$3,645
Charlotte, North Carolina
Category
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Engine
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Posted Over 1 Month
2008 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Mean Streak, Kawasaki s Mean Streak isn t just an excuse for another exercise in chrome. It s a performance cruiser and a real blast. On a cruiser you re supposed to sit back, slow down and watch the scenery drift by. Not on this one! The format, from Kawasaki s point of view at least, was simple. Take an existing big V-twin cruiser in the form of the VN1500 and tune its motor to give more power. Restyle the bike to look longer, lower and more muscular, adjust the riding position and increase ground clearance. While you re at it, bolt on firmer suspension, better brakes and stickier tyres. Oh, and give it lashings of chrome. The Kawasaki delivers lots of smooth, low-rev torque and a pleasantly relaxed feel. The fuel injection impresses with its crisp response right through the range. The big motor happily thrumms along with just 1500rpm showing on the tacho in top gear, and pulls without complaint from below 40mph. Maximum torque is produced at just 3000rpm, so there s always plenty of grunt on tap. The MeanStreak feels notably lighter and sportier than most cruisers on the market. The bike has a distinctly firmer, better-controlled feel to it. It's also easier to steer and can be cranked into turns with fairly light pressure on the bars. The Streak s fat tires give heaps of grip and, by cruiser standards, there is a generous amount of ground clearance before the replaceable footrest blobs touch down. Much of the credit for that goes to its suspension. Though those thick forks are kicked out at a chopper-esque angle, they work pretty well and are firm enough to give good feedback. Likewise, the rear shocks do a good job of keeping the bike under control. High-speed stability was is great, not that you d expect anything less of a machine with such stretched-out geometry. The front brake, lifted straight from the ZX-9R, is superbly powerful and quite capable of locking the front Dunlop on most surfaces. They also give plenty of feel. The MeanStreak is a stylish, refined, torquey bike that has a fair turn of speed and handles and stops better than a machine of this size and shape has a right to.
