The Honda Cruiser That Rivals The Kawasaki Vulcan At A Lower Price

If you’ve been eyeing a cruiser for 2025, you’ve probably come across two names that keep popping up: the Honda Rebel 1100 and the Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom. At first glance, they seem to live in slightly different worlds. One is Honda’s thoroughly modern, tech-laden take on what a cruiser can be. The other is Kawasaki’s classic, V-twin bruiser that has long been a staple of the middleweight cruiser market. But once you look a little deeper, a surprising story emerges.

The Rebel 1100 actually goes head-to-head with the Vulcan 900 Custom in ways that matter to real riders, and, interestingly, it does so at a lower price. The 2025 Honda Rebel 1100 starts at $9,599, whereas the 2025 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom comes in at $9,899. Not much of a difference, but the Honda cruiser is $300 cheaper than its Kawasaki rival.

That last part tends to make people stop and double-check. How can a larger-displacement Honda with more technology under the skin cost less than a tried-and-true Kawasaki? The answer lies in the way the two bikes are built, the kind of riders they’re designed to please, and the way each manufacturer positions them in the marketplace. Let’s break it down in detail, and in the process, we’ll see why the Rebel 1100 might just be the smarter buy for many cruiser fans in 2025.

Honda Rebel 1100 – The Engines: Twin Philosophies

The Honda Has A Bigger, More Powerful Engine

Honda

Engines are the soul of any cruiser. The Honda Rebel 1100 borrows its 1,083 cc parallel-twin from Honda’s Africa Twin adventure bike, though it has been retuned to suit cruiser life. The power is broad, usable, and delivered with a smoothness that makes it easy to handle, whether you’re a seasoned rider or someone trading up from a smaller bike. Torque arrives early and willingly, which means pulling away from stoplights feels effortless and highway merges are drama-free. Riders also get the choice of a six-speed manual transmission or Honda’s unique Dual-Clutch Transmission, which handles shifting automatically and opens the door for a new kind of cruiser experience.

Engine Specifications: Honda Rebel 1100 vs Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom

The Kawasaki Tailors Itself To Your Senses

Kawasaki

The Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom, on the other hand, carries a 903 cc liquid-cooled V-twin. It’s the classic formula: two cylinders set at a 55-degree angle, tuned to put out generous low-end torque. On paper, it delivers around 58 pound-feet at just 3,500 rpm. While it doesn’t make the kind of horsepower the Rebel’s twin can dish out, the Vulcan emphasizes feel over figures. There’s a familiar V-twin throb, a lazy rev ceiling, and the kind of lope that cruiser traditionalists swear by. A five-speed gearbox and a belt final drive complete the picture, keeping things simple and low maintenance.

Comparing the two is almost like comparing two different schools of thought. The Rebel aims to be flexible and modern, with more outright shove, while the Vulcan leans into its heritage as a pure, soulful cruiser. Both succeed in their own way, but if you care about performance, Honda’s motor is the livelier of the two.

Chassis and Handling: Nimble Versus Steady

The Rebel Will Chase Corners In The Canyons

Honda

A cruiser’s frame and geometry have just as much to do with its character as the motor. The Rebel 1100 keeps things compact, with a wheelbase of just under 60 inches and a curb weight in the high-400-pound range. That’s relatively light and short for a cruiser of its size. What this means on the road is agility. The Rebel will be able to snake through traffic in town without feeling cumbersome, and when the road opens into sweeping curves, it won’t have trouble leaning in. Honda has tuned the suspension with a balance of comfort and control: 43 mm front forks with decent travel, twin rear shocks, and braking hardware that wouldn’t be out of place on a sport-oriented bike. ABS is standard, and the big 330 mm front disc with a radial-mount caliper gives it confident stopping power.

The Vulcan Is More Of A Highway Hooligan

Kawasaki

The Vulcan 900 Custom is a different animal. With a long wheelbase stretching close to 65 inches and a curb weight north of 600 pounds, it prefers to stretch out. This is a bike that excels on wide highways, long boulevards, and lazy weekend cruises. Its Showa suspension is plush and tuned for comfort rather than sharpness, and its steering geometry favors stability over agility. The brakes – a single 300 mm disc up front and a 270 mm disc at the rear – are adequate, though not as sharp as the Honda’s setup. Some riders find this perfectly in line with what a cruiser should be: stable, forgiving, and never in a hurry.

Where the Rebel may feel like a modern motorcycle wearing cruiser clothes, the Vulcan will feel every inch the traditional cruiser it is. Which one’s better depends on whether you want nimbleness and versatility or long-distance steadiness and old-school charm.

