[hharada]

Like Vindiana Jones, I've owned both a VN800 and a VN900. The 800 was an '02 Classic and the 900 is an '07 Classic LT. I haven't been a rider that long. I bought the 800, used, in '04 and it was my first bike. In the three years I had the 800, I put about 10,000 miles on it including rides of 1,820 and 1,490 miles. I've had the 900 since August, this year, and have taken only one long (910 miles) ride on it so far. The 900 has 2,050 miles on it right now.

The main reasons I moved to the 900 have held true in the short time I've had it. Those reasons were and still are: fuel injection, belt drive, disc brakes front and rear, more power, and floor boards. I found it amazing that the five major drawbacks I felt the 800 had were fixed in the 900. It was like Kawasaki asked me what disappointed me most in the 800 and corrected those problems in the 900.

Two problems they only partially corrected were the 800's terrible seat and the high revs at Interstate speeds. Two other problems I saw in the 800 -- tubed tires and lack of a tach, unfortunately weren't even partially resolved in the 900. I like the spokes and would have liked a move to tubeless while retaining the spokes.

After I got the 900 and rode it a little, I found Kawasaki had fixed a problem I had with the 800 that I probably wouldn't have remembered to list. They put a good headlight on the 900 in place of the awful one on the 800. The reflector/lens combination on at least my 800, produced bands of light and many areas of darkness. I tried putting a Silverstar in, but that only exaggerated the problem. I then had very bright bands of light and the dark areas looked even darker. I ended up resolving that problem by installing a light bar.

Two short comings of the 800, which I hadn't recognized because it was my first bike -- the busy, choppy ride on straight, high-speed highways, and non-precise handling of highly curved mountain roads were greatly improved in the 900.

Don't get me wrong. The 800 is a great bike! For me, at least, as a first-timer, it gave me handling characteristics leaning toward the 250's and 500's which are usually the first thoughts of a newbie with expected trepidations, yet had the flexibility to admirably handle the 1,820 and 1,490 mile rides. It had enough power to handle all the Interstates and highways I ran into in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico, at or above the speed limits as long as I stayed aware of the speedometer and kicked it into fourth on the steeper ones. Possibly even more important, it had enough blings to cause pride and enough heft to constantly remind me that biking is serious business and demanded a lot of care. Pride and reminders which possibly wouldn't be so strong with a seemingly less serious 250 or 500. These constant feelings and reminders allowed me 10,000 miles and three years of enjoyment during which I only gently laid the bike down once when, weak minded, I cranked the handlebars to their stop while moving the bike on the driveway with me alongside instead of straddling the bike and two instances I would call close calls -- one when the exit I wanted came up faster than expected and the second, late at night/very early in the morning when an obviously inebriated and possibly upset young woman, took off from a stop sign as I was passing by and would have clipped my rear if I hadn't been watching her and cranked the throttle wide open when I saw her move from the stop sign too soon. (Knocking on wood.)

The 900 handles the hills mentioned above, staying at the speed limit in fifth gear and can accelerate on those hills without shifting down. After a very brief warmup, the 900 drops out of fast idle and runs smoothly in the coldest of mornings I ridden it so far. I don't have to worry that I'm not lubing the chain at the ridiculously short intervals recommended in the 800's owner's manual and not getting all oily and dirty like when I did lube the chain. My earlier admiration of shaft drives has been severely dampened by what seem reliable reports of the significant horsepower shafts soak up. While I never had problems stopping the 800, but with the 900 I'm not periodically adjusting the linkage for the rear drum brake and then too shortly after, wonder why my pedal travel is so much more than what it was right after the linkage adjustment. I'm planning to put highway pegs on the 900, but truthfully am not sure how much I'll use them. The floor boards are really great.

On my 1,820 mile ride on the 800, with the factory seat, after the first 100 miles, I was constantly moving around on the seat -- forward, back, forward, back, sideways, middle, forward, middle, forward, back, middle, try the other side, lay back on the luggage strapped to the sissy bar (since I was alone, I strapped the sissy bar bag to the front of the bar, resting on the passenger seat, in order to keep the weight closer to the bike's center and in doing that found I had a great rest to lean back on. Stop and walk around, to try and get my flattened bottom to work itself out. Back on the bike -- forward, back, center, sideways.....The first thing I did when I got back from that trip was order a Mustang!

