2002 kawasaki VN 1500 Vulcan Classic - Answered Questions & Fixed issues

I'm trying to remove the clutch on a spare motor but the nut and the top plate just keep spinning am I missing something here?

Get one of these...and you will glad you did.. Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic 1996 2004 Service Repair Maintenance

How many miles?? The needle jet/jet needle (brass kit) may need replacing ...they wear out due to vibration and cause the spark plugs to turn black, get poor milage, and then "carbon foul". Try running it without the air filter for a few miles.. see if that makes it run better. If so, I would replace the air filter and put a new brass kit in the carburetor. You can try moving the CLIP on the needle UP to the second to the top position, OR the top position..that will lean out the mixture/carburetor. Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic 1996 2004 Service Repair Maintenance

ok take the clutch maste cylinder cap off on the handlebars,get a ball of tissue and gently put it into the fluid it will soak it up,repeat this until its dry in there but make sure you dont drip it anywhere or it will damage your paintwork,also do NOT pull the lever in yet,then fill it 3/4 up with new fluid ,then put a spanner on the bleed nipple on the clutch slave cylinder on the left hand side of the engine ,then put a clear pipe onto the end of the nipple and get a small coke bottle or similar and make a hole in the cap which is a snug fit for the pipe push the pipe in then loosen the cap slightly so it can breathe,then gently pull the lever in and hold it in ,then undo the nipple until some fluid comes into the pipe then do it back up ,let the lever out and pull it back in and loosen the nipple again holding the lever again as before,repeat this until the fluid runs clean ,Make sure the fluid does NOT run out during this as you will be back at square one ,if easier get someone to keep an eye on the level and top it up when needed.good luck Adam.

wire them to the acc side of the key switch

which red light? there are several there. what is printed on it?

Solenoid is sticking, age,heat, dirt etc on the solenoid shaft makes it stick. It may be possible to replace the solenoid assy, but easier to replace the unit as a whole motor and solenoid, it may also be non serviceable. Make sure you did not loose any teeth on the flywheel. it will make a deadspot, motor spins free without engaging the teeth. And if it catches one while spinning it will break another one off. Good Luck

Many bikes have a fuel overflow at the fill opening at the tank. So excess fuel can drain to the ground. This is done with a tube that comes from the rear of the tank (close to the seat) and routes down under the frame to the ground. If that tube is routed to your battery box then you have a safety issue. Make sure you do not have this drain tube/hose routed to your battery box. I am sure you don't want a fire under your seat.

check the routing of the overflow pipe from the tank for leaks a photo would help

Don't use ethanol if you can avoid it. Check the manual to see if the bike wants hi test.

Add that to the laundry list of mysterious unexplained safety hazards and defective equipment associated with the Vul-Can't 900 ( by 900 miles you'll have noticed or experienced one of the 30+ fatal defects, just pray your not going more than 0 mph and you're survival rate increases to %50 chance) haha sorry my dad almost died on his Vulcan this last summer while I was riding it 10 feet behind him in tears from the vision ill never shake from my mind as he impacted a jersey barrier at highway speeds, how he didn't die on impact ill never know, I was positive he was dead. Thank god he on,y sustained tons of injuries. I digress were still trying to investigate what faults caused this lock up of the transmission after the engine cut out in a curve. I'm getting to the bottom of this one, after researching all the issues multitudes of people have had on the exact same bike I'm disappointed in Kawasaki's negligence when it comes to making save products for consumers. Seriously the last thing we all need is to worry about our bikes killing us on top of other people and our environment.

It sounds like a bad shift fork, shift drum or worn dogs on the gear itself. Very labor intensive. have remove engine from the frame and split the cases.

Check the ground wire at the battery, at the negative post at the battery you'll find a smaller (black/yellow) wire, it must be plugged into the main harness, it might have become unplugged, the connections will be right close to the battery.

Now is a good time to replace it. Most auto parts stores have the special bar/scoket setup that it takes and then will loan it to you or a small rental charge. It coudl be something you do in the parking lot even though they don't like you do work there.

Synthetic is best but also $$$$$$. Just buy your oil from dealer, mine holds a hair under 4 qts (i use 4 qts) with filter. drain plug is under motor assy (bottom)

Hi

Yes you can do without it .However automatic Compression Release (ACR) valves reduce the strain of starting your high performance motor by reducing cylinder compression - automatically! The engine is easier to turn over resulting in less wear on your starter and battery. After start, the ACR valves close to restore full compression.

Please check the bellow link to have an in-depth knowledge related to your query:-

http://www.dansmc.com/starter.htm

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:3dyZ9Vq3qSkJ:www.sscycle.com/uploads/instructions/51-1065.pdf+how+to+assemble+a+bike+with+manual+compression+release+unit&hl=en&gl=in&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg1A2j_YTchScQdyyCFWzpihea7sOb11AayZaneWXJVj4AeRLG85Cf5MMnoaf1ubw-okj59jdnlKl7c921qyM6yIwf0p-CGBnh0v3Ai6fENfYJPoRN1Dgel1VxkfdCH3ZWUPswq&sig=AHIEtbT3i2Qk_ceYUe2j6mdjNXI6NcJ3Zg

Please get back to us if you have further query else please accept the suggestion.Thank you for contacting fixya.com

I'm assuming you are using a good quality gasoline, without any impurities in it. In that case it sputters because the advance timing in the ignition is bad at higher revs: one of the sensors from the EFI is bad, most likely the one on the throttle or the air intake pressure one. The only way to know for sure is to have the system checked with an code reader - a special one is needed, so go to a bike shop, preferably one that is certified for Kawasaki's.

That sounds like it could be a fuel mixture problem and is too weak. It could even be wrong spark gaps on the plugs. Check the plug gaps first. should be 25thou.

Use any oil that is JASO MA certified motorcycle oil. 10w-40 for cold climate. 20w-50 for warm climate/touring. Car oils use different additives and may cause scoring in certain types of cam bearings. Do not use any oil that says " Energy Conserving " on the label . It will shorten the life of your wet clutch and transmission gears. If you choose Synthetic oils, they will help your bike run cooler and shift easier.

It does not look like you have hydraulic lifters, but there are separate adjusters between the valves and the rockers. Depending on the amount/frequency of the clatter you either have bad valve lash adjusters or you have bad cam chain tensioners that are not holding the adjuster in place. The valve lash adjusters would cause a high pitched tick or click. If several are bad it sounds like marbles bouncing and rattling around inside your motor. A simple check of the valve tolerances should tell if the lash adjusters are bad.
If the cam tensioners go bad then you get a clatter sound . Two bad tensioners can be quite noisy. If the tensioners are manually adjusted you may be able to turn the motor to top dead center on the combustion stroke, loosen the tensioner bolt and retighten the bolt to get rid of the clatter sound on that cylinder. If it is a self adjusting cam chain tensioner you will have to replace the tensioner to stop the adjuster from clattering.