Goin To Town

[96desertXII]

Well today I dis-assembled the whole rear of the bike......tour pack, saddle bags, and seats. Started cleaning and said screw it, pulled it in the backyard and took degreaser to it! It took 3 soak and cleans to get most of the grime is off it. Its now back in the garage on the center stand, which the first stage lever is missing from, waiting for me to get back to cleaning.

It doesn't look to bad under all that dirt. I pulled all the duct tape off the driver seat and used an old t-shirt to recover it for now. With the t-shirt and the sheepskin cover that was on it, its bearable till I save some pennies for a replacement. I also took some headlight restorer stuff to the windshield, you can almost see through it now and its not all yellow. Its a good thing I'm 6'1" and can see over it.

Pics to follow

[gearheadfla]

Be very careful, or you will get the same sickness I suffer from now. I am one of the sicko's you hear about that enjoy tinkering with and cleaning my motorcycles almost as much as I love riding them. Don't be surprised if you stop by my house and find me laying on the floor beside a bike buffing and polishing the bottom of the engine. It's a sickness I tell ya, and it is easy to catch. But really, enjoy your new horse and give it just a little TLC and she will never let you down, XII's are about as loyal as a old Yellow Lab.

[biggersm]

There are still a couple of windshields available for the XII. You might try to Google up Cee Bailey or Clearview.

There are many folks out there who can take a seat pan and do a real good job redoing it if you don't feel like doing that.

As long as the back of the bike is naked it would be a good time to look at the rear shocks. Are they original equipment? Do they still hold air, if so than change the oil and enjoy, but I would recommend going with Progressive shocks. The 412s are pretty inexpensive but you have to buy the springs separately (and there is a medium and heavy spring available).

BTW I grew up in Twentynine Palms and I know the area up where you live (although the picture I saw that you posted in getting the bike home really made everything look pretty green).

[96desertXII]

The pic posted on the trailer......was in Orange County, where I picked it up. The rear shocks hold air and seem to work pretty good, I will address them later. For right now I'm trying to get it cleaned up and on the road to see if there is anything it needs done. I found it low on oil and coolant.....so I imagine that PM was not high on the PO list.....along with keeping it clean. I did however find receipts in the bags and pack for rebuilding the front forks and a major tune-up along with a bunch of parts that were purchased for it.

Now that I'm "fully" into the cleaning and checking.........I can see that it sat outside most of its life. The clearcoat is peeling off of the engine parts and the front crashbars are rusted and pitted pretty badly. I will slowly amass the parts that are needed to "bring it back" and one day will have a teardown and replace the cosmetic stuff.

As for "the sickness"..........I'm known for being a little OCD about the cleaning of my bikes.

[k7nutN7nut]

Be very careful, or you will get the same sickness I suffer from now.

I understand the "sickness", but in MY defense, my other bike is a KLR 650, so, I don't get a bunch of "cleaning" time...plus, there's just no chrome!?

[96desertXII]

Back together for now..................test ride tomorrow!

The rear speakers are really messed up, so they and the rack are on my bench. I will deal with them later.

[Bill O]

Keep in mind, just about any decent 4 inch full range, weather proof speaker can be installed in the rear speaker housings.

Bill O

[96desertXII]

Thanks

[Bill O]

Well today I dis-assembled the whole rear of the bike......tour pack, saddle bags, and seats. Started cleaning and said screw it, pulled it in the backyard and took degreaser to it! It took 3 soak and cleans to get most of the grime is off it. Its now back in the garage on the center stand, which the first stage lever is missing from, waiting for me to get back to cleaning.

It doesn't look to bad under all that dirt. I pulled all the duct tape off the driver seat and used an old t-shirt to recover it for now. With the t-shirt and the sheepskin cover that was on it, its bearable till I save some pennies for a replacement. I also took some headlight restorer stuff to the windshield, you can almost see through it now and its not all yellow. Its a good thing I'm 6'1" and can see over it.

Pics to follow

Just a note: Those rear shocks don't look like OEM's. Condition could be good compared to the original OEM rear shocks. As most will tell you, Progressive rear shocks are awesome for this bike. If the front haven't been changed, New Progressive front springs will make this bike ride like a new modern bike. Dive will almost dissapear as with the OEM from Springs.

Seat.... On FleaBay, there is a guy who remakes the drivers saddle to resemble a Russel Day Log seat for $200 (I think) + an exchange seat. Well worth the effort.

If the bike has 404 tires, toss them and get E3's or Avon Venoms. Watch out for front steering wobble. The tires and some tweeking on the steering head nut will completely correct that.

Get ready for years of riding pleasure and the association with the AVA folks who will freely share their experience with the Voyager.

Bill O

[96desertXII]

Has a wore out 404 on the rear and an Elite 491 on the front. I used E3's on my Harleys.......great tires. I will change them to E3's. Don't know what rear shocks are on it and the front was just rebuilt at 79K, 87K on it now. I did Revtech performance springs and gold emulators on the 89 Tour Glide..............was a different bike. I will see if that will work on the XII.

[ekap1200]

" I found it low on oil and coolant..... ' Don't go by the sight glass to check how much oil is in the engine !!!!!!
3qt-22oz is the amount to fill the engine, any more than that brings the level of oil up into the trans gears. Where it will churn and become airated and that air will start to become trapped in your hyd-lifters, causing an unpleasent tap. I know there is someone on this site or maybe abbikeboard's forum that was getting rid of bike that may have a stock seat. I'll try to find them tonight and see for sure. Your bike's looking way better now that it is cleaned up.Keep up the good work. Gene Kap.

[David (N. Alabama)]

I highly recommend Terry Adcox for a seat for your voyager.

