Low Flyer

By Bob Feather

Bill Wilhelmi lives in the fast lane. He earns his living training corporate pilots to fly jets. No, not commercial airliners, but those sexy corporate jets we all fantasize about owning when our big rock album goes platinum.

The first time Bill saw a Vulcan 1500 Classic, he was driving down the road and passed one going the other way. A quick U-turn had him chasing down the Kawasaki rider for a closer look. Bill liked what he saw so much that he knew right then he had the basis for his next custom bike project. It didn’t take long before Bill bought a clean used Vulcan 1500 Classic and went to work on what evolved into the custom bike you see here.

First Priority: Performance

Living in the fast lane takes plenty of fast moves, so it’s only fitting that Bill’s bike keeps up with the rest of his lifestyle. And not just in quarter-mile performance, but in handling too. “I wanted a fast bike that would be much more than just a barhopper,” says Bill. “I need a bike that can handle well and be reliable for long trips.”

Rather than spend a small fortune on hand-hammered sheet metal and machined billet parts, Bill chose to invest in the performance aspects of this beast to build it into a fire-breathing Vulcan. The cylinders were bored out to accommodate a Thunder Mfg. 95" kit, which includes 10:1 forged pistons and 454.5 cams. Trent Rollins at Thunder Mfg. ported the heads and installed a set of Mean Streak intake valves to help feed the big bore’s increased appetite for fuel. The bigger valves and lumpier cams really make this engine open wide and say “ah” during the intake stroke.

A Thunder Mfg. Hurricane air intake kit and manifold were added to meet the increased fuel/air demands and smooth the flow to the cylinders. On the exhaust side, the big-bore Vulcan pushes the spent charge out of the ported heads’ Mean Streak exhaust valves and into the free-flowing Thunder Mfg. 2-into-1 exhaust system.

Now that the engine is breathing better, it wants to produce horsepower well above the stock rev limit. So, a Dynatek 2000 ignition module was installed, raising the rev limit and slightly retarding the ignition timing to give all that additional fuel a chance to churn and burn.

Bill claims his bike’s low-end and midrange power are dramatically improved and that the bike now pulls strong all the way to its 6500-rpm redline. A quick look at the dyno numbers verify his feelings. In stock trim, a 1500 Classic should produce about 48 rear-wheel hp with 70 ft-lbs. of torque. Bill’s overhauled version puts out an impressive 94 horses and 103 ft-lbs. of torque — a real kick in the pants by any standard!

Bill also installed what he calls “Judge washers” onto his clutch assembly. Judge is a knowledgeable guy on the Vulcan Riders and Owners Club forum (vroc.org) who came up with a simple proprietary washer upgrade to help the stock clutch handle all that newfound horsepower without slipping.

But, you ask, can a bike in this advanced state of tune be reliable mile after highway mile? So far, Bill has racked up about 19,000 hard miles without a single glitch.

Once the powertrain was to Bill’s liking, he turned his focus to the factory suspension components. Out came the stock fork springs and in went a Race Tech spring/cartridge emulator kit made for the Vulcan 1500 Classic. This kit is tunable and vastly improves performance over the stock suspension setup. Bill then made a few minor adjustments to dial in the preload and damping rates, and the result is a tuned fork that feels more stable and precise in all riding situations.

The stock rear shocks were pitched in favor of Progressive Suspension’s 412 chrome body units, which are 1" shorter than stock and offer superior handling. Bill was worried that lowering his bike would cause the footrests to scrape with less provocation, but his worries were unfounded. The higher-quality replacement shocks offered a compliant yet taut ride without sagging as much as the stock suspension. No problems dragging stuff here!

Second Priority: Ergonomics

Okay. So not only is Bill fast, but he’s greedy. He wanted his bike to be both quick and comfy like those plush corporate jets he goes speeding around in. Turning his attention to the cockpit, the stock “coach-class seat” was replaced with a “first-class cabin” Corbin Gunfighter saddle.

