Any opinons or experiences with either of these two bikes?

[PimpS]

Congrats northsidegz!!! Thumbs up!!!

[Water Warrior 2]

It didn't happen unless we get pics. It's the law.......................honest.

[northsidegz]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior

It didn't happen unless we get pics. It's the law.......................honest.

Ok, so I kept meaning to take a picture during the day this weekend and guess what? Didn't happen. O_o So, while I personally can't stand it when folks take pictures of their motorcycles in the garage with dim lighting, that's exactly what I did anyway. :tongue: At some point, I'll get better pictures on here.

[Water Warrior 2]

Nice. Now I will have to do a search to find out more about the bike. Congrats and never worry about indoor pics. The garage is where the bike calls home.

[PimpS]

Nice! Although I'm a fan of fatter front tires, I can imagine how great must be on your bike!

[northsidegz]

WW: The vulcan has a pretty decent following over at vulcanforums.com. Naturally, there's a fair amount of always new discussions about pipes and rejetting. Funny story there (kinda?).... My Vulcan has Cobra pipes. When I bought it, I asked the guy if it had been rejetted for the pipes and he was bewildered as though I was speaking a foreign language.

Pimps: Yeah, I'm trying to decide if I like the skinnier tire, or not. I like the look, but it does feel a bit bumpier on the road than I expected. The guy who sold it to me said it was recommended to him to reset(?) the spokes as they're a little off right now and that "bumpiness" feeling is a little more pronounced. I know very little about resetting spokes (haven't read anything on it), so I may just have to have that done when I have it winterized.

[Water Warrior 2]

Slip over to vulcanforums.com and ask about tightening the spokes yourself. The only tool needed is a spoke wrench. As for winterizing the bike they can let you know if there are any tips to use on the bike. In all likelyhood it is much the same as a GZ. Get a Battery Tender and just top up the battery once a month for an hour. Oh yeah, liquid cooled, you may want to do the coolant change just to keep on top of things.
Drive shaft?????????????? you may want to change the gear oil if it has one. Belt ???? I can't quite remember. Hmm, on second thought I'll go with a belt.
Just read a short bit about the 800. It has quite a potent engine. Don't grab too big a handful of throttle until you have more time in the saddle. Overall it sounds like a real nice ride.

[northsidegz]

Thanks for the recommendations! (and yes, it is a belt drive) Changing the coolant looks to be pretty basic on the Vulcan, so it's best I do that now than risk any issues (I can't remember what the prior owner said in regard to when he last changed it even though we talked about it). Thanks for mentioning.

So far my only real complaint on the Vulcan is the fork lock. Ugh. It is not easy to use (and it would seem I'm not alone with that complaint). I definitely like the GZ's fork lock much better. In fact, I like it 100 times better easily.

[Water Warrior 2]

While you are doing the coolant change you may want to check the coolant hoses to make sure they are snugged up. All it takes is one loose hose to spoil your day.

[Maggie]

Originally Posted by northsidegz

Ok, so I kept meaning to take a picture during the day this weekend and guess what? Didn't happen. O_o So, while I personally can't stand it when folks take pictures of their motorcycles in the garage with dim lighting, that's exactly what I did anyway. :tongue: At some point, I'll get better pictures on here.

Nice! And when do you ride the scooter on the right of the pic? :poke2: :biggrin: