Good Mover, But How Far?

I had to fill up the tank today.  That caught me by surprise, coming a day-or-so earlier than expected.  The fuel gauge read 2 bars when I left home, and for the duration of the ride to work.  When I was leaving work it read one bar, then about 5 minutes from home the fuel light came on...surprising, to say the least.  Of course, once I filled the tank I no longer felt the need to take it easy on the throttle...


This thing absolutely rips when the throttle is opened up.  I had a bit of fun playing around with that on the way home from work tonight after filling the tank.  The bike lopes along at a cruise so comfortably that it's easy to forget how much power those pistons and their contained fury can put out if given the chance.

This bike is a gem.  It's too bad that Kawasaki priced it so high, initially.  They've clearly seen the error in their ways, lowering the MSRP in Canada for 2011 by $2000 vs the 2010 MSRP.

Here's a photo of the bike sitting in the gravelly parking lot at work about a month ago.

Scrapin' Floorboards

Went for a nice little ride a couple of days ago and initiated the floorboard feelers.  I like to lean.  No biggie and no drama when the scrapes happened, just straightened the bike up a bit and kept on going.  I'll miss sportbike lean angles...

Raising a Rider (Part II)

I had to jump over to work yesterday evening.  It was beautiful out, so I decided to take the bike.  I said bye to the family, and my 3-year-old daughter responded "Daddy, can I come with you?"  I didn't actually understand what she had said, so I replied, "Pardon?" She elaborated, "Can I come with you? On the motorcycle."  I was happy and heartbroken at the same time.  As mentioned earlier, this wasn't her first display of interest in the bike or in motorcycles in general (she's *still* requesting "Daddy motorcycle" stories at bedtime), but this caught me by surprise.  I had to tell her that she's still too small, and that maybe when she's bigger we can go for a ride together.  Absolutely warmed and broke my heart.

Ride #3 -- More of the Same

If you've read either of my first two ride posts then you already know what I'm going to say about ride. #3.  I love this bike.  It's smooth (for a V-Twin), has plenty of power and a great sound.  I couldn't be happier with it.

This bike does not feel like it weighs in at 760 lbs wet.  The handling is absolutely outstanding.  It's shocking to me how well this bike handles, how light it is on its feet.

I played around with the heel shifter for the first time.  That'll take some getting used to.  I've never used one, before and it doesn't feel at all natural to upshift by pressing a lever down rather than pulling a lever up.

Ride #2

I got back from a weekend away with the family, today, and decided to take the bike out for my second ride of the season.  It was another short ride, but longer than the first, and on a major thoroughfare.  The bike felt and rode great.  Despite being early in the break-in period, I did get on the throttle as well as wind it up to see how the it would do when allowed to stretch its legs a bit.  I'm going to enjoy this bike. 

Oh, and floorboards?  Great invention.  I had to make a conscious effort to actually use them (first bike I've ever ridden that has floorboards), but they're great!

Word of Caution: It's Spring

This post deals with an incident that occurred during my first ride of the season this year.  I didn't mention this in my "Maiden Voyage" post because I felt it worthy of its own post.

It's spring.

Children are on spring break this week (i.e. running around in the street, unsupervised)

Birds are coming back north and pretending nothing has happened in the 5 months since we last saw them.

Animals are out running around exploring the newly-uncovered grass, streets, etc.

Cellular phone-talking, coffee-drinking, nail polish-applying, cigarette-smoking automobile drivers are still not expecting to see motorcycles out and about, yet.

(Borrowed from http://dr650.zenseeker.net/Conspicuity.htm)

Not even two minutes into my ride, I found myself behind an elderly man driving a Honda CR-V carrying several passengers.  We were nearing an intersection that leads from the neighbourhood out to the main road.  I was following from a good distance, and there was one car approaching from the opposite direction.  (Hyper)vigilance is a great thing when driving a car, and even better when riding a motorcycle.  People do silly things.  The aforementioned driver decided, for whatever reason, that rather than turn around in a cul-de-sac, he was going to make a U-turn in the middle of the street.  He underestimated the turning radius of his CR-V, and had to execute a 3-point turn, instead.  I was following from a safe distance, had plenty of time to slow down, and didn't actually even need to stop.

We all need to be vigilant when riding.  This is true all season-long, but especially so during the spring, when automobile drivers are even more oblivious than usual to the presence of motorcyclists.

Ride safe.

Maiden Voyage Complete

It wasn't so much a voyage as it was a test run, really.

