Kawasaki Vulcan 650 S teased before launch

Kawasaki’s new teaser image on its official India website clearly lets us know of the company’s plans to enter the Indian cruiser segment with the Vulcan S. This parallel-twin-engine cruiser will go head-on against Harley-Davidson’s Street 750/Street Rod and Royal Enfield’s upcoming 650cc Interceptor; but the Enfield will be priced considerably lower. The Vulcan S should be priced between the Ninja 650 and Versys 650 at around 6.5 lakh (ex-showroom).

The Vulcan S is powered by the 649cc, twin-cylinder, DOHC, liquid-cooled engine which is mated to the six-speed gearbox equipped with a positive neutral finder. The engine is tuned to make 61hp at 7,500rpm and 63Nm of torque at 6,600rpm. These different figures are due to the cruiser-oriented tuning tweaks in the form of revised cam profiles, a modified intake tract, exhaust, and ECU.

One of the biggest features of this upcoming cruiser is what Kawasaki call, ‘ERGO-FIT’ – a three-way adjustment position of the seat, footpegs and handlebar to suit riders of different heights. The motorcycle is equipped with a single 300mm disc with the twin-piston caliper on the front and there’s a single 250mm disc with a single-piston caliper at the back. The bike will also come with a dual-channel ABS system.

The Vulcan S is expected to be locally-assembled alongside rest of the 650 family at the Chakan plant. The 6.5 lakh ex-showroom price can only be expected if Kawasaki launches it without accessories, unlike what they did with the Versys-X 300. The accessories on Versys-X 300 bumped up the price, considerably. We were expecting Kawasaki to launch the Vulcan S at the Auto Expo 2018, but the newest teaser could hint at an earlier date.