[Brooks]

Can anybody tell me what Kawasaki did different on the Mean Streak to get more horsepower out of it than what the 1600 Classic has? I have a 1600 Classic and want to do some upgrades and thought some of the Meanies changes might be viable for my Classic.

Thanks,
Brooks
2003 Vulcan 1600 Classic, Black

 

[Phatboy]

I beleive the cam is different between the Classic and the meanie motors. Someone might come in and correct me, but I beleive the Classic is set up for low end torque and the meanie is set up for more high end hp.

You'd be better off looking at intake/exhaust/pcIII if you want some more power.

Phatty

 

[bikeaholic]

re

mostly a different valve and cam setup

head work on the 1600 is not cost effective for the power produced :wink:

 

[omega5]

Larger throttle body also.

 

[pms07]

Different exhaust, FI mapping and throttle body, cam and valves. It appears viable to gain a few extra HP if you made the mdodifications but I don't think it would be very cost effective. Just pricing a few of the parts is impressive $$$.

pms

 

[ispeed77]

I beleive the cam is different between the Classic and the meanie motors. Someone might come in and correct me, but I beleive the Classic is set up for low end torque and the meanie is set up for more high end hp.

You'd be better off looking at intake/exhaust/pcIII if you want some more power.

Phatty

to my knowledge, Phatty is right on. i believe you would defnitely be better off with the bolt-ons that he mentioned. cheaper, more reliable and it keeps your power band where it was intended. just my $0.02

 

[shooter]

Larger valves, larger throttle bodies, and different cam grinds. I think the streak also has a different gear ration, but Im not sure on that.

 

[Shoedog]

Just kind of thinking out loud here,

I wonder if the Classic would benefit from the larger Meanstreak throttle bodies?

Actually, would like to find a wrecked Meanie or get a good deal on a low mile Meanie engine and install it my Vulcan 1600.....if, and this is a big if, it wold be worth the hassle and expense.

Or maybe just swap the heads and the throttle bodies, if possible. I wonder what's been done.

The more power bug is biting me lately, and I really cannot afford a V2K and all of the accessories right now. Besides that the Vulcan is such a doggone beautiful bike in my opinion, it has a lot of heritage from the past. If I could get 80 - 85 HP I would not entertain any notions of committing adultery with another bike.

 

[RichLockyer]

The larger throttle bodies will make it a bit quicker in the 3,000-6,000 rPM range, but will hurt bottom end torque.
The Nomad throttle bodies are smaller still due to it's need for more torque.

Keep in mind that the Meanie is nearly 50 pounds lighter than the Classic (and most people "dress" their classics out with another 100 pounds of chrome), so even swapping in a Meanie engine would not likely make a significant difference.

There are also gearing differences in the Meanie... it's geared lower than the Classic and Nomad.

 

[Shoedog]

Thanks Rich. So maybe instead of more power, a gear change perhaps would be the most cost effective route to better acceleration. Very, very, interesting. I've done the Coyote mod and removed the restrictions in my stock pipes ( the Cobra Speedsters were too loud for me ) and added a PCIII. She runs great, but I always want more. I will definitely look at what changing the gear ratio a bit entails. Now that you mention it, years ago I changed the counter shaft sprocket on CB350 Four to accomplish the same thing and it worked great. I'm excited about this, thanks again.

 

[ispeed77]

not sure if anyone offers a different gearset for the Vulcans. if you find one, let us know. otherwise, maybe look into a big bore kit.

 

[Shoedog]

Well I looked around and I couldn't find anything to reduce the final drive gear ratio. There are some used final drives on Ebay, but I don't have any shop manuals (got to change that) so I don't know if a 1500 FD would fit a 1600, nor if the gear ratio would be beneficial.

So much for the quick and easy acceleration mod. But the big bore kit Ispeed mentioned sounds awesome though.

100 HP would produce a grin I couldn't wipe off.

 

[RichLockyer]

Pretty sure the 1500/1600 gearing is the same.
IF there is a difference, it's in the trans, not in the bevel gear assemblies.

 

[03classic]

Hey guys, new here but am doing exactly what is outlined in this post. I have an 03 Classic 1600, I did the reed valves, PCIII, Pipes, thunder air kit etc.
so I did an assload of research and I can tell you that they are geared different but it's in the tranny not the final drive. Cams are the same (same part #), valves are larger as is the thrittle body and the injectors.
Here is the plan. I got my hands on the complete top end front and rear for an 04 meanie, I am ordering the thunder mfg big bore kit as well. I am pulling the engine on friday night, I will swap the meanie parts in when I do the big bore kit and I am also having the heads ported. Once I'm done I will dyno tune and we'll all know if this is effective.

 

[mtgs07]

Hey guys, new here but am doing exactly what is outlined in this post. I have an 03 Classic 1600, I did the reed valves, PCIII, Pipes, thunder air kit etc.
so I did an assload of research and I can tell you that they are geared different but it's in the tranny not the final drive. Cams are the same (same part #), valves are larger as is the thrittle body and the injectors.
Here is the plan. I got my hands on the complete top end front and rear for an 04 meanie, I am ordering the thunder mfg big bore kit as well. I am pulling the engine on friday night, I will swap the meanie parts in when I do the big bore kit and I am also having the heads ported. Once I'm done I will dyno tune and we'll all know if this is effective.

with the proper head work and map it should get you really close to 100 hp and a little over 100 ft lbs