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/128306
engine and transmission are uni tized , but outwardly they appear to be separate entities . And, perhaps as the most visual clue t hat Kawasaki is starti ng to get it, the rear whee l is driven via belt drive. I BIGKAW That wo uld make for a grea t personalized license plate on the Vulcan 2000, because everything about the bike is massive almos t cartoon ish . Fro m the e ngine to T he se days, it seems that nobody is getting the last word in mammoth V-twin cruisers. Time was when Harley-Davidson's mighty 80 cubic-inch , IHOcc V-twins were the kings of capacity. Then along came the Kawasaki Vulcan 88 appropriately enough in 1988 - with its liquid-cooled overhead-cammed four-valve Vee upping the ante to 1470cc (88 cubic inches). Cloaked in largely forgenable, notquite-ready-for-prime-time styling that was typical of most Japanese cruiser offerings then, the Vulcan's big twin muscle was often overlooked. Harley sales were soaring before Kawasak i's big motor gained a measure of respect , albeit in re -trimrned Vulcan 1500 Classic guise in 1996 . Two years later, though, the displacement race soo n had a new leader as Yamaha intr oduced the 98 cubic-inch ( 1602cc) Road Star in 1998. Ho nda inched it up some mor e , bringing the VTX 1800 (1795cc/ I I I cid) to market in 2002. T he 2004 mode l year finds Kawasaki back on to p - at leas t in te rms of pure cubes - with the introduction of the all-new Vulcan 2000 (as in 2000cc - or 2053cc to be exact), t he worl d's biggest production Vtwin cruise r. We ll, at least for now . And, this time , all that Kawi muscle isn't hiding unde r a d irty ho od . If first impressions co unt fo r an yt hing here , this Vulcan is something special. "The Vulcan 2000 is emb lematic of what Kawasaki stands for and where we are headed with all of our products," said a Kawasaki spokesman. "They are leading-edge products that take the Good Times company to another level." For those not savvy with the latest motorcycle market reports, it's an envelope worth pushing, as large cruiser sales ( I IOOcc and up ) cont inue to make up almost 25 percent of the total motorcycle market. That's one in four bikes sold, and a nice slice of a very large pie worth biting into . Even so, Kawasaki officials contend that they have no illusions abo ut flattening Milwaukee like Godzilla with Vulcan 2oo0s. "We don 't have any dreams of stea ling any of Harley-Davidson's loyal riders ," one Kawasaki man said. "We know that there is a large segment of those customers who are riding Harley-Davidson the brand more than Harley-Davidson the motorcycle : ' But that doesn't mean that Kawasaki, like Yam aha before it, can't learn a thing or two from Milwaukee about what makes for a popular cruiser. In a good blend of Japanese technology and cru iser tradition, the Vulcan's electronically fuel-injected, 125 cubicinch, eight-valve tw in is once again a two cammer, but those cams now reside in the engine case, and the valves are actuated via pushrods . The engine is liquid-cooled , yet the water jackets only run a quarter of the way down e ach cylinder (Kawasaki says that's all that is needed). The rest is aircooled via the massive fins on the jugs. The 46 JANUARY 14,2004 • CYCLE NEWS the mon- strously wide Bridgestone B a tt l a x tire s to t he 5.5-gallon stretched tank to the wide han dle bar to the oceans of chrome layered over ite ms such as the slash-cut exhaust pipes , Kawasaki has tak e n the bigger-isbetter approach. That philosophy extends to the Vulcan 2000's steel double-cradle frame, which features a large -diamete r box- section singletube backbone for strength . Aside from its substantial power output, the engine pro vides structural reinforcement to the Vulcan 2000, as it is used as a stressed member of the chassis. This also saves weight, and when you're dealingwith a bike of the Vulcan's proportion, every ounce counts. Kawasaki claims a dry weight of 750(!) pounds - or roughly I 1/8 Harley Fat Boys. B IG STR IDE, GREAT RIDE Surprlstngly enough , about the on ly time that the Vulcan 2000's girth becomes a hindrance is when you try to haul it upright from the ridiculou sly low sidestand pos ition. If you can get it to level without herniat ing yourself, you'll be pleased to find that everyth ing is nicely within reach , from the hand controls to the footboards, from the hee l-and-toe shifter to the rear brake lever. Firing the Vulcan 2000 up from dead cold is no hassle. An electrically operated compression release bleeds off excess cylinder pressure to help get the big flywheels spinning. The engine quickly rumbles to life, and a fast idle circuit in the EFI works with a pre-programmed ignition curve to raise the idle until a suitable operating tempera- 40th Anniversary tur e is achieved. The n th e moto r se ttles down into a comfortable lope. A qu ick rap of the t hro ttle and you'll appreciate the brutish tone that emanates from the Vulcan 2000's dual exhaust. Kudos to Kawasaki for deve loping a V-twin engine that sports its own signature sound. The re' s a certain familiarity to the Vulcan 2000's lo pe at idle, but when cruising or just ro lling between stoplights, the big twin mill exudes very hot -rod car-like tonal aura. 8igger is better in tha t respec t alone, but you can't rea lly appreciate the engine fully until you roll into the throttle. That's when the Vulcan 2000's true beauty exposes itself. You want to rq ue ? Baby, th is thi ng has got it in bundl e s. Kawasaki claims 14 1 ft.-lbs. at 3000 rpm, and you feel every one as the Vulcan 2000 lunges forward from a dead stop . The real fun lies in short-shifting this beast just so that you can feel that g-force acceleration. T his thing rips off the bo tt om and just keeps shoving. Awesome . And smooth... For an engine as large as the Vulcan 2000's, you might expect that a certain amount of vibration simply has to creep into the bars, seat or pegs. After all, aren't we dealing wit h a rea l bru te here? Well , yes and no . Yes it 's a brute, but Kawasaki engineers saw that coming and planned accordingly, utilizing not one but two tried-and-true forms of freq uency cance llation to iso late the r ider from the engine. Internally, the Vulcan 2000 sports a pair of chain-driven counterbalancers to smooth out the ride. The counterbalancers are aided by a rubber mounting system located at the front of the engine. The two work in harmony to eliminate most of the vibration to the rider. The ride is further enhanced by the seat ing position, which Kawasaki ought to try to patent. For those of you Vulcan Classic aficionados who are thinking of step ping up to the Vulcan 2000, fear not. Bot h models share the same comfy ergos. There's just