New owner and kickstand

[wagons2]

I sold my 06 Royal Star Tour Deluxe in March and was looking at buying Venture, but I ran across a great deal on a new titanium/black 09 Voyager with ABS at Village Motorsports in Virginia for $14239 including doc fees and all that. I've had it in to our local dealer for its 600 mile service and had the heat shields replaced at the same time.
I haven't had any problem with belt noise, but I did have to fix the trim on the tank to keep it from rattling, and there are some rattles coming from (inside?) the fairing that I need to look into. Overall I love the bike. The seat is the most comfortable I've ever had in nearly 40 years of riding, the low speed handling inspires much more confidence than the RSTD (due in part to the smoother clutch and lack of hesitation the carbs had on the Yamaha), and it just looks so darn good.
Like some others here, I had an issue with the sidestand. With me at 140 lbs, it was a job lifting it off the sidestand, and I was sometimes concerned with losing my footing and dumping it. I solved that problem by installing the sidestand from a 1996 VN1500. I understand later ones will work. It's a perfect fit, the upper half is identical, including the mount and safety switch actuator, but the lower half from the spring mount to the foot is a couple of inches longer, and stands the bike at just the right angle, similar to the 03 Nomad I owned. Hopefully the picture shows what I'm talking about.


Bud

[wbilotta]

I had read about people doing this but I couldn't figure out which kickstand to use. Thanks for the info.

[David (N. Alabama)]

Many Mean Streak owners lower their bikes for a better look and they found out they could switch sidestands with the Voyager 1700 so their bikes don't sit too straight up.

If some of you want to switch google some Mean Streak Forums and once you sign up you can post wanting to trade in the for sale sections.

[paperboy]

You wouldn't have the part number and price, would you? I know some of us would be interested.

[wagons2]

I wasn't sure what would work, so I didn't want to spend a lot. I found this one on ebay for $18.00 shipping included. Just lucky it worked out perfectly. It appears to be the same as the one that was on my 03 Nomad if memory serves me (which it doesn't do often, got CRS :-) )
Bud

[namkraps]

I installed the sidestand from a 1996 VN1500. Got it on ebay for about $30 with shipping. It was easy to replace the stand, hardest part was putting the spring back on. What a difference it makes, now I don't have to use a 2x6 to keep the bike from taking up so much room in my garage

[barneysrumble]

i did exactly as you stated and bought a vn1500 side stand off e.bay for £29. fitted fine ( except for the bugger of a spring !) and the bike leans at the most perfect angle for getting upright - 5ft 6" me . thank you for the great practical information on this forum.

[Turbo4x4]

For those of you who are interested in a "cheap" multipurpose fix for the short Voyager 1700 kick stand, here are pictures of what I did. Found a couple of 25 cent hockey pucks at a 2nd hand store, bought a couple of stainless steel bolts, washers, and nylocks, recessed the bottom of the puck with a router so the heads of the bolts didn't contact the ground when the kickstand was down, drilled a couple of holes in the existing kickstand, and project complete. The puck also serves as additional surface to keep the stand from sinking into hot asphalt and loose sand or gravel. The last picture shows the angle that the Voyager now sits at with the camera held level to ground.

[Turbo4x4]

Remember, you can only add so much height to the kick stand of the Voyager before you start having problems parking your bike on a street with a down slope that places the kick stand side almost as high as the opposite side (if backing the bike in, almost as high on the left side as the right), otherwise known as straight up. You will reach a point that it becomes difficult to park the bike under certain circumstances without the risk of it tipping over in a high wind. This basically means you have to park the bike on the opposite side of the street, providing parking on that side is permitted. (That was for all you city dwellers )

[johninidaho]

I haven't had any problem with belt noise, but I did have to fix the trim on the tank to keep it from rattling, and there are some rattles coming from (inside?)

Bud

Can you tell me how you fixed the tank trim rattle??

[wagons2]

There should also be a thread on here you could search for to see how other folks did it. The tank panel contacts the frame at the front of the tank when it vibrates, probably about 2000 rpm. Remove the panel by taking off the trim ring around the switch, it pulls straight up and off with a little effort and care not to scratch anything, and remove the screws holding the panel in place. I placed plastic washers under the panel around the screws to lift it off the tank a touch, but others have filed the notch at the front of the panel so it misses the frame, or used double-sided sticky tape. With so many having this problem, it really seems odd it wasn't discovered in pre-production testing.
Hope you enjoy your bike as much as I do mine!

[Turbo4x4]

This link is regarding engine rattle, but goes in to VV1700 tank trim rattle and fixes. I personally used foam tape to insulate the tank trim from the tank, and no more noise.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2869

[Top K]

Never mind problems getting the spring off - I can't even get the inside nut off of the side stand! Sprayed it with PB Blaster, and added a 3 foot breaker bar to my ratchet - all it did was start to strip the nut. Using a 17mm socket. I'll have to take it to a shop to get the dang thing off.

[David (N. Alabama)]

I sure would like to know Kawasaki's reasoning for choosing the length sidestand that they chose.

The only time I feel the need for a longer stand is when it is parked in the garage, but I use a 2x4 under the stand. Two 2x4s stacked will hold the bike upright with a jack stand under the opposing saddlebag guard.

[Top K]

I have also changed my sidestand to the one off of a 1996 VN1500 works great. but I also had to work at getting the nut loose an impact wrench worked very well.

Duane Ash
AVA Chairman

Thanks for the tip, Duane. A combination of PB Blaster, Propane Torch, and an Impact Wrench got that stubborn bolt off! Very pleased with the longer side stand.

[martingjohnson]

Thanks for the posts guys, your advice was much appreciated and as a result I found a Kawasaki VN1500 Chrome Side Stand & Spring VN 1500 Classic D2 on eBay for only £22 and the result is perfect. Thanks :-)