New member saying hi

[Tonyvdb]

Hi everyone, just signed up and wanted to say hello from up in Edmonton Canada.
I've been a motorcycle fan for years and owned my first bike in 1988. It was a 1981 Kawasaki GPZ 550 and I rode it for 9 years. After selling it in 1997 to pay for a new fridge that I had to buy for my first house I never bough another bike for various reasons. Over the years every spring when I saw other bike on the road I longed to get back on one. I kept up on my riding by borrowing bikes off of friends or family members over the years to satisfy my desire.

So fast forward to just this week, a good friend bought a new 2014 triumph and he had a 1996 Kawasaki voyager xii that he was driving. He called me up asking if I wanted it. Having no real funds around to buy it he responded "no problem $1000 and it's yours and pay me whenever!" The bike is in great shape with only 37,000mi on it.
So call it a 45th birthday present for myself LOL I would post a picture but I'm not sure how at the moment so I will get to that later I guess.


Tony

[debron]

Welcome Tony! The XII is a great bike. You'll love it! Very important, when you change the oil, drain from TWO drain plugs (plus the filter), otherwise you won't get all of the oil out and when you fill it up you will have too much, which causes problems.

[Tonyvdb]

Yes thank you! I read that on here when I was looking around. I plan on doing that Saturday. Do you recommend synthetic blend oil?

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Tony, welcome from Pennsylvania and from the Mid-Atlantic Voyagers chapter of the AVA!
You asked about syn vrs Dino/reg oil. That's a deep subject, one that will envoke weeks of debate. A lot of us follow the advice of Mr. Carl Leo, a true master mechanic and world renouned Law Voyager EXPERT. He suggests using regular oil. I can't think of the brand or specs but I'm sure if you search the forum you'll find it quickly.
Spend some of your free time (if you have any) reading thru the many sections and postings, do searches and take a few notes.
Ask any question and by all means offer input. We're a great family and have tons of fun and stories.
Again welcome to the AVA!

[debron]

He suggests using regular oil. I can't think of the brand or specs. . .

Shell Rotella T, 15/40. Available many places, Walmart has it for a good price. Optional is Rotella T-6 "synthetic" which is really very highly refined dyno oil.

[Tonyvdb]

Ok, so uploaded a picture to my first post I hope it is showing up.

So most semi Synthetic oils up here are 5w40 Im guessing the 5 is to thin to use? keep in mind it does not get as hot up here so high 70s is average daytime temps with the odd mid 80s and in the fall mornings can be quite crisp.

[Lucasind]

Welcome, Looks great ! I'm so envious of that deal ! It even has the mirror visors from Markland or did you have GKapp overnight you a set ....tony

[debron]

Oops! Sorry, my post was incomplete! Rotella T-6 synthetic is 5-40 and works fine.

[Tonyvdb]

Welcome, Looks great ! I'm so envious of that deal ! It even has the mirror visors from Markland or did you have GKapp overnight you a set ....tony

LOL Thanks. Nope what you see is what I got. Yes it was to good a deal to pass up on.

The only thing that does not work is the radio but the CB dose work so Im not sure at this point what to look for.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

The only thing that does not work is the radio but the CB dose work so Im not sure at this point what to look for.

Search the members list for "suzib6sw" {Peter Franchi}, he works on the radios for our Voyagers and can perform magic with them. He may be able to provide some advice on how to trouble shoot the radio and possible problems.

First question about the radio is does it turn on at all? Is there time showing on the display? If not then check the fuses, there are 3 I think for the radio (some under the false tank and behind the headlight). If you have display, is there any sound at all? Check to see if the HS (headset control) is indicated, if so push the HS button. That is what redirects the sound from speakers to a "Y" cord to plug in helmets. If the HS isn't indicated on the display check both MUTE buttons. One for driver on left side of handlebar controls and one for rear passenger (left side control bag). Also check to see if the Tape button (left side of handlebar controls) is engaged, that will give you a clock display and no radio.
If Pete see's this post I'm sure he'll jump in with a few ideas as well.

[Mr Jensee]

Hi Tony from the Gulf Coast of the United States. Your oil choices are fine, especially considering where you live. Suggestion, get your friend to to list everything he has done to the bike maintenance wise and keep a chart (log) of all you do and the mileage. You can upload a copy of the voyager service manual from the link in my signature. Some parts may still be unreadable on it as I have not updated most chapters with new scans but they can serve you well. The only thing not showing in the manual is the cruise control (which I guess was not included in the first issues) but lots of help on here if you need it. Carl Leo lives in Florida and his email is Voyagerparts@bellsouth.net if you need help with any maintenance issues. Welcome to the Fraternity and happy riding.

