Purchase advice, 03 VN1500L

My 99 has some lifter tick if it's sat for a week. I think the oil drains out of the HLA's and it takes them a few minutes to get pumped back up. If the bike you're looking at has run for several minutes and it's still ticking, It could have a bad HLA. I wouldn't be surprised if you ran it around the block it went back to normal. If it didn't I'd think it was something permanent. Maybe not serious, but something that's not going away.

cuyahoga said:

Hi everyone. I'd like to ask your help. I'm looking at an 03' Nomad. 20,000 miles. What am I up against here. I've looked at three so far and they all have what sounds to be like a lifter tick at startup. Is the valvetrain a problem with these? Your advice is appreciated...

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the fuel injection 1500 nomad is almost bullet proof. but the engine has a lot of rattles and whines. get used to tme, they are NOT a bad thing. The main lifter tick will go away after a few minutes. If thats your only problem, buy it.
than get a set of cam chain extenders (fairly cheap and fairly easy to install) and youll be set for years to come.

cuyahoga said:

Hi everyone. I'd like to ask your help. I'm looking at an 03' Nomad. 20,000 miles. What am I up against here. I've looked at three so far and they all have what sounds to be like a lifter tick at startup. Is the valvetrain a problem with these? Your advice is appreciated...

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I've had m 1500 for going on 11 years, bought new in 2004. I took it back to the dealer after a week because I thought the motor was making too much noise. Turns out it's normal. 11 years later it's still noisy, but I'm used to it and it runs like a top, so I don't worry about it anymore. I did the cam chain tensioner extenders at 37k and it's still noisy, but not as bad.


Read about this on Gadget's Fixit page under #5 "what to expect."

http://www.gadgetjq.com/newbie.htm

If you think these things are noisy, you should try a 1600 Yamaha Roadstar!