Nothing Better

I have been riding for over 56 years. Covered a lot of miles on Indians, Harleys and assorted other junk. But this Mean Streak is without a doubt the best bike I ever owned or ridden. Great performance, low maintance, and a great buy. More riding time and that is what it is all about. Read Full Review

Sport bike to cruiser

I have had my 08 Mean Streak for eight months (still all stock) and have put about 1600 miles on it. This is my fifth motorcycle after an enduro and three sport bikes. You have probably heard about the good reliability with shaft drive and EFI. You probably also know the handling is better than the ...average cruiser. Some other points that were important for me included a tach (most cruisers didn't come with), pipes that didn't look like a caveman club, lots of chrome, and a good amount of rubber on both tires. I'm 6'2'' and many cruisers I sat on put my knees in my face, but the Mean Streak was more reasonable. The riding position is definitely an adjustment from sport bikes - more hanging on than leaning forward. The biggest adjustment has been the wind. With no fairing or windshield, riding on the highway with a jacket makes you feel like a flying squirrel going into the wind. I like the looks without a windshield, but will probably get a detachable one. The tach shows 3,100 rpm at 70 mph, so a higher fifth gear or maybe even a sixth for the highway would have been nice. Brakes have had minor squeal since day one. Bike has a nice low rumble, but you can still see in your mirrors. I have ridden two-up, but most passengers would prefer a new seat for any distance. Overall, solid bike and definitely one to consider if you are crossing over from sport bikes to cruisers. Read Full Review

Riders vs. People Who Ride (Occasionally)

I've been riding for 20+ yrs.Mostly sport style bikes, and I'm a big guy 6' 280lbs,so nothing under am 883 will do. I wanted to make that "mid-life crisis" type of switch to Harley Davidson from my usual ZX11 Ninja ride. My custom bored out Sportster gave me what I wanted, but fell very sh...ort of the whole package. Had the looks all day long but even registering around 1250cc it just didn't do it for me for long. I came across an 08 Mean Streak 1600cc and that was all she wrote. The looks are second to none, the forward control made the ride more comfortable than that back bending, hunched over street bike ride and the power...
C'mon, this machine eats custom Harleys and their V-Rods (which I was initially going to buy before I found the Mean Streak) for breakfast,lunch and dinner. The comfort is second to none, the gas mileage for this monster is even reasonable. Hand down, the best motorcycle I've ever owned and/or ridden,bar none.

I'll be staying with the Mean Streak and when it comes time to upgrade, I'll find its newest model and buy that. Read Full Review

Muscle Cruising At It's Best

After a 40 year absence from 2 wheels, I wanted to get back out into the wind. After obtaining my license, I looked a long time for a late model Indian or Harley I could afford. That market is pretty bleak. Then along came this 2008 bright candy red Mean Streak, just a beautiful Bike to look at. ... Had to go see it.

Seeing a Mean Streak is one thing, but you are not prepared for what the Kawasaki engineers put together for you. Faster than any stock Sportster, better handling than any Indian or Harley, the Mean Streak is fast, agile, comfortable and a pure adrenaline rush blast to drive. It sports the front end from a Ninja, along with superior dual disk brakes up front and single disk in back. This muscle cruiser knows how to dance as well as come to a stop. I don't believe a better value for you money exists in the Cruiser segment of motorcycles.

Alas, a very short-sighted Kawasaki ended production of the Mean Streak in 2008. While they blew their chance to be one of the bigger players in this segment with the Mean Streak's retirement, I've got mine and have no intention of ever selling this Bike. Kawasaki created lighting in a bottle with the Mean Streak and it now sits happily in my garage.

If you can find a later model year Mean Streak with low miles (and there are still plenty out there) GRAB IT! I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Read Full Review

Great bike!

I recently bought a Mean Streak 1600 and it has everything i wanted, power, speed, that rummble sound, smooth on the hwy. It will carry 500lb at 80 Read Full Review