New to me Nomad

[pup]

Picked up a 2003 Black FI Nomad on Saturday. Love the bike. Got that BSEG.

It has V & H exhaust, Kury ISO grips and a K & N filter and everything else looks to be stock.

The heat shield on the front exhaust pipe has an annoying rattle that I've not been able to fix. Any suggestions on that?

[jussmatt]

Congrats on your Nomad purchase and Welcome aboard the Crazy Train!!! Sounds like a nice buy...can't wait to see some pics! As for the rattle.... have you checked to make sure all is screwed tightly?? If it's a bad weld or something like that, then you might have to look into having it re-welded or possibly some JB Weld or high temp epoxy.... just a thought anyway....

[pup]

The heat shield is held on by hose clamps that attach to the actual exhaust pipe itself. All are as tight as they can be.

The rattle is at the top end of the shield right at the head.

Maybe it's missing one hose clamp or something, the closest one to that end is past the downward bend in the pipe about a foot or so.

Anyone have the same pipes, V & H Baggers I believe, that can chime in on where the hose clamps are on yours?

[cactusjack]

Welcome to the Nomad Nation from sunny Phoenix, AZ!

[socwkbiker]

Welcome and congratulations on your new purchase pup! Glad to have you here. http://s2.images.proboards.com/grin.gif

[dantama]

Are you sure it's the heat shield? Could it be the radiator trim rattling like mine does?

Just some thoughts since you seemed to have checked the heat shield without finding anything.

[redeye]

Congrats on your buy, PUP. I have a 2003 w/ V&H Baggers, There is a clamp on the front exhaust pipe about 4" below when the pipe is bolted to the head & about 1" above your rear brake master cylinder. Hope this helps you find your ratte. BTW, what color is your bike?..-Rich

[pup]

It's a Black one.

It's the shield for sure, standing next to the bike and cracking the throttle, you can see the shield vibrating like crazy and hitting the pipe. I stuffed some steel wool underneath it for a test and it stopped.

I think my clamp is further down than that. I'll check.

Thanks.

[scion0]

It's a Black one.

It's the shield for sure, standing next to the bike and cracking the throttle, you can see the shield vibrating like crazy and hitting the pipe. I stuffed some steel wool underneath it for a test and it stopped.

I think my clamp is further down than that. I'll check.

Thanks.

Welcome from Peoria, IL... and black is fastest!

[watchman]

If I recall you can loosen up the clamps and slide the cover down the pipe about 1/8 inch. This should give you just enough clearance. If not, you might have to strong arm the shield a bit away from the head.

[schoeney]

Congrats PUP...You did well, you bought the fastest year and the second fastest color .
Can't help you on the rattle but I am sure there are plenty of V + H owners that will.

[pup]

Thanks, I need to add a sissy bar to it. The wife says so. LOL.

The windshield is a touch hazy. That's on the list after a suitable backrest for the wife can be found.

She even took it for a quick spin and was impressed too.

[misunderstood]

Welcome to "the Jungle" from East TN.

[dirtysteve]

Welcome Pup! Black is the best Nomad. That rattle has been discussed before either in VROC or through Gadgets site:

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

http://www.vroc.org/index.php

If no luck check with Vance and Hines directly. I can't remember if the clamps go bad or if the heat shield mounts bend/warp? hope this helps.

Steve

[rksaw]

Pup,
Welcome to the club. Please keep us informed about how you solve the rattle issue.
Rich

[dogdoc]

welcome to kawanow. And Dan I found a good way to cure the radiator vibration noise. Buy tape insulation(Home depot in plumbing section), I put it all the way around the rectangle opening of shroud(inside) and down both sides of shroud(inside), works great. You can thnak Bobzinger for that tip, thx BOB!

[redeye]

It's a Black one.
I think my clamp is further down than that. I'll check.
Thanks.

You may be missing the higher clamp.

In 2003 Kawasaki had BLACK & then they had the exotic & ever elusive BLACK PEARL. So you may have a rare gem there.....-Rich

[chainsaw]

Welcome from the great state of Texas

[pup]

They said it was Black Pearl, it has some flake in the paint. Not just plain black anyway....

[BandC]

Welcome from Northern Minnesota!!

[dkdixie]

Welcome from Georgia!!

[redeye]

They said it was Black Pearl, it has some flake in the paint. Not just plain black anyway....

In my 58 years on this earth I have seen only one "BLACK PEARL" Nomad, mine. Yours makes it two. These were a very limted edition. Honda tried to copy the color but failed miserably.....-Rich

[mdm44]

Welcome to a great forum and a lot of information and fellowship. I think you will enjoy what you find here. Congratulations on your new ride.

[oldbikers]

elcome from the great state of Mississippi and also welcome to the South Central Nomads.

[bigdave]

Welcome from Western North Carolina

[donguer]

Welcome from Long Island New York.

[moenko]

Welcome from another 'noob' from Connecticut! Enjoy!!

[VulcanE]

Welcome from NW. Georgia. You might want to remove your heat shield and look and make sure you have all the clamps that your supposed to have. You can't just loosen them, you have to completely unscrew the clamps and then pull the shield off over your header pipe. the clamps go through slots in the shield. It sounds like your missing the upper clamp, and to replace it, you'll have to remove the shield anyway.
Good luck

[ells]

Welcome from the eastern foothills of the Rockies

[formikec]

Welcome to Nomadville. We have a tradition here, first round is on you, then, all of the owners of fast black bikes buy all of the next rounds. ;)

[aussienomad]

Howdy from Down Under,

had a very similar rattle, hose clamps were tight but after loosening the bottom one and removing the heat shield it became obvious that although the top clamp was tight it wasn't actually clamped around the heat shield attachment, only clamped against the pipe. Loosened top clamp,slipped heatshield into bottom then slid top clamp over tongue on inner side of heatshield, tightened and no more rattles.
It's easy and my description will make sense when you remove the heatshield!
Cheers
Mark

Pup, welcome from eastern Nebraska.

[ice793]

welcome to the forum

[kawgirl]

Welcome from Eastern NC. There's a guy here who has a black Nomad and says it has flake in the paint. Maybe he has the black pearl as well.

[Cajunrider]

Welcome from the Sportsman's Paradise.

[pup]

Howdy from Down Under,

had a very similar rattle, hose clamps were tight but after loosening the bottom one and removing the heat shield it became obvious that although the top clamp was tight it wasn't actually clamped around the heat shield attachment, only clamped against the pipe. Loosened top clamp,slipped heatshield into bottom then slid top clamp over tongue on inner side of heatshield, tightened and no more rattles.
It's easy and my description will make sense when you remove the heatshield!
Cheers
Mark

This is exactly what the problem was. Thanks a bunch for the tip, been meaning to post a thank you for it.

I've also put a new Metzler ME880 front tire on, night and day difference in it and the Bridgestone that was on it and will be getting a Clearview replacement windshield in today. The OEM shield on it is just basically shot.

I've also cleaned the throttle bodies and adjusted the idle. They were cruddy and it idles fine now. Run some seafoam through the first couple of tanks of gas too.

Brake pad replacement is on the horizon and probably a rear tire too along with other mtc when I pull the rear wheel.

Been a fine bike so far. Love the ride, power and handling.