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Posted by Easy Drifter
- December 22, 2020, 21:23:22 PMWow. Just freaking WOW!
Posted by OR Seedman
- December 22, 2020, 17:38:48 PMoh..and by the way, runs just fine. nice and smooth. had a dry lifter at first, but it cleared up after a few minutes.
Posted by OR Seedman
- December 22, 2020, 17:36:25 PMAll done except for the Rectifier relocation....bracket is on the way.
Things done: Swapped in 2003 Vulcan 1600 engine with one actual mile on it
Added 2004 Vulcan Nomad dual exhaust (very quiet...not sure about that but I love the look)
Things still to do: Swap out wheels with Vulcan 88 19" front and 15" back wheels getting powder-coated right now to match the Navajo Crimson paint
Mount new WW tires on wheels when they are ready. have new bearings and rotors for both.
Design a better and permanent muffler bracket for each side of the bike to hold the Nomad mufflers. Currently they are attached to
the saddlebag brackets.
I will be listing multiple items for sale at very reasonable prices here on the forum....if things don't sell, I'll put them on fleabay.
pics of new engine:
Posted by OR Seedman
- December 16, 2020, 16:43:29 PMwill do. I'm waiting on a couple of parts still, but I am going to put the clutch spring from the 1600 (new) on the 1500 clutch (friction plates are still in nice shape) because I ordered a heavy duty Barnett one with the new limiter springs. Also, one of the exhaust studs backed out and I have a new one coming (the nut was frozen on it). I will let you know as soon as it is back together and ready to go. I will be sending the new 1600 clutch slave with it as well since I didn't want to take the lines off of mine to switch them out.
Posted by Big Foot
- December 16, 2020, 07:07:51 AMOR Seedman,
I would be putting it in my 2001 Drifter. I am definitely interested. Let me know how we can make that happen. Big Foot!!!!
Posted by OR Seedman
- December 15, 2020, 23:04:27 PMYes....nothing wrong with it that I know of...but it has 40K miles on it and I got it at 31K so I don't know the full history. I put a new front bevel gear bearing in (that's why it the bike was sold off cheap) and flushed the motor several times to make sure the crankcase was clean. it does have the noisy lifters but it runs strong and doesn't burn any oil....I'm putting the side case back on with a new gasket and then going to get it ready for sale. let me know if you are interested and I will send you some detail pics. Price will be right...especially if it needs to be shipped LTL, which can get kind of expensive.
on the washer....the center hole is too small to fit anywhere on the clutch...so, I'm still trying to figure out where it goes....no motor diagrams have it listed as far as I can tell....
Posted by Big Foot
- December 15, 2020, 15:48:35 PMOR Seedman,
I have not found an engine yet to put into my 2001 1500 Drifter. I started this thread. I am excited to hear how your project works out!! Is the engine you took out for sale?
Posted by Bucko
- December 14, 2020, 16:08:09 PMThere's a couple of washers that are part of the clutch stack - maybe one of those?
From the 1500 Motor fich (not sure if the 1600's are the same or not): https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/kawasaki/motorcycle/2001/vulcan-1500-drifter-vn1500-r1/clutch-r1-r3
(wondering if it's one of 92022A)
Posted by OR Seedman
- December 14, 2020, 13:05:57 PMquestion on right side of engine...when I pulled off the right case cover, I did not see the small washer that is in the photos. However, since I am swapping the case from my old engine, when I pulled it off, I found this washer in the pic. It was not where I have it sitting because I did not notice it at first and found it when it rattled in the case cover after turning it over. My question is where does it go? this is the only place I can find where it would fit. Does anyone know if it sits there between the sprocket and the needle bearing in the side case that the shaft it is sitting on goes? I cannot find it on any engine diagrams.....all my clutch parts are in and I am waiting to find out about this washer before putting everything back together....
Posted by OR Seedman
- December 10, 2020, 23:20:26 PMThe $250 makes up for it....clutch plates and limiter springs totaled about $135. So, by the time its all said and done, I have a brand new 1600 engine for about $1200.00. looking forward to seeing if the higher torque and hp ratings translate to the drifter and its cpu. If nothing else, having a new engine is worth it. Once that's done, I'm going to have some Vulcan 88 rims (19" front, 15" back) sandblasted and powder coated to match the Navajo Crimson red on the bike and get those mounted with WW tires and put on. the modification for the front wheel is here on the forum. Then I can go tubeless as well.
Posted by Tim
- December 10, 2020, 20:12:43 PMGood on you to hold them accountable. I hope the $250 makes things right in your mind.
Cool project!
I can't wait to hear what kind of performance upgrades you get.
I love my 02 1500 but it could sure use some extra juice...
Posted by OR Seedman
- December 10, 2020, 17:48:02 PMcalled them out on it after they b*%$#d about my email. they said they test run every engine when they get them in from their suppliers....I said if they did that they would have seen the oil leaking (gasket was non-existent) and they would have heard the clutch parts rattling around...so I caught them red-handed swiping the new clutch friction plates out of the engine and then just slapping it back together...they had to refund me $250 and issue an apology. So I'm now just waiting on the new limiter springs and friction plates....everything else is ready to go.
Posted by Old Drifter
- December 10, 2020, 14:24:08 PMWhat an A-hole! Sounds like you have it under control. 
Posted by OR Seedman
- December 09, 2020, 14:55:43 PMhave the engine all in...filled with oil and discovered a slow leak from the clutch cover side panel..took it off to replace it and noticed that something didn't look right with the clutch...discovered that someone (the seller) had removed the new friction plates and put in old ones and also remove two of the 3 spring limiters....steel plates and everything else looks absolutely brand new, the whole clutch was pushed out and not able to spring back and engage....the crap people will try to pull on you when selling stuff is really unbelievable. Have ordered new friction plates and limiter springs....should be here by early next week.
Posted by Old Drifter
- December 06, 2020, 19:05:23 PMQuote from: OR Seedman on December 06, 2020, 18:24:53 PMI agree with Troll, once you get used to it you'll never go back. If you think it's too short, you could always cut and weld an extension piece in.I raced MC in my youth....so just having a toe shifter is what I'm used to....I was constantly putting my heel on the heel shifter when lifting my left foot off the ground from a dead stop....not that my feet are that big (size 11), but it would have been better if the heel shifter was about 1" longer so that I had more room when putting my foot up on the floorboard...it just seemed like it was always in the way.