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Vaquero owners thread

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#1 ·
This Thread is dedicated to all Vaquero Owners and any other interested bikers.
 
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#2,147 ·
Finally!! Hitch installed!

What an ordeal! June 25: ordered a trailer hitch from Marvella's, to haul my Bunkhouse camper on 11 day trip scheduled for July 12. Money billed to my credit card on June 27. July 10: Hitch finally arrives via USPS instead of UPS as advised. Attempted to install hitch, but support arm was not long enough to allow back of hitch to clear (under) the tip of fender. July 11: I attempted to contact Marvella's, without success. July 12: embarked on trip anyway, having to rely on MOTEL ROOMS instead of campgrounds. Cost: approx. $340 more than camping, but at least breakfast was included, lol!! July 13: Jason, new owner of Marvella's, called me back! Really, two days later? Jason said he must have sent the short support arms (for the Voyager) instead of long ones for the Vaquero. He apologized and said he would send the long ones to me. July 22: Arrived home from trip. July 23: package from Marvella's arrives via USPS. I immediately open package and compare new support arm with original; exactly THE SAME. I called Marvella's, asked for Jason, was advised he was with a customer and he would call me back. Two hours later I called again, and was advised he was "busy" and would call me back. I advised her I had heard that before. Finally at 5:00 pm, Jason called me. I told him the supports were the same. He asked to to measure the support length. It turned out that WAS the longer one after all. I sent him detailed close-up pics showing it was too short. He said he would make new, longer supports for me asap and ship them to me. July 24: contacted Jason and confirmed that 1/4" longer support would work. August 6: longer supports finally arrive! This is because all work in now sub-contracted out. Marvella's no longer manufactures their products, they are the middle man. The OTHER bracket, which bolts to the bottom of the saddlebag mounts, also had to be modified, but I did that myself. About 4 hrs on the bench grinder and 20 minutes on a drill press later, it was okay. The welded angles on the supports arms also had to be modified on my bench vise, to make it fit. Finally, today, it's installed! Now for the wiring....crap.
 
#2,162 · (Edited)
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What an ordeal! June 25: ordered a trailer hitch from Marvella's, to haul my Bunkhouse camper on 11 day trip scheduled for July 12. Money billed to my credit card on June 27. July 10: Hitch finally arrives via USPS instead of UPS as advised. Attempted to install hitch, but support arm was not long enough to allow back of hitch to clear (under) the tip of fender. July 11: I attempted to contact Marvella's, without success. July 12: embarked on trip anyway, having to rely on MOTEL ROOMS instead of campgrounds. Cost: approx. $340 more than camping, but at least breakfast was included, lol!! July 13: Jason, new owner of Marvella's, called me back! Really, two days later? Jason said he must have sent the short support arms (for the Voyager) instead of long ones for the Vaquero. He apologized and said he would send the long ones to me. July 22: Arrived home from trip. July 23: package from Marvella's arrives via USPS. I immediately open package and compare new support arm with original; exactly THE SAME. I called Marvella's, asked for Jason, was advised he was with a customer and he would call me back. Two hours later I called again, and was advised he was "busy" and would call me back. I advised her I had heard that before. Finally at 5:00 pm, Jason called me. I told him the supports were the same. He asked to to measure the support length. It turned out that WAS the longer one after all. I sent him detailed close-up pics showing it was too short. He said he would make new, longer supports for me asap and ship them to me. July 24: contacted Jason and confirmed that 1/4" longer support would work. August 6: longer supports finally arrive! This is because all work in now sub-contracted out. Marvella's no longer manufactures their products, they are the middle man. The OTHER bracket, which bolts to the bottom of the saddlebag mounts, also had to be modified, but I did that myself. About 4 hrs on the bench grinder and 20 minutes on a drill press later, it was okay. The welded angles on the supports arms also had to be modified on my bench vise, to make it fit. Finally, today, it's installed! Now for the wiring....crap.

Well, I bought my from Marvella Hitch Kit well over a year ago when the original owner still owned Mavella for my 2011 Vaquero. Since I had installed the Cobra Tri-Oval slipons and they are wider than the stock exhaust, the Marvella would not fit without hitting the Cobras, so I took the bike and the Hitch Kit to my local welding ship and he modified the Hitch Kit and it then worked fine. Have pulled my trailer all over Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama with no problems, I went with the Kuryakan trailer wiring harness kit and went on nice and works great, too.
 
