[newguywithbike]

hay guys as most of u know i had to sale my 700 cause i needed a car well just now about 2 hrs ago a friend of mine called and asked me if i wanted a bike well i said yes and i went to go look at it and its a 88 kawasaki 454 ltd and i asked him what he wanted for it and he said **** take it u can have it i **** my pants this thing is sweet u dont have to give it gas all u do is hit the start button and go i love this bike im really happy now he made a joke and said that ill trade it or something well i will if someone has a 700 or 750 they want to trade lol but if not ill keep it

 

[dirtrack650]

They are nice, and congrats on the lucky score! Belt drive too.

DT

 

[VN750Rider/Jerry]

Believe it or not, that bike is as fast as a Vulcan 750. I just bought a new EX500, which has a 500cc version of the same engine, with chain drive, and it is slightly faster than the Vulcan 750. I also used to own an '86 454LTD that I bought new, and traded for an '88 EX500, also bought new. The 454, EX500 Ninja, and EN500 Vulcan are ridiculously fast for being such small displacement twins. The engines are seriously overbuilt as well, they are literally half of the Ninja 900 and 1000 four cylinder engines, and were built before finite stress analysis came into widespread use. That is a CAD (computer aided design) program that, in simple terms, helps a designer figure out just how strong a part needs to be, and they make it just that strong, to save weight and money. Plus, the parts on these twins were designed to handle the power output of the four, so they are plenty strong. Should last forever. Belts cost $400 though. Jerry.

 

[newguywithbike]

my new bike

ya i havent gotten a chance to ride it the battery is busted so have to get a new one but i hope its a nice ride one thing i dont like im a big guy and the handle bars are to close to me so i may get other ones and put them on lol and i dont like the sissy bar i want to deleat all that and put a strait seat on it like the vulcan 1500 has i like that look

 

[flitecontrol]

That is a very nice bike at a GREAT price!

 

[LibertyPilot]

Congrats man! Apparently you're supposed to ride. Sell your baby then have another working bike given to you. If that doesn't say it I don't know what does. Ride safe and have fun...

 

[wib714]

ya i havent gotten a chance to ride it the battery is busted so have to get a new one but i hope its a nice ride one thing i dont like im a big guy and the handle bars are to close to me so i may get other ones and put them on lol and i dont like the sissy bar i want to deleat all that and put a strait seat on it like the vulcan 1500 has i like that look

push start it, lol. my buddy had one and he push started it for 2 years that I know of, much easier to push start than our vulcans!!!!!!!

congrats, I love free stuff! So far I've gotten a sailboat with new sails and trailer, a brand new rototiller (used 3 times) a canoe and just picked up a like new power washer that took me 5 minutes to get the hose unplugged and I was washing away. gotta love the internet!!!!!!!!!

 

[VN750Rider/Jerry]

It is difficult to push start a Kawasaki, they have that dumb positive neutral finder, making it hard to get it into second gear without the engine running. I would not start it if the battery is shorted or missing, it can damage the charging system.

I liked the sissy bar, but then I put the extended backrest on my Vulcan 750. I do a lot of traveling, and the backrest and luggage rack gives me a place for my T bag, as well as a way to tie things on the passenger part of the seat. IMO, both the 454 and the Vulcan 750 are to small for passengers unless they are really small, like kids, and they get uncomfortable real fast.

The 454 has a lot going for it. It is a very strong solid design, with a full double cradle frame, the engine is very simple and strong, with only one cam chain, and horizontally split crankcases (much stronger than vertically split crankcases) the stater cover is right out in the open, as is the water pump, there is no balancer to go bad, it has simple screw and locknut valves, and many parts are still available for it, because of the EX500 and Vulcan 500. The one bad thing about it, that was a good thing when it was new, is the belt drive. Belts are much better than a chain, and fortunately the belt is still available for that bike, unfortunately it now costs $400, about 4 times what it cost when the bike was new. It also has a really cool chrome front fender, like my Vulcan will have one of these days. Jerry.

 

[VN750Rider/Jerry]

Sometimes I wish the Vulcan 750 had a larger version of the current EX500 engine. It would be faster than it already is, so much more reliable and easy to work on, especially if it had a belt drive, like the 454. The Vulcan 500 is as fast as the 750, but it is on the small side, and worse yet, it has tube type tires and no centerstand, making it worthless as a practical motorcycle. I remember when Kawasaki used to make a 750 twin cruiser, but it was no hotrod. Nice and simple though. With a 750cc version of the liquid cooled DOHC 8 valve engine, it would be a real ripper, without giving up simplicity. Jerry.

 

[ruger]

Sometimes I wish the Vulcan 750 had a larger version of the current EX500 engine. It would be faster than it already is, so much more reliable and easy to work on, especially if it had a belt drive, like the 454. The Vulcan 500 is as fast as the 750, but it is on the small side, and worse yet, it has tube type tires and no centerstand, making it worthless as a practical motorcycle. I remember when Kawasaki used to make a 750 twin cruiser, but it was no hotrod. Nice and simple though. With a 750cc version of the liquid cooled DOHC 8 valve engine, it would be a real ripper, without giving up simplicity. Jerry.

the new Vulcan 500 has tube tires and has chain drive, but the old Vulcan 500 does not have tube tires and has belt drive. also the old Vulcan 500 is faster than the new Vulcan 500! but neither have a center stand.

 

[VN750Rider/Jerry]

The older Vulcan 500 came between the 454 and the new Vulcan 500. It was a decent bike, with cast wheels and tubeless tires. A centerstand is nice to have on any bike, but an absolute necessity on bikes with tube type tires. Even my dual sport has one (aftermarket). However, there are a lot of riders today that wouldn't know how to fix a flat tire with tube type tires anyway, even with a centerstand. When I started riding, there were no cell phones, and if your bike broke down in the middle of nowhere, you had better know how to fix it, or you were soon to be a buzzard banquet. Jerry.