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2010 Vulcan Nomad 1700

Love my Nomad. I typically have owned cruisers and sports tourers. My last trade-in was a Midnight Roadliner that I changed into a stratoliner. The Nomad roll-on power is not as abrupt as the roadliner. It does offer more than enough passing power while riding 2up. As the magazine reviews state, it ...does build power slower in gears 1and 2. This lack of bottom end power means two things. You probably wont be leaving anyone too far behind at the light(but thats not why you bought this bike). Also, slow speed parking lot maneuvers are wonderful as the bike essentially rolls on on pure clutch work with virtually no throttle needed to motor smoothly and consistently at ~3-10mph. 3rd gear is very serviceable from ~20mph to 55mph. The engine motors along effortlessly at 50-85 in 5th or OD. The Nomad will turn in and hold a line with the best of them. Scared myself scraping the floorboards enjoying some high speed sweepers on interstate. Seating is very comfortable but driver is pushed forward onto the tank for a more effect sitting position( I'm 5'10 205lb, may be a slight issue for 6th and above). Wife loves passenger pillion and floorboards. Pretty much, if you've had your fill with the torque monsters and want a bike you can handle at any speed, 2up without a hiccup, and put some REAL, COMFORTABLE MILES ON, The 2010 Vulcan Nomad is the bike you've been dreaming of! Read Full Review

NEEDS A HEAT SHIELD

I ONLY LIKE TWO CRUISER THE YAMAHA STRATOLINER-S AND KAWASAKI VULCAN NOMAD. I CHOSE THE VULCAN NOMAD 1700. BECAUSE IT HAS THE HARD SADDLE BAGS AND PASSENGER FLOOR BOARDS. AND MOST OF ALL IT WAS PRICE LESS THAN THE STRATOLINER. IT HAS A SMALLER CC'S THAN THE STRATOLINER ,BUT IT HANDLES WELL. THE STR...ATOLINER IS A VERY DIFFICULT BIKE TO OUT DUE BUT THE NOMAD IS DOING WELL. THE PROBLEM I HAVE WITH MY BIKE IS THAT THE SEAT GETS TO DAM HOT IT NEEDS A HEAT SHIELD Read Full Review

Great bike!

This is my third cruiser but by far the largest. I traded my '08 Vulcan 900 LT in for this Nomad. After getting used to the weight difference, my first impression was WOW! As much fun as the 900 was, this is tenfold. It effortlessly eats up the miles on the highway, especially with the electronic cr...uise control. The seat is very comfortable and the windshiels lowers to a good job. The mid range power is incredible. The acceleration is deceiving because of the weight. It doesn't try to jump out from under you but pulls hard steadily and before you realize it, you're in high dollar speeding ticket range. For a large top heavy bike it's very adept at taking corners at speed. I've scraped the floorboards on more than one occasion. Low speed manuevering is surpisingly easy. The hard saddlebags will hold an amazing amount of gear.
My only issue with this bike is gearbox noise. The hard clunking between shifts and the constant whine from the gears get old very quickly. Kawasaki could take a lesson from Harley and use helical cut gears to lessen the whine. Cosmetically, I prefer the tail pipes from the '08 Nomad as opposed to the slash cut units that look like they were stolen from the 900 and installed slightly off kilter. The locks and latches sometimes give me grief but I'm slowly figuring them out. The fit and finish of the bike is very good with just enough chrome.
Overall I'm very happy with the Nomad although I've only owned it for a month. I've done two long hauls (weekend trips) on it and enjoyed every mile. For anyone wanting to move up but are budget minded, the Nomad 1700 would be my recommendation.
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geat ride

very smooth and easy to ride bike i like it Read Full Review