ON 2 OCCASIONS MY 2001 KAWASAKI VULCAN 800 WAS LEAKING FUEL IN MY GARAGE. HIS MOTORCYCLE USES A KEIHN CVK-36 CARBURATOR. REPLACED GASKET BETWEEN FUEL BOWL AND CARBURATOR BODY AS WELL AS NEW FLOAT, AND NEEDLE. *AK PROBLEM CONTINUED, WHEN MOTORCYCLE SEEPED FUEL ON A NEAR CONTINUOUS BASIS. IDENTIFIED THAT THE ACCELERATOR PUMP DIAGPHRAGM IN THE CARBURATOR HAS FAILED WITH CRACKS AND RUBBER TO MATERIAL SEPARATION. THE PART # KA43028-0002 ITEM 43028A IN KAWASAKI'S PART MANUAL IS $50.99. PARTIAL ROOT CAUSE BEING THAT DESIGN OF THE FUEL TAP. THIS ITEM HAS THREE POSITIONS, ON, RESERVE AND PRIME. THERE IS NOT AN OFF POSITION WHICH I FEEL INCREASES THE FIRE RISK FOR PEOPLE STORING THESE IN THEIR HOME GARAGES. ON MY 2001 VULCAN 800 , THE FUEL TAP VALVE GASKET INTERNAL TO THE FUEL COCK, FAILED DUE TO A PIECE OF OF THE RUBBER GASKET TEARING OFF UNDER NORMAL OPERATION. THIS ALLOWS FUEL TO LEAK OUT WHEN THE MOTOR IS NOT RUNNING. THE FUEL TAP IS DESIGNED TO ALLOW FUEL FLOW WHEN VACUUM IS APPLIED TO THE FUEL COCK. THIS FUEL TAP GASKET IS APPROXIMATELY $6.00 EACH. ADDITIONALLY I HAVE EXPERIENCED 3 PROBLEMS AND HEARD OF NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH THE NEEDLE AND SEAT STICKING ON THE VULCANS. GIVEN THE FAILURE OF THE FUEL TAP VALVE GASKET ON MY OWN MOTORCYCLE AND THE FACT THAT THE NEXT COMPONENT IN THE FUEL FLOW IS THE NEEDLE AND SEAT, I THINK THAT THAT MAY BE A ROOT CAUSE. WHEN I DISASSEMBLED MY CARBURATOR I IDENTIFIED SMALL BLACK ITEMS IN THE FUEL BOWL WHICH I BELIEVED TO BE PART OF THE FAILED FUEL T
2001 Kawasaki Vulcan
Owners filed 3 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the engine and engine cooling › cooling system. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel System, Gasoline › Carburetor System | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine and Engine Cooling › Cooling System | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsNOTICE A SMALL PUDDLE OF OIL ON THE GARAGE FLOOR, ALSO NOTICE BIKE HEATED UP VERY QUICKLY AND INTENSELY WHEN RIDING EVEN FOR SHORT DISTANCES, DEALER SAID OIL LEAK RESULTED FOR THE BIKE BEING NEW. BIKE STARTED STALLING, OVER HEAT LAMP STARTING COMING ON, R/R SEAL OIL, ORING, COLLAR GASKET AND FAN FUSE.
THE WATER PUMP SHAFT SUR-CLIP WAS NOT INSTALLED AT THE FACTORY WHICH CAUSED COOLANT TO POUR ON TO THE ROADWAY MAKING IT UNSAFE TO OPERATE THE MOTORCYLE AND NEARLY CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. *AK
3 of 3 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Across model years
Worst on record: 1996Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.