Motorcycle Reviews on Cycle Insider (12,249)
Avg. Rating

Outstanding! I bought it instead of the Goldwing. At $4,000 I was initially drawn to it by price. However, I think they are heads above Goldwing and I have owned both. It doesn't have reverse but everything is adjustable to suit the rider and with a Goldwing, you get what you get. It's trouble free, too. Just normal maintenance, I couldn't be happier. It rides like a dream and a missile on the super slab. I used 2-up on long trips and pulling trailers, too. I wish they would do away with the current version of the Vulcan Voyager and return to what this bike is. Maybe updated styling and use the Concourse 1400 engine and price it like the BMW/Goldwing. You have already surpassed them at all levels of bikes of that day. They did need an upgrade in styling and such but in my opinion took the new Voyager 1700 down the wrong path. If Kawasaki does that, they will walk away from the competion.

This bike is a beast, one that never disappoints. It is meant for longer distance cruising and is very comfortable with stock seats. A very stable bike in winds. It's very heavy though and needs getting used to, but the weight acts in its favour on the highway. Not for beginners.

I was looking for a lightweight, comfortable, water cooled cruiser with plenty of get up and go. I looked at the new offerings from Honda, Moto Guzzi, Suzuki and Yamaha and they were either too heavy, too slow, too expensive or uncomfortable. By chance a 2006 Kawasaki Vulcan 500 LTD model came up for sale on Craig’s list near me and after a test ride I was sold! It’s fast, comfortable, light, easy to maintain and reliable. This is a gem of a bike and it looks great as well, especially in red. Gets 55 MPG which is pretty good for an old, carb cruiser.

I owned some cruisers; Yamaha Dragstar 650, Virago 1100, HD FXDWG and Intruder 1400. I still have my 99 Intruder 1400. Best bike I ever had. Fast, fun, reliable and best looking bike I ever seen. If I park it, usually people go over to it to check it out or takes photos of it. It weigs 260 kg, but it feels lighter. It handles corners like a racing bike. I will never sell it

Reliability. I never had any issues, except it vibrates a little and can sometimes loosen hardware. Not like the engine falls apart, but the shift lever end fell off riding one day and the negative on the battery started to loosen. Only things I have had issues with. No electrical problems. At 20 years old, I went through the fuel system and cleaned stuff up, as any gas powered vehicle would need. Quality? Sure. Compared to the price? Definitely. Performance is low end oriented. Don't expect a top end screamer and you'll be happy. It is fantastic bursting around 40-60mph roads, and will net 50 mpg doing it. Comfort? It doesn't make you cramp as bad as some newer sport bikes and is more upright, but it wasn't designed to be comfortable. A nee seat would help as it is a little narrow where it meets the tank. It's been a great bike and you won't see any others like it when you own one!

I just got an 04 xr250r and I love this bike. I live in the foothills of Cody,WY. We have a lot of terrain right outside our back door. I’ve always wanted a dirt bike since I was a kid. At 45 I now have one and I’m loving it. My son is on a CR80r, which just flies. I’m learning, reading, and watching content like crazy. For a guy my age, beat up contractor, it’s been a great bike so far. There are time I have to stand, but for the most part I’m centered on the sandal, feet on pegs on the balls of my foot. The bike was temperamental to start initially, but I was dumb. I read up on the decomp, as well as too dead center, jetted the carb, and did a round of overall maintenance…now it’s a hard kick and I’m gone. I’d say if you’re a dude my age and you find one of these bikes, buy it. I might be a lame, but I’m working on it and having a great time. What else matters?

Love BIG DOG!..And the guys in Wichita that make them!.. Performance,Reliability,and Handling...Top-Knotch..Not to mention its a mean machine!..Even the hardtail pit bull is comfortable and baddass!.. Couldnt see life without them!.

