2004 Vulkan Classic 1600 issues

[Mystussnake]

Thanks Pete, When I take the bike in on the 5th I will ask them to disconnect the pc3 to see if that helps. Thanks Guzzi, I checked the battery a few days ago and the connection looked perfect, no corrosion or anything. I tested the battery and it was holding at 12.6which is right where it is supposed to be. Although, the battery is an AGM and the vent covers appeared to be slightly bulging and there was a very small bit of leakage coming from one of the vents, very small. I removed the caps and everything looked ok so I put the vent caps back on and put the battery back in the bike. I am still going to put in a new battery this weekend to see if that makes any difference and I will keep you up to date.

[Mystussnake]

So far I think the best theory is the clutch spring. It seems, if only anecdotally, that I can control the issue by pulling in the clutch (not shifting gears) then releasing it. Eventually the issue subsides but then comes back. Unfortunately, I am so new to all of this that I am not sure what I am experiencing when the bike is acting up. A million thanks to everyone helping me so far.

[Mystussnake]

I watched a video of someone replacing the clutch spring. How does it act like a spring as it looks like a plate with teeth in the center? I watched videos of how the clutch system works but it wasn't for my type of clutch as it actually had springs. I understand the idea but I am having a hard time visualizing hoe it works. Can someone explain this to me or point me towards some videos. I have a hydraulic clutch lever but I think all of you know that. It has plenty of fluid and I have never seen the level drop.

[Mystussnake]

Never mind the question about the clutch spring Ive seen how it works now. Not sure Im ready to replace it by myself

[smokier]

Check the kick stand safety switch. I had one go bad and the bike ran like it was cutting in an out. The switch was not making the proper contact, so the signle to kill was being sent,clearing, being sent, clearing. I bypassed the switch until the new one arrived.
Also, just because the battery shows a surface charge, doesn't tell the whole story. Load test it. Any auto parts store will have a load tester. Had a Nomad battery go south on me, bike ran like crap, gauges did funny dances all by themselves, flickering.
Swapped the battery and back in business.

[VulcanE]

One other thing to look into......... Your bike is 14 years old, I would replace all the rubber vacuum lines and caps

[Mystussnake]

Fun with bikes! So Ive been through a bit since I last corresponded. I took my bike into the shop on June 28. I waited 2 weeks before that as they were baked up when I first contacted them on June 14th. Everyone that I have spoke to in Colorado has recommended this place including the previous owner. It is called GForce Powersports off of Colfax in Lakewood Colorado. After not hearing from them by the following Tuesday I contacted them (they are closed on Sundays and Mondays) They said that they had not yet looked at the bike but would contact me when they did. After not hearing from them by the end of that week I contacted them again. They said they were able to reproduce the issue that I was having and said it might have something to do with the fuel injectors and/or throttle body so they need financial authorization to clean those. I should probably note that they charged me $126 diagnostic fee that they said would go towards any repair needing to be made. They said the cleaning of the throttle body and injectors would cost around $300. I apprehensively authorized it. After not hearing from them I called several times on the 14th until I reached someone. The person I talked to did not communicate properly what was going on but what I gathered was that they did the throttle body and fuel injection cleaning and the problem got worse. I told them to contact me when they could find details as to what was going on. I never heard from them so yesterday, the 17th I called them again. Needless to say but at this time I was upset. I told them that no one during this last almost 3 weeks has contacted me and that I have had to do all the footwork to find out what was going on and that I never received clear details even when I talked to someone. The person I spoke to named Billy told me that they did the cleaning and the technician said it was running good but once the bike heated up that the issue was even more severe than before. He said that probably meant one of the fuel injectors was good bad and that it needed to be replaced. They then asked me to authorize a $900 repair stating that it would probably fix the issue. I was beside myself to say the least. I told him that I was coming to pick up my bike to take it somewhere else and that I didn't understand how they thought they were going to charge me anything if my bike was running worse than when I took it there. I finally got him to waive all charges except of the spark plug replacement, which I told them I already did before I got there. Regardless, I went to pick up my bike today and it wouldn't stay started. I told them that they needed to a the very least return my bike to me in the state that I gave it to them so I could take it somewhere else. The guy I was talking to today, Gidian, told me he would try and take care of this by only charging me for the parts they use to replace the fuel injectors, no labor. I told him that would work and he said that if that did not fix the problem he would ask the owners if they would just fix the bike for free. He said it would take them 3-6 days to get the parts. I said ok to the deal. Any advice or constructive criticism?

[mbarr10]

Give them the 3-6 days. They had made an offer. If the bike is still there you have accepted. Not an Ideal situation. I understand your frustration. But you will have no recourse if you do not wait. I understand that is not what you want to hear. This SUCKS, YES. But your at their mercy at this point. As long as they are willing to fix it. Been there Done that. Sorry to hear of your frustrations. I understand you are mostly venting and I HEAR YOU. You have my support and have been heard. Good luck is all I can say, until next week. Then We really bitch!!!

[Mystussnake]

Thanks a bunch mbar10, I appreciate it! It is actually what I needed to hear. I know this happens and I need to be patient but I just didn't know it would happen this soon. Trial by fire is par for the course for me. thanks again!

