Kawasaki VN900 - very easy rider

Summertime, and the living is easy, says the old song - what better time, then, to cruise around on an understated, laid-back Harley clone such as Kawasaki's VN900 Custom

Except that the Cape's weather gods, capricious as ever, gave us a week of cloudy skies and intermittent rain, which is why the pictures of the VN900 look like they were taken in midwinter.

But that didn't seem to matter; this smooth-running cruiser encourages a relaxed attitude to riding that smoothes the kinks out of your soul. The scenery becomes more important than the route, the perfume of the fynbos more important than performance.

Which is just as well; the bike's 903cc, liquid-cooled V-twin revs to a lazy 5700rpm, squeezing out a seriously underwhelming 37kW, with a more respectable 78Nm on tap at only 3700.

Short-shift into top and it'll accelerate briskly up to 140km/h. After that you need a lot of open road to wind the bike up to its true maximum of 166km/h, with 178 showing on the speedometer and the VN900 running rock-steady in a straight line.

The SOHC Vee shovels out plenty of midrange torque, however, and the fuel-injection is nicely damped, avoiding the dreaded "spritzer snatch" and making the bike a pleasure to ride in traffic.

Once away from the daily lemming run the engine "goes to sleep" and runs turbine-smooth at 105km/h with the speedometer needle pointing straight up. Any faster results in a buzzy secondary vibration that gets worse the faster you go, setting your teeth a little on edge so you naturally settle down to 105.

The bike's laid-back persona and mild state of tune contribute significantly to its very creditable 5.5 litres/100km fuel consumption. Is Kawasaki trying to tell us something here?

The clutch is light and very positive with a rather sudden hook-up, the five-speed gearbox typical Kawasaki with extra play to make sure it always goes in. However, the belt final drive (copied from Harley) soaks up any lash or snatch induced in the drivetrain - why can't everybody use it?

The tank-mounted speedo is also copied from Harley - not such a good idea, especially with the warning icons and neutral light below it, even further from the rider's eyeline.

It's safer to look at the indicators themselves (which stay on, American style, and flash off to indicate a turn) rather than the repeater when you need to confirm whether or not you've left them on, and find neutral by feel, the same way you do with a scrambler which doesn't have a neutral light.

Fortunately, as with all Kawasakis, neutral is easy to find.

By the end of the test period I was getting seamless upshifts without the clutch but I respected the big V-twin's not inconsiderable engine braking and always used the clutch for downshifts.

True to the Custom Style Guide, the brakes rely on old-fashioned, high-maintenance sliding callipers front and rear but there's plenty of initial bite at both ends and plenty of front-end dive under hard braking; the limiting factor is actually the small footprint of the skinny front tyre.

The non-adjustable suspension is firmer than expected but supple at the front, really firm but never harsh at the rear thanks to a complex rising-rate linkage and vertical monoshock hidden under the seat and side covers so the bike looks like a hardtail.

The front-mounted foot-pegs are not as low as they look, giving reasonable ground clearance. Be warned, however, the first things to touch down are your heels - very disconcerting.

There's a slight, vague wiggle (not quite a headshake) on long sweepers - enough to upset the composure of the rider but not that of the bike - possibly due to too great a disparity between front and rear tyre sizes.

Thanks to the raked-out steering head, the steering is heavy and flops into corners at low speed. You get used to it after a few days and it can make the bike more manoeuvrable in traffic but it's always a problem wheeling the bike out of the garage and turning it round.

The styling is unashamedly Motor Company Clone but smooth and clean, making it easy to tidy up for the photo shoot. Fit and finish are good, especially the chrome and the machined edges of the (ornamental) finning on the cylinders.

The engine is blacked out except for chromed covers - which are actually plastic under the chrome, making it something of a mystery that the bike weighs 278kg with a full tank.

Said tank holds 20 litres, good enough for 350km between stops, so it's as well that the VN900 is very comfortable. The seat is low, but better padded than it looks and the drag 'bars on low risers fall naturally to hand.

VERDICT

At R79 995 the VN900 is a civilised cruiser for born-agains and ladies - or anybody else who likes riding more than they like prestigious badges.

Test bike from Suzuki South, Cape Town.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 903cc liquid-cooled V-Twin.

Bore x stroke: 88 x 74.2mm.

Compression ratio: 9.5:1.

Valvegear: SOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder.

Power: 37kW at 5700rpm.

Torque: 78Nm at 3700.

Induction: Electronic fuel-injection with two 34mm throttle bodies.

Ignition: Digital electronic.