How long have you ridden your 15/1600?

[Vulcan Bill]

Bought my '05 1600 Classic 3 1/2 years ago and have put 50,000 miles on it. The only repairs so far was replacing the over heat fan switch and installing cam chain tensioner extenders. I had planned on eventually getting a Harley but have become so attached to this bike that when I wear it out I'll buy another one and transfer all my custom parts.

[DR Roos]

13 months and 9k miles no repairs only required maintenance & lots of mods.

[Vulcan Bill]

Originally Posted by DR Roos

13 months and 9k miles no repairs only required maintenance & lots of mods.

Oh yeah! MODS! Ya gotta have the mods!
(That Harley wheel looks mighty good on there, Dr Roos )

[MAS Tequila]

1-2 shift fork in the 1500 and the front bevel gear bearing turned into a broken case on the 1600.

MT

Originally Posted by hoodooman

Just curious, what happened to your engines? I suppose along with just being curious, I'm wondering how many miles I can expect to get out of my bike (I'm VERY meticulous on maintenance on all my vehicles). And hearing from real world people can help give me an idea of what to expect, mileage-wise and issue-wise from the bike. thanks, keep em coming!

[Bud2rat]

I own a 2001 1500 carb model. Purchased it 6 years ago with 12,000 miles. She now has 48,000 miles. Replaced clutch spring, cam extenders, and rear end gears. Many mods to suit my needs. I love it. Have no intentions of selling or getting rid of. Will probably ride her until the wheels fall off. This is my 2nd Kawasaki, I upgraded from an 800 Vulcan.

[DR Roos]

Originally Posted by Vulcan Bill

Oh yeah! MODS! Ya gotta have the mods!
(That Harley wheel looks mighty good on there, Dr Roos )

Likewise and thank you. Bill

[schoeney]

Bought my 2003 with 2k on it in 2008. Sold it with 27k in 2013. No repairs needed.
Very reliable and low maint. bike.

[Loafer]

I purchased my '01 new, about 31K miles.
Clutch springs and a U-Joint at about 25K miles.
Awesome motorcycle!

[shamelessbill]

bought my 2000 1500fi with 95K on the clock, now over 100 and runs like a champ, no oil burning. Just an amazing bike

[hoodooman]

Originally Posted by shamelessbill

bought my 2000 1500fi with 95K on the clock, now over 100 and runs like a champ, no oil burning. Just an amazing bike

Wow another over 100k! And some of my victory and harley buddies always screw with me and say metrics are "throw away" bikes.

[roadhawg]

Originally Posted by Loafer

I purchased my '01 new, about 31K miles.
Clutch springs and a U-Joint at about 25K miles.
Awesome motorcycle!

Just wondering , how did Ujoint was going bad? I mean, did it start vibrating? Getting noisy? What were the symptoms?

[danimal2]

Originally Posted by rolfe

In 2011 purchased our 99 Vulcan Nomad with 9,000 miles on it.

"RED" as we like to call it had been sitting for years in a warehouse it was one of these rare finds.

So I took it down to the engine replacing, rubber lines, cylinder kits, clutch plates with a mean streak spring, rebuilt carburetor, Flushed all Fluids, battery, and New Tires.

Never working on a Motorcycle before, the vast amount of information from everyone here on the Vulcan Bagger has let me work on our Nomad much more enjoyable.

Our Nomad is a solid feel ride which we like for hill country riding. Our previous bike was a 800 Vulcan Classic. Both bikes from Kawasaki had high rating points that I researched before purchasing is why picking these two. I must say the reviewers were correct!

The main thing is to enjoy your new bike, you made the right choice.

Wow, no JOG or SOG. Are you still running the POG? You might want to check that. I pulled the cover off at 20,000 miles and it was looking pretty rough. Changed it out before it could crap out.

Mine was a similar deal. '99 purchased in '11 with 5,240 miles on it. Now at 35,000 and running strong.

Water pump seal (probably from sitting in an Arizona garage for 11 years).

Radiator flush (from sitting again....)

Clutch spring and washers (as long as I had the case cover off to do the JOG, figured might as well).

That's pretty much it. The other stuff was normal bike maintenance. Oil changes, battery, tires etc.

Love this thing and real glad I bought it. Sure.............I look at the new bikes, but mine's paid for and runs great. Don't see anything changing anytime soon.

[hoodooman]

danimal2, you have a memphis shades fairing right? i thought i read a post about that somewhere... if so, how do you like it? hows the buffeting?

[danimal2]

Originally Posted by hoodooman

danimal2, you have a memphis shades fairing right? i thought i read a post about that somewhere... if so, how do you like it? hows the buffeting?

Funny you should ask. I was going to comment on your post about it earlier today. Love the thing. No buffeting like the original windscreen.
I've got one on my bike and my girlfriend's. They work great. Stock lowers too. Don't have to run those oversized ones. I did order the extended lowers for the handguards at $20 per set. Mine broke when it got hit by a rock and I made a set out of aluminum using my girlfriend's as a template. I put a year on just the fairing without the extensions then added them. They do seem to help.

The fairing is also really cool when it comes time to clean the front end of the bike or if you get the urge to ride without it...... It comes off in 2 seconds (literally) and goes back on almost that fast.

I've got the lowest tinted windscreen on both of them. Although it works great, I may try a recurve if this one ever breaks. It's been hit pretty darned hard with rocks off 4X4's with mud tires and semi-trucks and hasn't broken yet.

[dholmer]

Originally Posted by johnberryus

Bought my '05 in March of 2013 with 41,000 miles on her, she now has 85,000. I have replaced, besides standard maintenance, Rear Brake rotor, Timing chain adjusters, Clutch Spring and plates, Steering stem bearing, Bevel gear bearing, and just now I have it in getting the radiator, and drive shaft replaced (the u-joint took a header). I have also put on a stage one kit (air, exhaust, and fuel processor) and numerous other gadgets.

We are probably going to finish paying her off and trade up to a Harley Ultra Limited by next riding season, the little woman has requested a much more luxurious ride for our longer trips at this point, and considering how much riding we do, it's worth making her very happy on the back.

Edit: I almost forgot the water pump bearing were replaced too.

Hey Johnberryus... How about a new Kawasaki Voyager instead of the Harley Ultra?