We test rode the Kawasaki Vulcan 650 S!
We test rode the Kawasaki Vulcan 650S on Sunday, not knowing what to expect. This is, after all, a cruiser from a Japanese badge known for sport bikes. So this is kinda like going to a pizza joint and asking for a salad 🤔
Kawasaki says this is their own unique take on what a cruiser should be, and that it's not for the herd-mentality kinda cruiser rider. And we agree. There's a lot more going on beneath the subtle, understated design.
Test-riding this curvy, matte-black beast was Speedy (#KTM loving geek) and Winston (resident bike-builder and fan of all things old school). This means we got two different personalities, riding styles and ideas about what a good cruiser should be. And we ended up with two wildly different perspectives from their test rides.
What do their takeaways have in common? In short, both were pleasantly surprised in several ways.
Sport bikes can be judged on horsepower and zero to sixty times and whatnot. That's pretty straightforward. With cruisers, it's a lot more... Subjective. It's more about feel and emotion. So a big question was: is this just a Ninja 650 engine shoehorned into a cruiser body for no reason, without that quintessential character and feel of a true cruiser?
Short answer: yes and no, but in a good way both times. Long answer: the discussion that followed after test rides by both guys was, shall we say, long and sprited 😅
We're thinking of doing more bike reviews here at #UrbanGypsiesMC, and a lot more in-depth. Would you guys be interested? Stay tuned!
