1985 Kawasaki Vulcan (VN700?) HELP!??
 

757-813-1797

OK, heres the deal.

Bought a bike off CL for $500. Ran fine, little clutch slippage, stator is on its last leg/already went bad/idk.

i drove the bike before i bought it so i know it runs. Didnt make any weird noises, handled fine, looked good for being 25 years old.

The idea was to turn this into a bobber. Well i got it home and started to try to get it to run better, look better, etc.

Im mechanically inclined, but stators and rectifiers, and whatnot confuse me and im at a standstill. So what im saying is i need a mechanic that knows older carb'd bikes thats willing to come over for a few beers, and help me diag the problem/s.

I started taking un-necessary shit off the bike
-stock air box
-stock seat
-horn
-fenders
-i lowered it
-turn signals
-brake light etc..

The bike was running before i disassembled anything..

For me to get the stock airbox out, i had to removed the harness from atop the frame (under the gastank). well the plugs are 1 of a kind, so i can plug those back in with no problems, but after i plugged them back it the bike would not start.

I smell gas, and my petcock/gaslines are NOT clogged. I have spark, but the bike will not start.

Now the battery is dead, and i need a trickle charger to do anything.

Could the stator just finally shit the bed and that would cause it not to start? The bike DID turn over quick like the battery was fine, but its been sitting for a month and i want to get back to working on it. so NOW the battery is dead as shit piss.

I need some help. and possibly a house call?! I wanna be riding this thing come spring/summer time!!!


Any help will be appreciated!!

here are a few pics for ideas of what it looks like. Looks pretty dope i must say...

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...3_752715_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6223029_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._8268613_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5173043_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._8202043_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7749434_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...6_809751_n.jpg

Re: 1985 Kawasaki Vulcan (VN700?) HELP!??
 

Thats a great lookin' bike. Wish I knew how to help ya - but I don't. All I can offer up is motivational support :thup:

Re: 1985 Kawasaki Vulcan (VN700?) HELP!??
 

thanks!

i need some help peopleeee!!!!

Re: 1985 Kawasaki Vulcan (VN700?) HELP!??
 

first things first, it's only going to run so well, if at all, without the airbox on it, unless you rejet the carbs (and you're gonna have to go WAY up on the mains to get it right). there's your first (and probably biggest) problem. The stock carbs need some sort of intake restriction to run with the stock jetting.

Unfortunately your particular bike has a very odd carb setup. Not harder to jet, just more of a pain in the ass. you really need some sort of filters, and even with pod filters, you're going to need to up AT LEAST one size up on the pilot jets, and as much as 10 up on the mains, along with playing with the mixture screws. You're also going to lose some lower rpm power running sans-airbox probably, (but it'll scream at upper rpm).

and no, a dead stator won't keep it from running, just keep it from charging. it'll only run until the battery voltage drops down enough to not be able to run the CDI.

Re: 1985 Kawasaki Vulcan (VN700?) HELP!??
 

thanks!!


i need some info/websites on the best spots to buy these items