For those that know what the bike is know it's not really able to be compared. But that is the only bike I've driven daily. I just recently sold it because the throttle got stuck on it and I laid it down. I want something new that I don't need to fix myself and risk doing that again (if I was even the reason).

The 850 is a quick bike. For me not knowing how to really come off the line with a bike I pulled an 8.7 @ 88 mph in the 1/8 on a test and tune night. I read a lot of people talk about how cruisers aren't made for that. Which is fine, but I guess what I am concerned with is passing power on the highway. It might be me misunderstanding some things about HP, torque, and power curve but I thought that a drag strip showed this. At about 55/60 mph on my 850 without down shifting I gave it all it had to pass a car and was doing 90 mph by the time I got around. I'm not meaning to depicted me being a crazy driver that's just a couple things I've done on that bike (which was the cruiser model) Rarely did I get up to 80 and that was only because I loved the feeling of that bike pulling on an entrance ramp. Then I slow down to 70 or 75.

As with many others here I've narrowed it the to vulcan 900 and the 950 v star. Without driving, just reading and looking, I'm really thinking the 900 Classic LT. I'm just worried that going from a inline 4 to a v twin if I'm going to be disappointed if I don't go even bigger than the 900.

 

Welcome To Kawasaki Forums.
Turn On Same Tunes And Enjoy The Ride.
Theirs a lot of Good Members Here and they will do there Best to Help You out with Your Questions. Sometime It Takes A Little Longer Then Others. So, hang-in there. Have Some Fun

 

Welcome to KF

Things happen and most of the time a true rider will learn from it. I too love my I4's and I am looking at a vulcan. The problem is .....I can accomplish so much more for my needs on the I4. Definitely a choice, but do not get gun shy because of an incident. Wish ya the best man

 

As far as riding not gun shy in the least. maybe more gun shy of a bike in that condition. I thought I had it all fixed though. At the scene after the wreck it fired up and the throttle worked perfectly. If it wasn't for the handle bars were bent and one bolt for the back shock was busted I could have rode it home. It seemed to be a ticking time bomb. Maybe the wreck jarred the throttle cable lose from binding or maybe this or that. But as far as my skills go I don't know enough to KNOW that I've fix what went wrong. We take risks every time get on but on that bike with out KNOWING i fixed it...seemed like russian roulette to me (and my wife. she said she was ok with a new one though).

 

Those two bikes are very different. Not really a bad thing though. The V-twin is a laid-back kind of bike. It is very torquey but reving the bejesus out of it will not give you more power. The inline 4 is much more hyper. Its really up to you. I would try to get a test ride first. The cruiser may be for you. But if you enjoy riding at the local drag strip, the V-twin is not really the best route to take. If you want to have a fun relaxing ride, the V-Twin is the one for you.