Easy Peasy Home Installation of the Vulcan Engine Guard

When I bought my new Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic, I ordered an engine guard from the dealer as an accessory, along with the Vulcan windshield. After waiting and calling for a month the windshield finally came in. They failed to call, so it was a couple weeks later that I called to find it had arrived. I installed the windshield and you can read about it here.

So, they assured me that when the engine guard came in I would again get a call. I finally called early this year and they had my part. They also had a bogus phone number for me. I drove the 40 miles or so and picked it up. When I got home and opened the box, there were two bolts in a plastic bag. One was stripped at the end.

They were a hex-flange bolt and a size you couldn't find just anywhere. We looked everywhere we could think of that sold bolts. Dave finally stopped at a place on his way home one day called ‘Tacoma Screw’. They had ‘almost’ the perfect bolt. The hex head was a little smaller, but it worked just fine.

I decided to install the guard last weekend, since it was way too cold to ride. I even closed the garage so it would be warmer inside while I worked. It was in the 30’s outside. As I worked with the icy-cold tubular chrome guard, my hands became very chilled. It was hard to feel the threads engage as I added each nut to its bolt and tried to finger-tighten it. I could hardly make my fingers do what I wanted them to do.

It’s a good thing that it was pretty easy and didn’t take a lot of work. Add a few bolts and clamps, tighten here and there, and then apply torque on 2 of them.

I think it looks good.



I came home at lunch today since I work only 15 minutes away. The sun was out and it was 39 degrees. It’s been nice and clear and sunny for days, but only in the low 30’s. I couldn’t bring myself to bundle up and get out there. Today I decided to go for it. The weather was as warm as it was going to get, and we have rain and snow in the forecast for the weekend.

I hadn’t tried out the bike since I added the engine guard. I’m always conscious of the added weight so was wondering if it would handle differently. I rode the Vulcan back to work and then home right before dark. I think it felt a little heavier on the turns, but otherwise I liked it and didn’t notice much difference in the way of handling.

Now that I’ve added enough accessories to the front of the bike, I will need to make some decisions about what I need on the rear to carry gear and stuff for a 3 or 4 day ride. I’m planning a ride down the coast this summer but have no way to carry anything on the bike. I find planning trips like this is very fun. I love poring over the maps and deciding what route we will take, having never been on any of the roads in question. That’s where the sense of adventure comes in.