Virago vs. Vulcan
Salam Dahbour
Does anyone have an opinion on a 1998 Kawasaki Vulcan 750 vs. a brand new
(no miles) 1997 Yamaha Virago?
I'm considering both and they both seem like good bikes (although I haven't
ridden either one yet - later this week). Are there any serious problems
with either one? I've found the Virago to be a little more comfortable than
the Vulcan - the grips are a little lower.
Thanks!
Salam
Mark Kaplan
The Virago is over 15 years old - all the bugs are pretty well worked
out and you get a lot of bike for the money since all the tooling and
development has long since been depreciated.
I liked the Virago over the Vulcan 'cause the foot pegs are back a bit
in closer to a "standard" configuration. A little less weight on the
butt and takes some strain off the spine - I know the legs forward is
crusier cool but I find it uncomfortable on my back after a while.
kookoo
Vulcan and Virago are problem bikes. Don't buy. Try Steed instead!!
Salam Dahbour wrote in message <6f95pn$oum$1...@usenet45.supernews.com>...
M Buck
OK, I bought a used 1996 Vulcan 750 with about 20,000 miles on it. Not
my first bike, but my prettiest. My buddy always had it shop tuned, kept
it garaged and watched the levels like a hawk: couldn't have had a
better caretaker. He had a few problems with it but nothing serious
enough to offset the beautiful chrome and sleek look of it. I couldn't
help looking it store windows as I slid on by...
After the initial oil change, plugs, tires etc, I was all psyched for a
long season of cruises, all chromed and stylin'.
Within a month, I noticed that the charging system wasn't doing it. It
seemed like it didn't have the cranking power in the mornings, but it
was still ok after a short coffee stop. I got used to parking on a hill
until I got the battery checked. No problem, but it still lost juice
too easily so I bought a new Yuasa. Then, one ride later, I noticed gas
drooling out from under the carb boot, and a noticeable dead spot in the
accel curve. Got a long screwdriver, tightened the boot, but no fix.
Meinwhile, the battery was still drying up, but now even coffee stops
were risky. Bike was backfiring on hills and stalling out. Didn't seem
to have the balls it used to, even with a lot of TLC and tuning.
Biker buddy and I tear out the carbs: like trying to solve a friggin
rubics cube to get them out! Hoses and cables everywhere...replace the
boot. Recharge the battery, reconstruct the ride and head out for a 2
day cruise. About 4 hours into the desert, lights go down, big
backfire, dead bike. Swap batteries in the 100+ heat and head for home,
while my buddies continue on to the mountains. Bummer.
Back home, my favorite shop and I pull out the dead battery, open up
some beers and start testing everythig....nothing seems bad. Dirty
cables? So we clean the cables, recharge the battery, and she starts
right up...except now the HEADLIGHTS don't go on. Everything else is OK,
just no light.
Schematics, more wires, bulbs, hours, etc...still no solution. My
buddies are all back from their Colorado ride, we all pour over the shop
manual and parts....finally we haul it over to the local auto/bike
electric wizard who proceeds to replace everything that has a wire
running to it.
My buddy, bless his heart, offered to buy the bike BACK from me at the
same price I paid (not including the shop fees, parts and time I put
into it). He then proceeded to have more of the same types of problems
until he found some young stud who liked the looks of it, and couldn't
decide between a Vulcan or a Virao.
End of story? I learned a lot about Kaws. Don't buy the Vulcan.
Good luck
M
Dan Nitschke
Gee, those Japanese manufacturers really _are_ determined
to copy Harley-davidson (tm) down to the last detail, huh?
/* dan: THE Anti-Ged -- Ignorant Yank (tm) #1, none-%er #7 */
Dan Nitschke - peDA...@best.com - nits...@redbrick.com
_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:_:
They can change their minds, but they can't change me.
-- Jim Croce
John Phelps
I have a 93 virago 1100. I've only done the required maintance - and
its solid as a rock. I picked the virago over the fluid cooled bikes
mainly because I thought the cooled bike would just have one more thing
to go wrong. My guess is the air cooled virago may not have the extra
miles in it that a fluid cooled might have - but what the hell.
All the best,
John