Kawasaki Vulcan 2000
Kawasaki Vulcan 2000
.04newrides
Brand K plays the (big) numbers game
THE MOST IMPORTANT MOTORCYCLES IN AMERICA? WELL, you’re looking at one of’em, Kawasaki’s just-announced lollapalooza of a cruiser, the liquid-cooled, pushrod-activated Vulcan 2000, at 2053cc the biggest-ever Kawi—heck, the biggest-ever Japanese bike motor of any kind!
Why do cruisers hold so much sway? It’s a simple matter of numbers. Last year, in the big-streetbike category (65 lcc-plus), nearly half of all new models sold in the U.S. were Harley-Davidsons-most of which are classified as cruisers. Let’s just zoom-in on Yamaha, which gamers big headlines with its R-series repliracers and FJR sport-tourer. Even so, two out of every three Yamaha streetbikes sold here in 2002 were cruisers or touring-cruisers.
More numbers: Because weight isn’t critical for a cruiser, nor state-of-the-art suspension/brakes, nor outright performance, R&D time is shorter and less expensive, adding to a company’s bottom line. One basic engine/chassis platform can also propagate three or four models-cruiser, powercruiser, retro-cruiser, touring-cruiser, etc. More savings. Finally, at a time when birthing an all-new powerplant runs well into seven figures, an engine with a shelf-life that spans
decades (think Harley Evo or Yamaha Virago) is like money in the bank.
Of course, not all cruiser numbers are big. Kawasaki’s market share of the U.S. big-bike class, for instance, last year was just 7 percent, number five behind the rest of Japan, Inc., and Harley-Davidson. Brand K is hoping to make a B-I-G impact with its jumbo Vulcan 2000. Besides displacement, everything about this new mega-cruiser is outsized. Such as the 200-series radial rear tire slotted under a fender wide enough to span streams. The taillight looks like it was taken from a truck. Jutting ahead of the shrouded, 49mm fork tubes is a chrome-plated proboscis that would do Babs Streisand proud-an array of three projector bulbs forms the low beam, while a conventional bulb/reflector takes care of high. With its seamless, 5.5-gallon fuel tank brimming, the Vulcan 2000 will be kissing 800 pounds.
Good thing it’s got motor, then. Details to follow, but first a word about big Vee’s...er, inspiration. “It looks like a water-cooled Yamaha with
Harley pushrod tubes,” said someone in the photo studio. Well, yes. The Kawasaki’s handlers were quick to offer, “Hey, a pushrod’s a pushrod,
a piston’s a piston,” deflections, but there is no denying that the Vulcan was heavily influenced by the boffo-selling Road Star 1600 (now 1700, see sidebar). Ditto the addition of belt drive, hardtail-look rear suspension and faux separate gearbox,
achieved like the Yamaha via a jackshaft.
Whatever its lineage, insiders who have seen the engine apart came away mightily impressed with its engineering.
Not to mention its power output-how’s about 100 or so horsepower with a healthy 140 foot-pounds of torque? “Wait ’til you get this thing on the road,” was the tease. “It’s stout.”
Injected fuel makes its way into the four-valve heads via colossal 40mm intake valves, fills up the 4-inch (103mm) bores, then is routed past 36mm exhausts to twin slash-cut mufflers containing catalyzers. Water jackets keep the top half of the cylinders cool; the bottom halves are handled by cylinder fins and oil jets directed at the undersides of the forged pistons. Hydraulic lash adjusters automatically maintain valve clearance.
Inside the black wrinkle-painted crankcases, you’ll find flywheels the size of small pizza pans (8.7 inches), dual counterbalancers, and a crank-mounted drivetrain damper to handle the worst of the brute’s torque fluctuations. Lubrication is so-called “semi-dry,” the oil stored in the transmission (again, a la Yamaha) to keep it away from the crankshaft and lessen windage loss.
Overall, it’s a good-looking motor, especially from the left side, with its chromed primary cover and outside oil lines running up the cylinders, adding to the son-ofStearman effect.
We’ve already seen Honda’s 1800 Rune, Yamaha’s 1700 Road Star, Triumph’s monster 2300cc Rocket III and now this, a 2-liter Kawasaki. Mark 2004 as a big year for big cruisers. -David Edwards
