Traded my Shadow for a Vulcan

[ikillbugs]

Hiya friends! Been a while since I posted but I have been lurking a little.

My '02 Shadow VLX is gone, and a '97 Vulcan 1500 Classic is in her place. The Shadow was a great first bike, but I really wanted something bigger and more comfortable. Last week it developed a fork seal leak and it was needing attention pretty quick. There were other issues with the bike I didn't care for (like the obnoxiously loud pipes and small gas tank, among other things). I decided to look around and find an upgrade instead.

A Vulcan 900 would be right in the sweet spot after more researching and such so off to the Kawasaki dealer I went. I hate having less than favorable credit. Since bikes are considered recreational it seems they're stricter on lending requirements. The dealer did have an '05 Vulcan 750 they would finance in-house for me but it wasn't much of an upgrade from my 600. I had to sell my bike first for the down payment (they wouldn't give me enough for my bike to get financed). I had the bike sold but the guy chickened out when he realized it had a bonded title. Same goes for a used bike dealer I wanted to get into a Shadow 1100 from. Wouldn't take my trade w/ the bonded title. UGGGH!

I decided I better get this fork seal fixed and while on my way to the shop I make a U-turn while passing a used bike dealer. Doesn't hurt to look, right? Yeah there were later model 1100 /1300 Shadows and V-Stars. I need a passenger seat w/ backrest so some of the bikes were out of the running. Don't have hundreds more for upgrades at the moment so I had to find something with what I need already installed. I ride year-round so a windshield was preferred but not a deal-breaker. Was ready to test ride a VTX-1100 and when I started it up I cringed. I needed ear plugs the think was so freaking loud!!!!

The guy took me over to this Vulcan Classic but I declined to entertain him when he said it's 1500cc. Way too big, not ready for that yet. He insisted I at least try it on, so I did. I was surprised I could sit flat-footed on this thing. Started it up ad she purred like a gigantic sewing machine. Took it for a spin and I was grinning After haggling on the price I was getting giddy.

Long story short, I needed to ride home in a hurry to gather some paperwork as it was getting close to closing time and everything would be closed till Wednesday. Got back to the dealer 15 minutes till closing time and 45 minutes later I was riding on glass with a Mustang saddle under my rump.

When I got home (and after tossing the wife on the back for a quickie around the block, hehe) I started researching what I just bought. Yes, I know about the plastic oil gear, and the shifting from 1st to 2nd just takes some getting used to. I was a bit relieved to find this (shifting issue) was a common problem on these bikes. Not a terrible problem, just a little quirk in the design. I hope all goes well. I got a 90 day warranty, but I got 2 years of payments.

Before you guys start barking at me telling me I could have gotten a newer bike and a better deal, I don't have $4k in my pocket and iffy credit so my options are limited.

So there you have it! Bragging pics posted. Nevermind the quirky saddle bags. Last minute thinking on my part, I forgot I wanted to swap my bags for these but then I realized these are attached to the supports and the right side has a muffler guard on the bottom. Too much hassle to swap over as it was getting dark and the guy had already stayed 45 minutes past closing time for me. No biggie.

[steve2010]

yup sweet rides they are

[bigslammy]

Nice looking bike enjoy!

[vito]

Nice scoot you got yourself.

All bikes have certain 'issues'. Join a Vulcan forum and chances are you will find out the main concerns and the fixes for them if needed.

Good luck and keep us posted on how you like your new bike.

[Sgoatley]

Very nice bike man...Merry Christmas!!!


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[rkforrest]

You did what you needed to do to make it happen.Nice Bike

[Djin]

She's lovely.

[bleedingsujit]

screw the haters dude, they can go to hell. congrats on the new bike. I was also looking for VStar 1300 but abandoned the idea coz i need to save $$$ for now. You enjoy your ride and be safe. that's all that matters.

[-AJ]

glad your enjoyin your new ride

[We trudge on]

That's a nice ride. What year model is it? We have friends who have owned copies of the 1500 Vulcan and they swear by them. Betchu the bike works great and proves reliable.

We trudge on.