Now Lean
Handling was, again, the Kawasaki's strong point. The wide, flat-profile rear tire on the Harley-Davidson looks great, but makes for a slower turn-in. In low speed stuff, the Harley was really solid-feeling, and connected with its torquey, responsive engine. As speeds increased, the quick-steering Kawasaki just got better while the Fat Boy got more sluggish; it's still stable, but it's also higher-effort. However, the Fat Boy Lo soon runs out of ground clearance, and well before its taller competitor. We noticed Kawasaki used the old customizer's trick of a "gooseneck" frame to push the steering pivot farther forward, allowing space for more trail and less rake. It's more common on touring bikes, like its cousin, the Voyager. While the Vulcan was not as super-planted as the Lo, it wasn't squirrely either, and unlike many bikes in its class more speed didn't alter this perception. The Vulcan easily leaves the Fat Boy in the dust when the road starts to wind. Unless there were bumps in the corners...
Bounce for me
Suspension action pretty much matched the bikes' characters, with the Vulcan coming in on the plush side, and the H-D feeling tighter. The Fat Boy did a particularly good job with its limited travel, but there's only so much there, while the Classic moved farther through its stroke, feeling far looser and less controlled. Which quality you prefer will depend on how you ride. Leaned-over in bumpy corners, the Harley does a better job at working with what it has, at least until it runs out of travel and unloads, so taking it easy might be the way to go. Even though it's not lower, the Kawi has a bit less travel at the rear, and with the preload set stiffer and the rebound maxed out it was less controlled at the back, moving around in bumpy corners and not feeling all that stable. On the open road and freeways the Kawasaki had the advantage, with its longer-travel front boingers beating out the more-taut Harley's. The H-D's only real weakness here was when hitting square-edged bumps at high speed; it does a pretty good job of handling them, but the Vulcan is better (though still looser). All testers liked the forks on both bikes quite a bit, as they kept things under control at all speeds and conditions. The only niggle comment from a single tester was that the Fat Boy dives a bit under braking, while the Vulcan keeps it under control.
Whoa, Slow it down
There isn't much to report in the brake department, other than both bikes responded like you'd expect them to. The Fat Boy's binders were on the hard side, while the Vulcan's felt softer. Each progressively slowed its respective bike down without surprises. The Kawasaki might have had a bit more power from its dual-disc setup, but it wasn't that obvious. Even in aggressive riding, the Fat Boy's single brake didn't fade or falter.
Apples and Oranges and Grapes
Like we said up front, these two machines are very different animals, both in looks and performance. While you can't go wrong with either one, prime considerations might be money versus value, with the Fat Boy Lo delivering a unique custom look (for $3000 more), and the Vulcan offering a fine motorcycle at a very low price. Or your riding style may make the difference, with a plusher rig in the Vulcan versus the Harley firmer-and-lower quality. We had the same dilemma, as every tester-to a man-felt he'd rather roll up to a gathering on the eye-catching Harley rather than on the rather generic-looking Kawasaki. There's nothing wrong with the Vulcan, but nothing sets it apart from the crowd. On the other side of the coin, the Vulcan was so much fun on twisty roads and so comfortable, that out on the road it was the obvious choice. So as not to wimp out and declare a tie, we'll say the Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Classic wins by a hair (due to its price).