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Nomad 1500 Questions

3K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Tedw 
#1 ·
Hello All,

I just recently put a down payment on a 2000 Kawasaki Nomad 1500 looks clean, has all maintenance records 1 owner bike, but concerned about the miles 46k on it. I am buying it for 1500. Originally was wanting to by a Harley but the budget does not allow it this year, and for the price on this bike and the fact it comes with all the service records I had to jump on this, So my question is should I let the Higher miles scare me?
 
#2 ·
If the Nomad you are buying was well taken care of then, NO, you have no worry at 46,000. That averages out to 2,300 miles per year. Don't think it was overworked. These engines last a long time and do long miles when taken care of. What usually turns these bikes into parts bikes is the shifting forks. The manuals all state to shift these bikes at low rpm/speed but very few actually follow the engineers instructions. So bent forks are more common than they should be. Other wise if you take care of it You can easily add another 100,000 miles to the bike. At 1500.00 you are already about $ 1000.00 ahead, but check the shifting out real good.
 
#5 ·
Just the cam chain extenders, Its is scary and time consuming but not that complex. ( well at least not with the online info and help from the forum). I wouldn't mind being able to afford a HD but to be honest my Nomad fits like a glove.
 
#9 · (Edited)
...but to be honest my Nomad fits like a glove.
Mine certainly doesn't fit like a glove. Unless I have gloves 2 sizes too big, LOL.


2nd bike I looked at in the Spring (returning rider after a 450 lb. bike 15+ years ago) was an '04 1500 Nomad. 12,000 miles. Piece of junk. Cosmetically rusted, pitted, scratched, ran rough. Took it for a spin though, kinda liked the bike style.

3rd bike I looked at was an '02 1500 Nomad. 37,000 miles. Vance and Hines, Mustang seat, back rest, K&N filter, 2 windshields, 2nd set of shorty V&H, light bar, chrome trim on fenders and bags, Clymers repair manual, tool set intact. Runs fantastic. It sits in my driveway right now tore apart as I started removing the huge speakers mounted on the handlebars (I won't listen to music) and install my pull-back risers so I can get it more fitting like a glove. Looks like a well taken care of 37k mile bike vs. looking like a junkyard bike with 12k miles like the first one.

They are heavy beasts. Not the heaviest but the center of gravity is high. You feel it coming to a stop, you feel it in slow maneuvering and starting out turning onto or turning off of roads. I don't have many miles from previous vacation plans and rain for the first half of summer, but getting use to the weight. I was thinking of selling and getting a 900 to fit better, but now the more I ride it, the more I like it. Runs fantastic as I said. I have no problems with the mileage.


My buddy bought a 900 the same evening I bought mine. We went for a ride and he ripped down the highway 75ish mph and his Cobras were screaming in pain. Saturday I was heading down the entrance ramp watching for traffic which there wasn't any. As I moved over to the highway lane I realized I was shifting up to 5th gear at 75 mph. Nope, I don't want the 900 any more. I like the big beast even if it is a bit bulky on the secondary narrow twisty roads. My buddy put his 900 up for sale the day he got the title in the mail and sold it the next day. He just bought a Softtail, which we all told him he should have bought to begin with as he's an HD guy. I'm a metric guy and will never spend the 2x price for HD.

Note, these are not fast bikes at all. Nice torque, but slow as molasses. I think they spec to do 0-60 in 8.1 seconds which is slower than my POS Mazda 3. My little 80's 550cc "beginner" bike did 0-60 in 4 seconds if you took it up past 6000 RPM to the 10,500 redline. I'm old now, I don't mind slow as molasses. It sounds and feels much faster with the V&H.
 
#8 ·
One of my good friends rides a '08 Nomad. He had the top end rebuilt at 78,000 miles and the fuel pump went out at just past 85k. I think he replaced the clutch at about 60k. He currently has well over 120k miles on it and still going. My '04 has 46k on it and still runs like new. I'd ride it across country tomorrow.
 
#12 ·
it truely is the little things that make big differences. I remember putting a 17 inch rear wheel on an old honda 750 (stock was an 18). made that bike ride so much better. I put alot of other stuff on it but by the time it was 'done' it rode like something completely different. I called it my 'red wing' or leadwing hehe.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J727AZ using Tapatalk
 
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