2000 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Nomad

Pros: Low maintenance, sufficient power, nice looking, good ergonomics, smooth on highway, priced reasonably, comfortable.
Cons: engine idle is slightly rough, moderate and significant vibration at lower speeds

I've been looking at cruisers for awhile and even bought one. I soon realized the one I bought was too small for my size, a Yamaha 650 classic. However, a great bike for it's price. This happens sometimes if you don't do your homework. I picked up a...

Pros: Ease of handling and shifting, very comfortable
Cons: Some rattles in the front light area and dash.

I have had the pleasure of owning and riding 58 motorcycles since 1970, and find the Nomad FI to be the best I've ridden for multi purpose use. Great on short runs and around town, and a beautiful cruiser for the long hall. The positioning of the foot...

Pros: Exceptionally all round good machine
Cons: The initially breakdown

I started looking around for a big bike last year. Initially, I was leaning towards a Goldwing and a relative was steering me to a Valkrie. After checking out all of the pros and cons of every big bike, I began to lean towards the FI Nomad. Price and...

Pros: Everything! Power, comfort, style, and versatility. Alot of bike for the money!
Cons: I guess some people would want the pipes to be louder.

After 14 years of riding I finally found the right bike for the rest of my life! The 1999 Nomad is everything I want in a motorcycle. I started out on sportbikes and moved up the ladder from 600 class all the way up to the 1000's. Thought I had ...

Pros: Solid mechanics, uncomplicated, wonderful low speed maneuverability and very comfortable
Cons: Few after-market parts, smallish gas tank, might need larger seat for passengers over 5’6”

We didn’t come by our Nomad by accident. I’d been looking for well over two years and had worn out the Net looking for that perfect bike. Although I originally wanted the Vulcan 1500A model, with its more powerful twin-carb engine, my wife...

Pros: Best Cruiser on the market
Cons: Short men and women will find the floor boards a little too forward for them

The Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad is the best big cruiser on the market today in my opinion..........Best made.........Best Value for the buck........Best riding for a big man...............and most reliable........I purchased the Nomad because it is the most...

Pros: Just about everything about this bike
Cons: My husband would say it's not loud enough

I am not the driver of our Nomad, but when I say "our" I own the back seat, as I help make the payments. We've had many bikes: several Suzuki's, a Ventura, etc, but this is the best combination of what the "James Dean want-a-be"...

Pros: looks!power!handling!comfort!v-twin!need i say more!!
Cons: none!

this bike is so well built and is such a pleasure to ride! i have owned many bikes in my liftime and none compare to this for quality and price.100 mph and you can still see out the mirrors like the bike was not running! infact i sold the second harley...

Pros: Big bike, save your investment funds for Wall Street.
Cons: Sometimes it is so fun I fall out :)

At $11,999, the Kawasaki Nomad 1500 is the best value in all of cruiserdom. With a few inexpensive mods the bike can be made much more powerful and sound like a real motorcycle. The bike is great for long hauls. I have made several 700 mile a day, week...

Pros: Great looks, great ride and very comfortable.
Cons: None to date.

I've been riding since I was 23 years old (I'm now 48). I haven't owned a bike for the last 10 years, but that doesn't mean I haven't thought about it. I've been standing on the edge (buy, don't buy) for some time now. Thanks to a buddy of mine (same...

Pros: Comfortable Ride
Cons: Need backrest for both rider & passenger

I have had the 2000 Kawasaki Nomad FI for five months and have put on nearly 6,000 miles. I ride nearly every weekend and the longest trip I have taken was 1800 miles round trip. This bike is perfect...it performed very well under ALL conditions, was...

Pros: Less expensive, comfortable, and sporty.
Cons: Have not experienced any

I owned a 1998 Harley Davidson Roadking, it was an excellent bike for me. Due to the purchase of a new home, I sold my HD. Upon looking to purchase another bike, I looked at the Vulcan Nomad. The Nomad immediately won my heart over. The bike came...

Pros: I love the Nostalgic look of the Vulcan Nomad 1500. The price is right.
Cons: I keep looking for something I don't like, can't find any.

I've owned a lot of different bikes over the years, and the majority were Harley's. The Vulcan Nomad 1500 puts them all to shame. Its got the look and V-Twin sound of the ole Hawgs, but you get the quality and reliability that Harley just doesn't have...

Pros: Low maintenance, quiet mufflers, good looking, great buy when 5 years old.
Cons: Low power compared to engine size, small gas tank.

I've had my 2000 Nomad (carb'd) for about a week now and put about 500 miles on it. This is my 8th or 9th motorcycle.

Positives:

I love the low maintenance aspect and it is easy to whip around the parking lot and in town traffic on it. The side bags are nice and the mirrors are clear at any speed. I like the quiet mufflers. The brakes work really well.

Negatives:

4.2 gallon gas tank and 35 mpg around town means I'm looking for gas every 100 miles or so. That means I'm at the pump about every other day!

Engine noise: There's a significant amount of non-exhaust engine noise from this bike. Having never owned this particular VN1500 engine before, I took it by my local professional favorite motorcycle mechanic and he said it is entirely normal for this engine.

I was whooped in an impromtu stoplight drag race by two country teen girls in a Ford 4x4 pickup! I'm 46 years old. It is tough to get back on the bike after that happens! This bike has good low end grunt but runs out of power quickly as the revs climb.

Pros: Ride Quality, Style, Put Together Well
Cons: Weakish Brakes, POG, Some periodic maint., Gas Tank cap., Clutch WILL slip around 22K.

I'm actually writing about a 99 Vulcan Nomad (didn't want to join Epinions). Bought it used with 20K miles for 6,000 with all the chrome do-das available. As of today (11/03), I have 30K.

The quality of the ride is very good as far as comfort (I'm 5'9") and wind protection in order to minimize road wear on me. This includes the windshield and the plastic lowers. The backrest for the driver has certainly made a difference.

The fuel tank is smallish, but I like to stop every hour or so anyway.

The workmanship is there and things have been thought well (you notice when performing maintenance). Buying the maintenance manual ($50.00) is definitely worth it.

For my model year, the POG (Plastic Oil Gear) has been a fiasco, since Kaw will replace free IF it fails. Of course, if it fails, not only your ride is over, but the engine stops receiving oil. Additionally, dealers seem not to know about this (??). Dealers, after all, have been useless to me.

Also, for most model years, have you done your periodic shaft maintenance?? This is as good as getting a lobotomy. Not to mention the swingarm.