Howdy all?
I have just bought a 2001 800 with a bit over 9000 miles on the clock. It is in pretty good shape overall. It has every extra I could have asked for: Windshield, crash bars, sissy bars, passenger backrest, saddle bags, and running lights.
This bike has not moved in over 2 years. I had to do a bit of carb surgery to bring her back to life. It still has a tendency to want to stall when I give it too much throttle. I think it just needs a bit of seafoam to clear up any clogged passageways and it should be fine.
I have no records of any maintenance that was done to this bike. I will start by draining the oil, removing the oil filter, flushing the coolant, flushing the rear brake oil, then I will replace the engine oil, put a new oil filter, replace the coolant and put in fresh brakes oil. This should make the bike a lot happier. However, I have read that I needed to check the valves clearance. I am not an expert on the Vulcan 800 engines, but my bike did run smoothly sounding like a sewing machine. So much for a cruiser that wants to look like a Harley. I doubt that there are any issues with the valves. How would one diagnose valve clearance issues without having to delve into the engine itself? I mean the engine is as smooth as butter and there are no ticking or rattling sounds of any kind. Just the comforting hum of a well designed Japanese bike.
I have checked a couple of videos on YouTube but they did not show the procedure to remove the heads of the cylinders to gain access to the valves.
Here are my questions now:
1. Do I have to check the valves clearance on a bike with 9000 miles
2. How easy of a job is this?
3. Where can I find valve affordable valve shims for the Vulcan 800?
I forgot to add that I bought this bike for $650 and it came with a Clymer service manual. The previous owner was moving and literally dumped it rather than sold it.
I forgot to add the the owner is a very successful salesperson for a large supermarket chain, Meijer to be precise, and I would think that he had some maintenance done to the bike by a Kawasaki dealer. However I was overjoyed when I got the bike for so little money that I did forget to ask him about it.
I will post some pictures later on today or tomorrow at the latest.
Thanks
I have just bought a 2001 800 with a bit over 9000 miles on the clock. It is in pretty good shape overall. It has every extra I could have asked for: Windshield, crash bars, sissy bars, passenger backrest, saddle bags, and running lights.
This bike has not moved in over 2 years. I had to do a bit of carb surgery to bring her back to life. It still has a tendency to want to stall when I give it too much throttle. I think it just needs a bit of seafoam to clear up any clogged passageways and it should be fine.
I have no records of any maintenance that was done to this bike. I will start by draining the oil, removing the oil filter, flushing the coolant, flushing the rear brake oil, then I will replace the engine oil, put a new oil filter, replace the coolant and put in fresh brakes oil. This should make the bike a lot happier. However, I have read that I needed to check the valves clearance. I am not an expert on the Vulcan 800 engines, but my bike did run smoothly sounding like a sewing machine. So much for a cruiser that wants to look like a Harley. I doubt that there are any issues with the valves. How would one diagnose valve clearance issues without having to delve into the engine itself? I mean the engine is as smooth as butter and there are no ticking or rattling sounds of any kind. Just the comforting hum of a well designed Japanese bike.
I have checked a couple of videos on YouTube but they did not show the procedure to remove the heads of the cylinders to gain access to the valves.
Here are my questions now:
1. Do I have to check the valves clearance on a bike with 9000 miles
2. How easy of a job is this?
3. Where can I find valve affordable valve shims for the Vulcan 800?
I forgot to add that I bought this bike for $650 and it came with a Clymer service manual. The previous owner was moving and literally dumped it rather than sold it.
I forgot to add the the owner is a very successful salesperson for a large supermarket chain, Meijer to be precise, and I would think that he had some maintenance done to the bike by a Kawasaki dealer. However I was overjoyed when I got the bike for so little money that I did forget to ask him about it.
I will post some pictures later on today or tomorrow at the latest.
Thanks