I bought one ,and it's a great running machine. I installed a K&N air filter and it works wonders. Kawasaki sure made a very nice cruiser. I am very happy with the bike so far.
thank you for putting the best review. I have found so far for this machine. This review is so good, then I’m going to pass on buying this machine because of the heat. The heat prevented me from buying a few motorcycles in the past. The Yamaha F,JR, the Kawasaki, 1400 concourse, and especially the Honda, ST 1300 which is an absolute oven… there is one of these machines for sale on craigslist here in August 2023. It’s been on there for about a month. 15 K miles, gorgeous, totally stock. I currently am on my third Yamaha royal star venture. I previously had a GL 1800 Goldwing, and a BMW K 1200 LT. I kept going back to the Venture‘s. Because they are roomy, comfortable, 45 miles to the gallon, and there fast enough. If I wanna go fast, I ride one of my other bikes, but on the highway on my Venture, 80 is no problem. I currently have many videos about ownership and maintenance. I have done to my royal star venture. I also have a comparison video between owning and maintaining a GL 1800 Goldwing and my current Yamaha royal star venture which has almost 60,000 views here on RU-vid. I saw a couple videos of this Kawasaki here on RU-vid, and I’m interested because of the one for sale near me. I really really like the sound of this Kawasaki. It sounds so effortless. But, I am hearing little hints and in this video I’ve learned that there is a heat issue. So thank you for that. I’m going to pass and stick with my simple easy to work on roomy venture.. I don’t know why these manufacturers can’t figure out how to deal with the heat coming off of these engines and radiators. The new V twin air cooled Yamaha star.Venture really pushed out the heat. One owner ended up going to the emergency room with burns on his left leg from the exhaust system heat.. as much as I did not like dealing with all of that plastic on my Goldwing to do simple maintenance like just change, the air filter is a $600 job if you have the shop do it for you. It took me almost 6 hours to change the air filter on that Goldwing. And I used to be a motorcycle mechanic at three different dealerships… but Honda certainly knew how to deal with that heat with the Goldwing in the Honda pacific coast. I have had two Pacific coasts.. my first one got totaled from behind with me on it while waiting my turn at a stop sign on my daily commute. I replaced it with another Pacific Coast, which I commuted on for 24 years, usually six days a week, for eight months a year. I was one of those guys you would see riding to work in the rain in the morning as long as it wasn’t really pouring… but that Honda pacific coast, you couldn’t feel any heat I mean zero while riding. There were two vents up near the sides of the radiator through the fairing side panels that the heat came out of. So I know it can be done, and I wish these manufacturers would come up with ways to direct the heat away from us riders.. because I wear all the gear all the time. Kevlar, jeans, deerskin, gloves, motorcycle street, bike, boots, full face, helmet, leather or mesh motorcycle jackets… I just can’t take temperatures over 85° when I’m behind a fairing with all the gear on. I will ride my Kawasaki Z 400 when the temperatures are going to be above 85 that day. we are just not used to temperatures above 90 here in Pennsylvania. I won’t even go in my pool if it’s above 90° outside..
I recently got a 2018 Vaquero 1700 and i am in love with it. Has 12" mini apes, cobra tri-ovals and i sent Off the ECU to get the Ivans flash and it made the bike much better. Better throttle response, runs cooler and wakes it up more from the heavy smog settings they put on from factory.
I had an '09.The first year for the K-Act ABS. The factory had adjusted the belt way too tight - sang like a guitar string. Backed it off three flats on each side and problem and whine solved. Yes it was very hot on the right. Switched to Goldwing, then Harley Ultra. The Harley is everything they say it is - fabulous to ride, great stereo, intercom, GPS, etc. but expensive and according to Utube not without it's mechanical issues. I never had a mechanical problem with any of my Nomads or the Voyager. I always keep the Harley under the extended warranty - just in case.
I’ve never had a touring bike before. I’ve always had Harley’s sportster, syna, and softails. But for a full touring bike like this I think a Kawasaki is a much better choice over the 35k dollar Harley ultra. I’ve only had Harley’s but it’s not because I’m a purist...I just like Harley’s. I just can’t justify that much money though when Kawasaki offers the same thing for half the money. They look good and sound great 👍🏼
Thank you for an honest in depth review from putting some real miles on this bike. The most surprising thing to me is the fuel range, and nobody talks about it. It’s hard to view this as a true touring bike when an 800mile day would require FIVE fuel stops 😮. A rider isn’t making any time in the gas station.
