Recently purchased my first Vulcan, a '96 1500 Classic. It seemed to run fine for a couple of months, though I'm used to a Harley and not really sure what "fine" is for this bike. Then I decided to take the baffles out. As soon as I cranked it up, the oil and temp lights came on and stayed on. This is a carburetted bike so I didn't think the baffles would cause this problem. Just in case, I put them back in, same problem. With the bike running, I hear the valves tapping pretty loudly, so I'm thinking oil pump. Mechanic friend says it has a mechanical oil pump and very unlikely it could stop pumping. I disconnected the battery for a few minutes to reset any electrical "codes" that might cause this, no help. I changed the oil and cleaned the screen, no help. I drove it a few miles and checked the engine temp, it was around 160 and the electric fan still worked properly. Coolant is also full. Yesterday some friends and I took off riding and about ten miles down the road the bike died (like it was switched off). The headlight was not working, nor was the neutral light. Bike would not crank. It was like there was no electrical power at all, although the running lights worked. I checked the fuses and they were all good. Then I pulled the clutch lever in and hit the button and it started, although kind of "draggy". So I took off. Just before I got ready to hit third gear, it died again. Same situation. I checked the temp, it was not hot. So I drove home in "tennis shoe mode" (guess I was lucky) in second and third gears, being careful not to put too much drag on the engine. It died twice more, but started back after coming to a stop. It would not push start. The whole time, it seemed very sluggish. I'm afraid I killed it. Anyone else had a similar problem and may know the cause/cure??

 

hmm, when you changed the oil, what viscosity did you use? You can also test the oil pump pressure. 50-64psi at 2000 rpm as per the manual. Looks like I need to do some reading on the VN's again. lol

 

The book recommends SAE 10-40, so that's what I used. I'd be interest to learn how to check that oil pressure. Any special tools required?

 

 

That is about it for what I may have, keep us posted and good luck.

 

My 1997 Vulcan Classic started making starange noises and a strange pop from one of the exhaust. I ran the gas out, put in fresh 10w40. I also followed the instruction for a can of Seafoam. After a 25 mile ride everything settled down and the nice rumble is back. Worked for me.