SuzukiSavage.com - Jap big 4

PerrydaSavage Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Riding "The Rock"! Posts: 3522 Republic of Newfoundland Gender:	Re: Jap big 4 Reply #15 - 10/28/13 at 08:10:34 Would love to own an 800 Drifter! Unique ... and rare around these parts ... beautiful Bikes!
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Badass94Cad

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Re: Jap big 4
Reply #16 - 10/28/13 at 17:34:15

WD wrote on 10/26/13 at 22:11:39:

Can't wait to have another one? Again, very easy, 800 or 1500 Vulcan, any style. They are THE best handling cruisers ever made, especially the 805cc VN800A.

WD, I've seen you endorse the 800 and 1500 Vulcans on several occasions, but what about the 2006+ Vulcan 900? Do you not recommend them because they're fuel injected, more complicated? Undecided

I only ask because a neighbor has a 2007 Vulcan 900 for sale... Cool

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pg Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 5273 In Transit	Re: Jap big 4 Reply #17 - 10/28/13 at 19:18:43 I had an 08 vulcan custom 900 cc. I did not like mine and got rid of it after 2k miles. Rode real smooth, handled great; but, would not go over 70 mph in 4th. 5th would wind out real slow. I think it weighed 610 lbs. That is a lot more weight for 250 more cc. It was to heavy for the town and to slow for the interstate.
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WD

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Re: Jap big 4
Reply #18 - 10/29/13 at 03:29:15

Badass94Cad wrote on 10/28/13 at 17:34:15:

WD wrote on 10/26/13 at 22:11:39:

Can't wait to have another one? Again, very easy, 800 or 1500 Vulcan, any style. They are THE best handling cruisers ever made, especially the 805cc VN800A.

WD, I've seen you endorse the 800 and 1500 Vulcans on several occasions, but what about the 2006+ Vulcan 900? Do you not recommend them because they're fuel injected, more complicated? Undecided

I only ask because a neighbor has a 2007 Vulcan 900 for sale... Cool

Basically the factory took the 800 engine, junked it up with chrome and fuel injection, added the less than stellar Scoot Works belt drive conversion... Stuffed the whole mess into a substandard chassis, gave it even uglier fenders than the 800B (Classic)... and jacked the weight and price up a good bit.

Weighs more, costs more, has less available power. Lousy bike from the word go.

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PerrydaSavage Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline Riding "The Rock"! Posts: 3522 Republic of Newfoundland Gender:	Re: Jap big 4 Reply #19 - 10/29/13 at 08:18:06 Wow!! Did not know that the VN900 utilizes the Scootworks belt drive kit in place of the VN800's original chain?! Kinda wish that the VT750DCs had a belt drive instead of chain ...
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WD

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Re: Jap big 4
Reply #20 - 10/30/13 at 01:29:59

They basically cloned the design, the front pulley is too small.

As soon as I have a different main bike, my Savage is getting a stretched weld on rigid conversion and a chain drive. At around 20K total miles, the belt is at roughly 3/4 of its tension travel. Replacement belts are worth more than the bike (as are the spark box, the starter, and a few other pieces). At least the last time I bothered looking those parts up...

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Arnold Serious Thumper Offline The dude abides... Posts: 896 Westchester, NY Gender:	Re: Jap big 4 Reply #21 - 10/30/13 at 06:34:33 New belt $200, used belt $100.
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PerrydaSavage

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Re: Jap big 4
Reply #22 - 10/30/13 at 13:42:50

I've heard that abot the Scootworks belt-drive conversion kit for the VT750DC Spirit too WD ... front pulley being too small that is ... have read that because of this, the Scootworks belt for the chain-drive Honda Shadows is prone to pre-mature failure.

That said, it wouldn't have been too great an effort for the Japanese manufacturers of Cruisers that ended up as chain-drive, to have engineered a proper belt-drive ... I mean, if The Motor Company can do it, it ain't rocket science! Wink

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Re: Jap big 4
Reply #23 - 10/30/13 at 13:57:04

This is just me thinking out loud.....so none of it is fact. But I suspect that the belts need quite a few teeth in contact and engaged with the counteshaft pulley to properly absorb the torque. And when you get that number of teeth on the countershaft pulley.....the rear pulley becomes really big to get the desired final drive ratio. I can remember seeing a Buell Blast and thinking how huge the rear pulley looked. A metal sprocket can have far less teeth engaged because they interlock with a metal chain and not a rubber belt with slightly flexible teeth. It sounds like Scootworks was trying to keep the rear pulley from getting too big....and they failed to provide enough teeth at the countershaft to make a durable setup.

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pg Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 5273 In Transit	Re: Jap big 4 Reply #24 - 10/30/13 at 15:44:50 Were the Buells any good? Also, I have heard the BMWs are pretty solid. Didn't they start off with bikes.
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Midnightrider Serious Thumper Offline Alliance Member Posts: 3244 Winston Salem, NC	Re: Jap big 4 Reply #25 - 10/30/13 at 17:50:01 Buells were rough starting up but as most new companies they eventually built a decent bike, not great but good. BMW is probably the only big seller I have never owned. I liked the older air cooled ones better than the new ones.
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WD Serious Thumper 2005 No Login Offline Professional "scooter trash". Posts: 5207 Rosemark TN Gender:	Re: Jap big 4 Reply #26 - 10/30/13 at 17:56:14 The only real problem with BMW these days... is the fact that they are NOT BMWs. They are in fact Kymcos, built under license from BMW... If you want substandard BMW knock offs, buy a Ural. At least the sidehack model is available in 2wd.
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pg Serious Thumper Offline Posts: 5273 In Transit	Re: Jap big 4 Reply #27 - 10/30/13 at 18:21:55 No kidding, BMW made in Taiwan?
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Badass94Cad

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Re: Jap big 4
Reply #28 - 10/30/13 at 19:04:45

Sounds like some good reasons to stay away from that 900. So they changed the chassis too? I like the older Vulcans, and there seem to be a lot around, but they also seem to hold their value around here. Shocked

I had looked at Urals a couple years ago. For a quick minute I thought it might be cool to have a Russian pre-war BMW knock-off. Grin

Dare to be different! Roll Eyes

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Midnightrider Serious Thumper Offline Alliance Member Posts: 3244 Winston Salem, NC	Re: Jap big 4 Reply #29 - 10/30/13 at 20:46:10 I remember in the 90's you could buy a Ural piston for $9
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