[Tonyvdb]

Thanks for all the friendly welcomes and advice so far. Scott, I will try those things you suggest for the radio when I get home from work today. I guess I should be posting my questions in the appropriate thread so I will head over there if I need any other help :)

[lockwoodjohn]

Hi Tony,
Welcome to the Voyager family. In Sept. I will have owned my Voyager one year! When I bought this bike I did not know a thing about it. All I knew is one test ride on it and I loved it. I found this forum by dumb luck!! l lurked around on it then became a registered user. Asked
A lot of questions, Got a lot of good answers and advice. A lot of nice people here. This site helped me out a lot. Liked it so much I wanted
To make sure it keeps going. I paid my dues and became a paid member, Best thing I did for my Voyager.
Take Care, Enjoy your bike!
John!!!
PS. When you get a answer to a question you might have, Follow there advice there is a 100 per cent chance they are right and have been there done that!

[Mr Jensee]

That is how most of us found and fell in love with the AVA. Paying the dues is well worth what you get out of it. I too knew nearly nothing about the Voyager XII and I owned another Kawasaki model before it. They were each as different as night and day.

[wmeier]

Hey Tony. Welcome. Wayne here from Cochrane Alberta. I too bought a 2003 XII a couple years back (actually came to Edmonton to get it). Mine has a ton of miles (115K) on it but still runs very well. I had issues with my cruise but it's now fixed (front brake switch). Also had noisy valves, but have taken Carl's advice on that and it seems to have gone away. I am changing my oil this weekend and using Carl's recommendation of exactly (very important) 3 quarts 22 ounces (which is 3.49 liters for us Canadians). He says the exact amount is critical for the valve noise issue. I am using Rotella T 15-40 you can get from CDN Tire. I was also surprised to find they sell the oil filters there too, Fram or K&N ($10 or $15). FYI, I just replaced my tired stock suspension with progressive front springs and rear shocks (again provided by Carl based on my and my wife's weight) and the change in ride is very noticeable. I also replaced my scratched windshield with a Cee Baily's shield with a Goldwing vent in it. I am actually thinking of riding up to Edmonton Sunday just to say hi to mom.

[Tonyvdb]

Hi Wayne, nice to meet a fellow Albertan.
115K wow thats a lot of miles for a bike, I did find the oil filter at Canadian tire and replaced the oil with synthetic (it sure shifts nice with synthetic in it)

[suzib6sw]

Welcome, Looks great ! I'm so envious of that deal ! It even has the mirror visors from Markland or did you have GKapp overnight you a set ....tony

LOL Thanks. Nope what you see is what I got. Yes it was to good a deal to pass up on.

The only thing that does not work is the radio but the CB dose work so Im not sure at this point what to look for.

tony... Give me a call... 540 391 0884 till 8:30pm EST..

Cheers..
Pete

[JHD]

Hi everyone, just signed up and wanted to say hello from up in Edmonton Canada.
I've been a motorcycle fan for years and owned my first bike in 1988. It was a 1981 Kawasaki GPZ 550 and I rode it for 9 years. After selling it in 1997 to pay for a new fridge that I had to buy for my first house I never bough another bike for various reasons. Over the years every spring when I saw other bike on the road I longed to get back on one. I kept up on my riding by borrowing bikes off of friends or family members over the years to satisfy my desire.

So fast forward to just this week, a good friend bought a new 2014 triumph and he had a 1996 Kawasaki voyager xii that he was driving. He called me up asking if I wanted it. Having no real funds around to buy it he responded "no problem $1000 and it's yours and pay me whenever!" The bike is in great shape with only 37,000mi on it.
So call it a 45th birthday present for myself LOL I would post a picture but I'm not sure how at the moment so I will get to that later I guess.


Tony

Cool! Welcome XII rider from the GWN . Hope you will be riding it more than your friend was driving it. What a score. You will be having lots of fun touring your beautiful country. Plan on riding up to Banff with my wife in the near future. Not an extremely long trip from Seattle. Good for you. You have just purchase IMHO one of the best engineered bikes out there.