#2,148 ·
thunder air kit

the stand off/studs that secure the cover to the adapter plate broke during reinstallation after cleaning the filter. I emailed Travis at Thunder a picture and he responded within an hour that he is having new hardware mailed to me right away.

I may leave my stock kit on due to sheer laziness.

I may be persuaded to sell the kit for a significant discount over retail in favor of Driving Lights.


Also checked brake pads and they are still good, picked up some heavy duty DOT 4 at O'riley's and bled the brakes and clutch (the old stuff looked like used motor oil.
 
#2,149 ·
#2,155 ·
Okay, installed the BaggerShield and went for a 300 mile ride yesterday. After testing it out in both positions, 8 inches and fully extended 12.5 inches, I realized that I will never use it in fully extended postion because that causes me to look through the shield rather than over it. I am looking at a 9" Cee Bailey shield now so if anyone wants to either exchange or buy the baggershielf from me pm me. The shield is only a day old so no ware to it at all.
 
#2,156 ·
Make sure you measure before you order the Cee Bailey. I'm 5'11" tall, normal upper/lower torso. I almost pulled the trigger on a 9". But measured after I got my Mustang seat and ended up ordering an 11". I look over, not through the shield and it's not too low. If you order and its too tall, they will cut it down as much as you want for free. Very thick windshield. I've had a Clearview on my Harley and its also a great shield just not tinted dark enough for what I wanted on the Vaquero


Sent from my iPhone using MO Free
 
#2,165 ·
hey guys. i took a long ride through the country side of connecticut , it was awsome got alot of compliments on my vaquero. did some highway and back roads , on the highway she did 51 mph and back roads 41 mph so im happy , what a smooth ride had it up to 90 with little ease . while at a stop a bolt fell out . i looked and nothings missing . it maches the bolt of the engine gaurd but nothings missing. , could be a bolt someone lost while in production ..but im gonna keep looking.
 
#2,167 ·
Found a new link for tees if any of you are interested, know I post a couple for the Vaquero Tee from another site, now I found these for any of the Vulcan line, a lot of different designs, take a look if you are interested, this guys has a shop on eBay.

http://www.openroadtees.com/vulcan.html
 
#2,169 ·
I'm 5'9 as well. I have the tinted 11" and its a tad too short if I'm going over 60mph. There is a wind buffeting effect that hits the forehead over 60mph. I will say its a non issue if i wear a full face helmet, which i dont most of the time. The 11" is short enough to see over and blocks the majority of the wind, but I'm thinking about a taller clear one to look through for the longer highway hauls. Heck there's only a few screws and a changeover only takes a minute or two anyway.
 
#2,171 ·
You are 5'9'' and you can look over the 11''? Hmm figured at 11'' you'd probably be looking through it. In my experience as long as you are able to look over the windshield there will always be some bufetting. So it's either look through it or deal with some buffetting at higher speeds. It's a trade off and depends on you riding style and preference. I rode bikes with open face helmet and no windshield for 15 years so I am used to the wind in my face. As long as the bufetting doesn't get too distracting, i'd rather deal with that then look through a windshield. But it's all a matter of preference. What's important is that Black is definetly faster.
 
#2,170 ·
does amyone know how to take off the turn signal lense off , i tried but figured i'd ask before i break them
 
#2,173 ·
If I remember right, after you take out the set screw you have too rotate the lens for it to come off.
 
#2,172 ·
I'm 5'10" and have the oem 16" and it about splits my view meaning if I slump down I'm looking through it and if I sit up straight I am barely looking over it. The 12" I was feeling a lot of wind to my head so the 16" might be my cooler weather one and get a 14" and see how that works unless I decide on one of the other ones mentioned here.
 
#2,176 · (Edited)
well the amount of money I have spent getting the vaquero the way i want it. Could have bouhgt a victory cc taller wndshild stage 1 and other things, Do get me wrong I love my Vaquero buy steariing head bearing out at 7400 miles and just ware and tear soungs like the do not want to fix it, wobble in front end same way what the 3yrs warranty good for. not putting down kawasaki but stand n behind your product spent money to buy it it back it up. Any one know a good dealer ouy there. send me number. Thanks All
 
#2,178 ·
If I were you, I would call my dealer and ask them for the Kawasaki toll-free customer service #. IF they refuse, ask to speak to the manager and he will give it to you. Call Kawasaki and express your concerns, such as how can the maintenance schedule call for bearing lube every 2 yrs or 15,000 miles, you have 7400 miles and the dealer says it's "normal wear and tear"? Make sure they know you are not just going to "go away" and give up, that you're not going to take NO for an answer. Be diligent.
 
