2011 Kawasaki Vaquero

*This review was written up by a fellow KawaNOW.org friend, Todd Frazier.

2011 Kawasaki Vulcan Vaquero

If you are a cruiser bike fan, touring bike fan, or both, there isn’t much not to like about the new 2011 Kawasaki Vaquero.

I heard this bike described by Kawasaki as the Ultimate Solo Cruiser. After having the opportunity to take the Vaquero for a long test run through rural roads in southeast Texas, I think the new Kawasaki designed bike is just that, and then some. It is an impressive addition to Kawasaki lineup that falls pretty solidly into the bagger category, with some nice touring features.

The first thing you notice about the Vaquero is its stylish design complete with frame mounted fairing and side loading hard bags with a design borrowed from the 1998-2008 Nomad. The lid on the bags is now smooth versus having the three lines familiar to fans of the earlier generations of the Nomad. The bags also now have a side reflector mounted on the bottom rear of the lid. On the front, the fairing has an aggressive look that comes stock with a short, 5” black wind deflector and louvers on each side of the headlight. The front end look puts me in the mind of the late 60’s Camaro and Mustang muscle cars. On the inside, the fairing comes with amber backlit fuel gauge, temperature gauge, speedometer, tachometer, LCD information screen, and a full feature audio system. The speedometer, tachometer, and other gauges and information are positioned well and easy to see with a quick glance downward onto the fairing console.




The saddlebags are integrated into the rear design via a color matched rear fender molding that make a smooth transition between the fender and bags. The seat on the Vaquero has a lower profile, tapered design. The seat height is 28.7” which is about ½ inch taller than my 2006 Nomad. The rear engine guards are a horizontal, flat design that goes along with the overall low profile image of the bike. The bike comes standard with footpegs for the passenger, but again, this bike off the showroom floor is aimed primarily at the solo rider. Don’t stop reading here though if you ride 2 up a large percentage of the time like I do. Kawasaki has some plans for us and the Vaquero too.

Let’s go back to the front of the bike. I must admit that I had not really consciously noticed the lower chin fairing on the front of the bike until I was making a closer personal inspection. I think the addition of the chin spoiler gives the bike a flavor of Kawasaki sport bikes and definitely gives this cruiser/bagger a sporty look. I again go back to the comparison to the late 60’s muscle cars that had bold and aggressive fronts ends with lower spoilers.

The engine has an integrated look to it with a black finish and some minor chrome/bright accents. The wheels, forks, tank cover, and air cleaner are all also finished in black giving the Vaquero a real custom look. The graphics on the 5.3 gallon fuel tank are very simple and use low contrast colors. Kawasaki’s intention here was to raise interest enough to make someone look just a little closer.



The bike comes powered with Kawasaki’s 1700cc (103.7 CID) V-twin with max torque reported at 108 ft. lbs @2750 rpm. The intake on all of the Kawasaki 1700’s for 2011 have a redesigned shape to increase volume, improve idle, and have a more constant throttle response. For the Vaquero only, a 2nd piston ring has been added for more durability. The 1700 is coupled with a 6 speed transmission and Kawasaki reports 1st gear has gone from a 40/13 (3.077) ratio to a 44/15 (2.933) ratio to reduce shift sound. Also on the Vaquero only, 3rd and 4th gears have a taller tooth profile for smoother torque transfer and reduced shift noise. The carbon fiber drive belt has been reduced from 28mm wide to 26mm to help reduce the possibility of any noise.

The stock exhaust has a new taper tip that goes along with the Vaqueros low look.

For comfort, the Vaquero has its frame mounted fairing, 45mm forks, air adjustable rear shocks, and an expanded rider area. The rear shocks are adjusted by way of air valves located under the seat and also have 4-way adjustable damping. The seat is a one-piece design with a low-slung look which comes already slotted for a driver backrest which Kawasaki plans to have available in the near future. The floor boards are positioned slightly forward comparable to the Nomad, and the seating position is similar to the Classic. Here is the Vaquero with the seat removed showing the air valves for the rear shocks.



A 36 Month Warranty comes standard on the Vaquero and the Good Times Protection Plan can be purchased for up to an additional 36 months giving an available 72 months of available warranty.

