Expectations and Surprises
I had the opportunity to ride these two bikes last year. I was looking forward to my first ride on a BMW as I had been told of them in almost mystic terms. The single cylinder F650 is not the bike on which to get blown away by BMW. It has some nice engineering and is an okay motorcycle, but I was underwhelmed. It's certainly a high-end trail bike, but the motor felt weak to me. I expected more beans out of 650cc's. I remember my old XT600 being stronger. That may not be accurate, but my Shadow 500 is definitely way faster on less displacement.
This Kawasaki Vulcan Classic 800 went the opposite direction regarding expectations. Kawasaki has kind of always been an also-ran in my thinking. But I got on this compact 800 and found it to be one of the most all-around balanced bikes I'd ever been on. I'm not a fan of the chain drive, but the balance in this thing was wonderful. Everything just felt right to me and it was a delight to ride. I didn't want to stop. They only cost around $6,000 brand new. Worth a look.
posted by wingman at 1:49 AM
2 Comments:
That was a fun bike ride until our friends in front of us were in an accident. That was scary.
The 800 has been replaced by a fuel injected, cogbelt drive 900. It's about $7K plus tax, etc., etc. Talked to a guy who paid $6900 and was out the door for $8500. Ah, and gas mileage is 50-60mpg. About the same as my '85 Shadow 500. It's the fuel injection I'm sure. Anyway, very nice all around cruiser for a good price.
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