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/1542394
iTEEI BY NEArr BaYrY nrising south on AIA a lew miles south of St. Augustine, Florida, the two-lane road croases a low bridge revealing the vibrant Atlantic Ocean. Seated low io the saddle of Kaw'asali's new€st cruiser, the Vulcan 900, it is a strange concept to someone who grew up in the era of Kawasaki 900 Suprbikes tha( thas bike is now con- sidered a middleweight in the bi8 K's cruiser lineup. Leading this pack is their monster Vulcan 2000, with each individual piston big8er than the entire engine in their 200 mph MotoGP race bike, followed by a more pedertrian cruiser - the Nomad 1600. Replacing the long-running Vulcan 800, the new 900 heads up a small lineup of lower-capacity cruisers, with the Drifter 800 rernaining. Following these are the Vulcan 750, Vulcan 500 LTD and Vulcan I 25, although they are beginning to look a little dated. Good things are supposed to come in small packages, but this particular rendition of the established cruiser theme seems !o have ignored that old adage. Aimed to 2006 Kawosoki Vulcon ?00 fill the gap between bikes like Yamaha's 650 V-Star and Honda's VTX|300, the 900 may be a middleweight in engine size, but in physical dimensions it is another story The Vulcan 900 is large, and to the casual observer, looks a lot more like a full-sized cruiser than the rest of mid- dleweight crowd. And this is a deliberate move by Kawasaki. To facilitate this look, the original 800's 63.6-inch wheelbase has been extended to 54.8 inches. with a chunky l8o-section rear tire wrapped around a new spoke wheel. This gets covered by an even larger rear fender, which is borrowed from the Vulcan 2000, and is matched by a full fronr fender that sits on top of a 130/90- l6 inch tire. The 5.3-gallon gas tank and broad, low seat contribute heavily to the bike's lar8e physical appearance. Only the bike's weight gives it away as a midsized cruiser. Where on theVulcan 2000 you feelglad you ate your Wheaties before lifting it off the sidestand. the 595-pound 900 is a completely different animal, lift- ing up with ease. Powerin8 the new Vulcan is a 903cc,55-degree V- twin that gets its capacity increase by usinga 8mm longer stroke than that in the Vulcan 800. Compression is 9.5: I, and a sinEle overhead camshaft opens and closes the four-valve head. Lightweight connecting rods use tech- nology borrowed from the Vulcan 2000, and the fly- wheel weight has been increased to give the bike an altered power pulse that is supposed to feel more like a bi8 bike. On the road the engihe certainly felt much bigger than its 903cc, but exhibited a strange trait when rolling out of the throttle, it having almost no engine braking. This took a while to get used to, as one of the fun things to do on big cruisers is roll of the gas and let the engine slow the bike down while listening to the sound of the enSine and exhar.rst rumble. Not on the Vulcan 900 - roll off and you keep gliding forward without a whisper. A pair of 34mm throttle bodies is responsible for fir- in8 the fuel into the new cylinders, each using a single 75- micron-fine fuel iniector, These throttle bodies also use a sub throttle valve and the low-end response is said to be improved by new intake tracts that extend further into the airbox. The fuel iniection uses an automatic fast idle system similar to the one used on the Vulcan 2000, and the ignition is provided by new high-energ/ coils. Much attention has been paid to the external appear- ance of the new engine, with scolptured cam covers and stylized power valleys to make it look ba8ger. These chrome cam coveru are attractive, and match the exhaust pipes that run into their own individual chrome, sculp- tured tail pipes. These emit a pleasing rurnble on idle and BOBl\| T L t oo I t - I 4 I !! r] I IJP- t*,5 i L 3 ! \ \ r_- -1 t / 4, s' .+' --, a lJ I 30 MAY24,2006 . cYcLE NEws \