Hi Paul,

Once again I wanted to thank you for posting those mods to your Vulcan 500.   I have now incorporated a few of them to my bike, and wanted to share a few images.  I also made of few of my own, and now feel the bike is about where I want it.  I can't tell you how much your time and trouble to figure those mods out and them posting them is appreciated.

Here she is.  I bought it used, but it only had 23 miles on the odo, and not a scratch!   The owner bought it new last fall (but it's an '06) as a holdover from the previous year's stock for his wife, but she hated it.  She prefers to ride on the back of their much bigger Vulcan.  So I grabbed it at first sight this Spring when it appeared in the classifieds.  It came with a few goodies:  windshield, backrest, luggage rack, crankcase crash bar, saddle bag for luggage rack, and a bike cover.  All for $4500.

First thing I did was replace the headlight with a much brighter one.  After smacking 3 deer with my truck at night (so far!) up here on the Planet Maine I am now persnickety about being able to see into the next county while driving in the dark.

Second thing I did was replace the tire valve covers with those chrome ones that have visual indicators of the tire pressure (green for good, yellow for 3-5 pounds low, and red for more than 5 pounds low).  They are pretty slick.  Now during the pre-ride check all I have to do is glance at the valve stems to see if the tires are good to go.  

Having a tach is very useful in that the engine is so quiet I can't hear it above the wind noise.  Now I can safely use the power band to my advantage without lugging the engine or over reving it.

The stock mirrors only reflected an image of my very wide shoulders, so I replaced them with Kuryakyn ones on longer stems.  Now I can see around me.

The Kuryakyn handgrips are nice – they minimize the buzz effect, and are more comfortable to ride with than the stock ones.  

The biggest surprise was the shifter idea.  I had no idea it would make that big a difference.  Not only does my big boot fit easily now between the shifter and the peg, but now I'm shifting with the area of my foot where my toes begin rather than the middle of my foot.  It's beyond me how you figured out the ATV/Banshee shifter would work on a Vulcan, but I'm just glad you did.  

The horn is really really loud.  And that's nice when you need it.  Yet another great idea you had.

I added an accessory socket – it is mounted just above the ignition switch.

You can also see the flash reflected in the safety tape I put on the frame.  It's actually installed in several places of the frame, and on the back of my helmet.  That it is essentially invisible in the daytime is a bonus.  Yet another brilliant idea of yours!   

  Thanks again for all your advice regarding mods for the baby Vulcan, especially the Banshee shifter which was the most surprising of all.  I'm still scratching my head over how you figured that one out, but very happy you did.  It really solved that pesky little problem.  I was most happy to learn of it.  I love this bike even more now because of them

Small Addition by Paul

I HATE Wilkes!! He sent the following picures of his bike on the Maine shore! I am SO HOMESICK out here in Kalifornia!!!

I have a sticker on the wall of my store "Born in MAINE - living in Exile!" (from www.exiles.com) Says it all!!

Bah! I hope the salt rusts your chain!!! (just kidding, .....well a little)