Kawasaki Vulcan

The title will probably get a few hits here, as it describes a somewhat common issue withKawasaki's 1500cc Vulcan engines and there's a lot of people who ride them.

For those who found this blog searching for information regarding the clutch spring and how to replace it, just Google for "Gadget's Fixit Page Clutch Spring" without the quotes You can also find a wealth of information by checking out the vulcan riders.

This blog is merely about how I spent my day working on the above project, and traveling to and from the location where it was performed. I am associated with Kawasaki Vulcan owners in the Pittsburgh area who are familiar with working on their Vulcan motorcycles. They are a local "chapter" who are part of the larger VROC group. "Nickels" house is where I went today to get help taking on this project. Aside from the time waiting for the bike to cool down after the 3 hour ride there, the BS sessions, etc, actual time spent working on the project probably totaled 2.5 to 3 hours. Having done the job once by myself in 2006, I was appreciative of the help.

It was a great day for a ride, and I made good time on the way to thePittsburgh area. "Yummy", who showed up to help after Nickels and I had started, said traffic was bad. For me, it was good, since I didn't have to travel THROUGH Pittsburgh. Mike also showed up and got his hands dirty. For the most part, I just supervised. I got the important job of cleaning up the tools and general cleanup after the job was done. I played "third hand" and "gopher" as well. Once finished, I had a very quick and strong clutch that took a little getting used to. Tom showed up as we wrapped things up, and we all went to a nearby restaurant for dinner afterward.

I left for home about 6:00 and ended up riding after dark. I had a couple of route choices, along an edge of national forest, or smack dab through the middle of it. I picked the one where I thought I might encounter the least amount of deer. You would think I'd know by now that the best route around here for not encountering deer is to stay home. With that in mind, I picked the smack dab middle route, since there are more clear areas along it to better scan the edges of the road. I had just one deer run in front of me, which I saw in plenty of time. It watched me approach, and then bolted across the road as I slowed down. Always look for more to cross behind the first one. This time there weren't any. Another lay dead in the middle of an oncoming lane later on. I was forewarned of it by an oncoming car that may have hit it. They flashed their lights, one of which was not working. Maybe from hitting that deer?

I arrived back home safe and sound about 9:00, with many bugs on the windshield, another con of riding at night. There's always bugs to be had when riding, and they come looking for you on unlit night time country roads. I'll be washing the bike AGAIN today....

The picture below is Yummy, Nickels and Mike getting things done on my bike. It's good to have friends with know-how and tools as well as time. THANKS, GUYS!!