So what about folks like me that ride 2-up a lot? Kawasaki’s accessories department has been working on the Vaquero through the initial design as well. They will have quite a few accessories available immediately. To begin with, a quick release backrest to add to passenger comfort already has a video available on the Kawasaki website @ http://www.kawasaki.com/Products/product-specifications.aspx?id=495&scid=7 . A new wider gel seat for 30% added passenger seat coverage is also available for just under the $300 MSRP mark. Other accessories already available include luggage rack, passenger floorboards, headsets for intercom and entertainment, chrome engine cover trim, billet GPS mount, billet handlebar clamp, chrome saddlebag top rails, chrome saddlebag side rails, saddlebag liners, and a premium Vulcan custom fit cover. More accessories on the entertainment side include iPod connector kits, aux/mp3 Connector Kits, Sirius/XM satellite radio, CB Radio (however, as I understood it, right now you can have either satellite radio or CB, but 2nd generation will allow for both). Also available now is a larger, 6.5”, smoked wind deflector and clear windshields which come in 12”, 14”, 16”, and 18” lengths. Kawasaki’s “accessorized” bike at the press intro also had spotlights in place of the louvers on the fairing. Kawasaki is also working on several other accessories for future release like the driver backrest mentioned earlier.



So, let’s get to the ride and my impressions. I am comparing the Vaquero primarily against my 2006 Nomad which I have ridden since it was new. Before that, I rode smaller cruisers in the 1100cc range. I am around 6’4” with riding boots on with a long torso and about a 33” inseam so I sit very high in the saddle.

The first thing I noticed when I mounted the bike was how comfortable it was and how natural I felt on it. The seat was very comfortable to me and felt as though I was sitting down in it just slightly. There was a lot of lower back support from the design of the seat. While I am talking about the seat, I usually ride with a driver backrest and it was not until after the ride was over and I was having a discussion about accessories that it actually came to mind that I had ridden around 170 miles without a backrest.

The standard controls were pretty usual with the main switch in the middle just below the handlebars. The handlebars were at a very comfortable distance and angle with the seating position. As a side note, I have 4” risers on my Nomad to bring the bars back a little. On the left side you will find the normal signal switch along with the controls for the radio/entertainment/CB system. I found them to be easy to operate even with my bigger riding gloves on due to the 58degree high forecast for the day. On the right was the standard starter and kill switch along with the cruise control buttons. Again, these were easy to find and operate without distraction or taking my hand off of the bars once I learned where everything was located.



I fired the bike up and it was very smooth without much vibration through the chassis. The sound was that of a stock bike. It was not loud, but did have a nice sound at idle. On the road, the pipes do liven up a little when you call for some extra horses and give off a nice low rumble, but they are far from loud. At normal cruising speed, you hear a nice low sound also, but again, not very loud. Kawasaki claims that the new taper pipes reduce the db very slightly but I am not sure I was able to make a lot of distinction between these and the stock pipes on earlier Kawasaki’s of similar displacement. Those that want a louder sound will want to look into alternative pipes or modifications.

We rolled out of the parking lot and the first thing I noticed was how light this bike felt under me. Yes, I know it has a curb weight just under 836 lbs, but it really felt lighter than that. Then I started measuring up how I felt on the bike. In anticipation of my “next bike”, one of the things I have been looking for since Kawasaki went away from the Nomad 1600 design was a bike that did not make me feel cramped for space when I was on it. I felt like the 1700 Nomad and many other larger cruisers and touring bikes left me in a bit of tight riding posture but the Vaquero did not. The driver floorboards are moved forward about 30mm and with a seating position close to that of a Classic. I felt like I have room to spread out a little and my legs were not crowded. There was not as much room as I have on my 1600 Nomad, but it was very close.

It was a short distance of some stop-and-go riding in medium traffic until we reached some open road and I had become accustomed to the feel of the Vaquero. We came up to highway speed on some rural roads with some long sweeping curves. Approaching the first big curve I threw that bike into it like I normally do my Nomad and learned really fast that I did not need nearly the effort to get this bike to respond. Now the Nomad is not hard to ride in my opinion, but I could feel the Vaquero wanting to lean into the curve with very little effort from me. The bike tracked through the curves very nicely and felt very stable in the turns. The Vaquero has a little bit of a sport bike feel to it in my opinion. The word that kept coming to mind was “nimble”, especially for such a big bike.

