Photos: Nitrous-powered custom Kawasaki Vulcan S ‘The Underdog’

We have seen Kawasaki Vulcan S inspired custom bikes before, but this one is definitely one of the coolest so far: meet The Underdog, a nitrous oxide guzzling sprint racer.

The bike was created for the Essenza Sprint Challenge at the Glemseck 101 festival in Germany. A race, which was won by one Carl Fogarty on a supercharged Triumph Thruxton R, but that’s a different story.

The stock Vulcan S is a pretty standard chopper, so turning it into a bike capable of competing in a sprint challenge was going to take some work. The design and chassis work was done by Warm Up Motorcycles, while the engine was tuned by Höly.

The original 649cc engine produced 61bhp, but after the Höly guys were done with it, the new nitrous oxide engine was pumping out 150bhp. The dry weight was also reduced to 185kg. not bad from a chopper!

Here’s the full spec and more photos:

Chassis & Design (by Warm Up Motorcycles):

• Öhlins front fork
• Galfer-discs front and rear
• Spiegler brake calipers front and rear
• Spiegler brake and clutch master cylinders
• HE-spoke wheels, painted in body color
• LSL footrest
• LSL handlebar, -Handgriffe, -Rückspiegel, -Sturzpads and -Bobbins
• small P & W headlights
• Custom-tank lid
• Warm-up cladding shell and -Höckersitzbank (self-supporting)
• 3D Design by Dimitri Milonas
• Original Vulcan S Fuel Tank
• Intact lithium-ion battery
• Emil-black chassis storage and tuning
• Moto-Life-exhaust system

Engine (by Höly):

• facilitated and finely balanced crankshaft
• modified camshafts
• modified cylinder head
• modified injection Kawasaki Ninja ZX10-R, 43mm
• 2 injectors per cylinder
• Special Rods
• Power Commander
• Compression: 13,5: 1
• Nitrous oxide injection
• Lightened generator rotor

Technical specifications:

• Liquid-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine, 649 cc
• DOHC valve timing, fuel injection
• six-speed gearbox
• chain drive
• 150bhp
• perimeter steel frame
• suspension travel v./h. 120/100 mm
• Front tire 120/70 ZR 17 rear 180/55 ZR 17
• dual disc front brakes, rear disc brakes
• empty weight (road ready) 185 kg
• Fuel tank capacity 14 liters.