Member Intro

I am Gary Smith. :) I live in central Indiana. User name of shilohsam, Shiloh is my old friend a Saddlebred gelding, whom I have ridden many miles in the Tenn. mountains . He is now retired to my pasture as he is up in years and too crippled up to ride any more. Sam is another very good friend of mine, a mixed breed dog , mostly Rottweiler. He lead point with Shiloh and myself all of those trail miles mentioned. Hence the name shilohsam.

I will be 60 years old in December and looking forward to it, 60 sounds like a good even number to me, and gets me a little closer to retirement and getting out of the tool shop. I work primarily in the making of die cast and plastic molds.

Bought my first motorcycle magazine (Cycle World) in 1963 and I still have it. Have been in and out of motorcycles all of those years, both off road ridding ( Husky, Bultalco, Yam. TT500, Yam. YZ 250) and road bikes ( all four of the Japanese main brands and BMW, Moto Guzzi. Last bike that I traded in on the Nomad was a Goldwing GL1500SE. The Nomad is motorcycle is ,I think motorcycle number 20. I have paid as little as $50 for basket case bikes up to the most expensive ,
for me the 2007 Nomad I now have. I have enjoyed them all greatly. So I have had a variety of bikes to compare the Nomad too, and I am very satisfied with it. I really like Kawasaki,s design approach, good looking bikes but more attention paid to solid and mechanic friendly design than some other makes. I suppose that is just my opinion , however those of you that do your own maintenance no doubt agree. Compare the difference of changing an air filter, spark plugs , or thermostat to a Goldwing and you will know what I mean.

Became a member June 21st. and have seen the membership already double in size. Look forward to all of the valuable information I will receive from you fellow members, and being able to perhaps share a little input that may be of some value.

Ok.... Now that it looks like KawaNow is going to take off and be the #1 Nomad forum in the Universe........... it's time for KawaNow Noamd Patches and pins!!!!

~ Nico

N O M A D

[trip]

If I missed anybody so far.....welcome one and all to the Kawanow Forum.

Trip

[bluetongue]

Welcome everyone to a great forum.

[waynem]

I changed my profile today to allow email to be sent - if necessary.
Bet you had thought of this: VULCAN1600NOMAD@sbcglobal.net

Semper Fi!

[spork]

Hello all,

I am new to the group and really like what I have seen so far.

I am in the Houston, Texas area and started the Gulf Coast VROC chapter for our area.

I started with VROC several years ago when I purchased a 1996 750. I was searching around for after-market accessories for the 750 and stumbled onto the VROC scene. I can honestly say that my motorcycle experience has been made exponentially better as a result of VROC and my life has been made better as well.

I actually have a friend now that will likely be a life-long friend as a result of the VROC site. He found me through the VROC member search while looking for other riders with the same saddlebags he had. Now, our families get together and swim, eat and fellowship. He has helped me through loss of a parent, depression, and lack of a motorcycle for therapy. (He loaned me his extra bike for quite some time) All as a result of the VROC boards. This board has the same power and wish it well.

750 was lost to a left-hand turning Ford Truck and, after about 6 weeks I was back to "normal"

Thought it would be a good time to "upgrade" my bike since I really enjoyed longer rides. Couldn't afford the bike I was dreaming of (Nomad) so I looked for a deal on another Vulcan. Found a nice 1500 Classic and jumped back on for some more saddle time.

Hill Country Run 2005. On the way to HCR, I experienced a catastrophic combination of events. (I have a witness and it really wasn't my error) :) One thing lead to another and I ended up in a full lock-to-lock head shake on the Classic. About 3 seconds after the initial vibration started, the front end tucked under and the bike flipped. That.......was not a good day. I had been traveling at about 70 when the vibration started and I guesstimate that I was about 55-60 when it flipped. Thankfully, I was able to roll once I hit and my Teknic Jacket, helmet, boots and gloves did their duty as designed. The only issue I had was a great deal of soreness, raging road rash when my jeans failed to protect me almost the moment I hit the ground, and a broken bone in my wrist.

That one was a total loss as well.

SO, recently came across a great deal on a 2001 Nomad Fi and am once again enjoying the time in the saddle. We will see how this goes. I think if I wreck this one, the wife of 20 years will give me the ultimatum. :) SO far, she has been a real trooper. She understands that my accidents were not because I was out doing some STUPID! like riding drunk, (don't mix the 2 in any way) or riding stupid.

