the new Kawasaki Vulcan 1700...not quite bad?

I was at the Kawasaki "Ticket To Ride" event here in So Calif a couple weeks ago, and rode the 1700 Vulcan Nomad as well as the Ninja 1000.
The Nomad wasn't as all decked at as the Vaquero, but had enough "goodies" to satisfy me.


The good:
Handled like a dream in the corners, and soaked up the bumps like they weren't even there. That bike actually felt much lighter than it actually was, and steering was effortless.
The seat is super plush, but still has support.
6-speed trans, and has great fit and finish over the entire bike.

The bad:
Transmission is "clunky" in every gear. It doesn't miss-shift and it's not jamming into gear, it's just extremely noisy.
The "redesigned" exhaust might have something to do with it, but this bike is gutless regardless of the RPM's.

If I wanted a bike for a long ride and had the green, I'd buy one.

It seems to me that Kawasaki has built a bike that appeals to their target market. We have a couple of died in the wool Harley guys at work and they both love the styling of the Vaquero. Personally, I don't care for the styling, but appreciate the level of execution. Seems smart on Ma Kaw's behalf since they are luring in buyers from the Harley camp, who would not otherwise have any reason to consider a metric cruiser except price.

Here in Houston there has been a shift in popular biker culture in recent years. We are seeing less and less custom chopper, hardtail, and bobber type bikes. The new thing is loaded baggers. The harley guys have realized that you can't do any miles on a raked out hardtail, and are starting to get practical. They want the windshield, radio, and comfortable suspension.

The current thing is ultra glide/road glide type bikes, and this looks like a road glide with a different styled fairing to me.

The right tool for the right job also applies to motorcycles. If I was going on an 800 mile ride today and came out the door and looked upon that big Kaw I'd probably smile and kick off happily. If I was gonna go snaking up a back road with it I wouldn't be smiling so much. If I was going cross country a nice Gold Wing would shake my tree nicely. Slipping out for milk or the evening paper I want a nice light middleweight with great handling and a sporty nature. Friday Bike-night at the burger joint I'd ride about anything and be happy afterall I'm there for burgers, babes, conversation and eyeballing nice rides (oh I already said babes didn't I?):woohoo:

i have never taken more than second glance at a bike out of my ujm or enduro box of appeal....call it age if you must....but this was the first...unless the early V-max counts..and i'm long over those things...by 87 i could care less...thanks eliminator 900 for showing me the light

i do think the fact that i was able to watch this bike with a skilled rider for an hour with a 1098 between myself and him and many others in front and behind..."made me" consider while adjusting quite a bit to get along at speed on all types of paved and almost paved sections,that the bike was either well done (all the time i began to take notice,i had no idea the maker)or there was some cycle world editor of race background ,doing a skilled cop bike impression/ job...turned out it was a middle aged guy on a kawasaki cruiser...which made me ponder the answer during our stops and notice the blaring red bike whenever it was parked....my final take was that this thing was able to handle these shitty road conditions and tight country switch backs because it had been "made to".....then i thought..."hmmm" all that and a kawi too,better us than them i guess......even if we have a fat chick....she is still way hotter than the other guys fat chick