Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Drifter

Last updated
Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Drifter
INdian REfix.jpg
Manufacturer Kawasaki Motorcycles
Engine Four-stroke, SOHC, V-twin, 8 valves [1]
Bore / stroke 88.0 x 66.2 mm
Compression ratio 9.5:1
Ignition type Digital with Kawasaki Throttle Responsive Ignition Control
Transmission 5 speed
Tires 130/90x16 (front)
140/90x16 (rear)
Wheelbase 1,615 mm
Weight245.8 kg (dry)
Related 1500 Drifter
800 Drifter customized to look like an Indian motorcycle Indian Drifter.jpg
800 Drifter customized to look like an Indian motorcycle

The Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Drifter is a 1940s-styled cruiser loosely based on the lines of the c. 1940 Chief produced by the Indian Motocycle Manufacturing Company.

Contents

Features

The Drifter VN800 is powered by a modern, carbureted, single overhead cam, single pin, liquid cooled 805 cc 55-degree V-twin engine. The twin cylinders have 'cooling fins', but they are almost entirely for show.

The Drifter has a hidden rear mono-shock to make it appear to be a hard-tail, akin to a Harley-Davidson Softail. The front and rear fenders cover about half of the respective wheel, and are the most striking visual cue.

Discontinued

When Kawasaki revealed its 2007 models, the 800 Drifter no longer appeared in the Vulcan line-up.

Related Research Articles

V-twin engine

A V-twin engine, also called a V2 engine, is a two-cylinder piston engine where the cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R sport bike

The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R is a motorcycle in the Ninja sport bike series from the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki, the successor to the Ninja ZX-9R. It was originally released in 2004 and has been updated and revised throughout the years. It combines an ultra-narrow chassis, low weight, and radial brakes. In 2004 and 2005 the ZX-10R won Best Superbike from Cycle World magazine, and the international Masterbike competition.

Kawasaki Vulcan

The Vulcan name has been used by Kawasaki for their custom or cruiser motorcycles since 1984, model designation VN, using mostly V-twin engines ranging from 125 to 2,053 cc.

Motorcycle engine Engine that powers a motorcycle

A motorcycle engine is an engine that powers a motorcycle. Motorcycle engines are typically two-stroke or four-stroke internal combustion engines, but other engine types, such as Wankels and electric motors, have been used.

Kawasaki Zephyr

The Kawasaki Zephyr is a range of retro-styled naked superbikes made in the 1990s in Kawasaki's Z series. All models have transverse air-cooled dual overhead camshaft inline-four engines. There were a number of Zephyr models, in four engine capacities, 400, 550, 750, and 1,100 cc.

A drifter is a vagrant who moves from place to place without a fixed home or employment.

Suzuki Boulevard S40

The Suzuki Boulevard S40 is a lightweight cruiser motorcycle manufactured by the Suzuki Motor Corporation for the Japanese domestic market, and exported to New Zealand, North America, as well as to Chile and other countries.

The Kawasaki VN1500 Vulcan Drifter is a fuel-injected, shaft driven and water cooled, part of the Kawasaki Vulcan line of cruiser motorcycles created in the classic style lines of the 1940s Indian Chief. Kawasaki built this model between 1999 and 2005.

The PZL.48 Lampart (leopard) was a Polish heavy fighter-bomber design, that remained only a project, owing to the outbreak of World War II.

Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic

The Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic motorcycle is a mid-sized motorcycle cruiser made by Kawasaki, first introduced in 2006. The cycle follows the formula of a smaller yet capable engine fitted into a one-size up frame, a popular combination also in use by Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha in their respective cruiser lines.

