Vulcan 2000
VULCAN 2000
Kawasaki redefines the Piston Enlargement Program
MARK HOYER
IS THE BIG GAME OVER? WILL THE KAWASAKI VULCAN 2000’S GIANT 125cubic-inch V-Twin spell an end to the Displacement Race in the twocylinder production-bike world? How big can you possibly go with a VTwin motorcycle engine?
“There is really no reason why 3-liter cylinders cannot be made to run just fine,” says CW's Tech Editor Kevin Cameron. “This would mean we could contemplate a 6-liter V-Twin. Postulating a 6.5-inch stroke and 3500 foot-per-minute piston speed, we’d get 3250 rpm (about 450 revs higher than the large radiais turned in WWII) and with 180-psi Brake Mean Effective Pressure that would give us about 265 horsepower. A normal car starter should be able to crank this thing-and if not, we could specify the more dramatic Coffman cartridge starter, using blank 12-gauge shotgun shells driving a piston on a helical spline.”
Ooh, cool accessory: Nickel-plated Mossberg shotgun starters...
’Til we see somebody step up to the plate, the Vulcan 2000 and its pair of 1026.5cc cylinders rules the V-Twin roost, even if Triumph’s 2.3-liter Rocket III Triple edges it on outright cylinder volume.
And not just the engine is big. Parking spaces marked “compact” won’t do for this 785-pound, 81/2-foot-long behemoth. As Kawasaki explains, the project was started four years ago, when the biggest OEM cruiser you could buy was Yamaha's 1606cc V-Twin Road Star.
CYCLE WORLD TEST
"We could see where the market was going with displacement, so at
the time we thought we'd leapfrog them with a 2 liter," says Patrick Kelly, product manager for the Vulcan 2000.
Kawasaki indeed hurdled all the Twins, including Honda's later-intro'ed VTX1 800, with the Rocket III the only larger displacement machine set to come to market anytime soon.
The Vulcan's 123.2mm (4.85-inch) stroke is, incredibly, 28.2mm longer than that of the Vulcan 1600. Piston speed (4200 feet per minute at the 5250 rpm redline) is definitely getting up there in terms of what production bikes usually produce, so the use of pushrod actuation for four valves per cylinder is of no negative consequence in terms of limiting maximum revs. Plus, low-end torque was the key here any way. so the enthne is tuned for such.
Kawasaki was quick to point out that this powerplant, even with the gargantuan stroke, is only 2mm taller overall than the VN1600 mill. This, the company says, is a result of using pushrods (no big gears and cams in the heads), which ultimately allows a low seat height, of paramount importance to the cruiser buyer, according to Kawasaki market research. Smartasses, we asked if perhaps it should have built a Flathead instead of an OHV engine, to lower the seat height even more.
“If we could get enough power and get it through emissions, we probably would!” Kelly said with a laugh.
Ooh, 6-liter Flathead V-Twin with Mossberg shotgun starter option and 24-inch seat height...
We’ll leave the crazy future to the future, and concentrate on this rather amazing present.. .or presence, shall we say.
The liquid-cooled Vulcan 2K features a 103mm bore to accompany its long stroke. The four-valve heads have very long rocker arms, with hydraulic valve-lash adjusters placed in the tips. Power pulses from the 52-degree Twin are profound, and because the bike has a single-pin crankshaft (to get that classic V-Twin sound), dual chaindriven balance shafts are located under each cylinder, while a rubber front engine mount also helps quell vibration. These measures are effective, for this is a smooth engine. The engine and gearbox are of unit design, although the look on the outside is naturally meant to mimic a separate crankcase and gearbox. Primary drive is by link-plate “Hyvo” chain (stronger than a conventional roller chain because it has many more plates across its width), with a cam-type damper on crank end to relieve shock produced by such massive combustion events. Compression is 9.5:1, and to relieve the starter of some strain, a solenoid-operated decompression system lifts exhaust
valves slightly when the starter button is pressed.
You will notice a radiator.
“We felt that there was no way we could get the performance and long-term reliability we were after without liquidcooling,” says Kelly. “The benefits far outweighed the (styling) negatives associated with adding a radiator.”
Other than by seeing the radiator, you’d hardly notice the bike is liquid-cooled, because the engine is a very tidy visual package. And, overall, the styling is pleasant, but derivative. There is more than a passing resemblance to the Yamaha Road Star, itself culled from the American aesthetic laid down over the decades by Indian and HarleyDavidson. In any case, the Vulcan looks like we expect a fat-fendered cruiser to look, which means it doesn't break any new ground.
