Newbiw Questions

Hello to all,
I am looking at a 2006 Nomad for sale and would like to indulge a few questions to the experienced owners here to help me decide if I want to purchase this bike. I tried the search function and didn't have any luck.
1) It is a 2006, FI bike, yet it has a choke knob and idle adjustment screw on it. I don't understand why those are needed with fuel injection, can anyone elaborate on that?

2) I am 6' tall and on this bike I am looking thru the windshield. I prefer to look over and notice it has about 2 inches of travel that it can be lowered to. Are there any 6' riders that have their w/s's in the lower position that can look over it? I see alot of threads about bigger w/s's but not smaller ones. Kawasaki doesn't offer a w/s for it.

3) This isn't a deal breaker but it has Vance & Hines on it and it doesn't seem to backfire, but it does have an unusual rumble on deceleration that I have never heard before, almost like a big rig diesel letting off the throttle on the interstate kind of sound. Any V&H riders notice this?

Thanks for any feedback and please excuse a newbie coming on here with questions for his first post, but I really want this bike. It looks to be a good interstate cruiser which is what I will be using it for. I currently ride a 1200 Sportster and Suzuki Volusia that will be sold to make room for the Nomad hopefully. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[schoeney]

Welcome aboard CAS!

Don't worry about asking questions that is one of the main purposes of this great site.

Here is my response to your questions.

1) This is just a fast idle knob. Many of us don't even use it and some have removed it.

2) I am 6'2" and can easily see over the shield. I have a long torso. But I suspect a 6 footer can also see over the shield. I guess you could cut the shield down if you can't.

3) Can't help you on this one as I have stock debaffled pipes. If you do buy this Nomad ask for alll the stock stuff the previous owner removed....it may come in handy.

Ride safe!

[flavor]

Originally Posted by cas

Hello to all,
I am looking at a 2006 Nomad for sale and would like to indulge a few questions to the experienced owners here to help me decide if I want to purchase this bike. I tried the search function and didn't have any luck.
1) It is a 2006, FI bike, yet it has a choke knob and idle adjustment screw on it. I don't understand why those are needed with fuel injection, can anyone elaborate on that?

2) I am 6' tall and on this bike I am looking thru the windshield. I prefer to look over and notice it has about 2 inches of travel that it can be lowered to. Are there any 6' riders that have their w/s's in the lower position that can look over it? I see alot of threads about bigger w/s's but not smaller ones. Kawasaki doesn't offer a w/s for it.

3) This isn't a deal breaker but it has Vance & Hines on it and it doesn't seem to backfire, but it does have an unusual rumble on deceleration that I have never heard before, almost like a big rig diesel letting off the throttle on the interstate kind of sound. Any V&H riders notice this?

Thanks for any feedback and please excuse a newbie coming on here with questions for his first post, but I really want this bike. It looks to be a good interstate cruiser which is what I will be using it for. I currently ride a 1200 Sportster and Suzuki Volusia that will be sold to make room for the Nomad hopefully. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

My understanding is that the choke knob is not truly a choke. It just raises the idle for warming up the bike by just giving the engine more gas. The idle knob is just that. It adjust your idle for normal running conditions.

Some riders want to look through the widshield when they ride. I however, do not want to look through it. If it's the stock windshield you should be able to look over it if your 6 ft. tall by adjusting it to it's lowest height. There are however aftermarket windshields if the one on the bike doesn't suit your needs that also come in various heights.

I don't have vance pipes and without hearing the bike can't tell you about the de-acceleration noise your talking about. Can't hear the noise your talking about from here. :) :)

[Todd]

Originally Posted by cas

Hello to all,
I am looking at a 2006 Nomad for sale and would like to indulge a few questions to the experienced owners here to help me decide if I want to purchase this bike. I tried the search function and didn't have any luck.
1) It is a 2006, FI bike, yet it has a choke knob and idle adjustment screw on it. I don't understand why those are needed with fuel injection, can anyone elaborate on that?

2) I am 6' tall and on this bike I am looking thru the windshield. I prefer to look over and notice it has about 2 inches of travel that it can be lowered to. Are there any 6' riders that have their w/s's in the lower position that can look over it? I see alot of threads about bigger w/s's but not smaller ones. Kawasaki doesn't offer a w/s for it.

3) This isn't a deal breaker but it has Vance & Hines on it and it doesn't seem to backfire, but it does have an unusual rumble on deceleration that I have never heard before, almost like a big rig diesel letting off the throttle on the interstate kind of sound. Any V&H riders notice this?

Thanks for any feedback and please excuse a newbie coming on here with questions for his first post, but I really want this bike. It looks to be a good interstate cruiser which is what I will be using it for. I currently ride a 1200 Sportster and Suzuki Volusia that will be sold to make room for the Nomad hopefully. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Choke knob is merely a "fast idle" device. They just use the choke symbol on it and it is referred to as a choke knob...but it really isn't.

Idle adjustment screw is needed to set your "at rest" throttle position under normal operating conditions....has nothing to do with fuel mixture etc.

I am about 6'4 and have my windhshield raised to the max and it is perfect for me, so I assume you can lower yours and be near the same....maybe some 6 footers will chime in.