Bill mounted a pair of mini-ape handlebars with a 12" rise and capped them off with a set of Pro-One grips. He then chromed the stock switchboxes, and painted the reservoirs black to match the powdercoated triple trees. Steel braided cables and hoses improved the performance and further enhanced the high-quality look. Then Bill polished the stock levers and mounted a set of stylish teardrop mirrors he picked up at a local motorcycle swap meet. The stock foot accommodations and controls suited Bill’s stature just fine, so he simply polished the stock units.

Third Priority: Aesthetics

“I wanted it to be eye-catching,” says Bill, “but not garish.”

The only real cosmetic extravagance Bill allowed himself was a set of Cerebus wheels from Cruise Concepts. These wheels look great on the Vulcan, and they help improve the handling. While he stayed with the stock-size 16-incher in the rear, Bill opted for an 18" up front. He claims that the bike handles much better with the narrower rim and tire up front. “While I can’t flick it around like a sportbike, it sure does turn a lot faster than it did with the stock wheels and tires,” he says.

All the tin and fiberglass was sent off to Sue Hopper in Lockridge, Iowa, for the flaming skull graphics and deep black paint you see here. The fork lowers, brake calipers, and rotors took a long dip in the chrome vat, and the rear drive housing was polished.

When all the painted, polished, and chromed parts were returned, Bill brought the project over to his good buddy Steve Crawford in Sanger, Texas, to help him string the wire and get it working. There, the stock headlight and lightbar were replaced with a new Pro-One headlight and mounting block.

A Signal Dynamics BackOFF license plate frame/taillight combo was added on a Custom Chrome mount to warn tailgaters of Bill’s next move. Doss turn signals point the way up front, and Derringer LED blinkers handle the duties out back. The fork covers and light-mounting brackets were removed to clean up the front end.

Removing the lightbar and fork covers, and replacing the stock exhaust and fenders with lighter aftermarket parts made the bike look and run better, while shaving off nearly 100 pounds of performance-robbing weight.

But looks can be deceiving. This is not some trailer queen that hikes up its skirt at every puddle or bend in the road. This is a gearhead’s bike — pure and powerful. At first glance, it may appear to be an attractive, mild custom bike, but a tire-smoking twist of the throttle shows that the true beauty is within. RB

TECH SHEET

OWNER Bill Wilhelmi

HOME Bedford, TX

BUILDER Bill Wilhelmi and Steve Crawford

YEAR/MODEL 1998 Vulcan 1500 Classic Custom

TIME TO BUILD Three Months

COST TO BUILD $10,500

CHROMER Brown’s Plating

PAINTER Sue Hopper

ENGINE

DISPLACEMENT 95”, 1520cc

PISTONS Thunder Mfg. 10:1 forged

HEADS Stock, Thunder port and polish

CAMS Thunder 454.5

CARBS Stock, rejetted

AIR CLEANER Thunder Hurricane

EXHAUST Thunder

FINAL DRIVE Shaft

CHASSIS

FRAME Stock

RAKE Stock

STRETCH Stock

FRONT SUSPENSION Race Tech springs/cartridge emulator

SWINGARM Stock

REAR SUSPENSION Progressive 412 shocks, 11.5"

FRONT WHEEL Cruise Concepts Cerberus 18"

REAR WHEEL Cruise Concepts Cerberus 16"

FRONT TIRE Dunlop 491, 120/18

REAR TIRE Dunlop 491, 160/16

FRONT BRAKES Chromed rotor

REAR BRAKES Chromed rotor

FENDERS Corbin smooth (front), Thunder (rear)

ACCESSORIES

HEADLIGHT Pro-One

TAILLIGHT Signal Dynamics BackOFF

TURN SIGNALS Derringer

FUEL TANK Stock

HANDLEBARS Flanders 12" mini-apes

SEAT Corbin Gunfighter

PEGS Stock front, Jardine rear

HAND CONTROLS Stock

MIRRORS Teardrop

FOOT CONTROLS Skull toe shifter

TAG BRACKET Signal Dynamics BackOFF