[burkbuilds]

Primal, and JWR, I think you guys are probably right, but man what a great looking motorcycle and a great fit for my long legs! I really love the way my Vulcan runs, it is a sweet machine, I was coming back to school on I-75 this morning, running a little behind schedule and I ran 80-90 almost the entire way and she just purred along like it was nothing, steady, no shakes and handles like an extension of your mind. Have to admit that it tanked my MPG's though, I filled it up after school and was all the way down to 46 mpg, but hey, I was running 7,000 rpms most of the time! The Vulcan does what I need it to do, it is very practical for my current situation and that is why I bought it, but I'm not blind, it's not exactly the best looking bike out there, very little chrome and well, just kinda okay in the looks department, but what a great engine/handling package!

I wonder what you could do to that V-Star's specs by changing the gear ratio's a bit? It's obviously set up for low end torque not high speed running. I'd gladly give up some low end power band if it would cruise at higher speeds easier. Long gone are my days of wanting to blow somebody off the line at a traffic light, but I do like the option of getting from city to city at a slightly faster pace now and then! I also noticed that they are running twin 28mm carbs on the V-Star which may be part of the equation for low torque but not enough volume to run top speeds, my Vulcan has twin 32mm carbs on 23% smaller cc engine than the 650 has. Maybe a carb upgrade would make a big difference in the V-Star's top end, does anybody have any experience with a change like that?