Kawasaki Vulcan Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 48 consumer complaints across the 7 model years of the Kawasaki Vulcan (1996–2009) that have at least 5 complaints. 1996 has the most, with 9. Across all years, the part named most often is engine cooling (13 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
All Vulcan model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 5 | 1,000 | 1 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 2005 | 6 | 3,000 | 0 | 1 | — | Not enough data |
| 2003 | 8 | 12,818 | 1 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 2000 | 5 | 15,000 | 0 | 2 | — | Not enough data |
| 1999 | 8 | 30,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1997 | 7 | — | 1 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1996 | 9 | 21,000 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Engine cooling13 28%
- Transmission and drivetrain8 17%
- Fuel system8 17%
- Electrical system5 11%
- Tires3 6.5%
- Other or unknown3 6.5%
- Engine3 6.5%
- Brakes3 6.5%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2003: “This motorcycle as others from california, appears to run out of fuel when the tank is 1/2 full or less. It is well documented on the vn forums. It has been given a name of poogs which stands for phantom out of gas syndrome. The dealer escondido cycle center has not been able to fix it. I contacted Kawasaki but they will not connect me with a technical adviser. Most owners remove the emission controls. I do not want to. I have had almost 20 incidents on the freeway whereby I had to move to the shoulder with no power. …”
NHTSA complaint #10524681, filed 2013-07, 500 miles2005: “Front tire of motorcycle wears very unevenly not allowing full contact of rubber to meet the road. This creates a dangerous situation as tire is not fully contacting the road surface. It has done this since bike was new and on two sets of tires. I think the rim may be the problem causing this uneven wear. I had two different dealers install tires with the same identical results of poor road contact. Kawasaki of kingman arizona and Kawasaki of rapid city, south dakota.”
NHTSA complaint #10143156, filed 2005-11, 12,000 miles2000: “The differential on my driveshaft on Kawasaki ,2000, Vulcan classic 1500 - e has been making strange noises for some time. Dealership and Kawasaki itself stated that some noise from the final drive is normal. I feel it is excessive. Web searches have turned up multiple complaints of similar problems that ultimately LED to oil leaking and other failures. A catastrophic final drive failure could be deadly. Well, currently my bike is following the multitudes of others I have read about, on its way to a failure. …”
NHTSA complaint #10118126, filed 2005-04, 18,000 milesOther Kawasaki models
195 complaintsKawasaki Kawasaki
69 complaintsKawasaki Ninja ZX-6R
55 complaintsKawasaki Ninja 300
42 complaintsKawasaki Concours 14
34 complaintsKawasaki Ninja
27 complaintsKawasaki Vulcan 1500
18 complaintsKawasaki KL650E
18 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 28, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology