Newb

[96desertXII]

Just finalized the deal and will be picking up............a new to me.......1996 Voyager XII on Tuesday.

Never owned a Kawasaki, rode a few, but never owned one. Had LOTS of Hondas and Harleys. Been without a bike for about 6 months. Have always had a bagger. Been riding for over 40 years and looking forward to trying a Voyager. She's got 86K on her, is a little sun faded, needs a new seat, a windshield, and some lovin and little repairs.........but I'm retired and have lotsa time and am a pretty good wrench. One thing it does do, after a freeway run when its hot out, like above 90*, when you get off the freeway it idles real high, like 2000rpm. Any ideas? and it doesent do it unless its hot outside.

A few pics

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

96desertXII, congrats and you'll absolutely love it. I guarantee it, if you don't just drive it up to Pennsylvania and give it to me. I promise to love it, water it and give it a warm bed at night. About the high idle, I have no idea. You could try running some Seafoam through it, double the dosage with a few gallons in the tank and ride. Then every 2nd or 3rd tank full add some to keep everything clean and smooth.
As for the sun fading, it gives it character. Heck my hair has faded in some areas and I know guys who've faded completely but they're still running and just as good as ever!

[Gator Mike]

Might try sychronizing the carbs. You can get slow return to idle when they aren't sych'd. However, don't know about it happening after it's hot. Might be worth a try though. At any rate, congrats on the new ride and welcome to the forum
................Gator Mike

[debron]

Welcome 96desertXI!

...1996 Voyager XII. . . is a little sun faded. . .

Common on the '96. Something about the paint they used that year. Every '96 I've seen has had faded paint.

Best sources for replacement windshields are Cee Baileys and Clearview Shields. Slipstreamer also makes one and is the cheapest. You can get windshields from 2" lower (to see over top) to 4" higher and 4" wider. The last seem to be popular with folks who ride mostly two-up. Less wind turbulence for the passenger.


Looks like you have Dunlop D-404 tires, at least on the front. These are not great tires for the XII and when you replace them, Dunlop Elite 3's will give you a huge improvement in handling (and longevity!) The E-3s are probably the most popular tire for the XII on this forum, though some swear by the Avon Venom X or the Metzler ME880. However, NO ONE likes the D-404s!

Next, if it hasn't been done, Progressive Springs in the front forks are also a great (and popular) upgrade. That will also give you a very noticeable improvement in handling and ride and eliminate the need to deal with air pressure. Regarding rear shocks, there are two camps. One popular option is to replace the stock shocks with Progressive 412's. Again, a great improvement in handling and ride, plus it eliminates the need to always check the air pressure. The second option is to replace the oil in the shocks with a good quality synthetic. That gives you about the same improvement in handling and ride but you still have to deal with air pressure. Your shocks probably have the original factory oil which is old now and was of low quality to begin with. The first option it about $250, the second about $25.

[96desertXII]

Thanks for the welcome, I to have faded hair issues (its a cruel joke god plays to take the hair from my head.....and put it on my back!). I don't know why ANYONE uses the 402, they are not a very good tire. I have had E3's on my HD's and they are a great tire, and will be the tire I go with when I change.

For now I just plan to clean it up and do some of the repairs that may be needed. As for the seat, for now I'm just going to get some vinyl and make a "temp" cover, to get the duct tape off it, while I explore the saddle options. The guy I'm getting it from has been using it for his DD and putting like 500 miles a week on it going to school . He just had the front forks redone, so any upgrades there will be in the future. I will check the rear shocks and probably do an oil change and leave it at that till I can save up some pennies and get Ohlins for the back. Had them on my last HD......they are an AWESOME suspension system!

[debron]

You sound pretty knowledgeable about wrenching your bike but just in case, the NorCal Voyagers (a chapter of the AVA) have a Tech DVD for $10 on changing the oil in the rear shocks, available here

[MalamuteMike]

The color issue if you look at red metallics, silvers, light blues they will fade its because of the types of pigments they had to use and they fade if left out in the sun a lot, looks like a nice bike and once you get running right you'll love it and get Conti touring tires or Dunlap E-2 or E-3 Tires they have a high load rating

[MalamuteMike]

Check the date code on the tires on the bike, not many people check that, the front tire looks like a E-2 they are good tires and you will get cupping on the front tires because it's a shaft drive, nature of the beast.

