[Rubline]

Today I was bored so I decided to give the bike the once-over. Mind you I have a 06 Vulcan that’s 2 months old. Well what I decided to do was to pull all the electric connections apart and apply di-electric grease to all the connections. Well that went fine. Although I still cant get the side cover screws out, I even did the large washer trick to no avail. As I continued to grease the connections I figured id pull the battery to see if I was able to shoot some wd-40 on the threads of the side cover screws, not much room there but I managed to get some on the threads, I'll let it soak over night. Anyway, When I pulled the battery the first thing I noticed was there was no battery overflow hose connected, for that matter the hose wasn’t even in the bike, I look down and see battery acid sprayed on the inside of the battery compartment. Boy was I pissed. A Brand new bike and I find this. What the hell were they thinking at the dealer? You just can’t trust anyone to do the right thing.

Sorry for long winded thread but between me not being able to ride for at least another month (Cervical Spine Surgery) and finding the mess inside the battery compartment, Finding out that there’s a good chance that there is no grease on the shaft spines I’m at my wits end. The bike is going back to the dealer and I am not going to except it until I check it over first.

If you want it done right, I guess you just have to do it yourself.

 

[Krawdad7]

Sorry to here about the back surgery I had my lower back fused together a couple of years ago. L3,4,5 . As far as the battery hose not even being there " that sucks". I bought a 2006 vn 750 in FEB. the hoses are all connected thank goodness. I checked the shaft and splines they had some grease.But I added more. hope every thing goes ok for you. KRAWDAD7

 

[vulcan460]

Do yourself a favor go out right now and buy
a sealed battery ....or your going to have
acid all over take it from someone who
found out the hard way....
now go get one.

 

[Dan]

RUBLINE:
The battery overflow tube probably fell off. It slips off real easy unless you tape it onto the battery to hold it in place. Also when you install the battery it's a little bit tricky getting that tube to go down in the right place without pinching it.

These little problems are no fun but, I'll tell you what, my last bike was a 2000
800CC Suzuki Intruder. That bike is totally user-unfriendly. Even getting the battery out is a major pain in the ass. You have to take it out the bottom of the bike. You also need to do a valve adjustment every 4000 miles which is an all-day job and when you're finished you're not sure you got it right. And there are a bunch of other examples of very poor design engineering. I think my 2005 VN750 is like a good dream compared to that damned Intruder.

I can't understand why your side-cover screws are so tight(??)
dan

 

[Rubline]

Its just those small problems that piss me off to no end. The battery hose was never on in the first place. Theres no way that the hose could have fell off and fallen to the ground. The most annoying thing is being told you cant ride for at least a month after my neck surgery. I cant even get the bike to the shop to have those MORONS fix what they screwed up and to get those dam side cover screws off. GEEEZE!! LOL

 

[DachWuff]

damn now i gotta check mine.

 

[Ironman]

Everybody needs to give there new bike the once over. Here's a list of what I found on my, then new, 2004.

Here's a list of what I had to do on my new bike:
a) Adjusted the throttle cables. I had about 20mm of play. Book says 2-3 mm's. I like it alot better with less play. b) Routed the battery vent tube per the diagram under the seat. The tube took a 90 degree turn off of the battery so it was kinked, and pinched. Plus it was running to the outside of the drive shaft boot instead of down the middle of the frame. c) Adjusted the hand brake so that the resevoir was horizontal. It was tilted up about 20 degrees, but honestly, it probably ended up there after the first time I dropped it. d) Checked air pressure in tires. Don't remember what they were, but they weren't right. e) Topped up water level in battery. All but one of the cells were fine. The one closest to the ground was about an inch lower. f) Put positive battery cable on right side up. You'd think they'd notice when the red, vinyl cover didn't fit over the post! g) plugged brake light wires into hand brake. h) Freed wiring harness aft of battery from crossmember. Screw on fender had rubbed through tape and shorting out one of the wires. Couldn't figure why the main fuse was blowing when bike was turned off ! This also corrected a problem I was having with the right side cover. It didn't want to fit properly before. i) Added a cup of coolant to reservoir tank. After next ride it needed another cup. Radiator apparently hadn't been filled all the way. j) Replaced OEM battery with Sears 44005 maintenance free (made by Yuasa, by the way) and pulled an extra screw out from between the fender and aft side of the battery box.

I was lucky I got to the battery before it got the rest of the bike. Of course I was poking around in there because it kept dieing. Found out the stator was bad right off the assembly line.

Take your bike back to the dealer, tell them the tube wasn't installed right (if at all) and document the incident now. There are relays in that junction box that can be destroyed by acid. If you have a problem later, it's probably because of this incident. Better yet, make them replace the junction box now and save yourself some trepidation.

 

[norsseman]

Side cover over sized screws

My bike is 8 days old, and I had the same problem with the
side cover screws being installed to tight. I have one very large
screwdriver with a fairly thick tip that finally did the job. Had
to push in hard then turn. My screw driver even though very
large still didn't have the proper thickness at the tip to do the
job right.

I also tried to put penetrating oil on the screws, but couldn't
tell if it actually penetrated.

Because I didn't get an owners manual I don't even know how
to check the oil level... (help someone). Will have to check
the radiator fluid, actually need to check everything, because
the mechanic that assembled the bike didn't fill 5 of the battery
cells high enough, left the license plate wire disconnected(probably
couldn't see wasteing current), didn't even bother to take off the
two colored stipes on the tires...like most dealers do. Oh yeah and
then there was the low grade fuel in the tank that I had to siphon
out, the Premium makes the bike run a lot smoother, especially at
low rpm's.

Such a great bike to be treated that way by careless mechanic's.

 

[Loran in Npvl IL]

The VN750 runs on "low" grade fuel (87 octane in the USA) and will get carbon buildup with higher octane fuel.

To check the oil, place the bike on the centerstand on level ground. There is a sight glass on the lower left (as sitting on the bike) of the bike (almost have to get on you hand and knees to see it well). To the left of the sight glass there are 2 marks. The oil level is supposed to be between those two marks (preferable near the top one). Note the bike should not be running when you check the oil.

 

[InsuredDisaster]

The Clymer's manual says to idle the bike for bout 2 minutes, then shut it off, wait two minutes, then check the oil level. Anyone know what is up with that? It seems a bit weird, though I find that the oil level before I start the bike, and when I do the clymer's thing is about the same. Anyone else do the clymer's way?

 

[Harvey_birdman]

The Clymer's manual says to idle the bike for bout 2 minutes, then shut it off, wait two minutes, then check the oil level. Anyone know what is up with that? It seems a bit weird, though I find that the oil level before I start the bike, and when I do the clymer's thing is about the same. Anyone else do the clymer's way?

I don't know how much truth there is to it, but the story I've always heard is as follows:

Running the engine for a few minutes before checking the oil -

1. Warms the oil up. Like most liquids (except water) oil expands as it heats, and contracts as it cools. Although you may be in a temperate climate, if you live in cold weather the reading may have been off.

2. Helps you to spot any leaks in the oil system. While you're down there checking the oil level it's a perfect opportunity to inspect for leaks, which are often easier to see if the engine's running and the oil's pumping.