My vulcan 1500 classic will not start without jumping the battery. as soon as the jumper cables are removed the bike stalls and will not start.

TO ALL VN1500 OWNERS....This once happen to me,
I went to the garage to start the bike "Nothing ""The first thing is the lights are bright but no turning over,Next you think the solenoid is kaput but the answer was very simple and the fix takes 30 seconds..
Do not take the bike to bits looking for other problems and look at the clutch leaver and you will see some wires going into a plastic shroud going into the switch in the clutch leaver, Make sure this has not popped out if its connection as it some times may do after a few years due to constant turning on the handlebars,
When this is not connected you will have a bike that will not fire up but comes alive and you will hear a clicking noise but this is from the engine carb area and every function of the bike will work but it will not turn over, Worth looking at and saves sixteen quid for a starter unit you never needed.

Sounds like you have a bad battery. Have you taken it off and tried to trickle charge it? Make sure you test it and watch to see how fast the voltage is dropping. I suspect though, that the batter is bad or your charging system isn't giving it any juice. If you charge the battery, it should still run for 20-30 minutes even if the charging system is bad. That way you know if it's the battery or the charging system. Good luck!

under the seat there is a reset button that taked a metal prong thingie (dont know whent it's called) you can use a paper clip - just jump the two terminals and try to start it,, doesnt happen all the time but it does happen.

i am willing to bet that your battery is dead because your charging system is dead. and that would make the bike do what you saying. NEVER EVER jump your bike with a car running you have run the rest of killing your charging system, because of the amps your car puts out. chack it out let me know
Mark
C.C. Motorsports

hi,this might help,without looking at the bike it sounds like either the kickstand switch or the clutch lockout switch has failed,either switch failing will cause the problem you describe as they are both linked in the wiring harness..hope this helps...cheers ian

you have a short somewhere in the ignition line. check all connections at coil, check for worn spark plug cables grounding on block.

Check continuity at the kill switch? sidestand switch? Either could be malfunctioning. What does your manual tell you about the starter relay circuit?

no power to the coils, check fuses

Might be a fault in the side stand sensor, you cant go far with the side stand out, or if the sensor has not sensed the stand is up.

Without more information, my guess is I would clean your battery cables, most important one is the ground cable under the bike just in front of the rear tire.  Also how old is your battery.