#2,181 ·
ok i know im a pain but i want new grips what size do i get? these bars are bigger than my honda ...
 
#2,182 ·
Check out the thread for racnrays throttle mod. He has them and everyone really seems to like them. I will be getting mine soon after I get back from vacation.
 
#2,183 ·
I have talked to the rep and mananger both give me the same like wear and tear pay for it yourself. If I could get a good price for it Id go back to yamaha or victory. If I could get it fixed under warranty I would stay with kawasaki I do like the bike. Thats why I bought it in the first place.
 
#2,184 ·
Check out page 211 and 212 in your owner's manual. Follow those instructions and see what happens. If everything fails, take it SOMEWHERE ELSE to get the steering head bearings replaced, and keep the bike. I'm sure it was one-time fluke and won't happen again. It will be a whole lot cheaper than getting fleeced on a trade-in and buying a new bike.
Being a good complainer pays off, though. I once had a boat, four years OUT of warranty, and got the company (Sea Ray) to pay half of my repair cost, by writing a letter to the company president.
 
#2,186 ·
I sent a reply to kawasaki on page 212 this bike has never been power washed only hand washed. I can't belive the treatment i'm getting I had a yamaha raider that any problem i had was fixed no questions asked. I hope kawasaki will fix wast is wrong I have Faith in them.
 
#2,187 ·
All I will say is that when I owned my shops, if the customer was decent to us, we would bend over backwards to help them and many times, we had no problem getting their problem solved. I think your dealer may have screwed you.

Oil, is the Lifeblood of your engine. The oil filter, is the Kidney that keeps it clean.

The Best isn’t cheap
Cheap isn’t The Best


Bob
 
#2,191 ·
Pretty sure grips are inch and a quarter atleast thats what the bars are.


Sent from my iPhone using MO Free
 
#2,199 ·
REALLY NICE !! Thanks .. good for cold days:)
 
#2,197 · (Edited)
This is a question for Ray or anyone who had their Vaquero hooked up with a PCV with AUTOTUNE dynoed. I would like to see some dyno numbers to see how the autotune compares to a manually dyno tuned bike with a custom map. Have PCV, air kit and V&H slip ons all ready but I am on the border with autotune. Does anyone have any dyno numbers to be able to empirically judge the autotune?
 
#2,200 · (Edited)
#2,201 ·
im going to order that . plus the tank bib. thanx for the info
 
#2,203 ·
TLC products bag liners

Bought my 2011 Vaquero last february (love it by the way) I saw mentioned somehwere in here about TLCproducts bag liners, I ordered a set 25 July...received a confirmation e-mail the next day...seen that the money come out of my account two days later...and since then I have heard nothing...the numbers on their website are no longer in service, they do not respond to any of my e-mails!?! Has anyone else on here had any dealings with this company, and or know of any additional numbers?...i'm a little pissed right now...
 
#2,204 ·
Bought my 2011 Vaquero last february (love it by the way) I saw mentioned somehwere in here about TLCproducts bag liners, I ordered a set 25 July...received a confirmation e-mail the next day...seen that the money come out of my account two days later...and since then I have heard nothing...the numbers on their website are no longer in service, they do not respond to any of my e-mails!?! Has anyone else on here had any dealings with this company, and or know of any additional numbers?...i'm a little pissed right now...
New owner and they are basically out of business I have heard, so you may be lucky and get them someday, but probably you are out of you money and no TLC Liners.

I really like mine I bought a year ago, too bad they sold the business and the new owners let it fall on it's face, to say.
 
#2,520 ·
TLC liners....

Bought my 2011 Vaquero last february (love it by the way) I saw mentioned somehwere in here about TLCproducts bag liners, I ordered a set 25 July...received a confirmation e-mail the next day...seen that the money come out of my account two days later...and since then I have heard nothing...the numbers on their website are no longer in service, they do not respond to any of my e-mails!?! Has anyone else on here had any dealings with this company, and or know of any additional numbers?...i'm a little pissed right now...


