Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Nomad reviews

I had the 1996 1500 classic and the only thing was to put on the Vance and Hines 2 1/4 straight shots with no baffles, take off the bladder underneath, added a hyper charger and Mustang seats. Top speed was 145 mph. Now I have the 1999 nomad, the factory seats are great, power is an issue and I shift into 5th gear at 65mph. The gas tank should be bigger. I removed the exhaust bladder and that helped with power, getting ready to install the hyper charger and Vance and Hines pipes, which should help out greatly. I have over 50,400 miles on it with no complaints. Show less

Bought Nomad new in June, 2004. 33748 miles now and no problems as of yet. During winter I did preventative maintenance such as greased swing arm bearings and drive shaft universals. Next winter I plan to grease piviot bearings on front end. July, 2006 we made a 3700 mile rount trip to Grand Canyon then back thru the Colorado Rockies, the Nomad preformed great at all altitudes. Have been getting 43 to 46 mpg. Would definitely buy another Nomad if they were as good and smooth as this one. Show less

I bought the 2004 Nomad from a private party through a dealer in Shrewsbury, Ma. The bike had about 6,300 miles on it and was in like new condition. Now has 13,400 and running great. Being the biggest and heaviest bike I've owned was a problem until I learned how to handle it. (a few drops in the first few months) To help the sluggish low end I installed a TFI fuel injector module and V & H pipes. Nice sound. Switching over to Amsoil full synthetic motorcycle oil immediately made the shifting much smoother. This is a great bike and I'd buy another. Show less

I have returned to riding after 19 yrs. A serious crash kept me off bikes for those years. I just bought my Nomad used, had 2400 miles and found it here. I am thoroughly pleased with this machine, powerful, loaded, excellent riding single or with my beautiful wife. Can't wait to go on a long ride to flush out any real issues. Show less

Now that I've had the Nomad for just over a year and have 9200 miles on it, I'm just as pleased with it as I was when I wrote the first review on 07/29/2005. I can't stay off the machine !! I run all my errands on it, and only take the car for large items when shopping - then go back with the bike for the small stuff. The noisy engine used to bother me and now it's music to my ears - it runs like a top !! A trip from Denver to Virginia Beach and back, was a blast on this machine !! Show less

The Nomad is made to ride. If you want to ride any long distance and enjoy yourself this, is the bike. You could spend thousands of dollars more and buy an H-D - and not get the comfort and reliability that this bike offers. Compare them, you will agree too. I have spent 600 miles in the saddle in one day, and went dancing that night.... Let's ride! Show less

I wrote a review in 11/2000... here it is almost 5 years later. I now have 25,000+ miles on my nomad. I've added many more accessories to it including a Mustang seat. I'm on my third set of tires. Go with the Metzelers--what a difference they make! The only maintenance other than oil and tires has been new water pump seal at 15,000 and clutch plates and springs at 20,000 miles. Many call it my Harley--and I proudly say "it's not a Harley" (it's half the price and twice the reliability). Not to mention that when I ride with Harley riders, I'm way faster at passing the semi trucks on the freeway than they are. I'm keeping this one and hoping to get 100,000 miles. Show less

As a rider for 50 years, and after having been away from riding for 3 years, the yearn to travel on two wheels was just impossible to ignore. So after 20 some bikes, including my last one a 1985 Yamaha Venture (17 years / 200,000kms), I decided to buy a new Nomad. Having put some 25,000 kms on it in about 6 months, I believe I'm now in a position to give it a fair and accurate review. On the plus side, it is one of the most flexible bikes around, in that it can easily be adapted for full touring, or left as is as a cruiser. The motor is truly one of the most magnificent units in the motorcycle world. Although it only produces 67 hp, at no time do you feel underpowered due to it's massive torque. It is smooth at any rpm level, and never feels as if it is working in the least, even fully loaded and steaming up high mountain passes at high speed. The overall ride is smooth, fuel economy is excellent 50 mpg Canadian (unless the bike is modified from stock which seems to decrease that significantly), and it cruises all day at 75 to 85 mph at a low 2500 to 3200 rpm. It's a real "looker". I am routinely queried at stop light by people, some of whom don't even ride, about the make, with the inevitable comment.."Boy,that's the best looking Harley I've ever seen". From my perspective, it is in my opinion, the best overall choice I could have made for full touring short of buying a Gold Wing. This is an all around fully satisfactory motorcycle. On the con side, nothing is perfect including the Nomad. After 8 hours in the saddle, the rear, back portion of the seat which has a 45 degree slope, tends to put pressure on the tailbone, resulting in discomfort. The need for high test gas is a minor annoyance, albeit only to the pocketbook when you go to fill up. Continual high speed, high heat driving will eat tires within 10,000 kms as I found out in two days of high speed driving across North Dakota and Montana (this bike is heavy, which does add to overall comfort and stability though). A factory supplied tachometer would be nice, although they are easy enough to add aftermarket. The ride is smooth and fully controllable around any curves, and with fuel injection, it is totally oblivious to high altitude (10,000 feet plus in Colorado). The hard bags carry a lot of gear once you get bag liners for them (TLC Products on e bay), are completely waterproof unless overloaded, but I badly miss a tailtrunk, which would be a good factory option for this machine. The rear air shocks are fully adjustable for weight and don't seem to adversely affect handling at any setting. The front shocks can be a bit choppy over certain kinds of sharp pavement, but overall acceptable. And best of all, the price is one of the lowest available for a reasonably equipped cruiser. I would have had to pay a full $10,000 more for a Gold Wing, and in doing so, lost all the magnificent appeal of a V twin motorcycle Having just returned from a three week, 12,000 km tour of Montana, Utah and Arizona, I can honestly say that I am chomping at the bit to hit the road again on this wonderful motorcycle. Ride safe all Show less

After learning to ride and survive on my 1100 Shadow Spirit over the past 3 years, I was ready to move up to a larger bike and had been anticipating that Kawasaki would finally put the 1600 engine on the Nomad. Well, when they did, I knew it was the bike for me. I got it for my 50th birthday and have put all of 100 miles on it today. My initial impressions are all good. The bike is well balanced with a low COG which makes handling in tight spots relatively easy. It seems to hug the road and responds well to slight steering input; really a very nimble bike, but only if you finesse it instead of trying to manhandle it. The stock seat is very comfortable and the windshield provides a good "air bubble" with no buffeting, at least not at break-in speed (which is under 60mph). I can't wait to see what she feels like at higher speeds. I can tell this bike is going to have power to spare and feels "torquee", even at low speeds. I have no plans to customize or change anything at this point... all the stock components seem more than adequate to me. The only complaint is that the engine has died twice while decelerating, after releasing the throttle it started right back up, but I keep expecting it to happen again. I'll check back with the dealer if it continues. I reset the idle adjustment, which hopefully will help. All in all, a great bike and certainly worth the wait... here's to the next 50 years! Ride safe. Show less

I was tired of fixing my 1998 H-D FXSTC and wondering if it would start next time I rode. It also had a lot of miles on it, so it was time for a change. After doing a lot of research, and as an owner of two Voyagers, I headed in the Kawasaki direction. Loved everything about the Nomad--looks, quality, price, reliability, dealer, etc. Bought a new '03 model in '04, primarily because of the color scheme but also because I got a good deal. Have put over 7000 miles on last season from short trips to long ones. I do not have one complaint and have not looked back from my H-D days. Can't wait for the '05 riding season to start. Show less