I'm looking at getting a vulcan 800 as my first bike, and I'd be very grateful if anyone could tell me how they are to ride/own, what maintenance is generally like, and any other relevant information about them.
My build.
Started life as an accessorised but largely standard '95 VN800A
Work includes:
Chrome powdercoat frame
Hardtail strut
Wassell tank
Ridged fenders
Custom Sissybar
Custom paint
Custom seat and pan
Custom full system
Ignition coil relocation
New headlight and taillight
Micro indicators on mirror mounts and frame
Full repaint on engine with 2k hi gloss black
New Speedo with side mount relocation
10' apes and diamond grips
New Master cylinder and braided line
Chopped and neatened wiring loom
Thermostat relocation
And obviously plenty more bits too, only thing which I didn't do myself was the chrome powdercoat, everything else was fabricated and painted myself.
I have a Vulcan 500 2009 and I can’t seem to get the boot in any farther, it’ll stretch out but just slide back straight to its original position. Any ideas or should I leave it alone
I need to replace these broken headlights. Both fronts and one of the rears are broken similarly. I REALLY don't want to tear apart the whole front end to replace them. Is there a way to do this? Any recommendations for aftermarket signals? I bought some on Ebay and apparently they're all rears. Any advice is appreciated. This is my first bike ever and it was a gift. It came with the broken signals. Please help i just want to get on the road quick and don't want to sweat and swear working on it.
I bought this zxr tell me known issues and things to keep in mind. I live in Greece what is a fair price for this and how much do the services cost
Just got the bike but when I am riding it and I go to shift from 1st to 2nd and then I give it some gas. It pops back into neutral when I first got it. It was somewhat difficult to get it into second anyways, but I read somewhere that that was normal on that era of Vulcan. Is there anything I could do to fix it without opening the transmission?
Im posting this because im kind of new to the motorcycle scene. I got this vn 900 because i loveddd the bobber look but im saving for the kit which is like 800 in total. Since ive gotten it i deleted the shield and bags because they look stupid on such a smallish bike ive loved the way it looks but still feel that bobber look in my heart. But all of my friends and family who know my personality say the classic look fits perfectly! I at least want to cut the rear and take off front fender. Does anyone have any suggestions. Keep stock? Or drop fender
Hi everyone,
I have a 1997 Kawasaki Vulcan that came with a 4-speed transmission.
Unfortunately, the 2nd gear is faulty. Sometimes it won’t engage properly, and if I accelerate hard while in 2nd gear, it starts slipping/grinding and pops out of gear. The problem only affects 2nd gear.
Since the engine will likely need to be opened anyway, I started looking into transmission swaps.
I’ve seen several forum posts where people claimed they swapped the original 4-speed transmission for a 5-speed transmission with little to no modification, and some even described it as a plug-and-play swap.
Does anyone know which 5-speed transmission fits my bike?
Is there also a 6-speed transmission that can be installed?
What information about my bike or engine would you need to determine which transmissions are compatible?
If you’ve done this swap yourself, was it truly plug-and-play, or did you have to make any modifications?
I’ve also read that some people needed small/easy modifications, while others said everything fit perfectly. Personally, I’d strongly prefer a true plug-and-play solution if one exists.
I’d really appreciate any advice or first-hand experience.
Picked up and a trailer for 1600 new tires on everything and complete flush of everything and she works like a charm!
Im getting pushed all around the lane at 20 mile an hour wind speeds. Anything more then 20 mile an hour feels like im riding at a 45 degree angle.
Skill issue or weight issue?
I have a 2002 kawasaki vulcan nomad 1500 FI. The innermost piece of metal that seems to slip in is just freely rattling and causing a metal on metal noise when i ride. I can't pull them out freely but i can rotate it! Both external screws i can see seem to be holding the bracket around it in place but not the metal piece in the middle. What do I do?
Hi, this is my first post here .... My son was out on our 2006 Mean Streak, and yes that's a Vulcan with upside down forks lol, and when he went to shift it into first, the shift lever went down further than it's supposed to and stayed there, and the bike stayed in neutral. Several AI platforms have suggested that a spring or other part in the external shift linkage has broken, and that is the cause. External meaning that it is not inside the transmission case proper. To view that shift linkage for damage requires pulling the bevel gear cover at the left rear of the engine, and doing that, by the way, requires pulling the wheel and swing arm as it is shaft-driven as you know.
So my two questions are, has anyone on here experienced a similar issue regarding broken parts in the external shift linkage, and secondly, thoughts on replacing the bearing or not. The bike has 19,700 mi on it right now.
Incidentally, if you search YouTube for "Kawasaki VN 1500 Vulcan not bent shift forks" there is a very interesting at least to me lol video.
At the lower right of the attached picture are the parts that are considered the external shift mechanism. Plus what's in the video that I referenced. Just so you know what I'm talking about! If it comes through.
Thanks in advance!
Hello, everyone. I recently decided at 45 y/o to finally make my dream of owning a motorcycle come through. I did a bunch of research and decided on a Mawasaki Vulcan S Cafe. Found one I wanted and went ahead and purchased with rhe goal of being ready to ride by fall.
I plan to take the MSF in about a month but I live in a big cul-de-sac and have room to do the basic stuff like finding rhw friction zone and doing some basic stuff.
Problem is: I had delivery guy pull it into my garage. I have a fairly steep driveway that makes backing a nearly 500 lbs motorcycle out onto the street terrifying. Ive messed with it a bit and managed to get it half out and back up in. But I scared of handling it all the way out, and even moreso if I am going to be able to get it back in.
Should I just leave it alone for now until Ive done the MSF and have some experience or is it worth trying to do. It juat feels like it'll need a good bit of throttle to overcome the uphill driveway and things could get out of control if one session in the street doesn't give me the confidence to accelerate it up
Just joined! Please advise. Stock bars on 06 900 custom. Help me get bars or bars and risers without new cables! Looking for a bit of rise and potentially a batwing in the future. Regularly have 300-350 mile weekend trips back home to see the fam. It’s summer I will ride for the weekends let alone the long weekends I could hit 400-450 miles. Stock bars suck. Already working on mini floor boards and crash bar-Highway pegs. Have a couple sissy bars and on my second windshield.
Bars and risers to accept stock cables. I’m sure this is asked often. Don’t shoot me because I have not done my homework. Hand it over!!!!!! Give me the guidance!?
Hello, 2008 VN900 Custom. I've had her for about 18 months, and shes got about 16k miles on her. About a month ago she wouldnt start while in-gear. If I shift to neutral, she starts. If I'm in 1st, clutch pulled, nothing.
The clutch, and the attached kill switch seem to function properly. I'm thinking this is the kickstand mechanism, any other possibilities?
It’s got 32k miles. Posted for $2750.. seller says he was helping out at a dealership (he’s 73 ) and to save everyone a headache after a miscommunication he bought it off someone (older gentleman) that thought he was trading it in. So he bought it off him for 2400 and that’s as low as he’s willing to sell it to me for, I’m gonna go look at it tmrw at the dealership.. should I try to negotiate a couple hundred dollars off or am I already getting a really good deal? Cuz I believe his story for the most part, it’s just not my favorite paint job, a couple hundred dollars over what I wanted to spend, and I still gotta buy all the safety gear. Thanks for any input, blessings to you all.