Kawasaki 1500 Nomad FI

I am not going to get into the spec details of this bike as you can get that online from the manufacturer. What I will tell you is what it's like to own and operate this machine. I bought it new in 2000. I loved the look as it is a copy of my favorite Harley ( Road King) but not nearly the price and much more up to date mechanically.
The bike starts quickly and easily. Unlike the Harley though you need to manually choke it in cool weather, ...
...it completely when the engine is warm enough to idle without it. The bike has an almost silent exhaust. I prefer louder pipes so I tried punching out the stock baffles but although it was alittle louder the sound was not to my liking. I installed a set of Vance and Hines pipes and love them. The also are a complete system from the heads back so you also rid yourself of the goat belly converter giving you some extra power. The bike handles like a ... more

I am not going to get into the spec details of this bike as you can get that online from the manufacturer. What I will tell you is what it's like to own and operate this machine. I bought it new in 2000. I loved the look as it is a copy of my favorite Harley ( Road King) but not nearly the price and much more up to date mechanically.
The bike starts quickly and easily. Unlike the Harley though you need to manually choke it in cool weather, simple to do but you must also remember to close it completely when the engine is warm enough to idle without it. The bike has an almost silent exhaust. I prefer louder pipes so I tried punching out the stock baffles but although it was alittle louder the sound was not to my liking. I installed a set of Vance and Hines pipes and love them. The also are a complete system from the heads back so you also rid yourself of the goat belly converter giving you some extra power. The bike handles like a dream comsidering it's size and weight. I compared it back to back with a Harley Road King and actually found it a better riding position. You seem to sit IN the bike more then simply sitting ontop of it. One of my friends that took it for a spin on one of our trips said it rode more like a Harley then a Harley itself. There is the vibration you expect and desire, although not as much as a harley still you know it's there. The bike cruises effortlessly but I find it down on passing power when you don't have alot of time to pass. With the size of this engine it should really be closer to 100 horse power and as I recall its about 55. For relaxed cruising and all but hyper passing you will have no problems. I also have a trailer I haul with it sometimes, it's only a small trailer and would not consider a larger one because of the extra weight the bike could not cope with well. The bike is almost in a class all by itself, most have soft bags or no FI. I had a cople problems with it when new. The front drive shaft seal went on my first long trip, ended up without a bike for three days but it never left me on the side of the road and I made it to where I was headed. The second problem was electrical. There is a sensor the cuts the fuel off if the bike lays over. It is located just under the front of the seat and the base of the fuel tank, right where water would run down on it during a hard rain or washing. They replaced it and relocated it slightly and that solved the problem. For the money you would be very hard pressed to find a bike as equally equiped and comfortable. You will not regret owning this bike 

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