Been doing a bit of work on the Vulcan lately.
* At Easter I removed the first stage baffle of each exhaust pipe. This has allowed exhaust gases to flow more freely, there is a small but noticible increase in power and accelleration and she produces a more pleasing exhaust note - See attached mpg sound file. She still passed her WOF last month so no worries there.
Since then I have been busy with work, studies, and coping with life in general, but in the last fortnight I've made a few extra mods to the stock set-up:
* Removed the after-burner air-intake circuit which dumps fresh air into the exhaust system just after the valves. It's supposed to be an EPA measure but it's a known issue with the VN800 that it dosen't work properly and causes backfiring, sneezing, stumbling and stalling. Basically involves putting vacuum caps on the heads, one on the vacuum line to the petcock, and one on the back of the air filter box. After doing this she runs much better. No more of the symptoms described above, the exhaust sounds smoother and the throttle response is smoother and more predictable. See attached photos.
* Increased the rear suspension pre-load to its highest setting. This has resulted in increased ground clearance and better handling overall.
* Replaced the stock 60/55W H4 headlamp with a 100/90W and tweaked the elevation to cast light a little further ahead than the factory setting. Result - much improved ilumination of the road and hopefully better visibility to other road users.
Overall I'm very pleased with the simple and cheap mods I've made so far. The Vulcan feels like a new machine and I've fallen in love with her all over again![]()
Future mods include K&N filters for the air and oil system, and later, new pilot and main jets which, together with the K&N air filter should produce an increase in HP and torque at the rear wheel.
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