[mmart]

It’s been 2 1/2 years since I became the proud owner of my 750, I’ve been keeping a list of everything I’ve done (or had done) to the bike and it’s gotten quite lengthy. Some things on the list are mechanical or electrical and some items are purely aesthetic, but in hindsight I can say I’m committed to this machine and it’s not just a “first bike”. The PO did absolutely nothing to this bike and other than the stator debacle it’s been fun tweaking this thing, curious how many others keep a running tab, here’s my list:

Fork seals replaced -twice!
New Grips
LED driving lights
LED head light and tail lights
LED flashers and relay
Accessory lead
Crash bar
Highway pegs
Windshield
New tires and valves
New brakes (front)
Voltmeter
Phone mount
Rear Top case
RLU removed
New stator
New battery (s)
Protac back rest
Chrome radiator overflow cover
Fully gutted mufflers
Marbled
A/F mixture plugs removed and adjusted
Front brake switch replaced
Spline lube
Radiator flushed
Gear oil flushed
Silicone swing arm covers
Replaced clutch plates and springs
Custom tool box
Pickup coil mod
Iridium plugs

 

[ruger]

BLAST! I hope you got a steal of a deal on this bike! lol

 

[mmart]

Haha, I got the bike for $1800, knowing full well that any bike I got in this price range would have additional costs down the line. The stator job was the only real “ouch” moment. But it’s safe to say I’ve bought this bike twice already

 

[Spockster]

I've done a lot, but I think your list is longer than mine. Ready for a second set of tires now.

 

[Spockster]

Bought mine for $600 and went to work on it before even riding it.

Rewound TPE stator
MOSFET R/R relocated
Earshave and Uni filters
Pair of Shinko tires (time for two more) spline lube
Ride on tire balancer/sealer
Coasters (homemade aluminum)
AGM battery
Mirrors (two sets)
Voltmeter
Blue Wire Mod
Replaced exhaust system

Then later ...

Two Wire Mod
Fork seals and replaced fork tubes
Replaced gas tank with NOS 2005
Kuryakyn ISO grips and palm rest - $22
Kury ISO foot brake pad - $8
Kury wide chrome levers - $12
Luggage rack
Saddlebags/supports
Relocated custom rear turn signals mounted on license plate frame $20
LED tail and license plate lights
New swing arm caps w/silicone
Chrome coolant tank cover - $12... and chrome cap
Protac backrest (used a week and sold)
Mustang seat (used one day and sold)
Swapped maroon side covers for chrome
Rebuilt petcock
Swingarm alignment

Probably forgot some things, not looking at the bike.

 

[Thoridin58]

1985 VN750 I purchased for $450 in 2020 at start of pandemic.

So Far:
New Tires (Shinko 777)
Rebuild Front Brakes (Master Cylinder and Calipers)
Replaced Master Cylinder sight glass
Rear brakes
Replaced all cables
Replaced levers and pedals
AGM Battery
Coil direct wire mod
Blue wire mod
Two wire mod
Removed RLU
Rebuild carbs
Ear shave with Uni filters
Coasters
New 8mm wires
Iridium plugs
New turn signals all around
Added rear rack (NOS from Ebay)

Still to do when weather cooperates:
Replace petcock
Treat tank interior
MOSFET R/R
Spline lube
Gear oil change
Whatever else pops into my head

Constantly reassure wife she won't become a widow 10 mins after I leave driveway.

 

[Vulcan_Frank_750]

It’s been 2 1/2 years since I became the proud owner of my 750, I’ve been keeping a list of everything I’ve done (or had done) to the bike and it’s gotten quite lengthy. Some things on the list are mechanical or electrical and some items are purely aesthetic, but in hindsight I can say I’m committed to this machine and it’s not just a “first bike”. The PO did absolutely nothing to this bike and other than the stator debacle it’s been fun tweaking this thing, curious how many others keep a running tab, here’s my list:

Fork seals replaced -twice!
New Grips
LED driving lights
LED head light and tail lights
LED flashers and relay
Accessory lead
Crash bar
Highway pegs
Windshield
New tires and valves
New brakes (front)
Voltmeter
Phone mount
Rear Top case
RLU removed
New stator
New battery (s)
Protac back rest
Chrome radiator overflow cover
Fully gutted mufflers
Marbled
A/F mixture plugs removed and adjusted
Front brake switch replaced
Spline lube
Radiator flushed
Gear oil flushed
Silicone swing arm covers
Replaced clutch plates and springs
Custom tool box
Pickup coil mod
Iridium plugs

Cool post! Is there a post here on this forum that you referenced for the fork seal replacement? That's on my list for this year. Plus a fork oil change.

 

[mmart]

Cool post! Is there a post here on this forum that you referenced for the fork seal replacement? That's on my list for this year. Plus a fork oil change.

There are a few posts on the forum, but I did not do the seals myself.

Here’s a vid from another forum member that goes over it in detail

 

[Spockster]

There are a few posts on the forum, but I did not do the seals myself.

Here’s a vid from another forum member that goes over it in detail

Step one, loosen the bolt in the bottom of each leg before removing. The allen-head that's vertical up into the bottom, it's a metric allen also. Some heat may help, there's Loctite on those two bolts.

Mask up because that old fork oil is gonna STINK. Like dead whale.

I'm still editing items above as I remember them.

 

[Vulcan_Frank_750]

There are a few posts on the forum, but I did not do the seals myself.

Here’s a vid from another forum member that goes over it in detail

Awesome, thanks for this video! I'll definitely be doing this this year.

