After 10 months of fighting Kawasaki, I gave up, sold the Vulcan, and got myself back on a 4.
Dear god, does that feel good! Power, hum, smooth riding, a bike I can wrap my legs around instead of sitting on, something that really goes and puts the fear of god in you.
But most importantly, it's got all the fantastic little Honda touches I learned to love on my old '76 550K, and the lack of which drove me up the wall on the Vulcan. Everything just works. It's well thought out, and the engineers clearly valued performance, reliability and serviceability instead of just speed and a certain degree of reliability. Need to get at the air filter? No biggie, just snap off the side panel. Yep, it snaps off. Steering lock? Sure, don't even pull the key, just turn it to the left and there you go. Helmet lock? Yep, back on the left there, and unlike the Kawasaki, it won't leave your visor resting on the hot pipes. Need a second one? Sure, got a second under the seat for you. I love it.
Yeah, OK, it's not a SOHC. But this is my only motor vehicle, so I'm going as modern as I can. Last of the UJMs, and the last of the CB750s, the legendary beast that forced them to come up with a whole new word.
I'm so happy.
