New Bike (1 Viewer)

[Buzz Foster]

It's hard to believe I have been on my Vulcan Nomad for almost three years and 45,000 miles. I had no plans to upgrade, until I found this:





It's the 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Voyager. Iy's totally new, and intended to directly compete with the Harley Davidson Ultra Classis, but at $8k to $10k less.

It should come in just under $20k. For that, you get a new, 1700cc long stroke V-twin that gets an astounding 48mpg, electronic throttle, next gen kawasaki efi, electronic cruise, 6 speed tranny with overdrive in 5th and 6th, intercom-ready radio with mp3 controller, triple headlight full fairing, leg fairings with lockable glove boxes, trunk that holds two full-face helmets, and hard saddlebags. Oh, it also has linked brakes that disengage below 12mph and ABS that disengages below 4mph for smooth stops.

Sweet!

Anyone else looking at a new bike next year?

 

[Philip Hamm]

I've seen pictures of the new Voyager; it looks like a winner.

 

[Jassen M. West]

Actually I just took delivery of an 09 Vulcan 500. It's my first bike so I decided to keep the engine size in check. Eventually I'll upgrade to a larger bike. So far I've put 38 miles on and I'm taking the safety course this weekend. I will have to pack it up for winter soon though. :frowning:

 

[Mort Corey]

Been some time since I've been bike shopping. Are you saying that a new HD dresser is pushing close to $30K these days????? YIKES!!!

Mort (who bought his first HD/74 for $500....some assembly and parts extra)

 

[Philip Hamm]

Beautiful bike and a good choice for a starter. Smart move on the size and on the MSF course. Be careful out there!!!! Get good gear!!! Boots, helmet, jacket, pants, gloves - it's all important. Look around online for good procedures for putting it up for the winter.

* If your bike is outdoors get a cover!
* Completely fill the tank with stabilized gasoline. STA-BIL is a product that a lot of people use but there are others.
* Put it on the center stand if it has one.
* Do NOT pull it out and let it idle for 20 minutes or so during the winter - back in the day that was a common technique people used to talk about, it does way more harm than good. It is, however, very very very good to take it for a 25 mile or so ride once or twice over the winter. As long as the engine gets up to full operating temperature under stress.
* Go buy yourself a "Battery Tender" and connect it to the battery when your bike is in storage. They are $60 or so, but they will make your battery last MUCH longer than if you don't use one. If your bike is outdoors take the battery inside and put it on the battery tender somewhere in your dwelling.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Hee hee. That's the top-of-the-line HD full dresser with ALL the bells and whistles. The barebones "Electra Glide Standard" (no radio, top case, fancy paint, minimal chrome, etc.) is still somewhere around 17-18K.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Hey Buzz - have you noticed the new Nomad 1700? Looks a lot nicer for solo touring than the Voyager, which is surely the choice for two-up.

 

[Jassen M. West]

Thanks. I have the battery tender and will be installing the permanent wiring for it this weekend. I have a garage to keep it in but my neighbor has offered me some space in his heated garage. This is going to be the longest winter ever.

 

[Buzz Foster]

I like my current Nomad, but I'd like something that is made to go a little farther. The Voyager is a full touring machine.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Hey according to all the bikers around here in no-helmet-law Idaho, helmets are for wussies. :rolleyes

 

[Garrett Lundy]

I'm actually more jazzed about the stripped-down regular Nomad. Finally a fuel injected, liquid cooled, shaft-drive V-twin with cruise control!

Now I'm glad I didn't buy that Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe (which is still carburated and a V4)

 

[Buzz Foster]

The Nomad has had EFI, shaft drive, and liquid cooling for years. Cruise will be new.

 

[Philip Hamm]

The whole thing is entirely new. It's based on the new Vulcan 1700 platform, which powers the Voyager and is derived from the 2000 engine. It shares the electronic throttle and cruise control as the Voyager. They still have the old Nomad available, but the new one is a completely new motorcycle.

 

[Jassen M. West]

Don't mean to threadjack but I passed the test. A score of 0 is perfect and 21 means you failed, I only got 1 point for going a fraction of a second too slow through the 2 turns portion of the test.

 

[Scott McGillivray]

Hey Buzz,

Have you looked into the Victory Vision? Pretty damn cool looking bike!





I just bought a Victory Vegas Jackpot a couple of months ago and I REALLY love it!

[url=https://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/5/59/htf_imgcache_35561.jpeg] [/url]

 

[Buzz Foster]

"Don't mean to threadjack but I passed the test. A score of 0 is perfect and 21 means you failed, I only got 1 point for going a fraction of a second too slow through the 2 turns portion of the test."

!!!

I've seen the Vision. Nice looking bike, but I thought the form was more important to them than the function.

And yes, all is new on the Vulcan 1700s...including BELT DRIVE:

From the Kawasaki web site:

"- 28mm carbon fiber final drive belt has a 40 percent higher tensile strength than current Kevlar units nearly twice its width and allows the Vulcan 1700 to use a slim belt only 2mm wider than that on the Vulcan 900
- The drive belt is quiet and efficient and helps reduce maintenance chores"

I prefer shaft, and assumed that both bikes would have the Concours shaft, but belt it now is.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Belt Drive is the best thing about it! Belt is so much more efficient, lighter, easier to service, no wierd jacking handling effects. All road going motorcycles IMO should be belt drive.

 

[Scott McGillivray]

Hmmm...not sure what you mean by that. Can you elaborate? Just curious.

I have only heard glowing praises for that bike so I would really respect any counterpoints.

Thanks!

 

[Buzz Foster]

Well, I saw a few of them in Ruidoso at Aspencash this spring. We opened the saddlebags and discovered that the funky-shaped saddlebag is actually a funky-shaped saddlebag door. The interior appeared half the volume, at best, of my Nomad's bags. It was sort of a "Why did they bother?" kind of moment, which was shared by all four of us.

Still a cool-loooking bike, but I would absolutely prefer more space for a long haul.