WHEW! Sorry for the novel, but now you know more than ever wanted......

See you around.

[jd]

Spork!!! About time you showed up here, boy! And you're right; VROC _is_ a great family, and Pablo is a great guy.

BTW, Connie told me about your idea, I'm assuming based on what Paul did for you; you and I are thinking entirely too much alike! Cuz I've been thinking the same thing for a while now... Her bike is currently sitting in my back yard, awaiting compression checks on my '87, pending a possible engine swap. If this @^%# rain would ever quit long enuff...

Welcome to the group, dude; and, welcome to all the new members here!

[bluetongue]

Spork glad to see you made it over to this great forum. There is alot of knowledge about the Nomads here.

[trip]

Welcome to the forum, spork! Glad you were able to find a Nomad FI after the mishap.

Trip

[stewart]

Hello All,

Started a few posts already some more popular than others, all feedback on point and much appreciated.

My name is John on forums I use my middle name "Stewart", I don't know why. Just started doing that years ago and it's stuck with me from one forum to another.

I've been riding since the year I was married in 1988 and have had several motorcycles (not as many as some) throughout the 19 years and I still have the same wife. Some days a blessing some days a curse. My present ride is a 2001 Kawasaki Concours with lots of farkles. I like the bike however over time I've just sort of felt that the riding position with or without bar risers and other peripheral creature comfort items is just not suited to my physique. I average 235lbs and have had right wrist carpal tunnel for years. The Connie riding position hasn't done anything to help that and also the forward lean has started to take it's tole on my elbows. I also like to go fast and so does the Connie so I' m looking for a bike that will put me into a better riding position and allow me to go the speeds I would like without being ridiculous about it.

I like the Nomad for it's beauty. It is a sharp looking bike. The seat seams accommodating and with room for a passenger. My last cruiser an Intruder 1400 by Suzuki was just not a real good two-up ride. The two-up performance of the Nomad is appealing to me. Like the fuel injection rather than carbs. Like the low reported troubles on the bike no matter where I look for them.

I will be selling the Concours as soon as I can and then moving forward with the purchase of an all black 2007 1600 Nomad for 10,500 OTD minus my down payment/trade depending how that goes. That puts me financing 7K for a bike that appeals to me in many ways and that I believe based on the input I've read on this site and others, will provide me many years of service.

Thanks to all. Look forward to dialogging with you and potentially meeting up with some from the board sometime.

Regards and God Bless,

Stewart

[waynem]

Where are you all finding these great deals for 10,500??????

Semper Fi!

[stewart]

I didn't do that right. This may be a double. Anyway I will be happy to post if Trip says it's OK to list the dealer. I have no affiliation with them and only hope that posting will not get them all sold before I'm ready however for a fellow biker I take my chances. Don't know if the terms of service or whatever I agreed to when I joined allowed dealer mention or not?

Trip?

[dip]

Finally got the risers put on. The Phat II's are great! They have me sitting straight up now; much more comfortable. Got the kury grips and getting ready to go out and put my throttle boss back on and the stilletto end caps I had on my 750 - Yes. No just have to get a back rest. The utopia looks good, but it seems a bit complex in terms of install. I wouldn't try to do it myself anyway, but it looks like if I have it done it's going to cost me a pretty penny :-/ Can't find a dang service manual either. Kaw is out right now - any suggestions.

PS only problem with Phat II's is I can't take key out unless my front is still straight. Oh well...what one must sacrifice for comfort.

[waynem]

Hey DIP,
Glad to hear the risers are working. I have a set of PHAT II's on order. The KAWI shop will probably replace the speedo cover for me.

This is as close as I can get you to a manual:
<http://www.kawasaki.com/DefaultFrame.aspx?strContentUrl=/SITE/VIVEHICLEINFORMATION/VICHOOSEVEHICLE.ASP>

Search on "VN1600D7FA" Without the quotes.
At least you'll have the parts list.

Why do you leave the key in. I take the key out after I turn it to the on position. If you are where you can see your bike and you don't want to shut it off to "lock" it, turn it half way and you will be off - no drain - and just need to turn it to on and start it when you are ready to go. Keep the key in your pocket or around your neck until you need it.

Semper Fi!

I wish they had put a "detent accessories" position in that spot.