The neighbourhood streets were largely clear, but the mains were soaked from all the melting snow (7 degrees Celsius, 44 Fahrenheit).

The verdict?

I loved every second of it, even though I didn't get past 3rd gear.  I'm looking forward to the real riding season even more, now.  Initial impressions, organized from getting on the bike, to starting it up, to riding:

Seating position: close to perfect; floorboards and controls could be a little bit further back and they would be perfect, but where they are is fine.  It keeps them out of my way when I come to a stop and need to put my feet down, too.

Sound: Perfect.  Nice, deep rumble.  Loud enough for me, even with the stock pipes.

Controls: Good brake feel, front and rear.  It's nice to have a cruiser with real brakes (my Volusia had a single disc up front and a drum at the rear).  Throttle modulation is nice, without choppiness.  Clutch pull is fairly light.  Shifter is positive, with a decent throw.  I read a lot about the gearbox noise with shifting, particularly 1-2.  In all honesty, it didn't bother me at all.  It's louder than all of the other bikes that I've owned or ridden, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected based on some of the complaints that I had seen.

Balance/Low-Speed Handling:  Excellent.  This bike is far better than my Volusia was when it comes to low speed manouevres.  As with any bike, there's a learning curve involved, but I'm quite comfortable with the low-speed manners of this bike.  The centre of gravity also feels well-situated (low).

Power: There's plenty of grunt.  It's no GSX-R1000 or even Bandit 1200S when it comes to acceleration, but that's not to say that the power is lacking at all.  If the 1700 weighed less, this bike could give the Bandit a run for its money.  There's enough "go" to keep my inner torque-monster happy.  My biggest complaint with the Volusia was the "twist and wait" nature of the engine.  The 1700 is truly "twist and gone."

Suspension:  Outstanding.  The Volusia was punishing over bumps because of the seating position and terrible rear shock.  The combination of the stock seat and dual rear shocks on the Vulcan is wonderful.  The front suspension also did a good job on medium- and low-speed bumps.

Higher-Speed Handling: I didn't get up to highway speeds, obviously, but at neighbourhood speeds the bike maintains a good balance between stability and responsiveness.

This bike's a keeper.  Even if I do end up buying a bagger down the road, the 1700 Classic won't be in any danger of losing its spot in the garage.

Raising a Rider

My 3-year-old daughter has shown interest in motorcycles, which is nice, but I'm not getting my hopes up.  When she saw photos of my bike and I told her that it was coming home soon, she said, "Yeah, then I can get my motorcycle, too."  Every night, without fail, she asks for a "Daddy motorcycle" story before settling in to sleep.  Atta girl.

Reorganized, & Found my Old Helmet Cam

Did some rearranging of content.  About, reviews, resources/links and videos are on separate pages in order to cut down the size of this main page. They can be accessed from the Pages menu on the right-hand side. 

Weather report says +5 degrees today. Roads are still wet and sandy in places, particularly residential.  Mains are fine.  I'm very tempted to get the bike out.  Found my old helmet cam, too (used it to record my off-road adventures in the past).  IIRC, the quality wasn't great, but it's better than nothing.  It's an Archos something-or-other...can't remember the model number.

Aftermarket vs "Pre-Accessorized" From the Factory

One of the topics that comes up time and time again, no matter what bike or what forum, is that of buying the pre-accessorized version of a bike (when one exists) vs adding your own accessories from the aftermarket and OEM catalogues.  Sometimes posters even go to the extent of asking questions of the following sort: "If you were going to add x, y and z then why didn't you just buy the [insert name of pre-accessorized version here] instead?"  I'm often tempted to say "...because I prefer to choose my own accessories and wind up with a bike that (1) suits my preferences; (2) doesn't look like every other bike of that model..." In the past I have invariably just ignored such questions.

This time around, though, the questions and comments were directed at me.  Here's a snippet from the VulcanForums.com thread:

You buy a Classic and then you want to buy a windshield, you buy a Classic and then you want bags, you buy a Classic and then you want it to be solo. I'm sorry but I don't follow that logic, with the exception of the solo option all you end up doing is creating an aftermarket Classic LT is that not the case?

Frustrating, to say the least.  Most of what needed to be said has been said, and you can read it in the original thread.