Sitting as high as I do in the saddle was a bit of an issue for me with the stock wind deflector on. The wind hit me just about chest high. Riding down the interstate I felt like my helmet was trying to pull itself off of my head due to the fact that the wind was sweeping up from my chest under my helmet. If you are used to riding with no windshield and used to this much wind, this would probably not be as big of an issue for you. I do ride with a windshield and this was too much wind for me, so the Kawasaki folks offered to put on the 14” clear windshield on for me to try. This made a huge difference for couple of reasons. First, the wind was now being deflected up and over my helmet which made for a much more comfortable ride. The ride was even smoother now with no buffeting at all. The fairing and trim on the front of the bike did a nice job of keeping the wind from coming up from below my leg and knee area to cause any turbulence. Second, the sound from the entertainment system was audible at speed. Prior to installing the windshield, the audio was good up until the 50-55mph range and after that; the volume had to be increase close to maximum level in order to hear much at all. After installation of the windshield, the audio from the entertainment system was superb. In fact, many times I ride with earbuds in to listen to music on the open road, and I had to keep reminding myself that I was listening to music from the Vaquero’s fairing speakers because the sounds were so crisp and clear. I am sure that I would want a windshield on the bike for most rides that involved major distance or speed, but it is an easy transition to remove the windshield and put the short deflector back on for cruising in town. Here is a photo with the 14" clear windshield on:



The power of the Vaquero is more than the Nomad and it is more responsive and is very quick to accelerate when you twist the throttle. Kawasaki describes the power somewhere between the Nomad and the Classic. I felt comfortable cruising at a RPM range around 2500, which is just under the point where the Vaquero produced maximum torque (2750 rpm). This meant that I reserved 6th gear/overdrive for interstate speeds up around the 65-70mph range. A wide open throttle from a stopped or slow speed will require you to hold on pretty tight because this bike wants to go.

Bringing the Vaquero down from highway speeds was a snap. The dual front disc and single rear disc were able to stop the Vaquero without issue even under some simulated emergency stop situations.

Activating the cruise control is simple and easy with the controls on the right side grip position. The cruise can be activated and used at any speed between 30mph and 85mph and in any of the top four gears. There is a push button on/off switch and the cruise is set by moving a slide switch to the left with your thumb. The slide switch is also used to increase the cruise speed slightly when set by bumping it slightly to the right, or decreasing cruise speed by bumping it to the left. The cruise is deactivated by pulling the clutch in, activating the front or rear brakes, or twisting the throttle down past the full closed position. There was a slight surge when in 6th gear using cruise control and starting up inclines even at interstate speeds. This was nothing major but noticeable. I tried the cruise in similar terrain situations while in 5th gear and it operated very smooth. In either situation, the cruise control maintained a steady pace and it held its speed well.

The entertainment system can be controlled from the left side of the handlebar and easily reached with your thumb while your hand remains on the left side grip. The bike I was riding was equipped with Sirius/XM, Ipod, and of course AM/FM. Each worked well and it was easy to switch modes, channels, and adjust the volume without taking your attention away from the road. As I said earlier, I found the sound to be superb at slower speeds without the windshield. After the windshield was installed, the sound was great at any speed.

In my opinion, Kawasaki has a hit with the Vaquero and it will be a contender for today’s popular bagger market of cycles. I was really unable to find any negatives about the bike. The Vaquero is a big cruiser with an aggressive look and sporty feel. It also has a lot of the conveniences of a touring bike and accessories available to make it a nice 2up machine.

What would I add to the bike if I bought it today? Immediately, I would put a 14” or 16” clear windshield on because I do not like fighting all of that wind on my chest. I would keep the stock deflector handy to change out for short distance, lower speed cruising. I would add the quick-release passenger backrest and wider gel seat for my wife. Finally I would add the Sirius/XM option just because I am addicted to satellite radio. Eventually, I would change out the pipes for a louder exhaust sound, but that is personal preference. Many riders will love the quiet rumble offered by the stock pipes.

I have been wondering where I might look when I am ready to replace my 2006 Nomad because there was not much on the market with the drivers’ area big enough for me to feel comfortable, or the reliability that I have become accustomed to with Kawasaki. I looked at the new Nomad 1700, and while a very nice bike, it felt a little cramped for my size. There were really no other bikes on the market that had my interest or felt comfortable until now. I think I may have just found my next bike when it’s time to put the ’06 Nomad out to pasture.