Kawasaki Vulcan S

Overview

The Kawasaki Vulcan S is one of the most premium cruiser bikes in the Philippines market and is designed to walk away from the traditional cruiser look and feel. Instead, it has the beastly appeal in its outlook and is much different than average cruisers.

In the local market, it competes against the likes of the Honda Rebel and the Harley-Davidson, out of which, it forms a more premium alternative for the Honda while a subdued version of the Harley. It has a very premium ask in the segment and goes for a price of around PHP 395,000, whereas the premium Harley Street 750 goes well over PHP 500,000.

Design

The Kawasaki Vulcan S is a sporty looking cruiser that is hunky from all ends. The front section has a dipping round-ish headlamp area that houses the adjustable LED lamps. The design then curves into the fuel tank that looks monstrous and big and houses the Kawasaki moniker.

The bike is suspended over swingarm for the rear while the front has long and chunky telescopic forks. The seat is a split unit and is the most well contoured to provide optimum comfort. The foot pegs are set a lot in front so the rider gets a comfortable ride with the legs straight up.

Ride & Handling

The Kawasaki Vulcan S is what you would describe as the perfect cruiser. It may appear to be brash and demon-ish from the outlook, but deep within it is the smooth revving linear power producing cruiser.

The pick-up from a standstill is smooth and nothing that would lift you off the ground. This initial performance is translated to a high pulling power that does not jerk at the throttle. However, all of this does not mean that motorcycle isn’t powerful. Instead, it looks to be a model that has muscles at the right places and is good enough for you to pass and overtake any vehicle on the highway.

Plus, it is one of the very few two wheeler cruisers in the segment that comes with customisable ergonomics, based on what the rider feels comfortable with. As for an example, besides the adjustable levers for the brake and clutch, the rider’s foot pegs can also be customised to suit people of all height.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

The Vulcan S has a strong and powerful engine under the hood. Being one of the popular middleweights in the half-litre plus segment, it gets a 649cc liquid-cooled engine that is built with two cylinders and four valves for each of them. This engine is capable of making a maximum power of 61.6 hp that comes at 7,500 rpm along with a peak torque of 64 Nm at 6,500 rpm.

The power is sent down to the wheel by the 6-speed transmission. Despite being a cruiser at heart, it still has a very strong and adrenaline gushing feedback. The eight-valve setup offers wonderful aspiration of the engine to offer greater performance.

Braking & Safety

Being a high capacity cruiser motorcycle, the company has taken care of most of the safety features. For starters, the tyres are very thick and offer amazing stability and grip on the road, even when you brake hard.

For the braking, there are disc brakes at both ends which are quite big, considering that vehicle is powerful and weighs 228 kilograms. And apart from just the disc, both wheels get ABS (anti-lock braking system) as a standard fitment. Moreover, another positive aspect is that the front brake lever and clutch depending on the size of the rider’s palms.

Verdict

The Kawasaki Vulcan S is one of the best cruisers in the middleweight segment. It has a very well balanced approach with great aspects everywhere. Starting from the powerful engine to the finely-tuned suspension, everything in the motorcycle is just so delightful and wonderfully put together.

It forms as the perfect combination of the high tech features of the Honda Rebel and the premiumness of Harley-Davidson. Hence, if cruisers are your things, the Vulcan S is your toy.