How Do you Feel?
The Suzuki also got good marks for its compliant suspension on slab highways with small cracks, but the Star got good marks all around too, despite a softish front end. There wasn't much control front and back, but most testers agreed that at least the ride quality was evenly matched for both.
Both the Fat Bob and the Kingpin have a firmer ride and give more notice of bumps, but only large, sharp irregularities come through enough to really chafe the rider. The Victory surprised some testers with its betterthan- expected compliancy.
Kawasaki offered the least favorite ride on anything but glassy-smooth asphalt, thanks to an annoying lack of rebound damping even with its adjustable shocks. In good conditions the Vulcan was controlled and compliant enough, but it also has noticeable jacking under strong throttle inputs. All bikes offer preloadadjustable rear suspensions.
Even if no one bike immediately got the vote as overall favorite, other factors swayed opinions.
The Intruder 1500 always counted comfort as one of its strongest points, and the C90 carries on the tradition with its redesigned, flatter seat. The shape allows for the most room to move around on and proved comfy for all sizes of riders, even the tall ones.
Even though the Kingpin's handlebar is technically the widest here, its severely pulled-back shape makes it seem much narrower, offering good control and not as much exposure to the wind as the wider, swept configurations of the metric bikes. But the 8-Ball's firmer seat has a more scooped dish with a limiting shape and less support, so unless you fit it right you won't be happy after an hour or so. Most testers said it fit them OK. The Kawasaki saddle is disappointing because it looks so broad and inviting. Although the padding feels good initially, there's scant room to move around-a wedge at the rear keeps you from sliding back. As a result every one of our riders felt uncomfortably cramped on longer stints. The Kawasaki fell close to the bottom of the rankings for overall ergonomics also because of its extremely wide handlebar-35 inches. It gives good leverage for gentler sweepers but feels awkward during full-lock turns and just hangs you out in the wind at highway speeds, punishing every tester.
In terms of passenger support, however, the Vulcan was tops, with the Road Star saddle and Suzuki tied for second followed by the Victory's accessory add-on, with the thin passenger pad on the Harley dead last.
The Star's combo of seat width, bar shape (just a bit wider than Harley's narrow drag bar) and enough support earned it the most overall agreeable riding position by all riders. Even the tall boys could stretch out, though our tallest rider preferred Suzuki's even flatter dish most.
But there was enough legroom here for everyone. The Star and C90 earned the top marks, with the Kingpin and Vulcan close behind. The Harley, with its combination of drag bar and midmount pegs, canted pilots slightly forward and put most testers in a knees-up riding position. Only one tester felt it was truly comfortable; the rest of the crew wasn't impressed. Folks over 5 feet 10 inches won't be happy on this bike unless they opt for the forward pegs.
Coming About
None of these bikes could be called a canyon-carver, but . . . the Victory tucks into the turns much better than one would expect. By the looks of that long pullback bar, front-end feedback should be seriously lacking, but that's just not the case-the 8-Ball steers easily and lightly with just a touch on the bars doing the job.
With those big fat tires you'd think it was unwieldy, yet the Fat Bob turns easily and also handles and steers well in general, though the Kawasaki is tops in steering response. In terms of stability in side winds or parallel pavement seams, they all do pretty well, although the Fat Bob's disc wheels make it susceptible to side winds.
The Star steers surprisingly nimbly for its bulk, considering it's only 10 pounds shy of the much heavier-feeling Kawi. you could feel every ounce of the Vulcan's heft in slow-speed maneuvers, and that handlebar became a hindrance on full-lock turns. But out on the road the Classic was a veritable freight train of stability in speedier sweepers.