I might be partial to American-made motorcycles when it comes to baggers because of where I grew up of the people that surrounded me, but from the first second I saw the Kawasaki Vaquero, I knew it was a bike I would have to ride.
My first impression walking up to the bike was that it was damn good looking. It has great lines and looks like a solid, beefy bagger. The asymmetrical stripe down the left side adds a nice subtle bit of flare and custom style without overdoing it. The three headlights on the front look great and undoubtedly increase visibility (both seeing and being seen). The bike seems to carry itself very well, falling into turns easily, staying stable at very low speeds, and all-around feeling like a much lighter bike.
The one thing that caught me off guard right away was that the saddlebags need to be unlocked with a key every time you need to access them. Same with the glove boxes on the front fairing: if they are not locked they are flopping about without anything keeping them shut. As a guy that likes to use his bags for everything all of the time, I don’t like that I need the key to be out to access my glove box and side bags. Maybe it’s a safety thing so I won’t be trying to pull my gloves out at 75mph when the temp drops a little bit. Who knows.
For now, we are excited to get some saddle time on this gorgeous metric beast. Stay tuned for more information on the Kawasaki Vaquero 1700, we’ll have more info up on it shortly!
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