2008 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Mean Streak

KAWASAKI’S VULCAN® 1600 MEAN STREAK® HAS THE MUSCLES, HANDLING AND IMAGE TO BACK UP ITS STREET CRED

Serious performance for serious riders

The Vulcan® 1600 Mean Streak® isn’t your everyday cruiser. Kawasaki designed it with enough attitude not just survive the mean streets of the city but conquer them with torque, acceleration, and handling. Go ahead and take a closer look. There’s more to the Mean Streak cruiser than just its good looks that garner admiring glances from other riders.
 
What separates this Kawasaki cruiser from the masses is nimble handling with excellent high-speed stability. Featuring sportbike-style 43mm inverted forks and a reinforced swingarm with dual air-assisted hydraulic shocks, the Mean Streak suspension components permit spirited maneuvering yet with sufficient plushness to deliver the smooth journey demanded by cruiser riders. The Mean Streak’s bag of tricks also includes excellent stopping power, courtesy of its dual radial-mount front disc brakes and four-piston calipers.

The Vulcan 1600 Mean Streak’s 1,552cc V-twin engine offers a smooth wave of torque to make your ride more entertaining, thanks to high-tech features like liquid cooling, electronic fuel injection, dual spark plug digital ignition and four valves per cylinder. A single-pin crankshaft and a gear-driven counter balancer work together to provide a classic, comforting V-Twin rumble without harsh vibrations.
 
Appearance and rider comfort are every bit as important as massive power in the cruiser world. The 1600 Mean Streak offers two distinct styling treatments to satisfy different tastes. Polished valve covers and cooling fins are standard on the Mean Streak, while the Special Edition receives a host of black and red styling touches for a custom hot rod look. 17-inch aluminum wheels further enhance the styling of both versions and are fitted with radial tires that provide exceptional grip and stability.

Features

Engine
- 1,552cc (95 cu. in.) 50° V-twin provides abundant low- and mid-rpm power
- Polished valve covers and cooling fins enhance the bright, custom image, while the Mean Streak Special Edition features a hot rod combination of gloss and matte black surface treatments

Liquid-Cooling
- Maintains consistent engine temperatures for long engine life and sustained power
- Auxiliary fan keeps things cool, even in traffic

Four-Valve Cylinder heads
- Compact combustion chamber for increased compression ratio without detonation
- Boosts low-end torque and provides maximum valve area for optimum flow

Hydraulic Valve Lash Adjusters
- Keeps valves quiet with no maintenance required

Digital Fuel Injection
- Provides excellent engine response and power with less fuel consumption
- Two different systems are switched and used automatically according to engine load for accurate fuel-injection control
- Compact electronic control unit processes information faster for better engine response

Dual Throttle Bodies
- Dual 40mm throttle bodies use one injector for each cylinder
- Separate intake tract for each throttle body provides smoother engine operation
- Four nozzles at the tip of each injector, with two nozzles aimed at each intake valve

Dual Plug Digital Ignition
- Microprocessor-controlled timing
- Two spark plugs in each combustion chamber cut detonation and add durability

Gear-Driven Engine Balancer
- Counter-rotates at engine speed to cancel vibration
- Allows use of single-pin crankshaft to maximize the power-pulse feeling

Rubber-Mounted Engine
- All but eliminates engine vibration at all speeds

Close-Ratio Five-Speed Transmission with Positive Neutral Finder
- Combines great around-town acceleration with relaxed highway cruising
- Positive neutral finder helps ensure riders can find neutral easily, every time

Shaft Drive
- Reliable, quiet, low-maintenance system

Hydraulic Clutch Release
- Easy to operate and maintain

Suspension
- 43mm inverted fork designed specifically for the Mean Streak
- Swingarm cross bar utilizes two square tubes instead of monocoque design for improved torsional rigidity

Fuel Tank
- Clean, seamless design boasts a 4.5-gallon capacity
- Ignition switch centrally mounted on the fuel tank for easy access

Large-Diameter Reflector Beam Headlight
- Bright, focused beam to light the way

17-inch Aluminum Wheels With Radial Tires
- Radial tires front and rear on 17-inch cast-alloy wheels make a performance statement
- Wide 170 / 60R17 rear tire delivers excellent traction

Brakes
- Radial-mounted four-piston front brake calipers provide sportbike level stopping power and excellent rider feedback
- Dual 320mm semi-floating front discs reduce fade
- Single rear disc brake with twin piston caliper