Kawasaki Vulcan S breaks cover

After unveiling the Kawasaki Versys 650 and ER-6n motorcycles based on the Kawasaki Ninja 650, the Japanese two-wheeler giant has unveiled a cruiser offering based on the Ninja 650 christened Kawasaki Vulcan S. The new bike has been positioned as an entry level cruiser offering. The styling of the Kawasaki Vulcan S is of that any typical cruiser motorcycle with large fuel tank, leather saddle seats, petite headlamp and stubby mudguards. The details that make the Kawasaki Vulcan S standout are the huge radiator grill, 10-spoke alloy wheels, offset rear suspension and burly exhaust muffler. The bike employs a part-analogue-part-digital single pod instrument cluster with the analogue tachometer taking centre stage. 

Powering the Kawasaki Vulcan S is the same 650cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin motor as seen on the Ninja 650. But Kawasaki engineers have tuned the motor for smoother power delivery with revised camshaft profiles, intake funnel length, throttle body spacer and air intake for better low- and mid-range power delivery. The Kawasaki Vulcan S produces 62PS of peak power and 62Nm of maximum torque. Power is transmitted to the rear-wheel via a 6-speed gear box. Also the Japanese bikemaker claims that by using a parallel-twin engine instead of a traditional V-Twin engine, they have been successful in placing the mill further forward in the frame thereby allowing for a slimmer chassis and increased lean angle.

The Kawasaki Vulcan S employs the pipe perimeter frame as seen on the new Versys 650. But the rake angle has been hiked to 31-degree to endow the bike with a longer wheelbase to suit its cruiser dynamics. The Kawasaki Vulcan S comes with three different seat, handlebar and peg options. This has been done so as to better suit the requirement of riders with varying height. Like the Ninja and Versys 650 siblings, the Vulcan S uses an adjustable offset laydown rear shock at rear and 41mm telescopic front forks. Braking is done by a single 300mm disc up front and a 250mm disc at the back. The Kawasaki Vulcan S has a fuel tank capacity of 14 litres and it weighs in at 226kg.

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The ABS version of the Kawasaki Vulcan S has been priced at Rs 4.52 lakh in the US market whereas the non-ABS version retails for Rs 4.28 lakh. Given the fact that the Kawasaki Ninja 650 and Kawasaki ER-6n are already on sale in the Indian two-wheeler market we can expect the Vulcan S to head our shores in 2015. But the biggest question will be pricing, if Kawasaki India is able to price the Kawasaki Vulcan S under the Rs 5 lakh mark, then the Harley-Davidson Street 750 would finally have any competition although it would still have a price advantage. The bike will make is European debut at the 2014 EICMA motorcycle show in Italy next month.