After 4 weeks of riding, the engine just suddenly stopped while I was cruising at 45 mph, like I had pressed the engine's off switch. I rolled to the side, turned off and on the ignition again and it started like normal. It seems this is pretty normal for these bikes according to many Harley members on a forum. Even HD mechanics wasn't sure what it was since it's difficult to replicate the problem since it is happening rare and very random. Some said it could happen 3 times a month, others 1 time per year. The second problem with the bike is the riding position = the air filter and engine is so big and wide that your legs get spread out way too much, making it hard to reach break pedal. Another problem with this is wind during higher speeds: At 70 to 80 mph the wind will hit your spread out legs so hard that it feels you will lose grip on the foot-pegs. So you sort of hold on to the bike as you feel the wind will pull you off. Another issue with the bike is the dreaded fork "clunk" = every time you hit a small bump in the road or breaks a bit hard on your forward breaks your forks will give this metallic "clunk" sound. This is apparently something that is normal with the bikes and HD mechanics says it's just the way it's constructed. Also on forums many have various meanings why this sound occurs. All from lose gas tank, not enough oil in the forks, or some bolts not screwed tight enough. But none seems to be able to fix this. Also having 70 hp, the bike's torque and acceleration is very bad. Maybe it's due to it's heavy weight of 661 lbs or just old engine technology. My 1400 Intruder with it's 60 hp would smoke this heavy hog any day. Coming back to my Intruder after many weeks of riding the Harley I came to a conclusion = The Harley felt like something from world war 2. Noisy, shaky and unreliable with bad performance. The Intruder outperforms the Harley in every department. It even looks slicker and cooler. I am selling my Harley and will keep the best cruiser bike I ever ridden

Ok I am in Tasmania Australia not Alabama so thank the auto select. I first bought a KL250 Super Sherpa purely for my wife to learn on (having pillion with me around the globe on a GSA she decided to learn). It was the perfect set up, cheap to buy, low seat, low weight, thin, nice bars to pegs ratio, no radiators or alike to bust, disc brakes and electric leg. What I didn’t expect is that I would enjoy it too. We now own four. Two purely set up for the dirt with renthals, carb kits, bark busters 14/47 etc and two set up for the back of our camper on road bias hoops. I paid $1500 Aussie for each with under 10,000kms in each - one has now done 28,000 kms without a hitch (Stockman version in Australia has racks

beautiful,reliable engine.lots of parts and upgrades out there.easily customisable.mine has a stage 3 with 4,000 mi on the rebuilt (upper and lower)engine. 88hp at rear wheel.lots of chrome,custom flame paint.thumbs up everywhere i go!you cant beat a evo engine reliability.WILL DIE WITH IT,NEVER GIVE IT UP.

Just picked up a 2006 Lifan 200 g y - 5 and I am trying to buy or find some replacement parts for it and having a real hard time. If anyone can refer me to a website or even compatible Japanese parts ie. 18 inch rear wheel with drum brake 21 inch front wheel with disc brakes brake pads and Plastics I would really appreciate it my bike runs and sounds great however cannot write it due to rear Wheel

I have owned motorcycles with up to 1000cc engines, and can attest the Kawasaki Ninja 300 is bike has plenty of power once you get to the mid-range RPM's. In fact, on a curvy backroads group ride I had a passenger on the back and easily kept up with my sportbike mounted friends. I thoroughly enjoyed zipping around on this light nimble machine. The slightly leaned forward position is good for dealing with the wind you typically get on the head

Purchased a near mint KE with a clean title approximately 6 months ago. No riding experience whatsoever, no not much to compare it to... Other than my newest bike, a DR200. Off-road, it's light and does a sufficient job on easy trails. On road, it will top out at 55-57 downhill, tucked in, WOT and with a tailwind. Cruises comfortably 35-45mph. Wheelies easily. Never jumped it. Never jumped it. Lighting is pretty dim. Overall a great bike and insane amounts of fun but it's honestly limited to 35mph roads.

Hey everyone, just bought my first real bike, sorry to the sport bike riders out there but I went from a 750 Katana to an 03 Tejas and the Tejas had so much power it scared me lol. Anyway only issues I’m having are a hurt butt from the rigid ride on the highway and today I noticed it made a funny ticking sound And wouldn’t turn over them out of the blue it turned over and started. I don’t put it on the trickle everyday, should I?

