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Posted by JagLite
- June 25, 2022, 23:46:37 PMWell, after 22 years my shocks need to be replaced, one has blown the air bladder and now oil comes out of the valve.
I just started searching for recommended replacement shocks and I've found several threads with various suggestions but so far I haven't found anything definitive.
Some like the Progressive (444?), others the Hagons from England, and others various Harley shocks.
I don't want anything shorter than the stock 13" shocks, slightly longer might be nice for cornering clearance.
I will keep searching but if you have suggestions or links to threads I will appreciate it.
Posted by JagLite
- June 05, 2022, 11:42:48 AMI've been riding this summer instead of checking the forum.
I only had one ride last summer because I had a low speed high side on my street tracker and made the mistake of reaching out to break my fall (on dirt). That dumb mistake dislocated my shoulder and put me out of action all summer. I tried physical therapy but after 6 months my therapist and doctor agreed that surgery was required. That happened in November and I have been doing exercises daily since January to regain movement and muscle. This summer I am riding!
I did bolt on the backpacks I bought to use as saddlebags and they are working out great.
Instead of just one hole like the original small leather bags, the backpacks have several areas of different sizes.
I am using the stock saddlebag brackets. I cut off the shoulder straps and waist strap on the backpacks and sandwiched a UHMW cutting board cut to fit inside the backpacks to put the bolts through and hold the bags in place.
I have a 1.5 gallon gas can in the left side bag and spare gloves, lunch, water, and assorted stuff in the right side.
There is a lot of room for camping gear and the bags expand much further out as needed.
I'm happy.
Posted by JagLite
- April 19, 2021, 22:29:48 PMHere it is with the stock secondary muffler completely gutted of the two small diameter long tubes so it is now an empty shell. In combination with the modified primary box muffler (aka Goat Belly).
Posted by JagLite
- April 05, 2021, 22:16:31 PMI was surprised that it isn't very loud, just going through the bell muffler really takes the volume down.
My theory is that it allows the sound wave to expand and loose energy with just the small hole for the wave to come out of. Much, much quieter than my neighbors Sportster with short straight pipes.
Posted by mittico68
- April 05, 2021, 12:46:26 PMDefinitely a cool sound!
But I guess your neighbors wouldn't really like it... 
Posted by JagLite
- April 04, 2021, 21:14:41 PMNot really liking the sound with the stock secondary muffler on the modified primary muffler I have removed it and will gut it by removing the two small diameter full length tubes.
I wondered what it would sound like with NO pipe installed and with the modified primary muffler only, so...
The chrome cover/heat shield is loose I know.
I had to loosen it up to get the muffler out.
Posted by JagLite
- January 17, 2021, 22:53:37 PMThe flange clamps arrived and I bolted the modified stock exhaust on the bike and set up my video camera.
I tried to put the camera in approximately the same locations as before.
Here is the combined video of both systems.
You need headphones to really hear what they sound like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk0vehwXX6Y
Modifying the chamber to allow free flow of the sound waves made very little difference to the sound or volume of the stock muffler.
I am now thinking about going back and cutting out the two tubes running full length of the "muffler" pipe.
I believe the two inner tubes are keeping the sound waves from expanding by funneling them all the way out at about 1" diameter.
I think allowing the sound waves to expand as they do in the 5" diameter Borla muffler gives it a deeper sound.
Of course the sound absorbing material Borla uses also helps with the tone as well as the volume.
But the muffler chamber under the swingarm is already diffusing much of the sound waves before they enter the "muffler" pipe so it won't need much, if any, sound suppression.
Always something to experiment with, eh?
Posted by JagLite
- January 10, 2021, 15:02:07 PMThanks!
I bought a set on Ebay and they are in the mail so I hope they arrive soon.
I would love a set of Longshots but shipping to Alaska is way too expensive.
Posted by OR Seedman
- January 01, 2021, 18:38:04 PMyeah, it's only the difference in finishes....the V&H pipes from my 1500 with the built in flanges bolted right up to my 1600 engine....nice and snug...but then I swapped them out for the nomad exhaust. The V&H longshots with all three sets of tips will be posted on the classifieds here shortly.
The exhaust ports on the heads for both the 1500 and 1600 are exactly the same diameter....I check with a caliper.
Posted by JagLite
- December 31, 2020, 16:09:44 PMSounds good!
Posted by Troll
- December 31, 2020, 14:51:32 PMI would have to say t's probably the finish color. I have a Peace Pipe, designed for the '99, and it fits my '01, using the original flanges
Posted by JagLite
- December 31, 2020, 14:08:49 PMWell, that's interesting. Part no: 18069-1156?
I looked at Bike Bandit, Revzilla, Partzilla, and two other new OEM parts sellers and they all show the parts as "Unavailable".
The 1999 and 2000 Drifters used a different part number than all the other 1500 & 1600 bikes.
And they were half the price!
But they are unavailable so that doesn't matter.
The other bikes use part no: 18069-1161.
Kawasaki uses part no: 18069-xxxx for many bikes of various displacement so I don't know if the bolt spacing and flange size changes or if it is I.D. maybe that is the difference?
After searching online with no answer for what the difference is I am hoping it is that they just have a different finish, chrome or polished instead of plain steel.
I am watching Ebay for a used set.
There is currently two listed and I have a question sent to one seller so maybe I will be able to buy some soon.
And hopefully they will fit correctly!
Thanks for replying, that made me do more searching 
Posted by OR Seedman
- December 30, 2020, 12:20:29 PMsince they are available for about $25 each from Kawasaki and you need 4 of them, I definitely would look on ebay if nobody here has some...any model of Vulcan 1500/1600 stock clamps work....I put nomad exhaust on my 1600 classic engine I just put in my Drifter and they worked perfectly....part numbers are all the same.
Posted by JagLite
- December 26, 2020, 20:16:38 PMWell, I searched for another 2 hours and can't find those pipe clamps.
Anybody with aftermarket pipes willing to sell or trade the stock exhaust clamps?
Nothing new for me to lose things, I do it all the time.
Posted by JagLite
- December 25, 2020, 21:07:01 PMWell, things started well for the exhaust sound comparison. 
I set up my video camera and started the bike up with my Borla exhaust:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrbQ8Y6PTCw
Huh? I thought I could embed a video but I am not figuring that out...
Hopefully the link to YouTube works.
Here is a comparison picture of the two systems:
My custom Borla straight through system weighs so little compared with the stock multi-piece system!
The stock pipes are heavy 
But I can't include a sound comparison because after I shot the video and removed my system I discovered that I can't find the head pipe flange collars to bolt the modified stock system back on.
I know I have them, I searched for hours with no success. ARGH!
I will keep searching but I may end up installing the Borla again.
I do love how it sounds... 