20 Most Recent 1997 kawasaki VN 1500 Vulcan Classic Questions & Answers

Have you tried removing the air filter element? If this does not help, take it to a PROFESSIONAL mechanic and have him clean, set, and synchronize the carbs!!

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

It cant be found on the bike as they do not use a label system like cars do you will have to go to a motorcycle dealer and ask if they have the info or to a paint supply shop and get it colour matched . It really depends on how your bike was painted and what method as in finding a good match

Hey Edwing, ALL these "mechanics" that cut and paste answers from some repair magazine are hurting more people than they are helping.. as you have seen,,(they just want "points")..and don't KNOW (%(%#)!! Now, for you answer,, yes I can help. there is not much you can do with stock disc, calipers and master cylinder,,, BUT > Go here for some good brake pads...(I use EBC on ALL my vehicles!!) Motorcycle Parts by EBC Brakes Brake Pads Brake Discs Clutches

I'm going through the same thing, go to www.vulcanforums.com and look up your model bike, there are already discussions about the how to ohm out the stator and and VR.

you can be running lean gas basically if radiator is very hot then the pump is working squeeze the hose it should have lots of resistance use a thermal gun it should be constant temp all over bout all i can think of

There may be a safety switch on the kickstand so that if it is extended, the engine can not be running if it is in gear. Even if the kickstand is not down, if this switch is sticking it could be your problem. And if you don't have that switch, then I'll have to keep thinking. Almost touring weather. Nice horse!

Sounds like the decompression release.

Check that you have a god bulb and a good ground, broken wire or connecter

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.

If the lever was fine as you bled it then the problem lies elsewhere, either the slave cylinder is stuck or the push rod mechanism in the clutch itself is assembled wrong.

Remove the rear engine cover on the left side.

Possibly the lever's locking bolt thread has stripped or the thread on the bolt is worn. Another aspect is the splines in the lever are shot and/or the splines on the gear change shaft are badly worn. Remove lever and check the splines on both shaft and lever also check around the lever fixing section for any cracks. Check the threaded section of the lever with a brand new bolt the bolt should be easy to turn in and out by finger and should have no side to side play. When refitting the existing lever or a new one make sure the lever is a good fit on the gearbox shaft splines before you tighten the bolt.

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.

hello, did u check the spark plugs?..try to clean them, if you need more help you can get the service manual for it from the below link it will help a lothttp://goo.gl/6MQqaQgood luck

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.