I have the 2018 Voyager Candy Cardinal Red and Silver. I bought her new in March of 2019 and I'm still at under 5k miles. Bullet proof bike and comfortable. I do want to get some handlebar risers and like you I do wish Kaw would have put reverse cause she is a big ole gal! Very heavy to pick up off the kickstand, but she is so graceful on curves. And my Keychain at 70mph doesn't even move from wind. ( yes, I know you can remove the key while running) but I love it! Great bike.
Nice, I’ve been checking out your vids. I have a 2014 Voyager and love it. It does run a little warm but not too bad. Just finished a little run to Tn. from south Louisiana. Another 2000 miles added, up to 22000 now. Keep the vids coming, when I watch you ride it’s like looking through my windshield.
Great review! I did a similar review with my Vaquero. Be careful with that hockey puck mod, pretty good idea but that extra weight might cause problems down the road. Might bounce hard enough some time to engage the kill switch on the kickstand and stall out your bike.
When you decided to buy a cruiser especially one the size of the Voyager you have some things in mind. You like the look with plenty of bling - the blacked out look of some modern cruisers isn't what you want. You're not buying a sports bike that will thrash you off the line at the lights because that is not as important and a day out on the road. It is not as important as the ride where you'll put the bike in over-drive, engage the cruise control and ride all day barely having to change down to negotiate a hill because it has plenty of torque to get up the hill and leave the sports bike changing down and revving like crazy. Ride what you like but this is a comfortable ride for the rider and although I've never been on the back I'm told the pillion is like a lounge chair. I like the addition of the highway pegs for a laidback ride and the rider backrest. The ABS braking works fine and the KACT braking is a good feature as well. The fairing and screen work together to keep the wind off the rider and pillion - opening the leg shields does give some airflow in summer. Music is well taken care of with the AM/FM Aux input ( we don't have satellite radio in Australia where I live). If I were to offer Kawasaki any advice on how to improve the bike from the 2010 model I own it would be to add traction control and an electrically operated - speed limited reverse. The former is just more safety for a wet, slippery road and the latter makes parking, in places where angle parking is the rule, so much easier. The Goldwing has such a revers gear so it can't be too difficult to do and in my view would not detract in anyway from the cruiser look/vibe.
Thank you for this straight up review. Since my 2008 Goldwing was killed last year and I'm 90% healed, I'm looking to get another touring bike. Honda, Yamaha and Harley are on my radar, however, the price of the Vulcan compared to the nearest classed bike, still gives me around $10K to mod the bike out to my liking. That said, the lack of reverse gear might play a part in my choice.
Great Review, I have the 2017 model, I did connect a bluetooth adapter with the the iPod adapter and able to stream navigation and pandora through the AUX system, works great! speaker system sounds incredibly better then what you get through the radio.
MY GAWD, that is the perfect bike for an older rider like myself, if 50 counts as older. I've owned Interceptors, etc and I want to just enjoy the ride leisurely this time, BUT know that I have the ability to ride like a 25 year old when I want to.
Sorry to see you are selling your bike. If I had the time to ride it, I'd be interested in taking it off your hands. I drive a truck for a living and can't seem to find the time to dust off my Honda VTX 1300R for a ride so I can't justify the purchase. I do believe there will be a Voyager in my future, however.
I own a 2007 Yamaha Royal Star tour deluxe and love the bike it's been great. However, I'm considering this as my next bike and it likely will be. Bluetooth can be added to the bike and cheap too, there are videos on here of owners who did.
You mentioned scraping the pegs. Would you say the bike can be leaned more or less compared to other bikes you've ridden? Can the screen part of the windshield assembly be easily removed? I hate looking through the hazy, distorted plexiglass I find on most bikes.
with the oem tires I scraped the pegs a lot, after I put the wider tire on the rear now I rarely scrape unless I am pulling the trailer. the windshield can be removed easily and you can get aftermarket smaller windshields, the plexiglass is actually quite clear.
I remember the first time I scraped the floorboards on my Voyager in a traffic circle! Scared me, but I didn't panic. I also scraped it on a regular right turn, (I took the turn real tight), so you learn the limitations. I found the factory windshield too high for summer riding, it was literally like being inn a car worthy the windows up! So I bought another one from the dealer that was about 4 inches shorter. That way, if i want more protection, like in cooler months, it's an easy swap.
