One of the benefits of motorcycling is the type of “ride experience” you get from all different types of makes, models and genres of machines. 

 

A Sportbike is an aggressive, fast paced, high acceleration experience with steep lean angles and fierce braking. A cruiser on the other hand is much more sedate with flowing turns, softer lean angles and torque based acceleration. They are both motorcycles and demand respect from anyone that rides either type of machine.

 

When Kawasaki invited me to test the Vulcan 900 in the wonderful Adirondack Mountains at Americade 2009 in upstate New York, I had to take them up on the offer; the Custom, Classic and Classic LT were the models available for us to ride.

 

 

My first impression of the Vulcan was that it really is a pretty looking bike. Kawasaki has designed it with the right amount of chrome and leather for the classic and LT model to suit the harden chrome cruiser enthusiast, and the special edition Custom with its mat black pipes and no screen really has a great “mean-looking” streak to it. The orange head covers on the top of the engine really accentuate the look, and cool pin striping on the body and tank just add to the feel.