Rider Comfort And Ergonomics

Honda

Comfort is where cruisers truly win people over, and here the Rebel and Vulcan present different flavors. The Honda Rebel 1100 has a seat height of about 27.5 inches, which is very approachable for most riders. Because the parallel-twin is narrow, the bike won’t feel overly wide between the legs, so even shorter riders find it easy to flat-foot at a stop. Honda went with mid-mounted pegs, which put your feet slightly forward but not stretched out, giving you a more natural and engaged riding posture. It’s cruiser-comfortable, but it also allows you to use your legs in corners and feel more connected to the bike.

Chassis Specifications: Honda Rebel 1100 vs Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom

The Vulcan 900 Custom takes the opposite approach. With a 27-inch seat height and a wide body, it feels like a substantial motorcycle as soon as you swing a leg over. The handlebars are set wide and the footpegs are forward, creating that classic laid-back cruiser triangle. You don’t ride the Vulcan so much as you lounge on it. For some, this is the very definition of cruiser comfort—arms stretched, feet forward, wind in your face. But for others, especially those who prefer a bit more control in corners, the feet-forward posture can feel less natural.

Both bikes are comfortable; it just depends on whether you like to feel engaged with the bike or prefer to sink into it like a sofa.

Some Other Good-To-Knows

Tech And Features

Honda

Technology is an area where the Rebel 1100 clearly pulls ahead. Honda gives it modern rider aids like selectable ride modes, traction control, ABS, and even cruise control. There’s a digital display that provides crisp, easy-to-read information, and higher trims add smartphone connectivity through Honda’s RoadSync app. The optional DCT gearbox is another standout. Love it or hate it, it makes the Rebel unique among cruisers and opens up motorcycling to riders who don’t want to deal with constant clutch work.

The Vulcan 900 Custom, on the other hand, is proudly old-school. Aside from electronic fuel injection, it avoids rider aids and digital screens. What you get is a straightforward machine: key, ignition, throttle, clutch, and go. For riders who don’t care for gadgets and prefer simplicity, that’s a feature in itself. But there’s no denying that compared to the Rebel, the Vulcan feels like a product from an earlier time.

Fuel Range And Practicalities

Kawasaki

When it comes to long rides, fuel capacity makes a big difference. The Rebel’s 3.6-gallon tank is on the smaller side, which suits its lightweight design but means more frequent fuel stops. Still, thanks to its efficient parallel twin, it doesn’t burn through gas too quickly. The Vulcan comes with a 5.3-gallon tank, which gives it significantly more range. If you’re the kind of rider who loves all-day stretches of highway, this is a real advantage.

Maintenance also plays into practicality. The Rebel makes use of a chain final drive, which requires periodic cleaning and lubrication but is easy to service. The Vulcan uses a belt drive, which is quieter, cleaner, and nearly maintenance-free. Here again, it comes down to rider preference: the Rebel leans toward performance heritage, while the Vulcan leans toward ease of ownership.

Price And Value

Honda

Here’s where things get interesting. The 2025 Honda Rebel 1100 starts at $9,599. For that money, you’re getting a larger engine, modern tech, selectable transmissions, and a relatively lightweight chassis. The 2025 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom comes in at $9,899. That makes the Honda the less expensive bike on paper, despite its bigger engine and richer feature set.

This pricing flip often surprises people. After all, you’d expect the higher-displacement, more technologically advanced bike to cost more. But Honda clearly wants the Rebel to appeal to a wide swath of riders, and its aggressive pricing strategy makes it one of the most attractive cruisers in the market today.

Which One Should You Choose?

Honda

So, Rebel or Vulcan? The answer depends less on raw numbers and more on what you value in your rides. The Honda Rebel 1100 is the pick for riders who want versatility. It can handle daily commuting, spirited weekend rides, and even longer trips with ease. It’s agile in traffic, strong on the highway, and packed with features that make riding more convenient and engaging. The fact that it’s priced lower than the Vulcan is just the cherry on top.

The Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom is for the rider who wants a cruiser that looks and feels like a cruiser, full stop. It’s about the experience of that V-twin throb, the wide bars, the forward pegs, and the long wheelbase stability. It isn’t trying to reinvent anything. It is trying to keep the spirit of classic cruisers alive, and it does that very well. Both bikes are dependable, well-built, and capable of delivering years of enjoyment. But if you want modern muscle and tech at a friendlier price, the Rebel 1100 makes a strong case. If you want timeless simplicity and a tank that’ll take you further between fill-ups, the Vulcan 900 Custom has your back.