20 Most Recent 2001 kawasaki VN 1500 Vulcan Classic Questions & Answers

Have 2002 Vulcan 1600 Drifter. The tail and brake lights will not work. They were working rear turn signals do. It blew the fuse twice, now it is not blowing the fuse but still no lights. Got power to the fuse and leaving it not arriving at the rear light. The plug in,before it goes inside the rear fender, what color wires are what so I can check if things are arriving there O.K.?

The main Hi-Pressure cap is under the Gas Tank. You'll have to remove the tank to access it ... But there's an overflow reservoir with it's own cap behind the Right Hand Side Cover, just below the seat.

have a good look at the boot seals on the spark plug tops , make sure there flexible and in good shape with no craising or cracks also ck were wires go into coil packs see if there might be a path for moisture to get inside there (clear silicone works wonders!!) also I do believe these are fuel injected too, try turning key on for 30 sec then starting it , if it does ok then your fuel pump is wearing out .

Is the kick stand up?

the speedometer head is non serviceable and will have to be replaced with either a new one or a working used one. these are available only from Kawasaki new so I suggest hunting a used one as I paid near 300 dollars for a new one and it takes spells of bouncing back and forth.

the K-tronic ignition system on these bikes has very little advance until the engine is turning over 2000 rpm. this makes them sluggish at best on takeoff. the carb is also built with a very lean low side jet that is for all intents and purposes non adjustable. the best one can do is tear it down give it a very thorough cleaning making sure all passages inside are spotless. get a quality rebuild kit and replace everything in the accelerator pump system to be sure you get a good initial charge of fuel when you open the throttle. at best you may still get a lean condition until the engine is warmed up unless you keep playing with the "choke". one may do or have a re-jet job done that will give a bit more response and power boost but at a significant fuel mileage loss which for me is not worth it as these big boys don't get very good mileage to begin with and would lead to more frequent fuel stops.

Where is the throttle body throats on a kawasaki vulcan 1500 FiThe solution is simple. Clean the carbon ring out of the throttle body throats using your choice of scrubber (old toothbrush, Q-Tip etc) and some carb/throttle body cleaner. Hold your throttle all the way open or use your throttle lock to do it while you scrub the ring away. Now, ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! And enjoy a nice smooth idle again. BTW if you turned the idle up so the engine would run you'll probably find it's now idling way too fast. Crank it back down to the recommended 950 (or whatever your owners manual recommends).

if its only a slight tick under load, probably just the common kawasaki v-twin noise. seems all of them have latters that are unexplainable but never get any worse. mine will be noisy at lower rpm under loads but goes away if i let the rpm go higher in all the gears. best to allow them to run at faster engine speeds as they need lots of oil to keep the overhead cams and hydraulic lifters going. they are not made to lug around.

mixture is non adjustable but idle speed is. located under the carb near the breather cover on the right hand side is a knob that will turn to set idle speed

SOUNDS AS IF INJECTERS NEED CLEANING.FIRST STAGE LOAD YOUR FUEL TANK UP WITH SOME INJECTER CLEANER AVAILABLE FROM ANY MOTOR *** SHOP AND RUN THE ENGINE. IF IT'S AS BAD AS YOU SAY YOU MAY NEED TO USE DOUBLE OR TRIPLE STRENGTH. IF THAT DOES NOT WORK TRY REMOVING INJECTERS AND SOAK THEM IN THE SAME NEAT FLUID. ALSO HAVE YOU CHECKED THE ELECTRICS TO THE INJECTERS AND ALSO THAT THE PLUGS ARE CLEAN AND SPARK UNDER COMPRESSION.

Measure the voltage on the starter side of the solenoid with the kill switch ON and the key ON and the starter switch PRESSED - trans in N. IF it is not 12 volts, it may be faulty.

In some instances it could be just wiring issue. Check if there are bad wires going to the TPS, loose ones, exposed conductors or basically worn out ones. The brown one is the ground and is likely to cause an issue. You may need to adjust them but the adjustment would be trial and error especially if there are no markers. I also recommend not to do this if you feel that the TPS was not moved. You may also have the intake cleaned or the injector cleaned out.

Not sure if you have fuses for that particular function on that bike, but check there first. Then check to make sure the wires are all connected to the back light. The rear brake has a switch (usually a spring is attached to the brake lever) that pulls down when you push down, tripping the light to go, and the hand controls have a similar switch, although when you pull the brake in, it lets a spring-loaded button push out, which then turns the light on. It might be as easy as you just have a brake light out. The bulbs in back usually have dual filaments in them, your running light may work but your brake light might be out. Hope this helps a little.

Bruno

On The vulcan you can access the starter relay directly, you have 2 bolts for the power leads on the back, carefully short the two big bolts with a screw driver, this wil put power directly on the starter bypassing all. If you think that there is a problem maybee with the starter, then 1st remove the starter from the engine and do the same test outside the engine to avoid damage.
i do have starters in stock. www.bikepartsonline.co.za

Try looking up Powersprtseast.com They have a parts fische you can use and though not in color itself may have colors labled on diagram for wiring harness.

Add oil or air if air equiped.

You have found the problem, that saucer spring acts just like the pressure plate on the clutch of a standard transmission on a car. I had to replace one, and it was about $35.00. Good luck