The Kawasaki Vulcan S is a cruiser motorcycle from Kawasaki. It was launched in 2018 and is still on sale. Cruisers are built for relaxed riding, typically with a low seat, a laid-back posture and an engine that pulls from low revs. With a 649 cc engine it sits in the middleweight 450–800 cc class.
Power comes from a 649 cc twin-cylinder liquid-cooled fuel-injected engine that makes 61 PS at 7,500 rpm and 61 Nm of torque at 6,600 rpm. Its bore is wider than its stroke (83 mm x 60 mm), a short-stroke layout that generally favours higher revs. Divide power by kerb weight and it has about 260 PS per tonne; by that measure, it is genuinely fast, well beyond everyday traffic speeds. The claimed top speed is 186 km/h. It has electric start.
It has a 6-speed manual gearbox with a 1-down, 5-up shift pattern, and a chain carries drive to the rear wheel. It uses a wet multi-plate clutch.
It is built around a tubular diamond frame. At the front, the suspension is Ø41 mm, telescopic fork, wheel travel - 130 mm. At the rear, it is offset laydown Single-Shock, linkage equipped, with adjustable preload, wheel travel - 80 mm. Braking is by a 300 mm disc at the front and a 250 mm disc at the rear, with dual-channel ABS. ABS on both wheels keeps either tyre from locking under hard braking. It rides on 18-inch front and 17-inch rear alloy wheels with tubeless tyres — 120/70-18 at the front and 160/60-17 at the rear.
The seat is 705 mm off the ground, which is low and makes it easy to put your feet down. It weighs 235 kg ready to ride, which is heavy, so parking and tight U-turns need care. Ground clearance is 130 mm — low, so take speed breakers and steep ramps slowly. It is 2,310 mm long, with 1,575 mm between the axles. Its 14 L fuel tank and claimed mileage of 20.58 kmpl work out to roughly 288 km per tankful on paper; real-world range is usually lower.
Equipment includes an analogue and digital instrument console, an LED headlamp, distance-to-empty readout, gear position indicator, cruise control, daytime running lamps, real-time mileage indicator and service due indicator. Safety equipment includes engine kill switch, traction control, low fuel indicator and malfunction indicator.
The manufacturer's warranty is 2 years or 30,000 km. For the Kawasaki Vulcan S, Mechiee offers a fixed ₹10,499 doorstep service.
It is best suited to relaxed riding and unhurried weekend trips. Its low seat also makes it approachable for shorter and newer riders. With this much performance, it is better as a step-up bike than a first bike.
Its chain drive needs regular cleaning, lubrication and slack adjustment.
