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why vulcan?

6K views 35 replies 28 participants last post by  storm16 
#1 ·
i chose a vulcan be cause of style, shaft drive, water Cooling ,( proven over 20 years) 750 power, and price. pretty much in that order. reputation of kawa. engineering was also a factor.. sat on it, never heard it run, but it has been a great decision.:smiley_th enjoyed 11,400 miles since sept 2006:motorcycl:ride safe carryflag
 
#2 ·
I bought it because I was about to go finance something new and my boss said he had a bike he wanted to sell. I took a look at it and he sold it to me for under $150. He gave me a bunch of extras that went with it that where worth more than that and the bike has had zero problem and looked great. Now I'm changing it to give it my own style. But its a great bike for what I paid for it.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Pretty much the same here as aradams... My last bike was a new 80s Honda 700 Shadow, pretty much the same style bike but with guite a bit less get up and go, had rectifier problems with it, so I guess that is about a common problem... My first Vulcan VN750 was an 03 Mod. which I put 12-13,00 mi. on before trading for the 06... I don't know what we will have to go to if we buy another bike of this sort as Kaw. has discontinued the VN750 as I understand... Maybe the Sportster or something, but till something happens to my Vulcan I will stick with it... I just don't like the classic type bikes, I like the size and power of my VN750, or something simuliar... The only thing I would change on it is, I would like a slightly taller 5th gear, I have about worn a hole in the top of my left shoe trying to find 6th...lol...:doh:
Have a good one Old Dog...
 
#10 ·
I recently (due to problems with my 750) moved up to something bigger. If you like twin, overhead cam, water cooled, shaft drive bikes, consider a Kawasaki Meanstreak. I love mine. Plus, it's still a Vulcan !!

It is kind of like a vn750 on steroids.

Jon

 
#5 ·
I liked the looks of the bike ever since the first second I saw it in the showroom. It felt good to sit on and I like the instruments up top. I really wanted a 900LT but I think things worked out better for me this way. Besides.... the old lady had just won $8K at bingo and the bike was less than that so it was free anyway from a certain perspective. PAID for! But the bike has filled a wonderful niche and I'll keep it forever since this is the last year for it. I didn't know that when I bought it and it wouldn't have mattered anyway. When I go to a bigger bike someday I'll still have this one in the garage for fun runs.
 
#7 ·
Happy with My Vulcan!



This is pretty much why I bought the VN 750. My last bike was a Honda Nighthawk 750 (early 1990s), and I was looking for something similar in 2006. About the only street machine I could find (that wasn't a crotch rocket or a dual sport) was the VN 750. I've put over 9,000 miles on it since buying it in May, 2006 and I continue to be very happy with it.
 
#8 ·
I was really just looking for a water cooled bike in my price range. Also being my first bike, when I say how good of shape it was & the miles were right. I couldn't pass it up. Since I've bought it I don't think I could have made a better choice in this class of bike.!
P.S. 11,000 since mid may 07.
 
#12 ·
I "inherited" mine from my son-in-law (when he got a Triumph Daytona 955). So I was just lucky that's what he had!

I was pleasantly surprised that the VN750 has such a loyal following and a model-specific web site!

(Actually I was more impressed that this bike has it's very own nick-name among harley riders - HBUBF!) :smiley_th
 
#14 ·
Like so many of us "Boomers", I rode a Honda 350 back in the early to mid- seventies and then gave up riding for over 25 years. When I started doing research on bikes in 2002 I was first impressed with the looks of the Vulcan 750, I liked the tear drop shaped tank, the flow of the seat that fit the lines of the bike, the mini ape hangers, etc. Then when I started to read about the specs and found out it was shaft drive, water cooled, had a tach, speedometer, gas gage, center stand and aluminum mag wheels I was really sold on the bike. I went into a couple of local dealers and was told over and over that the 750 was a "starter bike" and I would be much happier with a 1500 or larger. Of course, having only ridden a Honda 350, sitting on the larger bikes seemed like I would be trying to ride a two wheeled tractor and am glad I stuck to my guns and went with the Vulcan 750.Of course as many have done, I have altered my bike many times over and still love everytime I swing my legs over the seat.

Stevie D.
Chicago
 
#15 ·
Some interesting stories here.

Heres mine:

I was into dirtbiking for about 10 or 12 years. One riding buddy got a Nighthawk 750. That got me to thinking about a streetbike. Looked around for awhile but didn't see anything I liked.
One day at work, a guy tells me there's one near his house. It was about 45 miles from me, but I figured, what the heck, I'll check it out (it was about June of '01 at that time).
It was a '99 Vulcan with just about 7k miles. I took it for a ride and was really happy with how it felt and rode. Told the guy I'd be back the next day, with cash.
Talked the guy down from $4400 to $3800 and then loaded it up on the trailer.
On the ride home, my truck's tranny started overheating, so the next day I rode the Vulcan to work.
A lot of the guys there didn't think much of it. But when a bunch of us took a ride a couple weeks later, and I buzzed past most of them on the open stretches and they soon changed their thoughts of it.