Kawasaki 454 LTD

The Kawasaki 454 LTD is a motorcycle produced from 1985 to 1990, also known as the EN450. It is the forerunner of the Kawasaki Vulcan. The engine was a precise copy of the Kawasaki Ninja 900s, with two fewer cylinders. The Kawasaki 900 had a 908 cc engine. Removing two cylinders from the 4-cylinder divided the number of cc's by two.. Included was the liquid cooling, the bore and stroke, the double overhead camshafts, and four valves per cylinder. This gave it a great deal of power for its size, redlining at 10,000 RPM while delivering 50 horsepower. The Kawasaki 454 is well known for its acceleration, having raced against a 454 LS big block Chevrolet Corvette and beating it to both 0-60 and the quarter mile by more than a second.

Motorcycle components and systems for a motorcycle are engineered, manufactured, and assembled in order to produce motorcycle models with the desired performance, aesthetics, and cost. The key components of modern motorcycles are presented below.

Kawasaki ZZ-R1200 Sport bike

The ZZ-R1200 or ZX-12C, is a sport bike made by Kawasaki from (2002-2005). Identified by its model number ZX1200-C1, it is the successor to the ZX-11(1990-2001). Considered a sport tourer, it had a twin-spar aluminum frame and a liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-stroke inline-four engine. It has twin fans, fuel pumps, and headlights. Additionally, hard touring bags can be added as an option. With factory rear wheel horsepower of 145HP; it is widely regarded to be the most powerful production motorcycle ever built with carbureted induction. It was even more powerful than the fuel injected Honda CBR1100XX. It has been said it was more powerful than any other production motorcycle carbureted or not at 9,800 rpm where it made peak power except the Suzuki Hayabusa or ZX-12R.With a quarter mile time of 10.12 seconds at 136.9 mph.

Kawasaki W series Line of motorcycles made by Kawasaki

The Kawasaki W series is a line of motorcycles made by Kawasaki since 1965 that shares some characteristics of classic British vertical-twin standard motorcycles. Sold as a 1966 model in the North American market, the first Kawasaki W1 had the largest engine displacement of any model manufactured in Japan at the time. Kawasaki continued to build models of the W brand similar to the W1 which will go out of production, ending with a "final edition".

Suzuki Intruder

The Suzuki Intruder is a series of cruiser motorcycles made by Suzuki from 1985 to 2005. After 2005, the Intruder lineup was replaced by the Boulevard range. In Europe, the Intruder name remains in use on certain models. The VS Intruder bikes all have 4-stroke V-twin engines.

The VN750, also known as the Vulcan 750, is a 750 cc class cruiser-style motorcycle made by Kawasaki from 1985 to 2006. The Vulcan 750 was Kawasaki's first cruiser and first V-twin engine, introduced in late 1984 as the 1985 model.

Kawasaki Ha40

The Kawasaki Ha40, also known as the Army Type 2 1,100 hp Liquid Cooled In-line and Ha-60, was a license-built Daimler-Benz DB 601Aa 12-cylinder liquid-cooled inverted-vee aircraft engine. The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) selected the engine to power its Kawasaki Ki-61 fighter.

Meguro motorcycles

Meguro motorcycles were built by Meguro Manufacturing Co motorcycle works (目黒製作所), founded by Hobuji Murato and a high-ranking naval officer, Takaji Suzuki, in 1937. One of the first Japanese motorcycle companies, it became a partner of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, and was eventually absorbed. Named after a district of Tokyo, Meguro had its roots in Murato Iron Works, which was established in 1924. Meguro Seisakusho, which had once developed a copy of a Harley-Davidson V-twin, was established to design and build gearboxes for the nascent Japanese motorcycle industry. Abe Industries, which had once produced its own motorcycle, merged with Meguro in 1931. The brand is being revived by Kawasaki with a new K3 model to be introduced in Japan on February 1, 2021.

Kawasaki MULE Motor vehicle

The Kawasaki MULE is a series of very heavy Utility Task Vehicle that have been built by Kawasaki since 1988. Initially available with a 454 cc (27.70 cu in) twin-cylinder engine in the original MULE 1000 model, the range has grown and been gradually updated over the years, and now includes both petrol and diesel variants.

References

  1. "2006 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Drifter @ Top Speed". February 2006.