Contrary to popular belief, Suzuki produced cars before they moved into the two wheeled market, but the early days of the company were devoted to the production of weaving looms. The father of the company, Michio Suzuki, the son of a Japanese cotton farmer, created a brand new version of the weaving machine in the coastal village of Hamamatsu, Japan. A successful business was built upon his invention, providing employment and wealth for the company and its staff during the first thirty years of its incarnation.

Although the loom side of the business was still enjoying success, Suzuki thought the time was right to diversify, so after studying the market, he decided that the way forward would be the development of a car. In 1937, a development programme was launched, and within two years many prototypes integrating a cast aluminium gearbox and crankcase had been built. However, the company had a setback as the Japanese government declared civilian cars a non-essential commodity at the outbreak of World War 2. When the war ended, Suzuki once again concentrated on the production of looms as the US government gave the go ahead for the shipping of cotton to Japan. The company flourished for a short while as orders increased, but the rug was pulled from underneath them when the cotton market collapsed in 1951.

This could have proved the death knell for Suzuki’s operations, but rather than call it a day, the company once again turned their eyes toward motor vehicles. At this time, Japan had a dire need for cheap, reliable transportation, and a number of companies had begun to produce a clip-on engine which could be attached to a bicycle. Suzuki’s breakthrough came with the development of a motorised bicycle named the ‘Power Free’. Powered by a 36cc engine, this unique vehicle was the first to feature the double sprocket gear system, which allowed the rider to travel by pedal power alone, engine assisted pedalling or engine only propulsion. So ground-breaking was the new innovation, that the fledgling democratic government offered a grant to the Suzuki company to assist research in motorcycle engineering. This was the birth of the Suzuki Motor Corporation. By 1954, 6,000 ‘Colleda CO’ motorcycles were passing out of the factory gates every month. The Colleda was a single cylinder 90cc machine, which proved good enough to win a prominent motorcycle race during its first year of production. At this time, Suzuki also began development of the ‘Suzulight’ automobile, which featured front wheel drive and four-wheel independent suspension.

In 1955, Suzuki produced a larger offering in the form of the 125cc four-stroke ‘Colleda COX’, and an improved version of the two-stroke called the ‘Colleda ST’. The TT model, introduced in 1956 was in essence the forerunner of the Grand Prix bikes. By the standards of the day, the TT was regarded as a high performance machine, capable of reaching speeds in excess of 80 mph, and leaving in its wake, machines with much more power at their call. This motorcycle also showed a touch of finesse and featured some luxurious accessories, amongst these were indicators.

This is a weird time for cruisers. The two hot commodities right now are baggers and mid-displacement bikes, and we've been doing lots of bagger tests lately, but it's not like we can do it every issue. So we went casting about in the middle class.

To narrow it down, we went looking for bikes we haven't tested in awhile and came up with Kawasaki's Vulcan 900 Custom. To go with that, we went looking for other skinnies...skinny front tire bikes, that is. We were hoping to get Suzuki's revamped Boulevard M50 as "the new kid," but Suzuki's 2010 bikes never materialized on this side of the Pacific. A scheduling conflict also prevented us from snagging Triumph's 865cc Speedmaster (though we included info on it at the end of this article for reference). After that, we realized that the Vulcan Custom was in a class of one, unless you drop down in dollars and displacement to Honda's Spirit. So, we di d what any drunk frat pledge would do at 2A.M...we lowered our standards. Chubby was okay, just so long as we didn't stray into obese "Classic" territory.

Our other two contestants are Star's V Star 950 and Harley-Davidson's Sportster 883 Low. The last time we saw her, the Sporty was getting hammered in our "Baby Bagger Comparison" (April '09), so we were hoping this time (with the lack of 200+ pound riders and luggage) she'd fare better. The winner of that test was none other than the V Star 950 Touring, but here, it appears in street guise. Star calls the 950 a New Classic with low-profile tires and slightly abbreviated fenders, and it splits the difference between a true classic and a muscle cruiser like the Sportster or the absent M50.

Despite not swinging the same sort of lead as a true "Classic", the 950 is still the heaviest in this test, although onwly by a pound or two. She is definitely more chunky than fat, with sleek lines and a low, stretched look. Like other, less-svelte classics, the V Star 950 has floorboards (complete with heel-toe shifter) and wide beach bars. The Star also brings a very finished look, with a painted headlight shell that matches the sheet metal (yes, it's actual metal), and contrasting black/polished wheels. There are a few warts though, with clutter near the foot controls and a kickstand mount that looks like an afterthought.

Long a mainstay of the cruiser landscape, the "custom" style bike is now a rarity in the midsize arena, even while new models (Raider, Wide Glide) come out in larger displacements. So the Vulcan 900 is well-positioned to score anyone who lusts for this style of bike at the middleweight level. The most anorexic of these skinny bikes (sporting a super-narrow 80/90-21 tire up front), the Vulcan sports a stylish chrome front wheel to show it off. The shape it cuts isn't as unique or well-finished as the Star's (or the Sportster's), but it plays the role well with a radiator tucked in between beefy frame rails and a simple drag bar controlling the sparse front end. Out back it swings a big 180-section rear tire under an arched fender that seems to float a little high... but at least it's got suspension travel.