ed co llar spri ng p relo ad adjuster and is fu ll y adjustabl e. The rid e h ei gh t ca n be altered by insert ing various co m bi nation s of I mm -thick shim s. Up fr ont is a full y ad j us ta b l e 41 mm i n ve rte d fork , with t op - out springs to smooth thing s out. T he fr ont brak e sy st em inc l udes rad ial -mounted four-pi ston, fo ur -pad cali pe rs, with 280mm rotors , while a sin gl e 220 m m disc bra k e resid es out back . Th e ZX- 6RR 's race-in sp ired fairin g o f fers an exc e p t io n a lly l o w d rag , while th e ce ntral Ram-air duct gives th e fr ont o f the b ik e an aggressi v e lo ok . KAWASAKI VULCAN 2 0 0 0 Th e largest V-twin motor available on th e market - from a major OEM pow ers the new Kawasaki Vulcan 2000. That in it self should tell you all y ou need to know about th e n ew c ruiser fro m Kawi. However, th ere is m or e to the bi k e than si m p ly the out rageou s m ot or. Th e m assiv e 20 53 cc V-twin in th e Vul can 2000 is th e first bolt ed into a production motorc y c le to feature a 103mm bo re. The V-twin engine fea tur e s 103 x 12 3 . 2mm b or e and str ok e measurements, fo rged p isto ns , alloy -stee l co nnec ti ng rods, and hu ge 2 2 0mm fl ywh eel s. It also h as d ual c am s located w ith in th e o ne- p iece crankcas e and rig ht - side push ro d s ac tuating four valves p er cyli nder t o reduce engi ne he ight, which directly contributes to the Vulcan 2000's low ce nte r of gravity . Du al count erbalancers and rubber engine mounting keep th ings runnin g smoothly . T he Vulcan 2000 has electronic fuel injection with dual 46mm throttle bodies and subthrottle va lves co mbined wi th a new ECU to manage the m app ing and i g n iti on c hores. Du al exhau st p ipes an d m uffle rs emit a dis tinctive V-twin rum ble and include h on e y c om b c ata lyze rs to red uce emissions . A Hyvo pr im ary -drive c hai n tr an sfers t orq ue from th e engi n e t o th e five-speed transmissio n , whic h ho us es a m ultiplate we t cl utch, Fin al drive t o t h e re a r w hee l i s pr o vi d e d b y smooth , quiet and lo w -ma inte n ance belt drive . Th e Vu lcan' s styli ng includ es fea t ures li k e th e pow erful fo u r-bulb , p ro j ecto r -typ e headli ght encase d in a c h rom e Na celle headli ght - the first fo r a production c ru iser. In addition , the re is a c hrome inst ru m ent panel w ith a larg e-fa ce sp e ed omet er ; m ounted on a stretched , 5.5 -gallon f ue l tank, the V-shap ed pan el includes an LCD display and warning lamps. Th e V-t win engine is utilized as a m ember of the Vulcan 2000 's steel, T he 2 0 04 Vulcan 16 00 Mean Strea k has the lo ng, low , hot- ro d-i ns pi red styling and the excelle nt han dling of it s predecessor, but it h as a new larg er 1552cc V-twin engine. The motor features ne w p istons an d has modified cam s to im p ro ve perfo rma nce for low- and m idrange en gi n e performanc e. The Me an Streak 's piston str oke has been i n c r e ase d by 5mm , boost ing disp lacement from 14 7 0 to 15 5 2 c c . Cam angle, lift and val ve t iming are also changed to im pro v e low- and m id -rpm performance. Other engi ne fea tu res incl ude liquid cooling , electronic fue l injection with dual 40mm throt tl e bodies , dual spa rk plug digital i gnition , four valv es per cylinde r in cluding h yd rauli c valv e l a s h adj uste rs - and a gear-dri ven co unterbal an ce r to keep everyt hi ng ru nn ing smoothly. On th e styli ng s i de, Kawasaki work ed on improvin g the look of the Mean Streak wi th new val v e co v ers and reshaped coo li ng fins . Sportbik e - st yl e 4 3 m m in v ert ed forks and a rein for ced swingarm with dua l air-assisted hydraulic shocks soak up bumps in the road and help give th e bik e excellent handling tra its. Stopping po we r is provided by dua l front disc brakes with six -p ist on calipers and a single rear dis c brake . Th e Mean Streak's 17 - inch al um in u m wheels enhance the bike's im age, while high p erformance rad ial tires pr ovide exc eptional grip and stability . eN The Yulcan 2000 Is Kawasaki's new Y-twln cruiser, which has the largest displacement Y-twln motor from any OEM. cue I e n o'UVs • S EPTEM BER 2 4 , 2003 21