I purchased a 2015 Yamaha Stryker Bullet Cowl model used form Integrity Auto Sales recently and am very pleased. I have only had Honda motorcycles up to this point that were all shaft drive. The Stryker is a belt driven custom cruiser that has great power, performance, and handling. It is comfortable, easy to find accessories for, and a great pleasure to ride, a head-turner everywhere I go.

I've never owned a bike this comfortable. My one-hour rides became all-day adventures. She's a little underpowered at high speeds, but perfectly balanced. I liked the power and torque curve. It was a joy to ride until the rear seals gave out. A new clutch and seals cost as much as the bike is worth, unless you find a mechanic who knows how to do it and doesn't rake you. repair costs vary wildly from garage to garage. That's the downside.

After having a persistent park brake problem with a 2015, the move to the 2017 was well worth it. The 2017 came out of the box with just a minor belt adjust and gave me the best ride of my life. 20,000 miles later and I can't say enough good about this Spyder. If you haven't owned one and driven one, you don't know what you are missing. The first 500 miles is the adjustment period, then after that you will say, "why didn't I do this sooner". Fantastic, comfortable, all the performance you could want and an attention getter where ever you go. You are only limited by what your mind limits you to. The Spyder goes far beyond your limits, there is not turning back once you own and ride a Spyder RT LT... :)

It is a beautiful motorcycle, and after some little modifications it looks almost perfect.(shorty exhaust that gives the perfect roar, it feels like flying a Spitfire, new Ness handle bar for the relaxed ride, and deletion/relocation of rear plate and lights . Gorgeous!!! The engine is very nice and put a smile on your face. However do not expect the same strength like a Ducati, Triumph or Japanese bike. The engine likes to rev. ! Enjoy the music (with a third party exhaust only). The center of gravity is very low, and you will scratch your bike if you have an aggressive ride. However it makes its handling very easy which is great in the city. However some big issues with the rear suspension that does not support someone over 200 lbs or an additional passenger. The rear tire would touch the rear bumper and destroy the rear electric harness that is not protected (poor design). The overall electric system is poorly designed and poorly installed. A shame ! Front brake feels like from the 70s, it is very poor. Rear suspension will make your butt in pain, as you will be feeling all the holes on the road.

My first vehicle purchase was a new black '82 450 Nighthawk. I put almost 40,000km on it, and found it to be a very good starter bike, but found it a bit small for the multi-lane highways that I was often travelling on. I bought a new black '84 650 Nighthawk from a dealer in March of 1985. The extra weight and superior suspension of the 650 made it a much nicer platform for highway cruising, and I loved the no maintenance aspects of the bike: shaft drive, hydraulic lifters, etc. My only real complaint about the design and engineering of the bike is that the alternator was not strong enough -- the battery is discharging whenever the engine drops below about 2500rpm. I put just over 70,000km on it when it suffered a catastrophic engine failure. The exhaust valve guides had worn oval, and the exhaust valves had worn through the valve seats, and into the head, so there was zero compression in the middle two cylinders, and the lobes were almost gone on both cam shafts. In the 10 years of ownership, I had only had to replace the sender for the gear-position indicator (over-and-above the usual maintenance items such as oil/filter changes, tire replacements, etc.) It was speculated that one of the small feeds that sends oil to the top of the engine had become blocked, and starved the top end of oil -- no engine would survive that for very long. This bike "died" during the summer of '95, and I sold it to somebody who was going to do a full engine rebuild. (I did not have the funds or the time to take on this project, which in hind sight was too bad, as the rest of the bike was in beautiful condition). I did not have a motorcycle again until the summer of 2020, when I came across a used '84 650 Nighthawk with 73,000km for sale not far from me. The owner had completed a complete engine over-haul at 70k, and was asking a reasonable price, so I decided to take a chance, and get back on two wheels. I was not sure how I would do, as a 58 year old who hadn't been on a motorcycle for 25 years! After a few tentative launches, I started to feel like I had been reunited with an old friend. This bike has the typical Nighthawk whine, and feels very similar to what I remember of my previous bike. The paint was not in very good shape, but the previous owner had included a full set of replacement decals with the bike, so I took it to be professionally painted. I chose the '83 color Siren Blue, as I was not a fan of either the red or black colors from '84. I will be VERY careful to use only top-quality motorcycle oil in this one, and hope to get many more riding seasons out of my new/old friend.

