Bought a Vulcan EN750 on e-bay today - Page 5

Water Warrior 2 · 03-01-2011, 11:55 PM

Had MR-16 halogen bulbs fork mounted on the Vstrom and beat them to death. Crash bar mounted on Lynda's M-50 theywork well to fill in the sides with the flood beam version. As for MR-16 LED's don't get too excited. They will barely light up the inside of a cow after dark. The are great to complete a triangle effect and are visible to oncoming traffic but that is it. Would love to have them in Amber for more visibility............Hmm, maybe just an Amber film over the bulb, there is no heat to do harm.

burkbuilds · 03-08-2011, 11:15 PM

I got over to the machine shop at school last night after work and was able to fabricate a new piece and weld it onto the mounting post. Still needs a little filing to clean her up and then some primer and paint and maybe I'll get it on this weekend. I left my camera back home so no pics for a couple more days but I'll post them as soon as I can get the camera.

burkbuilds · 03-10-2011, 11:45 PM

Here are a few shots I took tonight while doing my trial fit up. Now that I'm happy with that I sanded it all down really good and smooth and painted it, but those pictures will come later after the paint dries.

burkbuilds · 03-12-2011, 09:47 PM

Here are a few final shots of the floorboards with the new adapter.

blaine · 03-12-2011, 10:01 PM

Looks good.I'll bet they are way more comfortable than the original pegs.How is the seat compared to the original on the 500?

:cool:

Water Warrior 2 · 03-12-2011, 11:23 PM

Impressive floorboard mod. You do nice work BB.

burkbuilds · 03-13-2011, 08:52 PM

Thanks guys. The seat on the 750 is not very comfortable. I'm already planning my mods for a new seat. I've gotten so used to having floorboards that the pegs felt very strange to me and were not comfortable.

I really like the look, size and style of the SS-32 Falcon Slipsteamer windshield, unfortunately, it is not on the list to fit the VN750's. I decided to give it a shot though and see if I could make it work. Here is what I did.
First off, you have to move the turn signal lights down onto the fork tubes, which I did with a Memphis shades relocation kit purchased on e-bay.
Second, you will have to loosen the two bolts that hold the gauge package to the triple tree to give a little room to slide the mounting brackets up as high as possible on the fork tubes. Once they are in place you can tighten the gauge bolts. There is no way to get a wrench in between the upper bolt on the bracket and the headlight bracket on the 750, so I tightened that bolt up with the bracket out at a 45 degree angle and then pushed it back up against the headlight bracket and installed the remaining bolts.
Third, you will have to fabricate some type of spacer to put the windshield an additional 2" out to clear the headlight and gauges. I did that with some 2" x 1" rectangular stock aluminum. Two holes will need to be drilled all the way through to allow the mounting bolts to go thru. I also purchased 1/4" x 2 3/4" chrome hex head bolts to replace the 5/8" bolts that come with the windshield, since I've extended it by 2 more inches. I wanted them to be chromed too, so I purchased some chrome tape in a 6" wide roll made for doing the lower rocker panels of cars. I wrapped the aluminum in this tape. Then used a razor blade knife to trim the top and bottom flush and cut out the drilled holes. Next I bolted the windshield onto the mounting brackets using the 2" spacers and I am pretty pleased with the results. Here are a few photos of everything.

JWR · 03-13-2011, 09:12 PM

You sure do a nice job.

I am more of a" get a bigger hammer type".

Great work.

Water Warrior 2 · 03-14-2011, 04:27 AM

The attention to detail is what makes this such a nice bike with it's mods. The floorboards and windshield are very nicely thought through. Waiting to see the seat mod next.

burkbuilds · 03-14-2011, 10:22 PM

I am still in the "thinking" stages on the seat mod, although I did buy an old seat off of ebay to use as my guinea pig. I'm leaning towards a single seat instead of the OE which has the added placement for a passenger. My wife forbids me from taking my youngest daughter on the bike and when she initially told me she didn't want me taking Valerie on the bike any more and there was to be no discussion, I started a discussion, which immediately led to all of my personal belongings being thrown out the carport door. So.... We did not have a discussion, I have absolutely no knowledge of why I am no longer allowed to take my teenage daughter on bike rides but I have a wonderful marriage that has lasted 27 years and that's worth a lot of unanswered questions. Someone at school asked me if I took my girlfriend for rides on my bike and I said, "no, my wife hates it when I do that.". So the single seat will probably win out. The next question is how to conceal the wiring from the tailight that just runs across the rear fender and under the existing seat. I also want to mount a "trunk" and that may serve both to conceal the wiring and give me a backrest. But that will all take some more thinking before I'm ready to start making the new seat. I could not be more pleased with the comfort of the seat I now have on the 500, but it lacks a lot in the aesthetic department. I'd love it if I could arrive at a seat design that does both jobs of being very comfortable and also looks "stylish" on the bike. But I gotta tell you, comfort will win out if I can't come up with the other criteria. There's nothing like riding for four hours and the only thing on your mind is finding a gas station to fuel up and empty your bladder.

