I need some help... I have a '06 Vulcan 500 w/ 3500 miles. The problem started with going down at highway speed, the bike just had a total loss of engine power for 1 second. Then it came right back.

Did it again the next day once or twice. Then It didn't do it again for about 2 weeks.

Yesterday it started again. When I'm accelerating or just riding, the bike sputters. Once again, the only way I can describe it is that there is a total loss of engine power. (lights and everything stay on). It's almost like water in the gas type of scenario, but i'm pretty sure its not that. As far as gas goes, I run 1/2 strength Sta-bil with every fill up due to the ethanol in the gas. Yesterday it sputtered a hand full of times in the first 8 mins of riding until I got on the highway. After that no problem.

Today, same thing happened. This time it happened more often, even after 15 minutes or more of riding. Twice I stopped and shut the engine off. Once via the kill switch, and once via the key. This is the first time of this happening... When I went to start the bike, I turned the key on, all lights were good. I hit the starter and I heard a click, then all of my instrument lights went off. This happened twice...

When I got back home, I came toa stop, put it in neutral, put the kick stand down and let out the clutch. The engine just stopped.

Anyone have any ideas. Please help

Thank you.

 

It's probably your battery. I had a stalling engine one time that scared the crap out of me (it would start and stop over and over while I was on a twisty road). I ended up charging the battery and keeping an eye on the voltages for a few days, but it hasn't come back.

You can try checking the voltage of the battery (~12 V when off, ~13-14 V at about 1/3 throttle).

Try a battery tenderfirst. If that doesn't help, replace the battery.

While you are digging around getting the battery out, double check making sure all your hoses are connected and nothing it pinched shut. One theory I heard when I had my problem was a breather hose being pinched and creating vacuum pressure inside the tank, preventing the flow of fuel.

Another problem could be plain ol' dirty carbs, but you should be okay with your mileage. You can try running some carb cleaner through your gas tank.

 

I suspect your fuel switch. It is dependent on vacuum. They are notorious for giving very little mileage on the run setting. If you are going up a hill, vacuum will be low and could give problems. No vacuum, no gas! If your bike starts to sputter, pull on the choke - all the way! Then switch to reserve. It should pick up fairly quickly. Then take the choke all the way off. Here is some info on my problems:

I am having chronic problems with my 2006 Vulcan 500. I fill it up and at 163 miles (2.7 gal to fill)and later 133 miles (2.2 gal to fill) it runs out of gas and has to be switched to reserve. It is getting 60 mpg, which is great, but it is HELL to restart after it runs out. It has taken 15-20 minutes to start. This could get you killed on the highway. The tank is supposed to hold 4 gal with .8 gal. reserve, so there should be 3.2 gal. available, which would give me 180+ miles to fill. Only in my dreams. Kawasaki customer service had no solution or help, but admitted getting calls about this problem. ****UPDATE***My latest "run-out" was aT 50 miles - hit the choke first and switched to reserve and didn't have to stop. Vacuum controls the flow of gas through the tank switch/petcock.

 

I forgot to mention, the bike has a switch that will shut off the engine when you let out the clutch if it's in gear and the kick stand is down.

 

I've never had a problem getting my wife's Vulcan 500 to restart after it ran out of gas. But then again it's brand new. The only thing I can think of is that your battery isn't charging properly. If you tried to start it, and all it did was click, that sounds like a battery issue to me. However, as far as it sputtering when it's running, it sounds to me like something is grounding out where it shouldn't, like maybe a loose wire. When it contacts the frame, it would ground out, and cause the bike to die, but the vibration from the bike sputtering could move the wire off the frame and break that ground, and the bike would start up again. Just a guess.