Hello, new rider here...

[HemetRider]

Just wanted to say I'm glad I found this forum. Got my first bike two weeks ago. It's a 1996 Vulcan 1500 Classic. I put about 500 miles on it so far. But my gear shifter broke off on Friday. Seems the previous owner welded it on. So, I'm in the process of tearing it down to install a new gearshift shaft. I guess I can't complain too much, I only paid $2,500 for it. Just wondering if I should do anything else while I'm at it? Here's some pics of my ride:









Since I have to pull the engine to get to the gear shaft, I'm going to pull off the fenders and tank to have a friend paint them. I don't care for the pinstriping on it. I'm thinking of a lime green candy color with white flames or something like that. Hopefully the parts will be here Friday and I'll be on the road again next week.

[Surftechuser]

Nice bike!

[Syn]

Welcome Hem,nice bike.I kind of like the pinstripes but thats just me,make that bad boy your own!

[insolentminx]

welcome.

I quite like the pintripes because they're different... but i don't like the white paint. .... make the bike your own though!!

[Hoyett]

That's a lot of bling for the buck there my friend. I like the pin stripes as well but do what you gotta do.


Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic...

[therogue]

Looks like you got a deal. A little tlc and you're off agian.

[w0lf19]

Great deal there, and can't go wrong at that price. Especially with all that chrome. Drool

[Teamlopez1]

Since your pulling the motor how about some new pipes? just a thought since they look pretty discolored in your pic.

[V2K_CCTX]

welcome

[Miralcos]

Welcome! and Cong on the dang good deal on that fine ride you got!

[N3FOLN3FOL]

Welcome Hemetrider. I've seen newer 1500's out there that needed some TLC, but yours looks like it has been well taken care off. Hope you can straighten out your shifter issue and be able to ride more.

[V2KCruiser]

Some of the earlier Vulcan models had failures of the oil pump drive gear (POG's aka Plastic Oil Gears). Take a look at this thread for more info:

http://www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/fo...an-1500-a.html

[Dethbed]

Nice bike! in that pic of the front, with the 2 tone paint and the windshield and light bar, it kinda reminds me of a retro-ish police bike. But that's just me.

[c_law23]

that is one very very sharp bike. welcome!

[rfb92345]

Nice bike........I think I remember seeing it for sale when I was looking for my ride. I remember the pinstripping. I have a 96 1500 also. When you get your bike fixed, give me a hollar and we can do a PS ride or something. I have a riding buddy up here that can join in. Mine is my first cruiser and I like it, especially the 4 speed. I guess there are some troubles with it, but hell, when it breaks there is no hesitation on my part to rip it apart. That's why I like the older bikes. You never feel bad about taking them apart and changing things. By the way if you ever need a rear rotor, I have a program all set up to spit one out in stainless on the CNC. Beats 250 for a new one, plus this and plus that.

[Cruz]

That is one cool bike, enjoy and welcome!

[Tucson1]

Nice ride.

[HemetRider]

Originally Posted by Teamlopez1

Since your pulling the motor how about some new pipes? just a thought since they look pretty discolored in your pic.

I actually got another set of pipes with the bike! The bike came with the OEM seat and Corbin touring seat. The backrests on it are a dark brown though. I'm going to put the other pipes on when I get it back together to see if they would help with the backfiring.

Do the original pipes have shark fin tips? That's what the other pipes have.

[HemetRider]

Originally Posted by rfb92345

Nice bike........I think I remember seeing it for sale when I was looking for my ride. I remember the pinstripping. I have a 96 1500 also. When you get your bike fixed, give me a hollar and we can do a PS ride or something. I have a riding buddy up here that can join in. Mine is my first cruiser and I like it, especially the 4 speed. I guess there are some troubles with it, but hell, when it breaks there is no hesitation on my part to rip it apart. That's why I like the older bikes. You never feel bad about taking them apart and changing things. By the way if you ever need a rear rotor, I have a program all set up to spit one out in stainless on the CNC. Beats 250 for a new one, plus this and plus that.

Sounds good. My mother-in-law lives in Adelanto, so I'm sure I'll be up that way at some time or another... I think the POG was changed on my bike. I was lucky enough to brake down at 74Motorsports and the service guy there did a lookup of any recalls on my bike. He said there was 1 but it was already done on my bike. Hopefully it was the POG.

[RichLockyer]

POG was never a recall. They will replace it at no charge only if it fails (but won't cover any additional damage caused by the engine running after failure).

Since the engine will be out, take a look behind the clutch basket and you can see the gear. If it's plastic, give Judge a call (he prefers calls to email) and he can hook you up with a JOG... or since you'll have the case split for the shift shaft, you can order the Kawi part and replace it the way the dealer would.