Thinking forwards

[suzib6sw]

I seriously smitten with the looks of the 2012 Lime green Vaquero.. I may or may not keep my '86 1200 but would welcome any input from owners..
How much is the light kit, can you aftermarket it instead of using Kaw add ons..
how does it ride, How is the heat?.. Does it suffer the same way as the Voyager does re heat pre KAMS?
Does the AvA membership qualify me for extra discount

My Fiancee has a HD Heritage softail and would love me to get a Streetglide or Roadglide but I just cant justify that huge expense even several years old..

Cheers and beers..

Pete

[Dion]

I test road one couple years ago at AVA Rally in AR. DeGray State Park I thought it road nice and did not notice any heat related problems I myself would Consider buying one but right now still a little high in price for me after all I already have 2 bikes

[HMB Don]

They ride nice, The heat is not bad with the Kams, I removed the Kams earlier this year and rode it that way for awhile. Once the heat of late spring came I reinstalled the Kams. As the miles add up on the Odo the engine get smoother, and I'm now able to run 6th gear at lower speeds it will pull even at 35 mph. I've got Dunlop E-3 on front and American Elite rear, these now have 23k front and 24k rear. I changed fork oil now using 5w fork oil, but with the E-3 on the front, the front end is very stiff, needs new softer fork springs.

they use only 91 octane, I tried using 89 but it runs hotter and fuel mileage is down.

[David (N. Alabama)]

I also love the candy lime green vaquero. It is too close a bike to the Voyager to justify it though. The engine is just as hot as the Voyager engine, the Concours engine, the Mean streak engine and even the Voyager XII engine. The differences are that the Concours and The Voyager XII engines are encapsulated and vented out to the sides to not much of the engine heat reaches the rider.

The Voyager blocks wind well which means it keeps the engine heat in close.

The Vaquero doesn't block the wind as much as the voyager so you shouldn't notice the heat as much.

My Mean Streak is just as hot as the 1700 V-twins and all the Harley V-twins. The difference is that once you are moving the heat is dissipated since there are no fairings to block the wind.

I don't think there are aftermarket running lights for the Vaqs, and I also think the vaqueros look too much like the Voyager with the running lights installed. I would opt for putting some LED lights behind the louvers instead of replacing them. Also some hyperlights or skenedesign lights on the lower forks.

I didn't like riding the XII in the heat of summer and don't care to ride the 1700 Voyager in the heat of summer. Even the Concours is too hot to ride in the heat of summer.

I have been looking seriously at the Victory motorcycles. I think a Victory cross roads could replace both the Voyager and mean streak. They are easily modified to go from naked cruiser to full dresser without a lot of wrenching. It takes me a couple hours to convert the Voyager to a Vaquero-like ride.