WORDS & PICS: Big Dave
RIDDEN KAWASAKI VULCAN
I
was on the VN1700E9F Kawasaki Vulcan when the Ed pulled up on the new MV Brutale. And whilst he was occupied, just for a laugh, I sat on the Brutale. The most comfortable, and quite workable, riding position for me was from the pillion seat. That fitted great! When he returned I did what I do when confronted with most compact sportsbikes; put on a lame Forest Gump impersonation and asked if ‘they have one for the other But-tock?’ There are plenty of us big guys out there and they’ll be glad to hear that Kawasaki have made another ‘Big Man’ Special. Jumping back on the Vulcan was like returning to a favourite lounge chair for comfort.
EASY RIDER Size-wise Kawasaki’s Vulcan 1700 fitted Big Dave down to the ground. Once he settled into it he got to quite like the bike’s low-slung laid-back vibe as well.
You don’t have to be a giant to ride the Vulcan, the seat height is a mere 720mm and its 345kg (wet) mass is well balanced and is centred low in the vehicle, so it’s not out of the Jockey league entirely, but it works really well for a Second Rower. LARGE & ROOMY It doesn’t feel like such an enormous machine once onboard, but it is a large and roomy machine nonetheless. The saddle is two cheeks wide – easy, it’s massive. Lounge chair comfort. A pillion is reasonably well served also and has a good view over the rider. Fit a backrest or a grab-handle option at time of purchase if mum gets on the back regularly. Just for the peace of mind when giving the liquid cooled, 1700cc, SOHC, 8-valve engine’s 147nm of torque a work out. It has quite a nice surge and the sort of pull that can arrive suddenly. The pistons in the 102 x 104mm square-ish bore and stroke have serious Classic silhouette and stance means heads turn when Vulcan 1700 rolls by. Model shares strong retro look with state-of-the-art metric cruiser mechanicals. Ergos ideal for 2 metreplus fraternity though less vertically endowed can still appreciate the low seat height and good low-speed dynamics.
mass and you can feel each cycle of the engine, particularly when you ask it some questions via the throttle. LIKES A REV It took me a while to get the 1700’s mojo. The gearing is tall. At first I thought maybe too tall, but I was failing to take into account that it enjoys a bit of a rev too. The big mamba likes to be spooled up a bit for a huge donk, despite the peak power of 59kW (79PS) being developed at just 4,500rpm. That said it will happily take off in third gear and the gear ratios are nicely spread to keep it on song and the tall gearing boosts economy from the 20 litre tank. Final drive is by belt and is quite an attractive set up. The overall styling of the
QUICK FLICK Bike: Kawasaki VN1700 Vulcan Type: Custom cruiser Engine: Liquid-cooled fuel-injected SOHC 170cc V-twin Frame: Tubular steel Wheelbase: 1665mm Fuel tank capacity: 20L Seat height: 720mm Curb weight: 345kg RRP: $23,995 Test bike: Kawasaki NZ Ltd KIWI RIDER 43
RIDDEN KAWASAKI VULCAN
bike grew on me over the course of the test too. co PLEASING TO THE P EYE I was out cruising on one o of those Saturday mornings and stopped m under the motorway to un watch some ‘fl annelled wa fools’ playing Cricket. foo
Framed against the backdrop of the fields, with the copious amount of chrome and bling glistening in the sun, the fluid curves of the machine were quite pleasing to the eye. One thing the photos don’t convey in two dimensions is actually how ‘chunky’ the bike is. It has a real ‘heavy metal’ look about it in the flesh and the fit and finish are first rate. Nice little touches, like the chromed reservoir covers and the excellent ignition switch set-up abound. The tank-mounted instruments are easy enough to read and there is a standard array of other readouts in a LCD display under the speedo. These are cycled by a switch on the RH switch block…the one that I hit as the starter button every time I got on the bike. ‘What the…?’ Slow learner. MELLOW SOUNDZ The twin shot exhaust system sounds great. It’s got a pleasant note to it right out of the box. Other things I found very pleasant whilst sitting back on this armchair on wheels were its road manners.
To get it in perspective, it’s got footboards. Every bike I’ve tested with footboards gets scraped coming out of my driveway. It’s the nature of the beast that the comfort they add is at the expense of some noise when they touch down whilst cornering. Moderating speed to suit is part of the skill of operating the vehicle. (Don’t grind them off – buy a more suitable bike.)
NEW
WELL MANNERED That said, the 1700 has a 170 section rear tyre that I’m sure promotes the ease with which it flicks around. It’s very well mannered. The errant manhole cover, pothole or any of the other sundry items that would make you want to manoeuvre the bike are negotiated with ease. Bit of a countersteer, flick of the hips and the big unit complies in a pleasing fashion. Pin it on the exit and it’s all smiles anyway. The rear 170 might not fit with ‘phat’ culture and the ‘wider is a better cruiser’ look, but coupled with the nice balance of the bike it makes it a comfortable vehicle for styling in the city AND a good dayrider out in the magnificent NZ countryside. It’s a nice, big, easy, wellmannered, comfortable bike, that’s rideable by all, and is very comfortable for a bigger man. Shot! Kawasaki. KR Classic cruiser lines and vibe. What bikes like big VN1700 Vulcan are all about.
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