[k7nutN7nut]

I should have said "welcome" yesterday...so Welcome to the site!

[MalamuteMike]

on the windshield before you buy a new one, you might want to (if you know someone with a high speed buffer like what's used in body shops) try Mequiar's carnauba wax, not the cleaner wax just the straight carnauba wax you can buy at walmart and take it off the bike try buffing it out on inside then put back on the bike and buff the outside use lots of wax, if you can bring it back it saved ya some money and I clean my with soap & water and then wax the windshield before I ride helps the bugs come off next time

[96desertXII]

Yea, I was gunna try to see if I could save the windshield. I have a 3 part Novus system that I used on the HD's.....might be to far gone though. Will know more on Tuesday.

[ekap1200]

Hello and welcome to the forum 96desertXII. From your pics of the bike she looks like some TLC will get your ride looking good. I see no broken plastic but it looks like the PO was a little lax on preventive maintainence. Or after 86k on the meter he just got tired of takeing good care of her.
But you have come to the right forum for info. Not only are most of us here very knowlegable on the 1200 but we have an ace up our sleeve. His name is Carl Leo, an expert in my opinion on the 1200 and a downright nice man to talk to. And he can find those hard to find parts if your nearest dealer can't or doesn't want to. If your good with tools and have the time I'm sure you'll get it back in shape. Go back to the basics of PM service and a good visual inspection of the overall condition and you may discover whats wrong with your high idle, ie. carb bowls( drain them ) Fuel filter ( just replace it, look into the tank fill for rusted metal ) vacuum leaks,sync'ed carbs ,plugs, wires . If you didn't get a service manual with the purchace of the bike, there a few of us here that have it on file that can email it too you. These are strong engines and can go into the hundreds of thousand miles if maintained properly. My opinion on the windshield if you plan on riding at dusk or at night, is just replace it. There a quite a few quirks with the 1200, and all have been covered on this forum at one time or another. Someone may have even upgraded their saddle and have a good used one laying around for sale. Glad to have you aboard. Gene Kap. New Jersey

[96desertXII]

Thanks for the welcome, The guy I'm getting it from has been using it for a back and forth to school vehicle, and puts 500+ miles a week on it. He bought another bike (smaller and lighter), but has been doing some work to it. He had the front forks rebuilt and had some other things done to it, but is not handy with a wrench. So it cost $$$$ and he said that its hard to find anyone who will work on it or knows anything about them.

I'm sure that there isn't much wrong with it other than a little PM and light repairs. I may end up repainting it, I'm kinda handy with a gun and painted my last HD. It started out with the fairing and bodywork almost the exact same color! I would still have the old Tour Glide, but was made an offer that I couldn't refuse .

[gearheadfla]

Mite wanna hold on to that Glide, Harley is dropping all the fixed fairing models in 2014. They are dropping 5 models including the 883 Sporty.

[96desertXII]

Mite wanna hold on to that Glide, Harley is dropping all the fixed fairing models in 2014. They are dropping 5 models including the 883 Sporty.

Glide is gone..........it was an 89 and the engine was tired. I made a good profit.

[gearheadfla]

Well, anytime you can make a profit on a used bike, it's gotta go.

[96desertXII]

Yup..........didn't run, stop, and the electrical was a mess when I got it. Not really an HD purist and no real brand loyalty. Although my first bike was a 1968 Honda CL175........I put 60,000 miles on that in 2 years...........and I was hooked!

[debron]

. . . my first bike was a 1968 Honda CL175........I put 60,000 miles on that in 2 years. . .

That's a lot of miles on the 175! I had a 1972 Honda SL175 and I put on less than 20,000 in the two years I owned it!

[96desertXII]

. . . my first bike was a 1968 Honda CL175........I put 60,000 miles on that in 2 years. . .

That's a lot of miles on the 175! I had a 1972 Honda SL175 and I put on less than 20,000 in the two years I owned it!

At 16 years old.......you don't care about monkey-butt!