This is truly a beautiful motorcycle!

True Story #1: I'm driving down 85 south and pass a total of five CHP motorcycle officers going northbound. Each and every CHP'r physically turned their head to get a better look at this bike. It looked like one even pointed for his buddy. Needless to say, I waived, smiled, and leaned back just a bit more!

What does this mean? Five out of five CHP officers choose the Nomad as a head-turning killer of a motorcycle!

True Story #2: Never go on a ride with 20-some Vulcan riders and expect to not come away wanting one yourself.

I left for the journey riding a 1998 Honda Shadow ACE 750 Deluxe (a very nice bike). A week later, I was riding this beauty. How does that make me feel? In a word,

"BWAAAHHAAAHHHAAHHAAA"

I've never SEEN so many people stop and comment on this bike. From every walk of life, people just have to look at it.

Modifications

I've been having a ball adding all kinds of stuff to my Nomad. According to the Vulcan Riders and Owner's Club (VROC), I have come down with a case of the CLAP. What is the CLAP? It's the need/drive to add. . .

. . .to your motorcycle.

Guilty as charged, your honor, with heavy emphasis on items 1 and eventually 4.

Fire & Steel Contour Sissybar
If you're going to have passengers, you got to have one. Makes them feel more secure, and looks pretty nice to boot! What more can you ask for?

Saeng/TA "Night Cutter" running lights
My goal for third-party lights was simple; I wanted to look like a 747 during its approach. With these lights, I've done just that.

Mounted on the lower portion of the engine guard, it gives me a triangle of lights as I cruise down the street. From what I can tell so far, they have been VERY effective in increasing my visibility for both my day and night driving.

Vista Cruise "Universal" Throttle Lock
Without question, this is one of the most useful add-ons I've put on this bike.

By pushing down on that lever, the throttle is secured to allow the driver to loosen the grip of his throttle hand. This little doodad has made ALL of my riding, whether short or long distance, significantly more enjoyable.

What's also nice about this unit is that when locked, you still have throttle control. And flicking the lever "off" is easy, too!

Candlepower Dual 115 Decibel Horn
Along with adding lights to my bike, I wanted to make sure that I could be both heard clearly, as well as seen clearly.

With that in mind, I replaced the stock Nomad horns (which were much louder that my other bike's horn), with these monsters. I can tell you, these are the LOUDEST HORNS I'VE EVER HEARD! With a distinctive dual tone, these horns are quite impressive. And, no compressor!

For those thinking about doing this mod, I should note that they are not plug and play with the original horn. You must install a relay (included) to integrate these horns with the existing wiring on the Nomad. Here's the schematic for the wiring.

KuryAkyn Dually Iso Pegs
Along with the Vista Cruise, the KuryAkyn pegs have made a huge difference in the comfort level of my rides, especially the longer, highway based ones.

Besides being extremely durable, the wider style of the Dually pegs feels more sturdy, whether I place the soles of my feet or my heel on the rubber padding. I've also gotten into the habit of placing the heel of my foot on the floorboard with my toes pressed up against the pegs. This is a good position while sometimes requiring brake/clutch control.

"Moxy's" Lowers
For those riders who've fought the mind-numbing effects of buffeting, where the wind coming over and under the windshield combines right around your helmet to create a level of turbulance matched only by the droning of an ex-[fill in the blank], these lowers are the solution.

Created by a fellow VROCer, these lowers are significantly larger then most I've seen, and all but eliminate the aforementioned buffeting, allowing me to reduce the height of my windshield to provide for better, over-the-top viewing. Whereas before, speeds of 65+ MPH would cause the buffeting, now I can go significantly faster without getting my brains bashed in!

Fire & Steel Hard Bag Rails
First the good news: By adding these fellas to the bike, I've increased the chrome quota and have made using the two helmet locks more realistic. (Before the rails, one would have to lay their helmet on the bags, which I thought was pretty lame). With a simple D-ring extender, my helmet lays flat on the rails when secured to the bike. Very cool.

Now, the bad news; YOU HAVE TO DRILL THESE BAGS TO INSTALL THE RAILS!!!

That said, I did what any red-blooded, wrenchophobe would do; I had my dealer do it (you should have seen the guy after he was done. Talk about a high level of stress!)

Fire & Steel Rear Rack
I added this accessory to help accentuate the line of the bike, especially when I remove the sissy bar. You see, without the rack, the brackets that normally hold the sissy bar in place look a bit obvious. But with the rack, the whole thing fits the line of the bike quite nicely.

Fire & Steel Speedometer Cowl
Two reasons for this guy;

Reason One: Chrome baby, chrome!

Reason Two: During night driving, it stops the reflection on the windshield caused by the speedometer lights.

Functional and groovy too!

Custom Chrome Lay Down License Plate Mount & Cobra License Plate Frame
Just thought it looked cool, that's all! (And, I thought the way the original stood straight up and down detracted from the line of the bike.)

Chrome Edge Protector
Besides adding this to the tank, I also added this trim to the front and rear fenders. The pictures at the top of the page show what it looks like in total.

Fire & Steel Chrome Indicator Light Panel
Shiny...pretty...Ahhhhh. As an added bonus, when the sun bounces off the panel and reflects on my face, it's quite warming on those cold, sunny rides.

Vance & Hines Dual Baggers
"Loud Pipes Saves Lives", or so they say. Actually, I believe there is some truth to that. There's a measurable difference in audio visibility with these pipes (referred to as "Exhaust Note"). Additionally, I noticed an appreciable difference (ie; increase) in power with these pipes.

Brookstore Analog Clock
Tick tock, tick tock, just one more thing that didn't come stock. Besides, it matches (and was really easy to install!).

KuryAkyn HyperCharger
Along the adding a ThunderKit (rejetting the carb) and coasters (allows the beast to b r e a t h e), the Hypercharger is the finally touch to the AirChokectomy performed on the bike (by Tom Pansarasa, btw). What's really cool about this mod, besides the additional power (I find that I get to the higher speeds about a gear earlier then before), is the little "butterfly" valve on the front. When applying throttle, the butterfly moves. Very cool!

KuryAkyn ISO Grips
Well lets see...I could tell you that I added these fellas to help facilitate the second fratastadial balance on the bike, but the truth it, they look cool. For those considering them, two things:

1. They are thicker than stock
2. You'll have to modify the Vista Cruise throttle lock (bore out the center) to use it.

Places to Go

My Favorite Short Ride - Go here
A nice ride up around the Santa Cruz mountains, with a couple of stops at Alices', the biker hangout in my neck of the woods.

Whitney's Motorcycle Photo Archive - Go here
Here you'll find a bunch of pictures taken during many of the rides I've gone on.

Vulcan Riders and Owners Club - http://www.vroc.org
With over 4,500 registered members, there is no question that this is the place to go with your Vulcan questions. Though certainly not without the occasional flame, the information gathered here is priceless.

San Francisco Bay Area Vulcan Riders and Owners Club Site - http://www.area.com/oddball/sfbavroc/index.html
This Website features a message board for local Vulcan riders. Great group of guys, I must say.

Yet Another Motorcycle Links Page - Go here
Here's another one, folks.