[k7nutN7nut]

I know there is someone on this site that was getting rid of bike that may have a stock seat. I'll try to find them tonight and see for sure. Your bike's looking way better now that it is cleaned up.Keep up the good work. Gene Kap.

Your right Gene, it does look better already!

And...it was me your thinking of......maybe?
Chuck & I have exchanged PM's, I decided to create a page on my web site to start listing the Voyager XII items I will no longer need, after getting my '00
on the road. As I have time, I will keep adding more stuff.

http://www.mcallisterdrywall.com/Voyagerparts.html

BTW, can the stock rear shocks be rebuilt, new seals I mean, one of my sets developed a leak, so I changed them out, but are they re-buildable.....or is it even worth it?

Sorry Chuck, I didn't mean to "hijack" your thread, bike looks great and let us know how the ride is!

[gearheadfla]

Nope, the stock springs can not be rebuilt other than changing the oil, if they need replaced I HIGHLY suggest to get Progressives and do away with the headaches of air pressure. One of the best things I ever did to my 88 along with Progressive fronts also. Now no air to play with, just ride.

[96desertXII]

Took her on a medium test ride today, 100 miles, and here is my impressions.

Had to readjust the bars, they were to close and the ends were to "wheel barrow like" for me......much better now. I NEED HIGHWAY PEGS!!!! So used to them I kept putting my feet in the air....like that "easy chair" position.

The front end is alittle bouncy and it likes to follow lines and tar snakes. May need a steering head adjustment and that Elite II has to go.

The windshield is to high and doesn't let any air in to me...I will cut it down for now. The stock height might be ok for winter riding.

It has this weird high idle thing it does sometimes.....idles at like 2200-2800 rpm and slowly goes down to normal, and it does it at will. I'm thinking maybe a vacuum leak? will have to take the "tank" off and check for cracks in the manifold rubbers and sync the carbs.

The rear brake doesn't seem to do much and is noisy, probably needs pads.

Almost everything works, cruise, signal canceller, ACV, radio (no display), tape player, and CB. The fuel and temp gauge will be investigated soon.

It is amazingly fast for its size......your at almost 100mph before you know it. Very smooth, kinda whiney, but not to loud.

In a nut shell.........I LIKE IT. Just need to do a few things to it, to make it suit my riding style, but all in all.....its a nice bike.

[k7nutN7nut]

Took her on a medium test ride today, 100 miles, and here is my impressions.

Had to readjust the bars, they were to close and the ends were to "wheel barrow like" for me
The front end is alittle bouncy and it likes to follow lines and tar snakes. May need a steering head adjustment and that Elite II has to go.

The windshield is to high and doesn't let any air in to me...I will cut it down for now. The stock height might be ok for winter riding.

It has this weird high idle thing it does sometimes.....idles at like 2200-2800 rpm and slowly goes down to normal, and it does it at will. I'm thinking maybe a vacuum leak? will have to take the "tank" off and check for cracks in the manifold rubbers and sync the carbs.

Almost everything works, cruise, signal canceller, ACV, radio (no display), tape player, and CB. The fuel and temp gauge will be investigated soon.

It is amazingly fast for its size......your at almost 100mph before you know it. Very smooth, kinda whiney, but not to loud.

In a nut shell.........I LIKE IT. Just need to do a few things to it, to make it suit my riding style, but all in all.....its a nice bike.

Chuck, my '00 bars came the same way too...didn't like it that way either?
I want it "close" to my Mid ATV bars on my KLR, so the difference isn't THAT much different. Tracking up on tar lines...or anything else!?
I noticed that too, but than again, both my tires were SHOT when I got her going. Got new tires, helped a bunch...didn't take it away, but helped.
On the carbs, I know it's NO fun, but on both my KLR's this "new and improved" gas we have is a PITA and they need to be torn down and cleaned before there reliable. Before I put the carbs back on mine, I didn't tear them apart, but I gutted the insides of all 4 and used carb cleaner, then compressed air...all the difference in the world! I then ran Seafoam through the first 4 or 5 tank loads and everything's been good. Like you said, the DPO probably wasn't in to PM on her, so they could more than likely use a cleaning.
Have fun and keep us informed and if push comes to shove, I do have a PK 9090V for sale?

[Gator Mike]

When you sync the carbs you may get rid of the idle slowly coming down. That's a common thing if the carbs aren't sync'd. Bike really is coming along nice. Enjoy the ride........Gator Mike

[96desertXII]

Went down and got a rear tire......went with the 404 cause I have the 491 on the front......matching tread pattern thing and it was on sale for $89.99. Picked up a new air filter (they had it in stock) and new rear break pads, they were at like 10%, so I figured while its apart! I have to say that it was the easiest rear tire change on a bike that I've ever done! I also found that the rear shocks had 0 air and if I'm reading this air pump right, the front forks had 40psi in them. I need to get a better pump to make sure that there at the proper psi. I also took the paint off of the lower center light on the rear fender flange thingy. Now I just need to get some sockets and LED 1157's to put in there so I can make my tour pack removable and build a rack to go in its place for around town riding, theres plenty of room in the saddlebags for around town plus I like the look.

[gearheadfla]

40 in the front ? You read that right ? No more than 7 in the front. At 40 the seal should have gave up the goat and be a rock hard ride. 40 in the rear would be more like it. When I was running air in my shocks I did push the limit up front with 10 lbs. OH, and another good thing about the XII is the front and rear brake pads are the same, makes it easier to have spares in stock.

[96desertXII]

This pump is kinda strange, I've ordered a better one.



The "legend" has kg/cm2 in black and psi in red.