Kawasaki Voyager sneak peak

Yesterday while I was getting my rear tire replaced, I had the pleasure of seeing a Kawasaki Voyager in person. The pictures on Kawi's site do not do this bike any justice. This is a full dress bike that Kawi had never done before. There are 2 models available 1 without ABS and 1 with. The one with ABS functions beautifully. If you use the hand brake or the foot brake both brakes are applied. There is about an $1100 difference between the 2 models, but if you are spending that kind of money, why not just get the one with ABS? MSRP $16,799/$17,899 (ABS). The model I saw did not have ABS. These bikes are very hard to come by as it is. Each dealership was only to get 1. My dealership happen to just pick this one up from a California dealer, so this is their 2nd one. Their first one flew off the showroom floor.

Liquid cooled V-Twin just as most of their Vulcan's and all the Nomad's. 1700cc, 6 speed transmission with overdrive (which is an recent upgrade and most bikes, even the 900cc) fuel injection. Instead of shaft drive it is belt drive.

Fairing, stereo, cruise control, dual adjustable rear shocks, 9-spoke cast wheels, a nice looking front fender, 5.3 gallon gas tank (typical), small glove compartments on both sides, hard bags and trunk w/ light bar. Very heavy at 895 lbs. It also sits very high, much more than I like. I'm 5'11" tall with a 34" inseam. I was barely able to stand flat footed while on the bike. My VN900 sits pretty low, which is one of the features I have really liked about it. I like having my knee's bent while sitting at a stop light. The stereo also does not have a CD player, although most do not last very long. The speakers are good size, and have heard from the staff that as high speeds of 75+ it still sounds really good. The seats (both rider and passenger) are well padded and and extremely comfortable.

The instrument panel & stereo is very retro looking, which I really liked.

Right and left sides have a multitude of controls including the stereo.

It has a lower fairing as well which is just behind the crash bars. There is an adjustable slide to either block from air/rain or allow air to come thru.

Also has both front and rear floorboards, which have a spring cushioning.

If you look at the exhaust side, it appears to be a 2 to 1. After taking a closer look this is very deceiving. The heat sheild is big enough to disguise the rear pipe to go back to left side and come out the rear.

Over all this is a very well engineered bike. I have not ridden one to see how well it is balanced. But I like everything I see except for some minor changes, and for a reasonable price.