ifiddles
Well-known member
just curious to see if anyone here has owned or currently owns a 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan 500 and what their thoughts are about the bike's handling and power...
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'09 Kawasaki Vulcan 500
- Thread starter ifiddles
- Start date
It makes really good power for a 500. Most cruisers have a V-twin or single, but the VN500 has the same basic motor as in the EX500. It doesn't sound much like other cruisers due to it being a parallel twin but for it's size it has a lot of giddy up.
As far as cruisers go they are somewhat light and agile.
As far as cruisers go they are somewhat light and agile.
ItIsWhatItIs
Banned
FI would have been nice.
TorontoBoy
Well-known member
The Vulcan 500 is a very well respected bike. 50hp, 500ccs, 430lb, enough bike to have fun, but not too much for a beginner. Expect 25km/L, 4L/100km, 60mpg. It is a little feet forward though, and is discontinued. As with many of the lower cc bikes, the aftermarket parts are scarce. You'll need to hunt, which is a given.
mike100
Well-known member
You will enjoy the Vulcan. I used to own one it as a first bike, and just recently traded it in. $3999 is a great deal, but I know that Kahuna had some in crates for the last couple of years. probably a big push to move them.
Mods are somewhat limited, but check out this guys website http://www.en500.us/
Mods are somewhat limited, but check out this guys website http://www.en500.us/
For that kind of price - go for it.
Good handling bike, with power similar with most 650-700cc cruisers. True that it sounds a bit wimpy but the Ninja engine is very solid.
My dad had one, was happy with it. The only thing he complained about was being thrown around a bit with the wind but if you ride CBR125 now then I'm sure it won't bother you, as Vulcan is much heavier.
Good handling bike, with power similar with most 650-700cc cruisers. True that it sounds a bit wimpy but the Ninja engine is very solid.
My dad had one, was happy with it. The only thing he complained about was being thrown around a bit with the wind but if you ride CBR125 now then I'm sure it won't bother you, as Vulcan is much heavier.
tooCanad
Active member
I had one a few years ago. They are easy to ride and fast enough. The engine is the Ninja 500, tuned for more low end. You can wind it out if you want to and it will take it. The seat is uncomfortable. Great fuel economy, and reliable.
On the maintenance side the biggest downside is the valve clearance adjustment interval, somewhere around 15K.
Good bike, particularly well suited for folks 5'10 and under.
Checkout the yahoo group EN500 http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/EN500/
TC
On the maintenance side the biggest downside is the valve clearance adjustment interval, somewhere around 15K.
Good bike, particularly well suited for folks 5'10 and under.
Checkout the yahoo group EN500 http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/EN500/
TC
ifiddles
Well-known member
thanks for the link mike100...looks interesting...yeah, todd was the sales guy and he told me they're selling them at a loss...burlington cycle where i bought my cbr125 was at $6850 all in (kahuna came to $5304 after tax, pdi, freight, license)...now just have to decide if i want to sell the cbr right away or keep it for a bit longer...
I started riding a '06 Vulcan 500 last year and I absolutely love the bike. It's easy to handle in the city and on the highways and is great on gas. I filled up last night at 203km and it took 9.11L. mostly with in-town riding and the occasional short trip on the highway, so that works out to:
4.49 litres per 100 km
52.41 miles per US gallon
62.95 miles per Imperial gallon
With pure highway riding I get much better fuel economy as well. In a So far I've put on over 18,000Km on the bike and find it very comfortable riding. Thank goodness the stock seat is reasonably comfortable as there aren't any aftermarket ones available! As a matter of fact, there are very very few after market accessories that will fit the bike properly.
Oil changes are easy, the oil filter is in an easily accessible location, it's easy to top up fluids, however it's hard to see the coolant levels in the reserve as it's tucked under the tank. The only other thing that I've found a little awkward about the bike was changing out the rear tire. You need to remove the seat and unhook the rear shocks in order the drop the tire down low enough to access the axle as the pipes cover it on either side.
One last thing, there is a known issue with the way the battery terminals connect to the electrics on the bike. There are two screws for each battery terminal (when you take the seat off the bike there are two that are obvious on top for the bikes electrical system, but at right angles to them there are another two screws that connect a short stubby post to the battery, these are the two that rattled loose on me) and they tend to rattle loose cutting all electrical power to the bike. I didn't know about this issue when I got the bike and it left me stranded on the highway once (talk about a scary experience). When the bike first started acting up it felt as though I had water in the gas as the bike would suddenly loose power for a few seconds and then pick right up again. It problem was intermittent and it didn't matter if I was going over a bump or not, sometimes turning a corner would be enough to set it off. So now I simply take the seat off every couple weeks and tighten all the screws down. A couple other people who own the same bike recommend that I put a small amount of blue locktite on screws to help prevent them from rattling loose.
4.49 litres per 100 km
52.41 miles per US gallon
62.95 miles per Imperial gallon
With pure highway riding I get much better fuel economy as well. In a So far I've put on over 18,000Km on the bike and find it very comfortable riding. Thank goodness the stock seat is reasonably comfortable as there aren't any aftermarket ones available! As a matter of fact, there are very very few after market accessories that will fit the bike properly.
Oil changes are easy, the oil filter is in an easily accessible location, it's easy to top up fluids, however it's hard to see the coolant levels in the reserve as it's tucked under the tank. The only other thing that I've found a little awkward about the bike was changing out the rear tire. You need to remove the seat and unhook the rear shocks in order the drop the tire down low enough to access the axle as the pipes cover it on either side.
One last thing, there is a known issue with the way the battery terminals connect to the electrics on the bike. There are two screws for each battery terminal (when you take the seat off the bike there are two that are obvious on top for the bikes electrical system, but at right angles to them there are another two screws that connect a short stubby post to the battery, these are the two that rattled loose on me) and they tend to rattle loose cutting all electrical power to the bike. I didn't know about this issue when I got the bike and it left me stranded on the highway once (talk about a scary experience). When the bike first started acting up it felt as though I had water in the gas as the bike would suddenly loose power for a few seconds and then pick right up again. It problem was intermittent and it didn't matter if I was going over a bump or not, sometimes turning a corner would be enough to set it off. So now I simply take the seat off every couple weeks and tighten all the screws down. A couple other people who own the same bike recommend that I put a small amount of blue locktite on screws to help prevent them from rattling loose.
mike100
Well-known member
Mine was an 05 and did not have this issue, maybe the original battery had been changed out, but the connections were made on top only, and my replacement battery was only top connection as well. Was this just the 06 and later that had this problem?
I honestly don't know when they changed the battery connections, however I was told this was an issue with the 500's on a Vulcan forum when I was having the problems and it was confirmed when I brought the bike into Kahuna's for repairs as I didn't know what was going on.
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