Hi--I'm Stephen and I live in south-central WI.  Not exactly biker paradise due to the winters and the hot, humid summers.  I got this neat little 2007 Vulcan 900 Classic cruiser in Caribbean blue (the dealer said no one liked the color) when I was 52.  I'm no mechanic, but I was able to chop the front end with a kit an extra 14 degrees, giving me a 46 degree rake.  That also meant I had to install a new triple tree, had to re-position the signals and running lights, and get a new headlamp.   I'm using the stock handlebars, but I've got a set of risers installed backwards to get the height and position I wanted. The front electrical I gerry-rigged, and surprisingly it looks and works okay. The first things I did, though, was to install a hypercharger, some 3-inch Hard Krome black res-tecs and new fuel processor.  I put on a less clunky seat, added an air horn and some chrome. Still use original tire sizes.  Maybe sometime I'll reconsider, but for my purposes the 180 rear is fat enough.  I liked the look of the fatter stock tire on the chopped front rather than the skinny 21-inchers.  I left the crash bars on even after I chopped it--looks a little unorthodox that way, but I guess it's a real hybrid now.  It has all the pickup and speed I need for my purposes--cruising, and not always with a particular destination in mind. 

   The only reasons I ride are relaxation and (mild) adventure.   I cruise country roads, mostly on the weekends.  It has an effect similar to meditation, but burns off stress faster.  I have no mileage goals.  I ride through forests and by farms and horse pastures, and my disposition improves by the minute.  And sometimes I just like to strike out in some new direction to see where it leads.  Peace to bikers everywhere. 

07-15-09: I just finished the nightmare of installing a Roadhouse Outlaw exhaust.  Over 2 days I had to fiddle with this and that and it was a very frustrating mess.  I was expecting about the same job as when I installed my Hard Krome Rec-Tec drag pipes before: 2 bolts and 2 pipes, easy enough.  But the Roadhouses were ridiculously difficult.  Yesterday I gave up and started from scratch this morning. 2 header pipes, heat shields, screw clamps all over the place (which were too small is some cases) and the megaphone muffler that never did fit correctly.  It's not like you can just install one thing and then move on to the next.  Everything has to be installed a little at a time, at the same time.  Mine are not as securely put together as they should be.  They simply didn't fit very well.  I made some adjustments to get them attached.  The rear is attached with one bolt because the position of the bolt holes didn't let me put the 2 bolts in. We'll see if the pipes slip apart while I'm riding.  For these reasons I would never recommend a Roadhouse Outlaw for a Vulcan 900 rider. Now the rest of it: The Roadhouses sound fantastic.  The rumble is deeper than the Hard Kromes, and it is exactly what I want.  The HK res-tecs mute the higher and lower sound frequencies resulting in a more mid-range note, which does sound good.  But the Roadhouses are really deep and slightly louder but not too loud.  My Harley-riding friends have nothing on me now. I fired the bike up in my garage, and I could see neighbors looking out their front doors. Nothing is as simple as it should be.

07-01-09: Well, it turns out that it was too low, unfortunately.  Because it really looked good.  The roads around here are a little too rough and I was scraping my exhaust on right hand turns.  If the roads were smoother, I might even change the exhaust to keep that look.  Anyway, I had to raise the rear up almost to stock.  I'm pretty much done tinkering around with the bike.  Time to spend the time riding.  Ride hard & be safe. 

06-18-09: Last weekend I lowered the rear 3" with a Scootworks Lo-Ridr kit.  It might be too low, but I can adjust it to 2" or 1".  I'll give it a shakedown in the next week.  Also installed a solo Saddlemen seat and a driver's backrest.  Much more comfortable now.  A heads up:  the OEM trailing link arm on the Vulcan 900 will not come out due to the configuration of that area of the bike.  Scootworks suggested I might need to remove the rear spring, etc.  Not necessary!  Just remove the one tie rod (two bolts) and the link arm drops right down and out.

   04-05-09: Just a note to anyone thinking of chopping a Vulcan 900.  I used the 14 degree rake, 10" overstock tube kit from AME chopper kits, and it turned out mine was the first Vulcan 900 to try it.  These kits are made in Germany and are rock solid, but apparently the Vulcans in Germany have slightly different dimensions that the American ones.  I had to send back the bottom of the steering stem to be refitted to my bottom bearing race seat, and also had to get a longer stainless front brake cable than the one supplied.  This was really no problem, customer service was very good, but it meant shelling out more money to return the (heavy) part.  The only other thing to be aware of is that, on the 900, there is no way to carefully position the offset adapter (which determines how far left and right the front wheel turns) except by eyeballing it. A  fraction of an inch off means several inches of difference in the right or left wheel turn.  Other bikes have setups where you can use a fine feeler gauge to get exactly the same right and left wheel movement.   I just got back from a long shakedown cruise and everything is working fine--the ride was smooth, the engine rumble was beautiful music.  I added an octane booster to the tank, so now I can get whiplash in all 5 gears.

Occupation:
Former lawyer, teacher, hard hat, business owner, bookseller, at-home dad

College:
yes

High school:
sort of

Status:
Married

Looking for:
Friends

Zodiac sign:
Leo

Education:
Graduate/Professional school