Have put on over 30k since then and have loved every minute of it (except when the stator went)
Hopefully I'l get atleast another 30k on it before I start thinking about something else.
 
#16 ·
Love at first sight?

Took the MSF BRC one weekend in may because I always wanted to learn to ride and to do it all proper like. Fell in love with riding and thought i'd save up to buy a bike in a few months.

A friend alerted me to an ad that listed a well kept '86 around the block from me. Went to check it out, had no clue what I was looking for, but knew I wasn't walking away without the bike.

6 months later, it's been a great beginner bike both in riding proficiency and mechanical proficiency.
 
#17 ·
Twelve years back I scraped up enough cash for my first bike which was a Honda 750 Magna. Sitting on the lot next to the Magna was a beautiful Vulcan VN750. Just sitting on the Vulcan was enough for me and I really wanted that bike; however, the price tag on the vn didn't mesh with the available cash in my pocket. I bought the Magna (which turned out to be a darn good bike). I quit riding for several years and the bug bit me last month. So the search was on and this time I was getting that Vulcan. (Kinda like the toy you wanted for Christmas and never got thang) I've zero regrets and will likely add another to my list within the next year or so. I'm retiring shortly and will be looking for a bigger, long range road machine next year, but I'm sure that I'll keep the 750 as well.
 
#18 ·
I have dreamed of a Vulcan! How about that!
It was like 12 years ago I saw a Vulcan(dont know which one) when traveling through Greece and since then I was going to get a VULCAN, so this year I finally found my VN750 and cant be happier and more satisfied.:rockon:

Kawasaki put a spell on me!
 
#19 ·
I dared my wife to bid on it on eBay.

It was a salvage bike, got a 95 for $950. I like the seat height for my short legs, not real happy there's little in after market parts. I would like to find a KZ750 twin and a KZ1100 LTD to add to my stable of Kawasakis.
 
#20 ·
I've loved motorcycles since I was a kid. I was obsessed with Harleys, but liked all motorcycles. I started really getting the itch to get a bike a couple years back and finally convinced the boss (aka. my wife) that I needed one. I started on a Chinese dual sport but was constantly on the look out for that deal that's too good to pass up.

I wasn't really looking for a Vulcan, but a co-worker was selling his 2000 model with ~17k miles for $2k. That, to me, was that "can't pass up" deal that I was looking for. I've always thought that the 750's were kind of homely, but after throwing a leg over and taking the first ride I fell in love with it. I'd still like something that's more comfortable for 2-up riding, but for solo rides this is a great bike. I couldn't be more satisfied with it and it's looks have even grown on me.
 
#21 ·
Why not

I knew I was going to get a cruiser, and I was holding out for a Vulcan 500 LTD new from the dealer. However, in surfing the cycle ads, I ran across a 96 750 for $1K. Although it had 30K miles on it, that didn't seem like a lot, definitely below the range for the "average" 750cc bike. 3 days later it was in the back of my truck coming home. To coin a phrase form someone else "...a couple hundred here, a hundred fifty there..." it really did cost a lot more than the $950 I ended up paying for the actual bike, but I have no regrets. My wife and I went for our first 2 up ride (that's why we wanted a cruiser) and she loved it. This baby will never leave my stable. Plus there's the fact that there was no way I could get the Vulcan I really wanted....
 

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#24 ·
I have it about a year, it's an '02, bought it with 6800 miles on it, as you see it (I added the windshield), had the pipes and power commander, for $ 5K.

Jon
 
#23 ·
I got mine because of the Kaw. reputation of lower price for more bike. I also wanted something that stood out from the crowd and the vn750 is unique. Have not regretted it yet.
 
#27 ·
Not sure about the H, I think the rest is ButtUglyButFast.

Jon
 
#30 ·
Why Vulcan?

I wasn't looking for a Kawasaki particularly, or even a Vulcan, for that matter when I bouight mine. I've been riding off and on for close to 40 years (dang that hurts to say), but I was stuck in love with that mid-80's cruiser look. When I finally decided to get back into riding, I was saddened to see most of the bikes had changed their style away from the teardrop tank and low seat position. But...when I saw the Vulcan, I fell in love with it, because this bike had lower miles and was newer than the model I thought I was going to have to settle for to get the look I liked!

I was hoping for a bigger bike than a 750 when I was looking, but I realized a couple of things with the VN750...
1) The frame is bigger than a lot of 750's, so it doesn't look like a 'beginner's bike'.
2) Who needs more cc's when the 750 can blow past most larger displacement twins?
3) I bet none of the other bikes have a site like this one with such great folks who would give their left arm to help a fellow owner out!
 
#32 ·
I was hoping for a bigger bike than a 750 when I was looking, but I realized a couple of things with the VN750...
1) The frame is bigger than a lot of 750's, so it doesn't look like a 'beginner's bike'.
2) Who needs more cc's when the 750 can blow past most larger displacement twins?
3) I bet none of the other bikes have a site like this one with such great folks who would give their left arm to help a fellow owner out!


I will drink to that!:beerchug:
 
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