[SARCASM]

Just for the sake of completeness, here's a quick comparison of the LT and my bike because, apparently, the differences are very subtle:

• LT has a passenger backrest; mine does not, nor do I intend to add one
• LT has OEM studded saddlebags and seats; mine does not have studs, nor do I intend to add studded anything to it...ever
• LT has a two-tone paint job; mine is black & chrome
• LT has non-lockable, fixed, slant-style saddlebags and saddlebag supports; mine has lockable, quick-release, teardrop-style bags
• LT does not have a light bar; mine does
• LT does not have engine guards; mine does
• LT has a windshield; I am considering adding one, but am still undecided

"...all you end up doing is creating an aftermarket Classic LT is that not the case?"

Yup, clearly that's exactly the case...

[/SARCASM]

Nb: shifter-side view of LT is from Google images.  I have used it here simply to allow comparison of my bike and the LT from the shifter side.

Turned it Around...and an Update on the Solo Seat

Turned the bike around today.  This is the first time I've actually had a good look at the shifter side of it.  I decided to be optimistic and turn it in preparation for that first ride, despite the forecast calling for snow (again) in a couple of days.  Heard on the radio this morning that on this day last year the temperature was 18 degrees Celsius (vs 2 degrees today).

 

Solo Seat Update: Turns out the dealership from which I bought my bike has a Vaquero on the floor;  I'll go and take a look at it one of these days.  I also found out, from another rider who put the Vaquero seat on his Voyager, that the OEM Kawasaki gel seat for the Vaquero is almost 1/2 the price of the stock seat assembly.  That's sounding much better.

Solo Seat?

Planned on removing the passenger seat and doing the solo thing?  Not so fast.  The designers at Kawasaki clearly didn't have solo riders in mind when they designed the seat bracket system on the 1700 Classic.  It would be one thing if they offered a solo seat, but here we are, three years later, and there's no solo seat available.

Not only is there a large bracket left exposed (in addition to the extensions of the fender rails) if you remove the passenger seat, but it's actually the passenger seat being locked into place that keeps the driver seat locked (held, really) in place.

I wonder if it'd be possible to fit the Vaquero seat...

Went and had a look at some Vaquero images and microfiche online.  The Vaquero seat wouldn't be a direct bolt-on, but I think it'd be possible to fashion it to work.  The Vaquero seat's rear bracket appears to be further forward than that of the Classic (and accordingly the bracket on the bike, itself, is further forward than that of the Classic).  Getting the Vaquero seat to fit would involve either (1) moving my bike's rear seat latch assembly forward or; (2) moving the bracket on the Vaquero seat further back.

New Take on a Classic Theme

The family/genre resemblance is there (and by family/genre I mean classic cruiser) , but the Vulcan is clearly a more modern, more liberal interpretation of the theme.  There are enough styling cues to let you know that yes, you are looking at a classic cruiser, but there's also enough aberration (eg. tail light, sculpting of the side panels and mufflers) to make it clear that what lies below the surface is also unlikely to be the usual classic cruiser fare.

Which of the two bikes will be more enduring?  Green Day will never be remembered in the same way as the Beetles.  Nor will the 1700 Classic endure under the magnifying glass of style as will the Softail Deluxe.  You can't redefine classic.  You can re-interpret it.

I like Green Day.

Red-Headed Stepchild or Black Sheep?

Pretty much universally, no matter where Vulcans are discussed, the 1700 Classic is (largely) absent from the discussion.  Even in dedicated Vulcan 1700 forums, the discussion focuses on the Nomad, Voyager and, now, Vaquero, almost to the exclusion of the Classic.  The paucity of Classics is very interesting...to me, anyway.  I've come up with some possible explanations:

• The economy has been in the gutter for several years.  The Vulcan 1700 was introduced during the worst of the slump.  The classic appeals to a younger demographic than do the Nomad and Voyager; a younger, less established, more vulnerable demographic that was hit hard by the decline in the economy.  Since that time, the people who could come up with $16000 to spend on a bike (Classic) didn't see it as being too much of a stretch to pony up the extra $2500 to get a loaded touring bike (Nomad) or even make the jump up to $21000 for a full-dress touring rig (Voyager).  For that reason, forums and bulletin boards were dominated by Nomad and Voyager owners.  Once the younger crowd started getting back on their feet and finding some disposable income for bikes again, they started purchasing 1700s.  They, like me, started visiting forums and, seeing much talk of Voyagers and Nomads, kept largely quiet.
• People who are looking at large-displacement bikes today are looking at them primarily for riding intermediate and long distances/touring.  This makes bikes such as the Nomad and Voyager (and now Vaquero as well) preferable to bare-bones bikes such as the Classic.  
• The trend a few years back was adventure riding but now that people are tired of falling off their bikes, they are moving towards touring, which makes bikes such as the LT (notice that Kawasaki still sells the V2K LT), Nomad, Voyager and Vaquero more appealing than the Classic.
• Salespeople are pushing the complete package bikes harder than the base model bikes, and people are willing to go that route because it's just easier to buy a bike that is already set up with bags and all, than to start from a base model and build it up.

