The bike is Rose's '96 VN750 Vulcan with roughly about 15K on the odo (12,345 when she got it...odd mileage, huh?
).
It was dealer serviced the entire time the PO owned it, and never had any problems during that time that we're aware of.
It had sat unused in a garage for just over a year before Rose got it. And since then I've had to pull and thoroughly clean the carbs (the foam from the 10 year-old air filters desintegrated and got sucked into the carbs, causing the front cylinder to flood with fuel
), replaced the stuck and worn carb air cut-off valves (they limit backfiring on deceleration), new spark plugs, and have done the normal oil/filter changes and bearing/pivot point lubing.
Just before we left to Vegas I changed the oil and filter, and drained the rear diff fluid and replaced with new. I never touched anything electrical and it ran fine up until then, so I'm completely perplexed as to why it's acting up like it is.
The only thing out of the ordinary is that it had a slight knocking sound (more pronounced and noticeable at idle) in the front cylinder, which I figured was a worn or stuck cam chain tensioner.
I removed and examined the cam chain tensioner and didn't really notice any excessive wear or problems with it, so I unloaded the tension on it (it won't go back on w/out doing this) and re-installed it.
Strangely the knocking sound dissapeared!
But after about 200 miles it is making the sound again.
I'm guessing that it is indeed worn, and is reaching it's extended limit and "locking" into place.
If it weren't for the fact that Kawi wants $90 for a new one, I'd be willing to just replace it to see if that is in fact the problem.
Anyway, there's something that is literally sucking the power from the battery.
I fully charged and installed a brand new battery and it worked fine for about two hours, but now that battery has been sapped enough it won't crank the bike over. I've recharged and checked the battery and it's in good condition, so I've ruled out it being a defective battery.
I've also done a quick visual inspection of all connectors and the entire wire harness for signs of a
dirty/bad connection or pinched and/or grounded out wire, but haven't found anything wrong.
I'm horrible at diagnosing electrical problems, since it involves numbers. Numbers=math, math= migraines and hurling tools and other potentionally damaging objects at just under the speed of light.
I'm thinking that either the regulator is dying/dead, or the stator is damaged and shorting out....or both problems!
Obviously there's something somewhere on Rose's bike that is killing the battery. Fixing or replacing what's causing this problem is the easy part,
finding it is where I'm having probs.
Ok electrical gurus (loudhvx?), I really need your help and advise here.