Back roads were the venue that all the bikes were best at, and we made sure to spend most of our testing on smooth two-laners. While all did well in the hinterlands, we split our picks among what worked best. Our semi-rookie rider liked the Vulcan most, citing the way it tipped eagerly into corners and powered out the other side, while the more experienced riders were skeptical of the skinny tire holding its own on sometimes-dirty roads. The choice of the veteran riders was the V Star. With near-telepathic neutral handling, it went right where it was aimed, was the easiest to correct mid-corner, and easily swung u-turns, thought short-armed riders might run out of tuning radius with the wide bars. The Kawasaki tended to fall into corners more, so while it was eager, it also felt less accurate.
The Sportster is nimble on back roads, with its very low center of gravity, light weight, shorter wheelbase and more aggressive steering geometry. It has little ground clearance, but it doesn't need as much either, carving a tight circle with less lean than the others. However, when it touches down, it grinds hard parts pretty easily. The worst thing on the V Star was its limited cornering clearance. With the longest wheelbase in the test, it needs more lean, yet drags very quickly. Thankfully, it's just hitting the boards (which are equipped with replaceable "draggers") for a bit before board mounts and frame touch down next. The Vulcan would touch down too, but you really had to be trying.
Braking is solid on all three bikes, though not particularly impressive on any. The Star wins over the other two by a smidgen, but the H-D had the most controllable rear disc, with the other two locking up pretty easily. Clutch action is also unremarkable, with the Vulcan engaging pretty far out, the Sportster engaging too close to the bar, and the 950 somewhere in the middle. Shifting is typically heavy and clunky, but accurate on the H-D, with the Vulcan slightly vague (but helped with its Neutral-Finder feature), and the Star coming out ahead again with a light-shifting, smooth unit.
In fuel economy, the Star edges the others again, getting almost 10% more than the other two, but gets beaten on overall range by the Vulcan, with its larger tank. We're guessing the V Star's taller gearing and torquey motor (allowing for more relaxed rpm at all times) contributed heavily to this.
So if you've been paying attention, it's probably obvious that the Star was our favorite of this bunch-though it wasn't unanimous. We had one tester who absolutely loved the Kawasaki, and there is a lot to love. It's the only true skinny bike between Honda's 750cc Spirit and a slew of bikes on the wrong side of $10,000. That said, it's also the most expensive in this test, by $300 over the V Star. And we're not exactly sure why it's $500 more than it's nearly-identical fat sister, the Classic. The true entry-level H-D Low was a little out of its depth here with these bikes, but we all found things to like about it. The thing that chafed us about it were conscious decisions by Harley-Davidson to make it that way. Tell us again why there isn't a standard 883 model?
So, just like in real life, sometimes the fat girl wins. With a killer price point, drop-dead looks, and comfort and handling to fit a wide range of riders, we have no compunctions about suggesting the V Star 950 to just about anyone. While we would have liked to have put the Speedmaster up against it, Star's strategy of straddling categories while creating a bike unique in its own right pays off with this sweet little model.
The Sportster's gauge may not have been the most stylish but it was the easiest to see at a glance in a full-face helmet. The V-Star's gauge is a very attractive unit that sits at too flat an angle to see without leaning over, regardless of the helmet you wear. The Vulcan splits the difference with a tank-mounted gauge that is actually easy to read with big lettering on the LCD.