Except, perhaps in terms of sheer dimension. The 5.5-gal lon fuel tank is immense, the Harleyesque chrome headlight nacelle (see the Road King Custom) lending a further weight to what seems likes acres of sheetmetal laid out before you from the rider's seat. Add the plus-size powerplant, massive fork, big wheels and tires (a 16-inch x 200mm-wide rear, new for Bridgestone in this size), and based on dimension alone, presence is established. There are a few nice touches: a loud horn, the chrome rear-brake-reservoir cover; the hidden gearshift linkage for the heel/toe shifter. Also, the fuel tank is seamless, with no welded flange on tank bottom. The paint quality is good (even if the colors seem a little flat), the chrome of good quality. It better be: The 2000 pushes the Japanese cruiser price envelope a bit at $14,499.
The round shape of the cylinder fins and their machinededge aluminum finish are a nice contrast to the black wrinkle coat paint of the cases and barrels. If there is anything out of the ordinary about the wrinkle finish, it's that there is a satin cast, not the usual flat paint surface. Looks good. On the right, a quartet of pushrod tubes echo the engine's 52-degree Vee angle, while on the left, the chrome oil-feed lines do the same. The engine is the visual centerpiece, as it should be on a 2053cc cruiser.
While looking at a motorcycle is certainly part of the own ership experience, most of us are in it for the riding. You won't be disappointed in the Vulcan 2000. Yes it is big, and you feel every pound when you heave it off its chrome sidestand. The large saddle is spacious and well made, with nice stitching and a pleasing leather-like cover material. The only complaint is that the seat's rear curvature caused our tall rid ers some tailbone discomfort after 50 miles or so. Riding position is good, although during U-turns, it is definitely a very long reach to the outside handgrip, even some of our apelike testing crew having to give a real stretch. Straight down the road, though, you sit neutrally, with a minimal windsail effect at sub-80-mph cruising speeds.
Suspension is fairly compliant, the massive 49mm fork only mildly harsh over small bumps, while the rear is gener ally smooth-riding. The horizontally mounted underseat shock is both preload (threaded collar) and rebound adjustable, although even with the latter at its maximum set ting, as in zero clicks out, rebound is still.too quick. Access to these adjustments is difficult: first remove the locking sidecover where the tools are stored, then pull the leash to remove the passenger seat. Then undo the pair of 8mm bolts holding the rider's seat. It's safe to say the cruiser owner is the least likely to fiddle with suspension regularly, but Kawasaki certainly isn't making it easy.
A 32-degree rake and the ultra-long wheelbase make this a stable motorcycle. But at 818 pounds all up, the Vulcan 2000 is probably rolling a stability-enhancing groove in the asphalt as it rumbles down the road! Still, steering is light and cornering clearance better than we've come to expect from floorboard-equipped machines. There is a mild tenden cy for the bike to stand up while trail-braking, necessitating pressure on the inside bar to hold your cornering line. But we're pretty sure you aren't looking to do track days on your Vulcan 2000. At least not tracks with turns in them. At the strip, this beast ripped off an impressive 12.5-second quar ter-mile. Top-gear roll-ons, too, were solid, especially con sidering the very tall gearing (both fourth and fifth are over drive gears), the Vulcan running 3.5 seconds in both 40-60and 60-80-mph tests. These numbers would have placed it second behind only the Harley-Davidson V-Rod in our March, 2002, power-cruiser shootout, ahead of the Honda VTX1800, Yamaha Warrior and Kawasaki's own Mean Streak. All this while being substantially heavier than even the most-massive 727-pound-dry VTX. The Tokico four-pis ton calipers and 300mm discs have good feel and excellent power, but you always know you're trying to stop something heavy. The rear brake is an insensitive brute, the pedal tak ing a lot of boot to slow the bike and offering poor feel.
The promise of what a 2-liter V-Twin engine is like to ride seduces everybody. For example, Off-Road Editor Jimmy Lewis normally doesn't ask to throw a leg over any streetbike. "Can I ride it?" he enquired when faced with the immense' presence of the 2000 Then Mr. Lewis pro ceeded to do wheelies! "Nice clutch," he commented upon his return. It is a very nice clutch. Especially considering the torque it handles, the cable-actuated unit has light pull, nice feel and readily takes the abuse of the Off-Road Ed. lofting the front wheel on something so long and heavy. As the wheelie suggests, torque is incredibly abundant. The pair of mammoth cylinders non chalantly pound out 100 foot-pounds at 1500 rpm, with a 121-ft.-lb. peak at 3000 revs. Maximum rear-wheel reading of 96 bhp comes at 5000 rpm, just prior to the 5250-rpm rev-limter.
