Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom

Unlike the smaller Vulcan S, the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom is a typical American old-school cruiser motorcycle, which is very well evident in the way it looks. The Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom has a hint of a bobber in its design, thanks to the slim-looking front end with a tall front wheel and curved and stretched handlebar.

At the front, the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom has a simple-looking rounded headlamp, which looks functional and is encased in a spherical housing finished in black and has a touch of chrome around it. The handlebar, which is stretched far towards the rider, rearview mirrors and handlebar levers are finished in chrome too, to add that bling factor which people generally associate with bulky cruisers. The angularly placed front forks and minimalist-looking curved front fender are other elements which give it a traditional cruiser feeling.

The Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom has a typical low-slung stance when you view the motorcycle from the side. The curved and rounded fuel tank with the tapered upper surface is painted in a dual-tone shade while having a blacked-out slanted panel above it that accommodates the rounded instrument console. This console has analogue gauges for the speedometer and fuel gauge and a small LCD strip for the odometer and trip meters. The mammoth V-twin engine and dual exhaust pipes that are emerging out of both the cylinders and vertically stacked over on the right side are finished in a dark theme of black. While the motorcycle gets a multi-spoke black alloy wheel for the front, the rear does away with a solid disc wheel painted in black.

Towards the rear, the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom has a curvy appeal, thanks to the rounded rear fender and the well-curved seat placed above it. It is one of the few high-end cruisers which come with a usable and comfortable pillion seat as standard fitment. On the rear tip of the rear fender, the Vulcan 900 Custom has a halogen tail lamp in a small chrome housing, with rounded turn indicators in chrome housings mounted on either side of the small mudguard at the rear bottom.

The Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom gets an archaic chassis under the skin, which is of a higher order of quality and offers a well-sorted ride quality to the motorcycle. The suspension combination of 41mm conventional hydraulic telescopic forks at the front and a mono-shock at the rear offer plush ride quality, though they are non-adjustable. The Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom gets Dunlop D404 tubeless tyres – 80/90-21 tyre at the front and 180/70-15 tyre at the rear. For braking purposes, the motorcycle has a 300mm single disc at the front and a 270mm single disc at the rear.

At the heart of the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom, there is a four-stroke, liquid-cooled, 55-degree V-twin, 903cc engine, which makes it one of the very few cruiser motorcycles to get modern-day liquid cooling technology. Paired to a 5-speed gearbox, this engine produces a maximum power output of 51 PS, while the peak torque output stands at 78 Nm.

Save for a dual-channel ABS, this premium cruiser from Kawasaki doesn’t get any other premium safety feature or electronic riding aid.

The Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom might not be rich in terms of contemporary features and riding aids. What it offers is a quintessential American old-school flavour in its cruiser body – tons of visual appeal, low slung stance and plush suspension setup for comfortable ride quality and plenty of torque in the mid-range for effortless mile-munching.