VIDEO REVIEW The Kawasaki Vulcan S Will Change Your Life

By Manuel Carrillo III - September 1, 2015

Bugatti Veyron, BAC Mono and Kawasaki Vulcan S ABS — what do those three machines have in common? They are all vehicles I’ve tested this year, and they all have changed my life.

With the Bugatti I drove a few weeks ago at Pebble Beach, I had to re-learn how to breathe under full-throttle, 1.5-g acceleration. While that level of acceleration is well within the limits of what the human body can handle, my brain wasn’t used to that kind of acceleration in a car, and it was kind of disorienting. None of us remembers what it was like the first time ambient air entered our lungs, but if you ever drive or ride in a Bugatti Veyron, you’ll come close to knowing what it means to be “born again”. One full-throttle acceleration run in a Veyron is all it takes for that car to change your life.

Thanks to the BAC Mono, I finally get the appeal of racecars for the street. I have always appreciated comfort and capability in the cars I drive, but now I understand how capability uncompromised by comfort can be a good thing. Actually, it’s one of the best things ever. The BAC mono is like the DMV. Not the Department of Motor Vehicles, but the dynamic missile vehicle. As much as the actual DMV sucks, the BAC Mono is good … no matter how fast you’re driving it. Just sitting at a stop light in what’s basically a Formula 3 car for the street, you feel so diametrically opposed to the Corollas, F-150s and Altimas sharing the road with you. Even at the traffic signal, the BAC Mono makes you feel like a champion racing driver/rockstar. It was a feeling so profound, it made me forget all my previously held negative opinions of racecars for the street. The Mono flipped my perceptions around like a quarter-million-dollar bribe, and I can’t wait for that car to “bribe” me some more. How much would a big bribe change your life?

It’s easy to accept that a $2.25 million Bugatti and a $200,000 BAC Mono could be life-changing, but how can a $7,399 Kawasaki motorbike be listed among such company? Is it because it’s exciting? No. I mean, the bike is exciting to ride, but it’s not life-changing exciting like a Veyron. The Vulcan is more of a life-changer because, like the Mono, it’s a perception-changer. Before testing the 2015 Kawasaki Vulcan S ABS, I was sure I’d never own a motorcycle. I have enough opportunities as a motoring writer to ride motorcycles quite frequently, plus, I like the idea of minimizing my chances of inattentive drivers kissing me with their Camrys and LeSabres.

My opposition to motorcycle ownership was as staunch as my derision for street-ready racecars, but then the Vulcan came along and hit the “minimize” button on my motorcycle ownership concerns.

When you experience the union of man and machine, you’re not worried about that guy up ahead in the Chrysler Sebring who just spilled coffee in his lap and is weaving all over the road as his man nuggets get poached.

Kawasaki did a great job of making this bike feel like an extension of me. The experience of riding it is more than just riding a sporty entry-level cruiser. Sometimes while riding it, you become one with the machine, and together with it you’re like low-flying aircraft. When you experience the union of man and machine, it’s rather difficult to be concerned about that guy up ahead in the Chrysler Sebring who just spilled coffee in his lap, and is weaving all over the road as his testicles turn to poached eggs. Plus, you’ve got ABS on the Vulcan S, so burn baby, burn. Any hazards ahead of you are easily avoidable.

If you find yourself ahead of the soccer mom driving her children more than she’s driving her Grand Caravan, you’ll have plenty of power to get away from her. The Vulcan S uses a 649cc parallel-twin that’s similar to the one in the Ninja 650 sport bike, but tuned for flatter power delivery. If you have to weave a safe path through Mrs. Soccer Mom and Mr. Boiled Balls, the Vulcan S’s low center of gravity, and light disposition eases maneuverability through the danger zone, no matter what or whom the public roads throw at you.

But when the roads throw bumps at you, you’ll feel it. This isn’t a complaint about the 498-lb Vulcan S. It’s more of a complaint about motorcycles in general. They ride rougher than cars. Even the 849-lb Harley-Davidson Road Glide gets rough at times, but this is a minor quibble, and it’s a long way from hampering the two-wheeled riding experience.

If you’ve been on the fence about getting a motorcycle, you should test out a Kawasaki Vulcan S. Like Ed Tahaney said in his more in-depth review of this bike, “In an age where vehicles come larded with crap like driver-assist technology, electric steering, and fake exhaust noise — things, that, in the end ultimately take away control from the driver — it’s a relief to ride a motorcycle like the Kawasaki Vulcan S.” The Vulcan S is one of the best motorcycles out there to supplement your sports car ownership. It’s quick, nimble and stylish, while still being something you can buy brand-new that isn’t saddled with anesthetizing electronic nannies. At the very least it will make your garage a little more interesting. At most, it might affect you like it affected me, and change your life.