Because the 46mm throttle bodies also have a secondary, computer-controlled butterfly to manage intake air, it is virtually impossible to overwhelm the engine with throttle, even doing ridiculous things with the twistgrip. Infrequently, the engine would exhibit a slight hesitation, particularly when cold, but you have to work to make the hiccup happen. Part of this rideability also comes from new fuel injectors that make tiny droplets of fuel almost half as large as the previous Vulcan 1600’s squirters, which helps atomization, especially when cold. The ECU pretty much runs the whole fuel/ignition show without a glitch, so even in the abundance of all this muscle, the Vulcan 2000 engine is never intimidating.
“The thing’s a big pussycat,” commented Editor-in-Chief Edwards.
And it really is, albeit one that can break the rear tire loose at will. But because it is managed so well and produces a torque curve so flat, you get what you ask for in a most predictable matter. It is a sweet, sweet engine, which sounds as good as any stock Japanese V-Twin in memory. The exhaust note is surprisingly loud, mechanical noise from the engine minimal (liquid-cooling helps here), so what you get is nice music.
Kawasaki says it will offer no engine performance accessories, although the aftermarket is sure to respond with hop-up bits. For now, though, this is one impressive engine. How big might we get in the future?
“That’s not the only displacement we played around with,” says Kelly enticingly. “There is some room in that motor, believe it or not. At this point we felt that nearly 21 OOcc was big enough.”
Apparently the Battle for BIG has only just begun. The Vulcan 2000 is an excellent first salvo.
VULCAN 2000
SPECIFICATIONS
GENERAL
I List once $14.499
EDITORS' NOTES
THE CRUISER WORLD IS ALL OUT OF WHACK now. It used to be that something around 1100cc was a heavyweight, 750 a middleweight and anything less than that a lightweight. Honda's VTX1800 really changed the game in 2001 with its pair of giant slugs, but now that we have this Vulcan 2000 and Triumph's 2.3-liter Rocket III, the VTX just doesn't seem so big.
These days, if you ain't got at least 2000cc, you're not in the top class, which relegates bikes such as Kawi's own Vulcan 1600 to midsize status, Anything less than 1100cc is now a "light" bike, which makes 800s your entry-level machines. This is just fine if you've got the strength to hoist one of these giants off its sidestand. It's cool, but what happens to the likes of the little guys like Suzuki's GZ250? I wouldn't be surprised if and when Suzuki unleashes its own giant V-Twin cruiser that it uses the wee parallel-Twin as a starter motor. -Mark Hoyer, Feature Editor
TAKING A "BIGGER IS BETTER" CUE FROM the Honda VTX1800, Yamaha Road Star 1700 and coming-soon Triumph Rocket HI, the Vulcan 2000 has taken the bruiser-cruiser category to an allnew height. Or is it an all-new low?
Uon't get me wrong: The Vulcan and its stunning, new pushrod V-Twin is a tower of power. En fact, I can't think of another full-fendered cruiser~-asjde
from the prototype Rocket HI that I sampled last year-that accelerates as hard as this one. Tt~s the rest of the package that is cause for concern.
Nearly 820 pounds fully gassed is a lot of mass-too much, if you ask me. That is why the VTX1300S is a better allrounder than the VTXI800S, and why on the standard-bike front the Suzuki SV6SO outshines the SVI000. In my opin ion, if a bike is going to weigh nearly half a ton, it should have a fairing, saddlebags, reverse, ABS, a CD changer and sensible passenger accommodations. Am I alone here? -Matthew Miles, Managing Editor
SPEAKING AS SOMEONE WHO HASN'T SEEN the sweaty side of a Stairmaster in a few years, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a little road-hugging weight. Besides, 96 horsepower and 121 foot pounds of torque is the best diet plan in the world. Okay, it may be cribbed from the Yamaha Road Star, but the Vulcan's added cubes and liquid-cooling have endowed it with an extra 34 bhn and 25
ft.-lbs. That, friends, comes in very handy out on the road. Unlike many cruisers, this one never lacks for urge, nor will it send riders scurrying to a hop-up catalog in search of better backroad passing abilities.
Hopefully, the fat-fendered, floorboarded Vulcan 2000 is just the first of a family of Kawasakis powered by this lik able lump. A bagger is a no-brainer, just add windscreen and luggage. And I'd love to see a power-cruiser a Ia the "Meaner Streaker" on page 52. Of course, for that the bike would have to shed a few pounds first. Maybe we'll start working out together.. * -David Edwards, Editor-in-chief