Whatever it is, my goal is to do what I can to be a resource for the Classic owners of the world, haha.

Batwing or No Batwing?

So here is the next question to be answered.  I've had a windshield in the past.  It was alright, but I prefer the look of the batwinged bike to that of the windshielded bike.  As usual, I've taken the time to do a very quick photoshop of my bike with a batwing fairing installed...quite like it, actually...

That said, though, the fairing kind of ruins the classic look that I'm going for.  The fairing that I 've photoshopped onto my bike, above, is from a photo of a VulcanForums.com member, Chaso56. Part of me says that if I want a fairing then I should go all the way and get a proper bagger such as the Vaquero, Street Glide, Road Glide, Cross Country or Stratoliner Deluxe.

 

Any of those bikes would be great to own, but I have a special place in my heart for the Vaquero and Street Glide.  For my classic, though, I think the windshield, if anything camp wins out.  When I'm ready for a fairing I'll buy a bike that comes with that and hard saddlebags as standard, perfect-fit equipment.  If I was putting my money on the table for a bagger right now, my choice would be the Vaquero.

Photoshop vs Reality

Before purchasing the light bar I made a photoshop image using my bike and a light bar that I had found in another image.  Now that I have the light bar installed, I figured I would revisit the photoshopped image and compare it to the real thing.  Both are shown, below:

The top image is the photoshop (obviously) and the bottom photo is my bike with the light bar installed.  Not too bad!

Light Bar Installed

As usual, the installation process took longer than the time stated in the instructions.  Part of the issue was ignorance on my part, and part of it was a quality control issue on the part of Kawasaki -- one of the turn signals on the bar wasn't nearly tight enough and it took a bit of fiddling to get it to sit right and not wiggle.

Anyway, the bar is installed and looks great.  I'm very pleased with the overall quality of the piece.  The installation process was actually straight-forward overall, and the end product is definitely worth the time, price and effort.

Light Bar Arrived

The OEM light bar arrived today.  It looks great, and the instructions seem pretty straight-forward.  I'll probably get the installation done sometime this weekend.

Light Bar on the Way

I spent a good deal of time trying to decide whether or not I wanted a light bar.  For me it's not about better illumination of the road, etc.  It's about the look; function is secondary in this case.  To me, a light bar is part of what makes a classic cruiser look like a classic cruiser.

I mentioned my ponderings over the light bar question to my wife and showed her the following (very quickly-made) photoshop image of my bike with a light bar installed

 Her response?

     "Why don't you just get it?"

Done.  Wow?  You have no idea.

Update: After a little bit of searching, I finally found a good photo of the 1700 Classic (LT) with the OEM lightbar installed.  It's actually a screen capture from a Kawasaki video (http://kawasaki.com/Products/Product-Specifications.aspx?scid=7&id=490)

Yup.  Looks good.

I considered the Cobra light bar as well.  It's less expensive to purchase, but the finish (both the chrome and light lenses) looks inferior to that of the OEM light bar, from the photos that I have seen of the two products.

I had Cobra engine guards on my Volusia.  They looked ok, but the finish wasn't nearly as good as that of the OEM engine guards that I now have on my Vulcan 1700.  The Cobra guards were just "ok" with respect to the quality of the chrome, and there were numerous imperfections.  They were good for the price, but clearly were built to meet a particular price point.

This time around, I'm all in favour of quality over price.  This bike is beautifully made;  I want to add accessories that really complement it and are just as well-made.  Are the OEM accessories overpriced?  Yes, but so are the Cobra accessories, and most specialty items, for that matter.

Tech

Last post for today...