Great review, thanks! Looks like you are in Washington State. I have ridden the same route I'm sure. Anyway, I'm thinking about buying the 2017 or 2018 model of this bike. I like the look of the Vaquero but I've seen that you can take the rear trunk off this bike and you basically have the Vaquero. Would be nice to have the option. Anything else I should know before buying one?
new tire is Metzeler ME888 180/65, the oem is Bridgestone 170/70, the Metzeler is a little shorter and wider helps on the cornering and makes the speedometer about another half mph off, it's hard to find much variety in the stock size
Thanks for the size/model -- mine is 2017 bought it new few months ago and already put on 2500 miles, it rides nice and smooth. I do have a slow coolant leak at the bottom (at the bottom of the left cover). Leak has slowed down more than before. I thought you probably want to take a look at yours too. Other than that its a great bike so far.
Good video.i own a 03 Kaw. Voyager .want to upgrade to the newer voyager. Just a little concern about the engine heat. Overall the bike seems really nice. What about the mantinence.
Was wondering if you have that whine somewhere inside the engine when it is at rest, but I heard yours do it in the video. Lol. I've put 9100 miles on mine in 2 1/2 months. Sure do love mine as you do yours.
I know this is 2 years old, but I would like to know how the suspension is for the passenger? I'm upgrading from a small Shadow which is a bit jarring over ruff road, and can't entertain riding with my wife who has back issues. I saw one review the person claimed was like a marshmallow, but maybe something wrong with suspension. Marshmallow is what I need for her.
Say, what mount is that for your Garmin? I, also, don't want to buy a bike specific Garmin for the few times I would use it. But the bike Garmin is weatherproof and you can use it with gloves.
You mentioned in your video you're on the short side. How tall are you?. Only reason I ask is because I'm about 5' 6 1/2 and want to know if I were to sit on this bike I'll be able to reach the ground flat foot.
The engine does run hot, but you can't compare it to the new Indians or Harleys. At least your engine doesn't have to shut off the rear cylinder at stop lights like the HD. I have had all 3 of those bikes mentioned. Riding an Indian for now but have always loved my Nomads.
Rode one of these back in 2011. Nice bike, but very slow off the line. I also thought that the upper fairing felt cheap. Ince she was up to speed, it was very good ride.
@@voyagervlogger6501 I have ridden every heavy touring bike on the market except for the Goldwing, and the Voyager (at least the 2011 model) was the slowest off the line then all of them. Perhaps they changed the transmission since then, but it was the only thing I really didn't like about the machine.
Don't forget change the air intake system then dyno tune with power commander due to special factory design of air intake system. You will never have hot engine or burning legs after you done all this.
How is the stopping power compared to other bikes? Does the weight make it difficult to stop on a dime? Is the ABS system effective or more of a gimmick?
this is a heavy bike so you have to take that into consideration, the stopping is excellent, the combination of the Kawasaki K-Act and the ABS gives you very good stopping capabilities
@@voyagervlogger6501 Yeah with shipping and everything it came to about $400. I had my Vaquero flashed and I am happy with the results. Really makes a difference in how cool the bike runs; at least according to the gauge. I would just say that it runs smoother, better, and cooler. No huge HP gain or anything like that. All in all, I would do it again, my bike is otherwise stock. Thanks for the reply.
I live in Australia and I can get about 300kms from a tank using the recommended 95RON petrol. I always use the cruise control and ride with the speedo showing 100kms/h. The best I've ever done was 350kms on a tank and then there was only the smell of an oily rag left in the tank. When the fuel light flashes you have about 50kms left.
It depends on who owned it. If it was regularly serviced and prudently ridden, then 37k would be fine. This isn't a street light racer, it's an interstate cruiser.
The difference it does not have a grip and seat heater. But in general it is unbreakable and will take all kinds of punishment with a smile. The best thing to do to the vn1700 is to flash the ECU with ivan flash and you will not regret it.
with the blue tooth and camera on the helmet we have to put one helmet right side up and one upside down to get the trunk to close, not enough room for helmet stand, the rounded trunk lid makes it difficult.
yeah, the Voyager gives you more value for the money, I didn't get a Harley due to the price and I don't like following the crowds, I like the Goldwing, but I'm not too sure about the new 2018 model. for me the voyager was one of the most comfortable straight from the factory.