03-01-2011, 11:55 PM	#41
Water Warrior 2 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Squamish B.C Canada Posts: 11,409	Re: Bought a Vulcan EN750 on e-bay today Had MR-16 halogen bulbs fork mounted on the Vstrom and beat them to death. Crash bar mounted on Lynda's M-50 theywork well to fill in the sides with the flood beam version. As for MR-16 LED's don't get too excited. They will barely light up the inside of a cow after dark. The are great to complete a triangle effect and are visible to oncoming traffic but that is it. Would love to have them in Amber for more visibility............Hmm, maybe just an Amber film over the bulb, there is no heat to do harm. Login or Register to Remove Ads
	0

03-08-2011, 11:15 PM	#42
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Bought a Vulcan EN750 on e-bay today I got over to the machine shop at school last night after work and was able to fabricate a new piece and weld it onto the mounting post. Still needs a little filing to clean her up and then some primer and paint and maybe I'll get it on this weekend. I left my camera back home so no pics for a couple more days but I'll post them as soon as I can get the camera.
	0

03-10-2011, 11:45 PM	#43
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Bought a Vulcan EN750 on e-bay today Here are a few shots I took tonight while doing my trial fit up. Now that I'm happy with that I sanded it all down really good and smooth and painted it, but those pictures will come later after the paint dries. Login or Register to Remove Ads
	0

03-12-2011, 09:47 PM	#44
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Bought a Vulcan EN750 on e-bay today Here are a few final shots of the floorboards with the new adapter.
	0

03-12-2011, 10:01 PM	#45
blaine Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: P.E.I. Canada Posts: 3,784	Re: Bought a Vulcan EN750 on e-bay today Looks good.I'll bet they are way more comfortable than the original pegs.How is the seat compared to the original on the 500? :cool: __________________ If at first you do succeed, try not to look surprised. Login or Register to Remove Ads
	0

03-12-2011, 11:23 PM	#46
Water Warrior 2 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Squamish B.C Canada Posts: 11,409	Re: Bought a Vulcan EN750 on e-bay today Impressive floorboard mod. You do nice work BB.
	0

03-13-2011, 08:52 PM	#47
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Bought a Vulcan EN750 on e-bay today Thanks guys. The seat on the 750 is not very comfortable. I'm already planning my mods for a new seat. I've gotten so used to having floorboards that the pegs felt very strange to me and were not comfortable. I really like the look, size and style of the SS-32 Falcon Slipsteamer windshield, unfortunately, it is not on the list to fit the VN750's. I decided to give it a shot though and see if I could make it work. Here is what I did. First off, you have to move the turn signal lights down onto the fork tubes, which I did with a Memphis shades relocation kit purchased on e-bay. Second, you will have to loosen the two bolts that hold the gauge package to the triple tree to give a little room to slide the mounting brackets up as high as possible on the fork tubes. Once they are in place you can tighten the gauge bolts. There is no way to get a wrench in between the upper bolt on the bracket and the headlight bracket on the 750, so I tightened that bolt up with the bracket out at a 45 degree angle and then pushed it back up against the headlight bracket and installed the remaining bolts. Third, you will have to fabricate some type of spacer to put the windshield an additional 2" out to clear the headlight and gauges. I did that with some 2" x 1" rectangular stock aluminum. Two holes will need to be drilled all the way through to allow the mounting bolts to go thru. I also purchased 1/4" x 2 3/4" chrome hex head bolts to replace the 5/8" bolts that come with the windshield, since I've extended it by 2 more inches. I wanted them to be chromed too, so I purchased some chrome tape in a 6" wide roll made for doing the lower rocker panels of cars. I wrapped the aluminum in this tape. Then used a razor blade knife to trim the top and bottom flush and cut out the drilled holes. Next I bolted the windshield onto the mounting brackets using the 2" spacers and I am pretty pleased with the results. Here are a few photos of everything.
	0

03-13-2011, 09:12 PM	#48
JWR Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Louisville, TN Posts: 1,413	Re: Bought a Vulcan EN750 on e-bay today You sure do a nice job. I am more of a" get a bigger hammer type". Great work. __________________ Jerry Truth is there are lots of great bikes available and not nearly as many good riders out there riding them... "A man's got to know his limitations..."
	0

03-14-2011, 04:27 AM	#49
Water Warrior 2 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Squamish B.C Canada Posts: 11,409	Re: Bought a Vulcan EN750 on e-bay today The attention to detail is what makes this such a nice bike with it's mods. The floorboards and windshield are very nicely thought through. Waiting to see the seat mod next.
	0

03-14-2011, 10:22 PM	#50
burkbuilds Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shannon, Georgia Posts: 1,268	Re: Bought a Vulcan EN750 on e-bay today I am still in the "thinking" stages on the seat mod, although I did buy an old seat off of ebay to use as my guinea pig. I'm leaning towards a single seat instead of the OE which has the added placement for a passenger. My wife forbids me from taking my youngest daughter on the bike and when she initially told me she didn't want me taking Valerie on the bike any more and there was to be no discussion, I started a discussion, which immediately led to all of my personal belongings being thrown out the carport door. So.... We did not have a discussion, I have absolutely no knowledge of why I am no longer allowed to take my teenage daughter on bike rides but I have a wonderful marriage that has lasted 27 years and that's worth a lot of unanswered questions. Someone at school asked me if I took my girlfriend for rides on my bike and I said, "no, my wife hates it when I do that.". So the single seat will probably win out. The next question is how to conceal the wiring from the tailight that just runs across the rear fender and under the existing seat. I also want to mount a "trunk" and that may serve both to conceal the wiring and give me a backrest. But that will all take some more thinking before I'm ready to start making the new seat. I could not be more pleased with the comfort of the seat I now have on the 500, but it lacks a lot in the aesthetic department. I'd love it if I could arrive at a seat design that does both jobs of being very comfortable and also looks "stylish" on the bike. But I gotta tell you, comfort will win out if I can't come up with the other criteria. There's nothing like riding for four hours and the only thing on your mind is finding a gas station to fuel up and empty your bladder.
	0