2000 Vulcan Nomad 1500 Fi

[bdfrench]

Hi All,

I recently got a hold of a friends 2000 Vulcan nomad 1500 Fi (texas based and ridden) which he had sitting in his garage for 6 years and not started. I've worked through pulling the fuel tank, drain and clean there along with cleaning the fuel pump and flushing it out. I've put all that back, pulled the plugs and cleaned and checked their gap. Pulled and replaced the air filter oil filter and verified that the drive line had oil. I've put it all back together and it runs really bad. Prior to parking the bike he rode it a bunch and it always ran great. There were no issues that he or I am aware of. Now it will start but not idle very well and forget putting it in gear. You put it in gear and it will stall. Additionally it backfires through what sounds like the carbs. Another thing i did notice is that the idle adjustment screw/cable is hanginglose and not in the little cradle/bracket.

I'm open to any suggestions. I'm a very long distance from a dealer and don't have a trailer.

Any help would be appreciated.

[sfair]

Usually popping in the intake is a sign of a lean mixture. Could be a sticky injector(s). You might try running some Seafoam in the fuel tank to see if it will clear up.

Post back with your results.

[bdfrench]

Will try that. Thanks for the post. Oh and forgot to mention, new fuel filter and air filter was installed.

Does anyone know how to properly set the fast idle? I'm worried this got mucked with while it was parked. Kids played in the garage where it was stored and little fingers have a tendency to fiddle with stuff.

[jesus granados]

Originally Posted by bdfrench

Hi All,

I recently got a hold of a friends 2000 Vulcan nomad 1500 Fi (texas based and ridden) which he had sitting in his garage for 6 years and not started. I've worked through pulling the fuel tank, drain and clean there along with cleaning the fuel pump and flushing it out. I've put all that back, pulled the plugs and cleaned and checked their gap. Pulled and replaced the air filter oil filter and verified that the drive line had oil. I've put it all back together and it runs really bad. Prior to parking the bike he rode it a bunch and it always ran great. There were no issues that he or I am aware of. Now it will start but not idle very well and forget putting it in gear. You put it in gear and it will stall. Additionally it backfires through what sounds like the carbs. Another thing i did notice is that the idle adjustment screw/cable is hanginglose and not in the little cradle/bracket.

I'm open to any suggestions. I'm a very long distance from a dealer and don't have a trailer.

Any help would be appreciated.

First, make sure your battery is 100% charged, 12.7 volts by itself, then make sure you clean the throttle bores, as i can see you aready cleaned most everything else, if your bike is carburated, i suspect the jets are gummed up, seafoam and time should work that out, although, you may just have to take the carburators off and give them a good cleaning.

[sfair]

The idle adjustment has a groove just above the knob that slips into a u-shaped piece on the bracket. Get the bike running properly, then this knob can be used to set the idle speed.
This bike is fuel injected, correct?

[bdfrench]

Yes it is fuel injected. Is there a default way to set the idle speed? ie turn it all the way clockwise or counter clockwise and back off x turns or something? with out a tach it's hard to tell what is a good idle setting.

I pulled the plugs today and they were covered in carbon. I've cleaned them and checked gap again and reinstalled. The bike runs a bit better. I'm headed into town in the AM to get seafoam and will see what that does.

[sfair]

No prescribed number of turns in or out. Just adjust for a nice tick over and not to slow. If it has a Harley potato sound, that is a little slow.

[bdfrench]

Ok so seafoam helped some. Still geting backfire through carbs/air cleaner on right side of bike where the two air valves are.

Looks like i'll be pulling the whole mess apart and cleaning things the hard way.

regards
brian

[sfair]

You can try this:

MC Throttle Body Cleaning
Failing that, a fuel system pressure reading would be in order.
Should be 38lbs at idle.
If it is low, the bike will never run properly no matter what you do.

[bdfrench]

Ok cleaned throttle body following those instructions. Have been back over the bike on everything I took off and put back to make sure it's all installed correctly. Bike now starts when cold very well. Will take throttle input and you can rev the bike up nicely. Appears that the injectors are clean and functioning. However, once the bike warms up it dies. Is very very hard to start if at all. Is there something else I'm overlooking that would cause this?

Regards
B

[sfair]

Check plugs for carbon fouling or gas soak, after it is hot and will not restart. Still could be an injector(s) or fuel pressure problem. A dribbling injector will start fine but runs too rich when hot. High fuel pressure will do the same thing.

Post back with your findings.

[bdfrench]

Ok. So I had some time to do the suggested test. Fuel pressure was low. Took tank off and removed the pump again. Cleaned it really really good. Removed a bunch more gunk this time. looks like more of the sludge came from up in the top of the tank and clogged the plastic in tank filter. I removed again what I could through that small hole where the pump goes in, and put it all back together. it runs a bit rough but is capable of actually being ridden around the block a few times. As it gets warm it does tend to back fire a bit when I roll off the throttle but it's much better.

On to next problem. After riding it a bit (about a 1/4 tank worth of new gas) I've noticed oil seepage around the right hand side can where the exhaust is attached. Not a bunch but enough that it looks damp about 3inchs down. Is there some seal or something that could be bad from sitting so long?

Oh and Thanks for all the help so far. Next steps are to get insurance updated and plates renewed. Then can look into getting into town to the dealer.

Regards,
B

[alekkas]

No idea about the seepage.

As far as the carbs and fuel stuff, keep running it. Keep the seafoam coming in appropriate amounts. A lot of cleaning has to come from withing. Keep it running and I bet it keeps cleaning up.