I know what you mean, went throught the very same senerio....Their GONE and so is our $$$$$$....shame.
 
#2,524 ·
Did you try contacting your credit card company to see if you dispute the charges?
They wanted alot of paperwork and alot of "hoops" jumped through...too much back & forth for me, rather have the liners. So, its on me I suppose, just write it off to experience and find another source, which it seems I have....thanks to you fella's on this forum.
 
#2,525 ·
They wanted alot of paperwork and alot of "hoops" jumped through...too much back & forth for me, rather have the liners. So, its on me I suppose, just write it off to experience and find another source, which it seems I have....thanks to you fella's on this forum.
Sounds like you need a new credit card company. I disputed a charge once. It was one phone call, and one form signed, and done.
 
#2,206 ·
Best tank bib out there for the Vaquero and Voyager in quality, for sure. Chris is a great guy and will work with you and sure he will come up with a version with road peg cut outs to sell to all who have road pegs.
 
#2,208 · (Edited)
Lowering Springs and Shocks for the Vaquero

Lower Spring Kit for the Vaquero, only takes about 30 minutes to install and can lower you bike up to 2" and then use with the 430 shock kit in back and you now can touch the ground if you have a short inseam like a lot of us.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Progressive-Drop-In-Fork-Lowering-Kit-Kawasaki-Vulcan-Vaquero-VN-1700-2011-/360483411753?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53ee7c5729&vxp=mtr#ht_1549wt_1186

and


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Progressive-Suspension-Shck-Absrbr-430-4258C-Kawasaki-VN1700-Vulcan-1700-Vaquero-/390456713690?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5ae908a1da&vxp=mtr#ht_1533wt_952
 
#2,213 ·
hi all i finally had my 1st service today , and they adjusted the belt and the NOISE IS GONE..yeahhh!! what a nice long ride home.. . And im going to do my own oil changes from here on.. definetly going with AMS..that should help with the shifting noise. last night i went to the local biker hangout , mostly harleys and they kept checking it out , all of sudden they all came over to my vaquero and aked a ton of questions they were full of compliments and were impressed . these are old timers and live harley.. but they know the times are changing and what you get for the money. they all started complaining about what they paid . plus the money they spent on upgrades. they couldnt believe the vaq was stock . Give it time this bike will make a good mark in the biker world.
 
#2,216 ·
I use my Bar Chaps only in the colder winter months, from December through the end of February, they do keep the wind off my boots and lower legs and thus I am warmer at that time of year when riding, using them on my Vaquero.

Once it starts to warm up in March, I pull them off and clean them and store them away for use the next winter season.
 
#2,217 ·
Air Horn for the Vaquero

Well, I replaced the Vaquero's stock dog bowl air breather set up with a Thunder Tornado Kit included by putting the flat plate on the left side of the motor.

I then bought a Mini Beast all in one Air Horn Kit in flat black to match the color and style of my black Vaquero, as close as possible.

It is very loud, louder than most air horns that I have used in the past. You can buy these mini air horn in flat black, shinny black, chrome, and in several shapes to fit you likes.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE, it will open up so you can see the set up more closely. :D
 

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#2,222 ·
Well, I replaced the Vaquero's stock dog bowl air breather set up with a Thunder Tornado Kit included by putting the flat plate on the left side of the motor.

I then bought a Mini Beast all in one Air Horn Kit in flat black to match the color and style of my black Vaquero, as close as possible.

It is very loud, louder than most air horns that I have used in the past. You can buy these mini air horn in flat black, shinny black, chrome, and in several shapes to fit you likes.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE, it will open up so you can see the set up more closely. :D
Great idea Roadie! I like it very much and when I get to the point of changing my air intake system, I believe I will be copying your left side :D In Chrome ofcourse
 
#2,218 ·
Head Lamp Bezel from Chrome to Black

Well, all the Vaqueros except black come in a matching head lamp bezel color, but the Black Vaquero comes only with a chrome head lamp bezel.

Here is what mine looks like after I had it done in black, I like the looks of it better than the chrome. Also, if you take a close look, you see I changed out my mirrors for black, also. You know, Black is Faster !!! :D

Just CLICK THE IMAGE to enlarge the view.
 

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