Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I purchased this bike new in 2004. I made a serious mistake, I do believe. I purchased it just by its looks. After taking care of the finacials, the dealer had his guy push it outside, hooked up the battery, and said there ya go. OK. No problem, I've ridden bikes for several years. After familiarizing myself with all the controls, I fired it up. Along with only having a smidgin of gas in it, this thing sounded like a rattel trap. I could have exercised my Illinois resident's 3 day contract cancellation rights, but I listened to the dealer. He said, it's going to be a little noisy for the 1st 500 miles when I'll need to bring it back for its 1st maintenance of oil change and adjsustments. They changed the oil, I think, and when I picked it up. I questioned about the noisy top end. I paid $130 bucks for oil and this answer. There is no valve adjustments on this bike. It has hydraulic lifters and we can't adjust them. Is there valve adjustments? The valve lash is to be zero. This thing's not zero. If it were it wouldn't be noisy. That's it. Be ware of your dealer.

True - be aware of your dealer. Especially if they simply wheel out your new bike without going over anything. Just that lack of attention alone would be a deal breaker for me.

In defense of the Vulcan - I ride a 2004 Meanstreak. I read a lot about the bike before I purchased it, and I was made aware that all of the Vulcans have a tendency to have that high-end, light sounding "ticky". When I broke in my bike, I decided to try the "fast" method of breaking it in (instead of the manufacturer's recommendation of babying and fluctuating the throttle at under 3,000 RPMs). Not only was I happy to have the break in process completed, but I also noticed that the little "tick" is now gone.

As far as still having the tick in your bike, according to Kawasaki it is normal, and it is not harmful. As far as your dealership goes, hopefully you'll find another shop that can give you better personal attention. They can be difficult to find, but once you find them, it's great! Good luck with everything.

Cheers,
Loonette