WD wrote on 11/27/13 at 10:05:18:Id spend time on every forum that is about a bike that just Might fit your needs. This is a decision that wont be cheap or easy to change should you make the wrong choice. Take your time, get it right on the first pass.
WD knows a good bit about the big Kawasaki , I wanna call it the Drifter.
Drifter was a variant of the VN1500, inarguably THE best V twin ever made. The 1600, while just a refinement, took massive steps backwards in the looks department. But, for a tourer, the 1600 has cast wheels sporting tubeless tires, much more user friendly than the spoke wheels and inner tubes of the 1500 Vulcan.
Kawasaki Nomad in 1500 or 1600, or the Vaquero in "jumbo industrial sized" displacement, are great bikes for the buck. The Vaquero adds a fairing and top trunk to the old Nomad platform... but it will cost you ElectraGlide money to buy a new one.
The Vulcans over 805cc are BIG bikes. Except the 900, which is just a bored and stroked 805 with fuel injection, ugly fenders, and a faulty belt drive system. The bigger platforms are liquid cooled, fuel injected (debuted in 1998 on the 99 1500 Drifter), shaft driven, windshield/fairing and luggage friendly.
I agree. I looked at the Harleys and was not all that impressed. Then I was advised on various forums that if I bought a Harley, most of the stock stuff like shocks, carb, filter and so on needed chucking away and replacing. The Vulcan 1600 has shaft drive - I really think a big thing like that must have that. (and I once had a BMW Boxer) . But now, Harley are having to copy the Japs to stay in the game. I have 3 jap bikes, and they ALL have balance weight shafts, overhead cams, two have twin plugs and unit gearboxes. Both my V twins are watercooled. I don't want to be shaken to pieces and charged double for it.
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