Vaquero intake leaks

[Jared]

Originally Posted by ponch

I'm guessing this voids the warranty...

I'd 95% of dealerships wouldn't be familiar enough with the bike to know anything had even been done.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Utah Motorcyclist

I'd 95% of dealerships wouldn't be familiar enough with the bike to know anything had even been done.

I am saying if they found out through whatever reason. Now, if a Kawasaki dealership isn't familiar enough with their own product, then that is a sad fact.

[blowndodge]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

Hey city boy, I have heard pigs oink, grunt and snort, but never heard of one pinging.

Is this before or after you've dressed them in women's lingerie??

[recumbentbob]

Originally Posted by blowndodge

Is this before or after you've dressed them in women's lingerie??

evolution

[jlong1180]

Hey Ray,
I have a 2011 Vaq with bad popping on decel and also a jerky throttle at low rpms. Its very annoying. I purchased the Gasket from Thunder MFG but this is going to be the first time I've taken this bike apart and have no idea what I'm doing. So I have some questions. When you block sanded the intake manifold and throttle body mating surfaces, what grit paper did you use? Also, did you use the Thunder MFG throttle body gasket? If so, did you apply sealant in that area too or just use the purchased gasket? Can I use regular Permatex or does it have to be the same sealant you used? I read in your other posts about blocking off the hose behind the right side air cleaner too. I was trying to find pics of what it was supposed to look like when it was completed does anyone have any of these pics available? I'm also looking for a good map to use for my Power commander. I hope this isn't too many questions at once. I was trying to get all this done before I head down to Daytona for Bike Week.

Thanks

P.S.
If its too much to answer here, you can email me and I'll send you my number.

[socwkbiker]

Originally Posted by blowndodge

Is this before or after I'm dressed in women's lingerie??

Congratulations for finally coming out of your pig closet!

[cnc]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

Hey city boy, I have heard pigs oink, grunt and snort, but never heard of one pinging.

Sonar pigs?

[Jared]

Maybe this is a dumb suggestions, so please in enlighten me. Why wouldn't you have just filled the groves with some high temp gasket maker and been done with it?

[RACNRAY]

Originally Posted by Utah Motorcyclist

Maybe this is a dumb suggestions, so please in enlighten me. Why wouldn't you have just filled the groves with some high temp gasket maker and been done with it?

Filling the grooves would have been a "band-aid" fix at best, with the possibility that leakage would still occur down the road. My dad taught me a long time ago (when i was knee-high to a grasshopper) "son, do it right the first time or don't do it at all", a motto i live by today.

I now know i have 2 perfectly flat surfaces with adequate o-ring crush and an intake manifold with no leaks at the intake ports, and it's a permanent fix.

RACNRAY

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Utah Motorcyclist

Maybe this is a dumb suggestions, so please in enlighten me. Why wouldn't you have just filled the groves with some high temp gasket maker and been done with it?

Using sealant where it was designed to use only o-rings speaks for itself. O-rings shouldn't need sealant and that would point to an underlying problem that ray found and fixed. I find it disappointing that Kawasaki would have such poor design and quality control. I wonder where these parts are made?

[RACNRAY]

I have acquired about 500 miles on the skoot since i did this mod. Not only is the engine running better, but it is running better than it EVER did, indicating to me that at some point in my ownership there were the beginnings of intake leaks, maybe even tiny ones since new.

Before i did this mod i was starting to NOT enjoy riding, with the poor throttle response, the hic-cup off idle, the backfiring. Now it is a joy to ride. I did add a bit of fuel to the PCV to completely eliminate what ever popping on decel was left. Gas mileage is better, the engine runs smoother, sounds better, and the power pulses feel different in a better way. The engine is "happier" and so am I!!

I do believe all Vulcans have some amount of vacuum leaks that may be affecting the way our skoots are running. I know it ended up bothering me enuff that i am glad i did this mod.

I just spoke to a forum member that has noticed a deterioration in performance on his Nomad. He will be bringing down his skoot as soon as he has time for a couple of baseline dyno runs and we will perform our intake vacuum leak tests on his skoot.

More to come...

RACNRAY

[BC RED VAQ]

Ray Thanks for the posting pics of your work makes me think I need to vheck mine. Wish you were closer hard to find a shop that takes as much pride in their work as you.

[Loafer]

Thanks Ray, great post!

[brote]

Looking forward to finding out about the Nomad. Thanks Ray......

[RACNRAY]

I have had a couple of conversations with a Vulcan owner that after reading this thread pulled his intake apart.

What he found was WORSE than mine. The rubber seals between the manifold and heads were torn pretty bad-from the factory! The stand-off posts on his throttle bodies were HIGHER than mine (i can't remember the amount) and like my t/b and intake manifold BOTH surfaces were highly WARPED. He has a friend with a machine shop so they are duplicating what i did, i am waiting for his results.

Having been a m/c mechanic for over 35 years i have seen many instances of the sometimes HUGE differences allowed by mass-production methods. This shows up on my dyno, where i have seen up to 15 H.P. differences in completely stock bikes of the same year/make/model, and seems to be showing up in this example. Funny thing, the sealing surface of the intake manifold IS MACHINED, not in a "AS CAST" form like the t/b's are, so poor quality control is certainly an issue here.

MORE TO COME...

RACNRAY