My 1,489 miler, with the Mustang, went much better. Covered 210 miles non-stop right after a 124 mile stretch. Although the Mustang fit me tighter to the point I couldn't move around much there was no great need to. Loved that seat!

Though obviously a much shorter ride, the factory seat on the 900 didn't cause near the discomfort during the 910 miles. I'm not sure how much different the 900LT seat is from that on the 900 Custom or Classic, but it's noticeably more comfortable than my '07 800's. I am, however, going to put on a Mustang or Corbin before a 3,000+ miler I'm starting to form in my mind.

One troublesome fault in my 800 wasn't because of the machine. I mentioned I had bought it used. The previous owner had put on a set of drag pipes. I've been a hot rodder most of my life. My biggest project was when my dad and I, as a teenager, dropped a hemi into my '48 Merc convertible which I still have. That car has home built headers, quad exhausts, four mufflers and four Racket Busters!! I've "tweeked" every car I, my wife, and kids ever had and exhaust systems were usually the first thing I would tackle. I love the rumble and purr of power, but my 800 was too damn loud!! Annoying, obnoxious racket from a vehicle, to me, is the signal of a person insecure in either him/herself or their vehicle, trying to impose him or herself on other people in an effort to cover their real or perceived inadequacies. My 900, on the other hand, is too quiet. I wish it had more rumble, but it has solved the problem I had with the 800 in cities like Denver and Colorado Springs, locally, which have initiated overly strong legal reaction to complaints from their citizens over the mindless idiots who roar through the streets and blast their pipes at stop lights or even while parked at all hours of the night and day. Noise so loud that people around a lunch or dinner table can't hear each other talk. Over reaction -- yes -- but what can these cities do when its citizens, their kids, their newborns, their 90 year old parents are woke up -- even at 1 or 2 in the morning -- by mindless blasting outside their homes? Done by idiots who are invading the privacy of helpless citizens, on a lesser scale, yes, but just as real as a bully thug busting through someone's door with a club, knife or gun. Only a few of us, you say? True, but a festering sore for all of us. I felt so bad of my part in the problem, with the 800, that I was starting to look around to change my pipes. Instead, I bought the 900 and solved the problem -- a little too much!

On the open road, the 900, in comparison to the 800, rides like a luxury limousine except for the engine noise and wind buffetng! It's more stable, more comfortable, has more reserve power, and handles pavement cuts, crosswinds, wet roads, and blasts from big rigs better. It dives into and comes out of curves on a twisty mountain road more like a Porsche compared to the 800 which I'd liken to a '70's Challenger (my Mopar leanings showing). My 800 had a Memphis shade and while there was wind buffeting, not near as much as I'm experiencing behind the 900 LT's Kawasaki windshield. My 900 doesn't seem to come off the line as well as my 800 did and seems to noticeably flatten out more at the top end. The 800 was plain scarey off the line! The engine on the 900 is very noisy. I can't compare it with the engine noise of the 800 because I couldn't hear the 800's engine above the noise from the drag pipes. I was so concerned with the 900's engine noise that I asked the dealer to check it out, but after they road tested it, told me the sounds were normal for the 900. I'm getting better gas mileage on the 900. Averaging around 52 mpg to te 800's 42. Three stretches on the 900's 910 miler hit 59 mpg!! In my opinion, the 900 would be helped greatly with a smaller front sprocket, a six-speed box, better air intake, and a freer flowing exhaust. The 900 is a beautiful machine, appearing much larger and heavier than it is. The first comments I get from both friends and strangers are along the lines of, "It's beautiful and so big!!" It seems to attract the attention of all who pass by. I'm however, disappointed in all the plastic! Plastic fenders, plastic chrome, plastic this and that. In addition to the plastic's "fakiness", I'm concerned at how all that plastic will hold up. How will my 900 look and hold together eight or ten years from now? At 66, the 900 will probably be my last bike.

I apologize for all my rambling, but hope you find something of interest or help.