This bike has a lot of features that I've never had on any bike, before, and some that are unusual for a base-model cruiser.  In the list, I've also included some features that aren't novel, but are cool to have:

• Dual Disc Front Brake + Single Disc Rear Brake
• Range, Fuel Remaining, Distance to Empty and Fuel Efficiency Gauges
• Dual Trip-Meters + Clock
• Self-Cancelling Turn Signals
• Adjustable Clutch and Front Brake Levers
• Gear Position Indicator
• Electronically-Controlled Throttle Valves
• Positive Neutral Finder
• Preload-Adjustable Rear Air Shocks
• Floorboards
• Heel-Toe Shifter
• LED Tail Light
• Cast Wheels
• Belt Drive
• 108 ft-lbs Torque (Peak)
• Liquid-Cooled, 4-Valves Per Cylinder, Digital Fuel Injection
• 20L Fuel Tank Capacity
• 2-Year Warranty With Roadside Assistance

I used to think that cruisers were far behind when it came to technology, features and performance.  With this bike, Kawasaki makes it clear that they are interested in, and capable of, delivering all of the above for a very reasonable price.

Of course, in order to provide a lot of features at this bike's price point, some sacrifices had to be made.  This bike, as with most other Japanese cruisers, has a lot of plastic/plastichrome pieces.  Can't win 'em all...  So far, though, that's the only complaint that I have about this vehicle (and it's a very minor complaint at that).

Philosophy

Specifically, Design Philosophy.

Clean vs Tacky-licious.

I like what Kawasaki's designers did with this bike.  I wasn't all that sure about it when I first saw images online, or even when I first laid eyes on it at the motorcycle show, but it grew on me.

Kawasaki used enough of the traditional lines that tell you that you're looking at a "Classic" cruiser.  They also added a few styling cues to give the impression of muscularity, and to hint at (ok, hit you over the head with) the underlying big-bore (1700cc) displacement.  My first impression of the styling was that it bordered on overly-bulbous.  I still see that at times: the side covers and air filter cover being excellent examples.  Overall, though, I'm really feelin' what they put together on this one.  I decided that my goal, when customizing this bike, would be to keep it looking clean, uncluttered and classy.  This goal drove my choices in engine guards, bags and bag mounting kit.  It also will play into any decision I make on windshield +/- lowers as well as a light bar.

This contrasts sharply with my previous effort: 2002 Suzuki Volusia 800.  I loved the idea of customizing my bike, and went a bit overboard.  The concept was fine, but the materials that I chose were a bit much.  At the present time, I'm not big on studs and conchos.  Back then, that clearly wasn't the case.  Looking back at photos of the finished product vs the stock bike, the thought that crosses my mind every time I see the end-product is "tacky-licious."  My approach this time around was to avoid excessive amounts of shiny stuff (eg. studs and conchos).  The contrast is pretty sharp:

One is clean and classy, while the other is a bit too busy.  I'm determined to take my time with all customization decisions for the Vulcan 1700 and to pursue the right pieces rather than the right now pieces, even if that means sometimes having to wait a long while.

It's worth the effort.

It's Here

It's here.  Finally.  Actually, it arrived yesterday.  I spent most of the evening installing my accessories -- engine guards (went on relatively quickly...about 20 minutes), saddlebags and saddlebag brackets.  The saddlebags + brackets were a bit of a chore, but in the end were definitely worth the effort.  The bike looks great, the bags and brackets fit nicely, and now I just have to wait for the snow to go away so I can actually ride.

I'm excited.  I'm very excited.  It has been two years since I last rode.  My motorcycle at that time?  Yamaha WR250R...a dual-sport bike.  I actually had two bikes.  The second was a Suzuki GSX-R1000.  I sold them both after my first daughter was born.  I had little time for riding prior to her arrival, tried to hold onto the bikes after she was born, and found that what little time I had for riding evaporated in that first year after her birth.  I paid more in insurance premiums than the kilometers I put on the bikes.  It didn't make sense to keep them.

Somehow, though, after the birth of my second daughter I felt the need to get out and ride, again.  I think that a number of factors played into the decision.  (1) I love riding.  I miss it.  Even a little bit is better than none. (2) I have colleagues who ride, now.  Grant it, all but one of them ride dual-sport machines and I'm pretty much done with off-road riding, now, but the idea of potentially going riding with like-minded people is still appealing. (3) I tend to get vehicle-crazy every couple of years -- bikes, cars, doesn't matter.  (4) I got a great deal on the Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Classic.

My bike is a leftover 2009 model.  The fact that it was still sitting in the dealership -- and it's not the only leftover 2009 sitting on dealership floors; in that regard it had PLENTY of company -- says a lot about the state of the economy over the last several years.

Anyway, here are some photos of the bike.

 

 

Two Sleeps

I'm a child all over again.  It's just two more sleeps until my Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Classic comes home.  Saturday.  Noon.  How silly am I?