We bought TWO of these and both had severe reliability issues. The dealership was wonderful but getting parts was a pain. The electrical system on both bikes was a recurring issue. The bikes were the same, only differed in color yet were pieced together with different parts, screws etc. The bikes spent more time in the service department of the dealership than on the road. When we purchased them, there were many extras that attracted us. The floor boards, heel-toe shifter and overall look of the bike was nice. However, a main requirement of a bike is that it actually runs and these did not most of the time. I wish they'd been different. I even felt a little guilty when I sold them to people but I was definitely glad to be rid of them.

Its an absolute tank! Looks like a shiny new Harley Davidson, despite being 23 years old. Currently have 53,000 kms on it (about 33,000 miles). It sat in a basement not moving for 12 years, when I got it, it was under a half inch of grime. Cleaned the carbs and gas tank, dropped in a new battery, and it roared to life like it was driven yesterday. A day of cleaning and fluid changes, and it was like a brand new bike. Tourque for days, and with the suspension set to 4 it corners like a champ. Its amazing the lean it can get, and the power out of the turns!! Its a Honda. Nobody's quite sure how long they last, since if they are reasonably taken care of (read: occasional oil changes and try to avoid snow), they keep firing up and running forever. If you are reading this because you see a deal on an old one, and wondering if they are a good bike, do it. do it now. You're sitting in front of a computer (or phone) when you could be getting one of the best bikes on the road!

I found this mouse infested barn job in Heyworth, IL in 1987. It was covered with grain dust and had resident mice in it's original mufflers - evicted on the first kick. The Tillotson carburetor was too cantankerous to reliably kickstart, replaced it with a Bendix. The Fairbanks Morse Magneto kill wire terminal grommet had cracked and grounded the kill terminal - which impaired starting substantially. I replaced the grommet and the magneto about paralyzed me first time I spun it. Reinstalled and timed, the bike was now an easy starter. You had to remember the left grip needed rolled forward (retard it to start it) when kick starting to avoid the eventual handlebar acrobatics. The drum brakes suck, plan your stops. Stop looking for turn signals - these don't have them. The head light at idle dims and brightens as the uneven idle varies generator output beyond the capability of the voltage regulator and DC Capacitor. Get good at adjusting valves. Properly set pushrods at cool temperatures will expand in hotter temperatures, slightly holding valves open - and zero compression is noted when starting after a gas stop. Hear that tink-tink-tink of the engine? That's contraction. Once that stops - the bike will gladly kick start again. You can adjust some slop in the valves to avoid this. You'll have initial valve noise when cold - but at least she will start.

It was horrible. The gas was bad. The gas broke. I was shredding too hard. Im too good.

fabulous machine. heavy to move when not started, the zrx needs a bit of speed to be really agile. Simple , reliable and very alive , this bikes makes you feel secure when ridding. I like the power, the grip with Pirelli tire, and the temper (you can cruise or race, the bike is able and willing) as well as the fuel burn: from 4 to 6/7 liter/100k....this bike is ideal for me...exept the wind in my face: above 150km/h, I am in a washing machine (naked..bike)..but still, great look and temper, I love it!!

I bought this bike for my son to learn on. We had a 250 Ninja, but I wanted something more sedate. He got his license and moved on to the ninja. I thought of selling the nighthawk, but it was fun and I decided to add some foam grips and a 15 tooth front sprocket a couple years ago. It can cruise comfortably at 65, but can struggle on hills and high wind. I'm approaching retirement and wanted a bigger bike, but my wife said she won't ride with me, so I figured the nighthawk will get the job done if I'm soloing it. I added a center stand and a rear rack. The most I've done in a day is about 250 miles, but I know I can take it farther with no problem. I will replace the chain and both sprockets and change the fork oil to a heavier weight, and while the rear wheel is off, replace the rear brake shoes. It delivers up to 80 MPG in good conditions, and never gets below 65 MPG. No repairs needed yet. I would recommend it to anyone who wants cheap, reliable transportation and doesn't care about impressing the Jones.