I have a 2006 500ltd with 8,000 miles on it. Rode it to and from work during the summer months. Never had a problem with it. Got 60 mpg's with all the time. I do run 93 octane more than 87. My son now rides it for a beginner bike. He still has a permit but will get his licence next summer and he likes it too. He also just turned 18.

I had an '05 EN 500 Vulcan I bought just to be a frugal errand runner. Had bags & windshield on a nearly full size cruiser frame. I'm 6'3" and never felt cramped. It was light weight and with that high compression engine it ran pretty good. Never had a lick of trouble out of it and always got 55 to 60 MPG. Beat two Harley's once light to light for a short sprint. Buzzy though at expressway speed. Had to shuttle my 16 year old daughter from school to home once on it and it really felt the extra weight. Of course I weigh 250. On balance, I would have to highly recommend it. Sold it to a guy who had a Shadow for his wife to ride. Talked to him 6 months later and said his wife loves the bike. he said she out accelerates him until about 50mph then he finally starts to pull ahead. He said it was quite embarrassing for him the first few times she did it.

Doug in Punta Gorda, Fl

Engineman wrote:
I have a 2006 500ltd with 8,000 miles on it. Rode it to and from work during the summer months. Never had a problem with it. Got 60 mpg's with all the time. I do run 93 octane more than 87. My son now rides it for a beginner bike. He still has a permit but will get his licence next summer and he likes it too. He also just turned 18.

Shores wrote:
Anyone have any experience with the Kawasaki Vulcan 500 or 800A models? Considering for my 18 year old son who just got his endorsement and is 5'-11" tall.

http://vulcanriders.us/Vulcans.aspx

I bought my first son an 800 Classic when in high school he ran it 10K miles until he bought his own bike. Then he gave it to my next son who ran it another 15K thru college . since then I can't remember everyone whom rode that bike. Everyone of them put some mileage on it and it also sat in my shop sans start up for a couple years..fresh oil/battery and bingo away she goes. Only thing I ever had to replace was the petcock 'cause it was dripping gas down onto the exhaust pipes.
I'd call them BOMB-PROOF!!

If I am not mistaken it is the same chassis as the Suzuki Marauder 800. Known a couple people that have had them. Good little cruiser that will keep up with highway traffic, though a bit buzzy doing so. Decent older models can be found under 2k with plenty of life in them.

Penguin is right on the money. Its the same bake as the suzuki. 805cc. Not a bad bike but depending on where you live and if you're going to go out on the highway. These bikes are all in and screaming in the upper 70s to low 80s. While I'm not telling you to go let an 18yo out on the highway at 80 what I am sayingis if you have a 65 or 70mph speed limit o . Your local highway you have to run this thing at 85-90 throttle to keep up and they really buzz. You can change out the sproket to make the bime more usable but factor that into your cost. If you can live with those things the motors tend to be very solid. They take a beating as learner bikes and keep asking for more.

The Vulcan 800A is a great bike!! I had a '95 that I bought in '98 with 3,600 miles on it. When I sold it in 2010 (after getting the Road Star) it had 72,000 miles on it. Never had any issues with the bike other than regular wear and tear. After getting the Road Star I did a complete top-end rebuild on the Vulcan and felt (and still feel) that it could've gone another 70,000 miles. I hated to sell it but I just wasn't riding it enough to warrant keeping it. The only drawback with the 800 is it's a little small for two-up touring. But for a solo ride/tourer it was great bike. Took multiple road trips on it and never had any problems keeping up with the guys riding Harleys. Only drawback there was chain maintenance. Can't say enough good things about the Vulcan 800A!!

Here are some pics of it after I did the rebuild. I also put some mini ape hangers on it, had a new paint job (purple was my wife's choice but it actually looked really good) put a lowering kit on it, customized the stock seat and turned it into solo ride. Also made a custom exhaust for it. Dang I wish I still had that bike!!!



















In The Wind,
Aaron

What do y'all think about this possible issue and what I should offer? His email below also.

http://bellingham.craigslist.org/mcy/4744406599.html

The bike was last on the road in 2011.  I purchased it from a neighbor, got my endorsement, but then life got in the way and I never had a chance to ride it.  I started it up consistently until sometime late 2012/early 2013, when all of a sudden I couldnt get it going anymore. 

I am not mechanically inclined, but I spent some time this summer trying to get it going again to sell it.  I replaced the gas and spark plugs.  The battery is dead, and the battery tender I have seems to not get it to a full charge.  I was trying to jump it with my car, without success.  A mechanic told my motorcycles need a very specific amount of charge to turn over.  Too much (from a car battery), or too little and they wont start.  So my guess is it needs a new battery, and maybe an overall tuneup.

Its been stored inside in a dry garage, under a cover since 2011.  No cosmetic issues.

Im open to offers, but have already knocked quite a bit off the price due to it not starting.

I had a friend help me try to get it going, who knows a lot more about vehicles than I do.  Im not entirely sure if it was getting fuel, but we did see sparks from the plugs.  

I had a vulcan 1500 for some years, my little cousin had a vulcan 800. the only issue with the vulcan models is that there is not a huge aftermarket to supply custom parts.

Shores wrote:
What do y'all think about this possible issue and what I should offer? His email below also.

http://bellingham.craigslist.org/mcy/4744406599.html

The bike was last on the road in 2011.  I purchased it from a neighbor, got my endorsement, but then life got in the way and I never had a chance to ride it.  I started it up consistently until sometime late 2012/early 2013, when all of a sudden I couldnt get it going anymore. 

I am not mechanically inclined, but I spent some time this summer trying to get it going again to sell it.  I replaced the gas and spark plugs.  The battery is dead, and the battery tender I have seems to not get it to a full charge.  I was trying to jump it with my car, without success.  A mechanic told my motorcycles need a very specific amount of charge to turn over.  Too much (from a car battery), or too little and they wont start.  So my guess is it needs a new battery, and maybe an overall tuneup.

Its been stored inside in a dry garage, under a cover since 2011.  No cosmetic issues.

Im open to offers, but have already knocked quite a bit off the price due to it not starting.

I had a friend help me try to get it going, who knows a lot more about vehicles than I do.  Im not entirely sure if it was getting fuel, but we did see sparks from the plugs.  

You know the carb has to come off,that is almost definatly the problem. Give it a good soak & new needle/seat etc., check all the seals/ rubber etc. new battery and bam your most likely runnin down the road. Probably gonna need new tires, maybe fork seals and the all the other general maint. items. You know all that stuff shores. I'd hit him with all that work and offer like 750.00/800.00 and pay no more than maybe 1100. Kinda depends on your market area though and of course your budget.

Penguin and Gorilla, the Vulcan and Marauder are very different designs.

Engine:

Kawasaki- 50 degree V-twin
Suzuki- 45 degree V-twin

Kawasaki- Single Keihin36MM carb
Suzuki- Dual Mikuni 36MM carbs

Chassis:

Kawasaki- softail style rising rate linked swingarm'
Suzuki- Dual plunger shocks

Kawasaki- 21 inch front wheel (800A)
Suzuki- 16 inch front wheel

Suzuki- 35 degree rake
Kawasaki 32 degree rake

Suzuki- Inverted fork
Kawasaki- conventional fork.

Although these bikes occupied the same market territory, both size and price based, they were different machines from different manufacturers. The Suzuki/Kawasaki partnership in the early 2000's that led to most of the non-competition off road bikes under 250CC being "the same" did not ever expand beyond that arena.