question about valve adjustments

[The Black Pearl]

My brother just bought a 1996 kawaski vulcan 500 ltd in great condition the guy says it needs a valve adjustment and i am just wondering how much work were looking at or how much the stealership would charge for it? thanks guys

[V7Goose]

I know nothing about that machine, so I have no idea how much work it is.

 

It all depends on how much stuff must be taken off to get to the valves, and what kind of valve adjustment it uses. If it uses "shim under bucket", it would probably cost you twice what "shim over bucket" would, since you have to remove the cam on the under bucket type.

 

I suggest you simply call at least three shops and ask for a quote (do not expect the price to be the same at every shop).

Goose

[GaThumper]

It shouldn't be TOO bad if you (or he) is used to doing your own minor maintenance. It took a bit of Google work and I figured out the Vulcan 500 is an inline twin with screw type valve adjusters, so no need for shims!

 

Here's a Vulcan forum where I found the following information.

 

http://www.vulcanforums.com/

 

The inline twin Kawasaki motor is also used in the Ninja 500 although tuned differently for the sport bike. I found a thread on the Vulcan forum that goes over the valve adjustment process and references some pretty nice documentation from the Ninja forum. You just have to ignore all the steps for removing the Ninja's bodywork.

 

[ame=http://www.vulcanforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2609]How To: Adjust Your Valves - Kawasaki Vulcan Forum : Vulcan Forums[/ame]

 

Here the link to the PDF file (also referenced in his post above) that is hosted on the Ninja site, www.ex-500.com .

 

http://www.ex-500.com/files/2006_EX500_Valve_Clearance_Adjustment.pdf

 

There's also a link to the EX-500 Wiki that would be a good reference for the Vulcan motor. Maybe the Ninja crowd are more into the motor and maintenance?

 

http://www.ex-500.com/wiki/index.php/Valve_clearance_adjustment

 

Now, it's no small amount of work to get down to the valves, but if you take your time and follow the directions you'll end up at the relatively simple screw type valve adjuster.

 

There were also some comments about a 2009 Vulcan 500 valve adjustment that will most likely apply to the '96 model as well. It would be worthwhile to consider, since you may need to get the two o-rings they talk about for the two coolant pipes.

 

[ame=http://www.vulcanforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=20524]Adjusting valves on 2009 Vulcan 500 ? - Kawasaki Vulcan Forum : Vulcan Forums[/ame]

 

 

The Vulcan forums look like a good resource for him to get involved in and should be able to provide some good information and help on the Vulcan. Looks like a really interesting bike.

 

Good Luck!

James

Edited July 17, 2009 by GaThumper

[The Black Pearl]

thanks guys i knew i could get the info here and i will pass the other forum along to him but i talk this site up so much i see him ending up here

[RandyR]

On the twins with screw type valve adjustments I've owned, checking the clearance is a 30 minute job. Add 2 minutes per valve if they need adjusting and re-checking.

Edited July 20, 2009 by RandyR