Green Piece: Custom Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic Motorcycle by Denny Berg and Cobra

Sometimes things just don't go as planned. Case in point: the custom Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic presented here for your considertion.

When Cobra Engineering's Ken Boyko and customizing genius Denny Berg sat down to plan it back in late 1996, this motorcycle was supposed to be one of a set of three machines. The idea was that three different makes of flagship cruisers -- a Honda Valkyrie, a Yamaha Royal Star, and a Vulcan 1500 Classic that became this machine -- would all get the same elegant, classic treatment. Scheduled to be unveiled at the annual winter industry show, the three bikes were to be sort of a reversal of the previous year's extravaganza, where four Honda A.C.E. 1100s were taken in four different directions to create four very different machines. For the '97 show, the plan was to turn three different machines into three similar ones.

That plan failed to consider the basic nature of the customizing urge, however. Although the idea was applied fully to the Royal Star that became "Eleganza", Berg and Boyko are too creative to press the same mold on three bikes. Once the treatment was successfully applied to one bike, their interest in repeating the same thing twice immediately lost its appeal. So the Valkyrie (which you can see in the February 1998 profile of Berg) became a wild yellow hot rod (a little too wild to actually ride, since the custom carburetion never got sorted out), and the Kawasaki became the steely-eyed street fighter you see here.

"The more I looked at it," recalls Denny Berg of the inception of the Kawasaki project, "the more it seemed like it should be a burly hot rod. I had a really good feel for this bike when I started. It has those nice, clean, American lines." And what better way to modify classic American lines than with some classic American muscle?

The purposeful, high-performance demeanor of the modified Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic starts up front with an "upside-down" fork assembly from a Kawasaki ZX-7 Ninja sportbike. Berg fabricated special triple clamps, modified the damper rod to lengthen the fork an inch, and sent it to California Polishing to get the sheen needed to make it look as good as it works. This set one of the themes for the bike, which uses a lot of polished alloy instead of chrome.

"Chrome has been done to death," Berg opines. "Alloy has a warmer feeling. I like the textures and polish you can get this way." Polished alloy also fits the high-performance disposition of the motorcycle.

The fork brought with it a 17-inch Ninja wheel, which was also polished along with the dual twin-piston front brake calipers, which now pinch Braking U.S.A. rotors. Fitted with a Metzeler tire to get traction to match the braking power, the wheel is embraced by a modified Cobra fiberglass fender. One of the vast selection of Headwinds headlights, with an eye-catching three-section lens, was located to give what Berg terms "a low belt line." Atop the Ninja fork crown, the stock Vulcan handlebar risers grip an Arlen Ness flattrack bar with its wiring routed inside of it. Drag Specialties supplied the handlebar switches, replicas of those on a 1929 Harley. The control cables came from Motion Pro, and they were meticulously routed so they wouldn't intrude.

Stock front brake and clutch master cylinders also visited the polisher and were topped with Cobra billet covers. Berg fabricated the stainless steel brake line. With typical Berg flair, he configured the front brake hoses with an eye-pleasing loop around the back of the front fender. Arlen Ness handlebar grips and throttle match the Headwinds headlight.

The 17-inch cast alloy rear rim is also from the Ninja, but getting it on the shaft-drive Vulcan hub required some fancy machining. "It's probably the most incredible feature on the whole bike," Berg told us. Cobra's craftsmen machined the flanges off the stock Vulcan hub, then machined the Ninja wheel to fit it. The wheel's spokes were welded to the hub, the welds carefully cleaned up, and the whole assembly was sent to California Polishing, which, in Berg's words, "did a super job." The stock rear brake caliper -- polished, naturally -- was hung under the stock swingarm instead of above it as on the stock Vulcan 1500 Classic. It also uses Braking U.S.A. brake pads.

To get the angle and appearance he wanted from the rear tire, he chose a smaller size Metzeler than is usually fitted to the Ninja wheel. (Before you try this yourself, talk to the tire manufacturer about your particular application. It can produce handling problems.) With that wide rear wheel stuffed into the chassis, the frame was no longer wide enough and had to be spread out. The rear frame rails were cut off and shortened, and more adjustable Progressive Suspension shocks were fit to lower the rear of the frame.

We thought the seat area of the frame had been lowered too. But that's an illusion created by dishing the chopped-down fender under the saddle area. The fender itself was created by splitting and widening a Cobra accessory fender. A gray cover with different padding beneath tops the stock Vulcan rider's seat pan. The taillight came from the Valkyrie that Berg was modifying at the same time. Its presence is a source of annoyance to the Kawasaki guys who assisted Berg and Boyko with the project.