[DragonLady58]

When I hear this kinda Schit, it really pisses me off to no end! Charge somebody a bunch of money, and they don't even know how to diagnose the bike? You gotta be Schittin' me! Sounds like you found one of those Clown School Depositories for Dropouts. You do know how many times I've had to replace injectors? On a Vulcan? Thats been taken care of? Almost never is when injectors are the problem, and the ECU is about 2% of that....
You gotta really try or get some really super dirty gas with actual fine powdered crap in it to screw up a injector.
Doesn't happen that often, and its usually done by mistake, then the mess looks like mud that they poured in....
Heard of SeaFoam? Probably would have helped, and would have been a whole Helluva lot cheaper....

[smokier]

Mystussnake, I got nothing to offer in the way of wisdom here. As MBarr stated, I hear you, I feel for ya, we are here if you need to vent a bit more.

Hope it ends well!

Smokier

[DragonLady58]

Originally Posted by Mystussnake

Fun with bikes! So Ive been through a bit since I last corresponded. I took my bike into the shop on June 28. I waited 2 weeks before that as they were baked up when I first contacted them on June 14th. Everyone that I have spoke to in Colorado has recommended this place including the previous owner. It is called GForce Powersports off of Colfax in Lakewood Colorado. After not hearing from them by the following Tuesday I contacted them (they are closed on Sundays and Mondays) They said that they had not yet looked at the bike but would contact me when they did. After not hearing from them by the end of that week I contacted them again. They said they were able to reproduce the issue that I was having and said it might have something to do with the fuel injectors and/or throttle body so they need financial authorization to clean those. I should probably note that they charged me $126 diagnostic fee that they said would go towards any repair needing to be made. They said the cleaning of the throttle body and injectors would cost around $300. I apprehensively authorized it. After not hearing from them I called several times on the 14th until I reached someone. The person I talked to did not communicate properly what was going on but what I gathered was that they did the throttle body and fuel injection cleaning and the problem got worse. I told them to contact me when they could find details as to what was going on. I never heard from them so yesterday, the 17th I called them again. Needless to say but at this time I was upset. I told them that no one during this last almost 3 weeks has contacted me and that I have had to do all the footwork to find out what was going on and that I never received clear details even when I talked to someone. The person I spoke to named Billy told me that they did the cleaning and the technician said it was running good but once the bike heated up that the issue was even more severe than before. He said that probably meant one of the fuel injectors was good bad and that it needed to be replaced. They then asked me to authorize a $900 repair stating that it would probably fix the issue. I was beside myself to say the least. I told him that I was coming to pick up my bike to take it somewhere else and that I didn't understand how they thought they were going to charge me anything if my bike was running worse than when I took it there. I finally got him to waive all charges except of the spark plug replacement, which I told them I already did before I got there. Regardless, I went to pick up my bike today and it wouldn't stay started. I told them that they needed to a the very least return my bike to me in the state that I gave it to them so I could take it somewhere else. The guy I was talking to today, Gidian, told me he would try and take care of this by only charging me for the parts they use to replace the fuel injectors, no labor. I told him that would work and he said that if that did not fix the problem he would ask the owners if they would just fix the bike for free. He said it would take them 3-6 days to get the parts. I said ok to the deal. Any advice or constructive criticism?

Pick up your phone, start calling around to your older Kawasaki repair shops, ask to speak to the manager, then ask the manager if he has a older kawasaki mechanic thats able to work on and service the older kawasaki models.
IF, they don't wanna work on older models, look for a HD shop that will work on metrics, too. Call that mnger., ask if the older mechanic works on older bikes of the metric variety....
You might have to look around a few days....go by the shop then, talk to the guy in person....if he's confident and interested, go by with a trailer, pick your bike up, take it to your new mechanic.
Alot of these Wyo-Techs grads are just parts changers, not real mechanics. They just plug in a computer and change what parts it says....


I was a trained HD Factory Authorized Mechanic, I was proud of the patch on my work shirt. I worked on the older bikes, I let the younger guys work on the newer stuff, I wanted no part of that mess. I worked on everything up to '98.....
And I had a serious backlog of customers/loyal owners of stock machines/ super hi-perf. cruisers/baggers/choppers....they kept me super busy....
Anyway, alot of the older mechanics quit, open their own small shops....look for one of these, they'll fix your bike, and do it right.....
Good Luck....

[mbarr10]

Yup, What she said.

"Mystussnake' you will NEVER get bad advice when DragonLady58 Jumps in.

[warrbucks222]

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[warrbucks222]

Originally Posted by DragonLady58

When I hear this kinda Schit, it really pisses me off to no end! Charge somebody a bunch of money, and they don't even know how to diagnose the bike? You gotta be Schittin' me! Sounds like you found one of those Clown School Depositories for Dropouts. You do know how many times I've had to replace injectors? On a Vulcan? Thats been taken care of? Almost never is when injectors are the problem, and the ECU is about 2% of that....
You gotta really try or get some really super dirty gas with actual fine powdered crap in it to screw up a injector.
Doesn't happen that often, and its usually done by mistake, then the mess looks like mud that they poured in....
Heard of SeaFoam? Probably would have helped, and would have been a whole Helluva lot cheaper....

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