kawasaki VN 800 Vulcan Classic - Answered Questions & Fixed Issues - Page 8

Bad switch,Bad relay,bad solenoid the solenoid may need cleaning.
For troubleshooting remove the positive wire from the starter.
That is the biggest one. on the starter.
Now place a load on the wire say a headlight or 12 volt fan

On most of the older Kaw's they had a plastic oil gear and when this brakes then you will have no oil pressure. You can go here http://www.gadgetjq.com/gadgetsfixitpage.htm , his page has all the information on Vulcan Motorcycles that you would ever need to know. There is information on there on how to replace the plastic oil gear or the POG as we Vulcan riders call it. I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/al_e83b1941f9c0f302

That is the first thing that I would do. If something came loose just replace it unless something broke then you have to replace the whole switch. If it was just a spring or bearing you should be able to put it back in unless something broke like I stated earlier. I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/al_e83b1941f9c0f302

That could be from the crank case breather pipe. It may need cleaning.

Under your left side cover there is three yellow cabels witch is connected together.Probably a connectingproblem here.Clean it and reconnect it and check it with a multimeter.

the pilot(idle) jet is clogged,need to do a good carb clean/rebuild(carb kit).that should take care of your problem.hope that helps.

If you go to colorite.com you can order matching paint for your cycle. They should have color patches you can see with the name or color code on them.

check your side stand safety switch. if the kick stand is down the engine will shut off. if this switch is stuck then the bike thinks the kick stand is down. clean out the switch.

there sould be a black plastic screw in plug on crank case should have a dip stick on it middle of motor make sure its motor oil not gear oil

Check battery connections , inline fuse,, ground connection.

remove the 3 screws around bezel remove plate disconnect wiring turn over replace bulb

Adjusting valves on these motorcycles is effected by replacing shims situated between the rocker and the top of the valve stem. It is not a job for the impatient. It can also turn out to be quite expensive as shims sell for around $10 and there are 8 of them.
Remove the seat,fuel tank and air cleaner assemblies.
Once you have the valve covers off you will need to measure the valve clearance. This is done by inserting a feeler guage between the valve and rocker arm when the particular cam lobe for the valve is pointed away from the rocker arm. Refer to the diagram. Measure at points 1 and 2 when the cam lobe is pointed away from point 3. Do this by inserting consecutively thicker blades into the space until a slght resistance is felt when moving the blade into and out of the space.



Record the measurement for each of the valves by rotating the engine each time to get the cam lobe pointed correctly.
Compare these values to the manufacturers specs.
Intake : 0.10 to 0.15mm (0.004 to 0.006 inches)
Exhaust : 0.20 to 0.25mm (0.008 to 0.010 inches)
If the measurements are out of spec you will need to replace shims for the affected valves.
Remove the camcaps by removing the bolts in a criss-cross pattern. Do not disassemble them as this is not nescesary if you only need to replace shims. Do not remove or disturb the heads or you will need new headgaskets. If you are going to re-use a shim it needs to go back on top of the valve where it was removed from. Do not turn the engine with the camcaps removed. Remove only on camcap at a time.
Remove the shim for a particular valve and measure its thickness. Use a micrometer as a most verniers are not accurate enough.
Subtract the highest manufacturers value for a particular valve clearance from the actual measured value. Add this value to the measured value of the shim for that valve. This is the minimum thickness of the shim needed. You may find that that exact number might not be available, so take the next thicker size available.
Example.
Measured clearance value for an exhaust valve = 0.29mm
Measured value of the shim for that valve = 2.69mm
Minimum shim size needed : 0.29mm-0.25mm+2.69mm = 2.73mm
So 2.73mm is the smallest size needed to get back to spec. However this will put you at the largest allowable clearance and a couple miles down the road you will need to replace the shim again as it will have worn down out of spec.
Calculate the largest size shim needed for that valve.
Maximum shim size needed: 0.29mm-0.20mm+2.69mm=2.78mm
It would therefore be best to take the 2.75mm shim to get the clearance back in spec.
On reassembly note that the locating dowels for the cam caps are refitted. Retighten the cam caps in a criss-cross pattern.

Hi,
It seems your clutch engage too earley to compensate by the gas.
Adjust the clutch so that when you release the clutch handle, it will have time to pull and add some gas.
Hope that helps you out!
Thanks for using Fixya!

Stator that produces power - doesn't turn, the rotor turns with the cranckshaft around the stator.

Starter that turns the motor over - has a solenoid .
First check that the battery is fully charged and the cables are tight then check the fuse in the top of the solenoid, if there isn't one then check the inline fuse that goes to the solenoid. replace if bad. start it.
Second if the fuse is good , jump the solenoid with a screwdriver or two and see if the starter turns over. if it does then your solenoid is bad. replace the solenoid. start it
if it doesn't turn over, remove the starter and have it bench tested, if it is bad, replace starter.

If the starter is good then.......

Put the bike in 5th gear and try to push it and see if the motor turns over.
If it does, try to start it again with the starter. i had an old Goldwing that was sitting and the starter couldn't turn the motor over until i broke the motor free.

if you cant break the motor free, its seized.

I beleive that its either the fuse or solenoid.

put a block under kick stand to get the bic as level as possible. then bend down to view oil level.

Aftermarket exhaust systems are available which will have more flow through and are louder.

However, I always love the sound of a stock exhaust.

You will need to remove and clean the carb. When you run one out of fuel it allows all the trash in the tank to go into the carb. The fuel leaking from the overflow is trash in the float needle and needs to be cleaned.

Check your main fuse. Also check battery terminals, make sure they are clean and tight. Make sure your battery is fully charged, ie. 13.2v min.

Generally, the rear blinkers on motorcycles are not wired to act as marker lights, and only light in the turn signal mode. It is illegal in some states to run amber running lights on the rear of motorcycles, but red ones are usually OK. If your bike was modded with red lenses to have them act as running/turn, then they would have replaced the sockets to accomodate a dual filament bulb.

I would suspect that the float is sticking. Checking will require removal of (in order): seat, tank, air filter box/backing plate, and finally, the float bowl at the bottom of the carb. Insure that the float is not flooded, and that the float needle is free of trash.