I have the V&H....the deceleration sound is normal, you just don't hear it as much with a stock pipe, and an added benefit IMHO

[cyclecat]

My husband and I both ride a Nad, his is an '01 1500, mine an '03 1500. We both look over our shields and at 5'10" and 5'4" we're both short but it works for us. You would want to drop the small piece at the bottom of the shield to just above the headlight bucket to stop the wind flow thru there and drop the large top piece to where you want it.

My Ruby has what your calling a 'big rig deceleration rumble' when I slow down. Depending on how fast I downshift, I can get a lot of popping and a lot of rumble on deceleration, and I like it.

The 'choke' is not really a choke, it's more of a fast idle so really not that useful as long as the Nad still has the solenoids. I have changed my idle, when I added the TFI and again when I turned off the useless thing, so it might get used.

Have you rode the Nomad yet? If you haven't, you are in for a treat. Most fantastic ride ever made and I'm sure you will get that opinion from everyone here. We love our Nomads. :) :) :)

[waterman]

cas,

Everyone has answered the question on the idle adjustment and fast idle. I only use the fast idle (choke) on cold days.

I am 6' with a short body and long legs. I have mine set in the middle and with the help of the backrest I can see over the windshield.

Thanks everyone, I like the replies so far and am feeling better about putting this bike in my garage.

[trosco]

Cas: the fuel injection on Nomads like the 06 you are looking at is a "Throtle Body" system. Todays auto's have a more advance system but you would find this type injection on cars in the 1990's. It's really sort of a hybrid of a carburator in that you have a intake manifold fronted by a dual venturi air metering system (two barrel carb?) but instead of using the vacum to suck fuel through jets from an eclosed fuel resivoir the improvement is that a solinoid controled injector sprays fuel into the air stream. Not a lot better than a carb but better. In carb models the "choke" just increases the vacum in the area of the fuel jet which causes more fuel in the mixture which "helps" combustion in a cold engine. In our kind of injection the choke knob is as the guys say really just a fast idle knob. It's function is about the same process as in the old days on your carbuated car if the choke wasn't working good you'd hold your foot on the gas for a little while when you first started it so it wouldn't stall.
I'm 6 ft and have a 07 Nomad (identical to a 06) and have my schield set 1/2 inche off the low point of adjustment and comfortably look over it but can still duck/slouch behind it if run into rain.
The V&H pipe sound great, but they are loud and especially so for the driver/passenger. I had them and took so much heat from wife that I went back to slightly modified stock system. I did take the baffles out of V&H once just to see what they sounded like and without baffle on deceleration they would do what we called "backing off" when put glasspac mufflers on our cars in the 60's. It is much the same phenominom as when the semi's "engine brake." I'd check to see if the V&H baffles are out or if they've been cut. And I would deffinetly get the stock pipes.

[ringadingh]

Welcome aboard CAS, everyone answered most of your questions already, I also have V&H pipes and mine make that sound when I let off, its kind of unique and I don't mind it at all.
There are aftermarket windsheids available in different sizes or you can cut the original down a bit.

[rickmeister56]

cas
i have had 2 nomads a 05 and now an 08 and i have had vance and hines on both. the decel noise you are hearing is normal.

Originally Posted by Ringadingh

Welcome aboard CAS, everyone answered most of your questions already, I also have V&H pipes and mine make that sound when I let off, its kind of unique and I don't mind it at all.
There are aftermarket windsheids available in different sizes or you can cut the original down a bit.

Maybe it is something I will get used to, it was rather unique sounding. I have heard about cutting w/s's but have no clue how to do it. Is that something a performance shop would do, or a dealer even?

[dantama]

Originally Posted by cas

Maybe it is something I will get used to, it was rather unique sounding. I have heard about cutting w/s's but have no clue how to do it. Is that something a performance shop would do, or a dealer even?

I'm 6' 1 1/2" and have mine set at the lowest position. I see over the top, and occasionally a bug gets my helmet right above the face shield, never on my shield or glasses.

To cut one (I didn't need to, mine's stock) you use masking tape to make a line and ride around to see if you like that height. After you are sure where you want the line, you get a fine blade for a jig saw/saws all.

Put extra tape on so that the foot of the saw doesn't vibrate and scratch it. Slowly cut the line you have chosen, it cuts easily. When you are done, get a palm sander and starting with a rough grit paper round the cut. Keep getting finer paper and when you are done it will look nearly like the factory cut.

You can also take it to a sign shop. The kind that makes the fancy huge business sings out in front of restaurants etc. They can cut it perfectly, with a perfect rounded edge.

[cactusjack]

I'm 6'1" and my shield is adjusted at least 3/4 of the way up and I can still see over it. The idle adjustment knob is just that - to adjust the idle speed. The choke knob isn't really a choke - think of it as a fast idle. I use it on cold mornings, which in Phoenix isn't very often.

The sound you hear when decelerating is muffled by the stock exhaust. Most Harleys I've heard with screaming eagle pipes make a similar sound and pop and snort as well.

You are considering buying one of the finest cruising machines known to mankind. You have come to the right place for unbiased ::) information.

[flightdoc]

I'm 5'8", have it at the lower setting and can see over really well.

Originally Posted by flightdoc

I'm 5'8", have it at the lower setting and can see over really well.

That's very encouraging news. Sitting on the bike while it was in a front wheel chock, and upright, I tried to imagine my line of sight with it being 2 inches lower. It was hard to do.