Kawasaki VN 900 Light Tourer 2011 — Specifications

Is a large displacement really necessary to hit the road for the long haul? Kawasaki has been insistently posing the question ever since its VN 900 donned its Light Tourer attire. The little brother of the 1700 is no longer content with the role of urban custom; it too wants to devour secondary roads and let its V-twin roar on rolling asphalt. With 903 cc beneath the seat, Akashi's youngest invites itself onto terrain once thought reserved for heavy artillery, and this gamble deserves a closer look.

The Tourer pack transforms this mid-size custom into a genuine occasional tourer. It features a generous windscreen that deflects the airflow, two leather side bags of 15 liters each for carrying the essentials of a weekend for two, a sissy bar to brace the passenger, and even additional lighting that polishes the visual signature. An amusing detail: the equipment list turns out to be a notch more comprehensive than on the elder 1700, proof that Kawasaki wanted to offset the size difference with particular care given to accessories. The aesthetic clearly leans toward the big American machines, with this mini road king silhouette that will leave no one indifferent in an inn's parking lot.

Beneath the chrome, the 903 cc V-twin delivers 54 horsepower at 5700 rpm and, above all, 78 Nm at 3700 rpm, a modest cavalry but placed very low in the rev range, exactly where a custom needs to breathe. The short 88 mm bore and the reasonable 9.5:1 compression confirm the laid-back philosophy of the whole, well supported by a five-speed gearbox and a final chain drive. The twin pushes effortlessly up to 180 km/h flat out, which is amply sufficient to sustain highway legs. The comparison with the 1700 remains cruel, however, the big brother weighing in with some twenty additional horsepower and, above all, a torque that crushes everything in its path. Against a Harley Sportster 883 or a Suzuki Intruder M800, the 900 holds its own thanks to a mechanical smoothness that American twins do not always possess.

The scales show 282 kg fully fueled, a respectable figure but managed by a record-low seat height of 680 mm, one of the lowest on the market. Small riders and motorcyclists wary of perched weight will appreciate this welcoming ergonomics. The double-cradle steel frame and the generous 1650 mm wheelbase promise reassuring directional stability, even if the 41 mm telescopic fork with 7-position preload adjustment shows its limits as soon as the pace is upped on bumpy roads. The single disc brakes, both front and rear, remain in the category average without shining, a classic concession to the custom style. The 20-liter tank allows for stages of about 300 kilometers, a good compromise for the type of travel targeted.

At 10,199 euros, this Light Tourer Deluxe is positioned nearly 5,000 euros below the equivalent VN 1700, a gap that alone justifies the existence of the younger version. The target is clear: the rider who dreams of escape without burdening themselves with a 330 kg machine, the restricted A2 license holder in search of a serious custom, or the pilot just starting out in cruising who wants to treat themselves to a credible mount without mortgaging their garage. The 1700 leans toward powerful travel, the 900 invites leisurely strolls, and this nuance accounts for the little Kawasaki's full relevance. An honest custom, well dressed, that knows how to stay in its lane without blushing before its elders.