 

[mmart]

1985 VN750 I purchased for $450 in 2020 at start of pandemic.

So Far:
New Tires (Shinko 777)
Rebuild Front Brakes (Master Cylinder and Calipers)
Replaced Master Cylinder sight glass
Rear brakes
Replaced all cables
Replaced levers and pedals
AGM Battery
Coil direct wire mod
Blue wire mod
Two wire mod
Removed RLU
Rebuild carbs
Ear shave with Uni filters
Coasters
New 8mm wires
Iridium plugs
New turn signals all around
Added rear rack (NOS from Ebay)

Still to do when weather cooperates:
Replace petcock
Treat tank interior
MOSFET R/R
Spline lube
Gear oil change
Whatever else pops into my head

Constantly reassure wife she won't become a widow 10 mins after I leave driveway.

What rear rack did you use?

 

[Thoridin58]

What rear rack did you use?

The rack is 2001 Kawasaki Vulcan VN 750A - Chrome Rear Carrier / Luggage Rack. Bolts right up on my 85 VN700. Sorry but I don't know what the OEM stock number is. I got lucky and found it on Ebay.

 

[mmart]

Ah gotcha, when I first read your post I saw “NOS from eBay” I didn’t think “new old stock” right away lol, regardless that’s still a score. I have the same one and had to repair it because i somehow managed to crack it with the top box mounted to it.

 

[Vulcan_Frank_750]

Love this thread! Here's my list. 2005 Vulcan 15K miles.

Completed:

1. Saddlebags
2. Battery tender quick connect routed to little storage box behind passannger seat
3. LED brake light/turn signal combination
4. Bad Ass Moto air cushion seat
5. Straight pipe exhaust, wrapped in black
6. Spline Lube
7. Final oil change
8. Coolant flush
9. RAM phone mount
10. Handlebar clock
11. New headlight
12. New OEM air filters
13. New OEM spark plugs
14. New R/R (still troubleshooting low charging voltage)

To Do:

1. Figure out why bike only produces 12.7V at speed (~3K RPM)
2. Fork Oil change
3. Clutch basket investigation (upshifts sometimes are a little hard/sticky)

 

[Vulcan_Frank_750]

It’s been 2 1/2 years since I became the proud owner of my 750, I’ve been keeping a list of everything I’ve done (or had done) to the bike and it’s gotten quite lengthy. Some things on the list are mechanical or electrical and some items are purely aesthetic, but in hindsight I can say I’m committed to this machine and it’s not just a “first bike”. The PO did absolutely nothing to this bike and other than the stator debacle it’s been fun tweaking this thing, curious how many others keep a running tab, here’s my list:

Fork seals replaced -twice!
New Grips
LED driving lights
LED head light and tail lights
LED flashers and relay
Accessory lead
Crash bar
Highway pegs
Windshield
New tires and valves
New brakes (front)
Voltmeter
Phone mount
Rear Top case
RLU removed
New stator
New battery (s)
Protac back rest
Chrome radiator overflow cover
Fully gutted mufflers
Marbled
A/F mixture plugs removed and adjusted
Front brake switch replaced
Spline lube
Radiator flushed
Gear oil flushed
Silicone swing arm covers
Replaced clutch plates and springs
Custom tool box
Pickup coil mod
Iridium plugs

Have you noticed improved starting with the iridium plugs? Anything else noticeable from your perspective about the plugs?

 

[mmart]

I dealt with the hot start issue for two years, I finally decided to replace the plugs and do the pickup coil mod. Due to a shipping coincidence, I ended up doing both within a few hours of each other, so I really can’t make a true observation if the plugs really helped or not. I can say after the pick up mod the hot starts so far have basically stopped. Any improvement the plugs may have made is just gravy, at least in my case.
I know that’s not very helpful, but I finished the pickups and the plugs showed up and I figured “well my hands are dirty already” and kept going.

 

[Vulcan_Frank_750]

I dealt with the hot start issue for two years, I finally decided to replace the plugs and do the pickup coil mod. Due to a shipping coincidence, I ended up doing both within a few hours of each other, so I really can’t make a true observation if the plugs really helped or not. I can say after the pick up mod the hot starts so far have basically stopped. Any improvement the plugs may have made is just gravy, at least in my case.
I know that’s not very helpful, but I finished the pickups and the plugs showed up and I figured “well my hands are dirty already” and kept going.

I've heard on this forum that the iridium plugs can help with the tough starting of this bike. I don't know much about the pickup coil mod, so I'll look into that further. Any helpful hints you have would be appreciated!

 

[mmart]

This was the thread I found to be the most helpful from a “how to” perspective. There’s others that go into the theory behind it as well if you want to search the forum.

Pickup coil clearance pics

Clearancing the pickup coils has been a commonly referred to modification that seemed to be lacking some pics, so I took a few while I was doing the job this weekend... In expectation of dribbling oil when the cover cam off, I put a piece of foil around the bike to prevent leaks onto...

www.vn750.com

The bracket in the coil looks like this when you’re done

 

[Vulcan_Frank_750]

This was the thread I found to be the most helpful from a “how to” perspective. There’s others that go into the theory behind it as well if you want to search the forum.

Pickup coil clearance pics

Clearancing the pickup coils has been a commonly referred to modification that seemed to be lacking some pics, so I took a few while I was doing the job this weekend... In expectation of dribbling oil when the cover cam off, I put a piece of foil around the bike to prevent leaks onto...

www.vn750.com

The bracket in the coil looks like this when you’re done View attachment 53122

Cool, thanks! This is definitely on my bucket list for this year to do. Easier hot starts will be great! I'm picking up NGK Iridium promptly.

 

[mmart]

Came across a Mustang seat on EBay, had to make a bid and yep I won. Original box too.
Guess I can add that to my list. Now I’m free to mess with the stock seat. I was thinking of taking it to an upholsterer to see what I can have done to it. If the pricing is crazy then it’ll be an at home project. My dad was a tailor and pattern designer so I picked up a few tricks over the years.