Top 20 1997 kawasaki VN 1500 Vulcan Classic - Page 2 Questions & Answers

check sidestand lockout switch...

Leaky gasket

if its got a carb,, I would suggest getting it checked,, or at least serviced, the fuel has more than likely turned to varnish by now, you could also have brittle gaskets that would need replacement,, remove and empty the fuel tank, clean out the fuel cut off switch selector, check all hoses that attach to the carb, It only takes a tiny amount of debris to plug the jets, and the adjustment screws to the carb,, also, do a oil service , and when you start it , look for any leaks,,

Your shift lever should be able to be tightened, even if not, as long as the bike goes into gear than its doing its job, if it grinds and jumps out as you say than it is more than likely your shift/selector fork

Very easy you just undue the casing on your tank it should be just one bolt then with pliers undo the cable then follow cable to tire undo there with pliers and then put in new one

check that the speedometer gear is properly engaged with the hub. The speedometer receiver has two fingers on it that must fit correctly in the hub. Otherwise it binds up the wheel.

please check for the sparkplug gap setting and also check the carburetor settings........back fires presisit due to uneven plug gap or uneven carburetor fuel setting>>>>!!1

firstly make sure there is fuel in the tank.is the fuel tap on???put it on reserve??pull the pipe off the fuel tap to see if petrol is flowing??check the fuel pump if fitted to see if it is working.you will here the pump when you turn the ignition on for a second or 2.check the plugs to see if they are wet or dry.this will tell you if fuel is getting to the pots.

it should be a lil filter in the gas line that is held on by plastic clips and u can normaly pick one up at any parts store

Could be an air bubble in the line. Try "back bleading" the system. Connect a tube to a plastic bottle with brake fluid, sqweez the air out of the tube, attach the tube to the hydraulic slave bleeder nipple, open the nipple and sqweez the bottle to force the fluid backwards through the system.

Your bike does not have a dipstick it has an oil check window on the right side of the motor. Have a friend hold the bike upright on level ground . There should be a dot at the correct oil level ,or a high/low mark bar in the window to tell you where the correct oil level is.

Your bike has a hydraulic clutch with a master cylinder at the clutch lever. Remove the cap and I think you will see there is little or no fluid in the reservoir. You need to fill it up then bleed the system to remove air in the line. This is done the same a bleeding brakes on a car. If I recall correctly, the bolt that holds the hydraulic hose to the master cylinder acts as a bleeder for the cylinder and there will be a bleeder valve at the other end of the hose to bleed the hose and actuator. Many parts are available at the website below. Please rate my answer. Thanks.
www.babbittsonline.com/pages/parts/viewbybrand/default.aspx

Time for carburator cleaning, the jets seems to have been partially clogged!

The jets in your carburetors are restricted from fuel sitting in bike and turning to varnish. The color change on the pipes is an indication of the bike running excessively lean due to insufficient fuel. You will need to remove, clean and adjust the carburetors.

A plugged Idle Jet will give you an erratic idle (up,down,up,down) and also draw in liquid fuel instead of vapor. The 'O' Ring between the float valve seat and carburetor body and the Float Valve are the only two places the fuel may enter the fuel bowl. If the 'O' Ring or Float Vale is leaking the float cannot regulate the fuel level. To test a fuel pump you will need to test for Pressure and Volume.

The best success I have bleeding my clutch is to do it in this order.
1- fill reservoir with dot 4
2-loosen bleed screw on slave cylinder and let gravity bleed
3-never let reservoir run out while gravity bleeding
4- when you see steady dripping fron bleeder screw, tighten screw.
5-top off reservoir with fluid and install top back on reservoir
6-loosen bleeder and squeeze clutch all the way in one time and hold it.
7-tighten bleeder before releasing clutch
8-repeat this step one more time
9-remove reservoir top and refill the cylnder
10-put top back on reservoir
11-pump clutch handle 5 times and hold in
12-open bleeder screw
13- repeat this step 3 times
14- you should have a good clutch
15-check fluid in reseervoir one more time to make sure it is still full

bout time to hav jets ajusted or replaced-please let a pro doit cause to lean or rich can blow ur engine

Dude sorry to be so blunt but you're gonna have to put out the cash and buy a service manual. Sorry, just too many parts to show if you've done a complete teardown.

I don't think your clutch is bad, if it doesn't slip when hot. I would be blaming the pull on the lever not enough, or the gears are worn in the tranny. You can adjust the lever and you can try bleeding off the clutch, The engine oil usually cools the clutch, I'm not sure where your filter is, mine is underneath like a car. My tranny clunks and grinds when revving too much, have to wait for the revs to go down before shifting into first. It used to slip on hot days. Hasn't done it but a couple times. I never took out the clutch basket, but it seems fairly easy. If the oil change doesn't do it, and the bleeding of the slave, I would have to dig deeper into complaints about your bike, before I blame the clutch. You might not have to touch it, but you might be looking at something else. Check it out.

I bought a 2003 Kawasaki Vulcan 500 with 3000 miles. 7 year old bike, but running good. Had the guy I bought it from ride it 10 miles to my storage garage, then I started learning to ride for the first time. I was doing some practice and tipped it over. Not hard, but I had to pick it up off the ground. Rode for a few more minutes and put it away.

When I showed up to practice again, both the coolant temperature and oil pressure lights stayed on after starting. They were probably on while I was putting the bike away after I dropped it, but I was probably too shaken to notice. Thought it was purely electrical since both came on at the same time. I was thinking it was a shorted temp sensor wire. I rode it for a few minutes since it sounded ok and the engine felt hotter than it should have, so I shut down and looked for more info online. People talked about oil system airlocks, but no one explained why both lights would be on. One person alluded to the idea that both lights would go off if the oil system was fixed, but I couldn't find explanation or confirmation. That was enough to get me to accept that problem as a possibilty.

That's when I saw a trick involving unscrewing the oil filter. Some people on the forum said it wasn't a great idea, but most thought it was fine. i couldn't see any harm in it myself, since I was full on oil and there was from my previous ride, obviously enough oil in the heads to run the engine for another minute or so at least.

So after marking it to make sure of how much to re-tighten, I loosened up the filter using both hands until I could turn it with one, then leveled my bike a tad with a piece of wood under the kickstand (no center stand on these), chocked the rear tire and started the bike, putting it into neutral. I held the handlebar with my left hand to be sure the bike wouldn't tip over on me and loosened the filter until I was pretty sure that the gasket was just separated from the engine and waited for a few seconds. No oil came out immediately so at that point I pretty much figured I was on the right track. Trickle, trickle, GLUG, GLUG. oil comes out into my drain pan. Screwed filter back tight, engine sound changed from smooth to really smooth. I looked back up and both lights were now off. Problem solved.

Apparently this air locking is an occasional problem during oil changes as well as with dropped bikes. People that I read said to fill the oil filter before installing to minimize the chances of this.

Like the previous poster, I really want to know is why the temp light and oil light seem to be connected. Both lights coming on at the same time really tripped up my troubleshooting and almost led to me dismissing the warning. When I get the repair manual I ordered in the mail, I'm going to try intentionally tripping the temp sensor, probably by pulling a wire to see if the warning light for the oil will come on when there is a problem with overheating. Can anyone speculate on why the temp light came on too even though it was an oil problem?

Sorry for the long post, but I looked all over for a solution and had to piece it together from several places and guess a little. Hopefully this is detailed enough to help people with this common (apparently with Kawasakis) problem.