New member and new owner

[JohnT]

Hello all. Last summer while working at our local HD dealership I walked into work one Monday in August with my small wad of mad money in my pocket. I was going to look at an old jet ski after work. On arrival one of our sales guys walked up to me and told me he took in my next bike on trade the day before. At that time I was riding a 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale so he figured I would be interested in a Voyager XII. I had bought the VR, my first full dress bike, 3 years ago with 23,000 miles and put 20,000 on in 3 years of owning it.I loved my VR but I looked anyway.
There it sat. 2003 with just over 8000 miles on the clock. And a Corbin seat. I called him a bad name, asked how the heck he knew I came to work with money on me, and bought the bike. BTW, if you want to STEAL a motorcycle, look for metric trades at a Harley dealer. Tax, title and tags included out the door for less than $1200. And just 8100 +/- miles.
So began reclamation of a mint but un-ridden bike. Carbs green? Yup. Brake and clutch fluid cloudy? Check. Tires? I will buy new. And so on. You folks know the drill.
I put new tires on it and flushed the brakes and clutch, changed the oil and filter, and rode it the rest of the summer. In short order the speedometer quit at 11,354 miles with another 2 months to ride.
I took it to a Kawi dealer near me with a known (to me) good mechanic and had the carbs removed and cleaned. Low speed jet uncapped and carbs synched. While there I had them flush the coolant because I thought there was a blockage. Turns out I was right, they found it much quicker than I would have. Cruise control fixed. Turns out not 1 but 2 of the #@%* safety switches were junk. And the on / off switch was intermittent. Speedometer needed a new drive.
And then the Northern NY weather turned back to crap. Haven't ridden it since I rode it home.
Chassis wise the bike is smaller than my VR was. (VR sold to my good friend Stan) Almost as comfortable as the VR. Truthfully it does not corner as well as the VR. Nor is it anywhere near as fast as the Venture. However, all in all it seems to be a very good motorcycle and I am happy. 50 + or - MPG is a big plus. The valve train of the engine is a sweet touch.
I have just 1 trip in on her. Geneva-On-The-Lake, Ohio has a bike event the week after Labor Day. The bike worked well on a medium trip. This year I am planning on numerous weekend rides. Never been to Maine. Want to go there just to go. And the rest of the North East states that I have not been to on a bike.
In the past 4 years or so of riding a touring bike I put on more miles per year than I did before in 3 years. I really enjoy riding Northern and North Eastern NY. (my backyard) I want to ride to The Dragon and see what all the fuss is about. Want to get to Biketoberfest. And before I get to old I want to ride to Colorado to see family I haven't seen since I was riding a dinosaur. As in the animal. Then on to Texas to see my brother and meet his new wife. On the way home I have never been to New Orleans and Bourbon Street sounds like a good place to have a cold beer. Then back to Northern NY. This one will have to happen soon. I'm not getting younger.
You can bet I will have too many dumb questions about the bike.
JohnT aka Johnny Goggles

[Tim in NC]

Welcome!
Sounds like you got a great deal on a good bike.
Mine's been spending most if its time in the garage. Hoping to be ready for the nice North Carolina spring (when it finally gets here).
Post some pics when you get a chance.

Ride safe,
Tim

[ekap1200]

Welcome JohnT, sounds like you like to ride long distance.... Well you now have the bike to do it. Once maintained and up to par, you will just be worrying where the next gas stop is...

[cushman eagle]

Welcome,JohnT,to a great family,and bike.

[Lucasind]

Welcome to the group John T !
I too have the last year of the Voyager XII ( 03' ) what a great bike ! I have been riding the wheels off the thing since I got it ,and other than a couple of speedo cables ,and a light bulb, it has given me nothing but MILES !
You mentioned you worked at a H-D shop ...but did not mention in what capacity ?

By the way here we go again ! ....another old Voyager XII with only 8000 miles on it !
( the regulars here know this story,as we read this ALL the time ) again . WELCOME ! .....Tony

[cushman eagle]

Is Kawasaki reproducing the VXII again? We see everyone finding almost-broke-in VXII's,and a couple 1300's ,just in the last couple months

[Jimvoyager01]

Welcome John T to AVA

[JohnT]

Welcome to the group John T !
I too have the last year of the Voyager XII ( 03' ) what a great bike ! I have been riding the wheels off the thing since I got it ,and other than a couple of speedo cables ,and a light bulb, it has given me nothing but MILES !
You mentioned you worked at a H-D shop ...but did not mention in what capacity ?

By the way here we go again ! ....another old Voyager XII with only 8000 miles on it !
( the regulars here know this story,as we read this ALL the time ) again . WELCOME ! .....Tony

I started as service writer, moved to Metric Service Manager, then back to service writer. Great place to work and good people to work with. But when the first of October came, cue the crickets chirping. And with no winter to speak of the snowmobile stuff never took off. I was so bored I could scream. So when my old boss asked me to come back, I did.
I am training our delivery drivers, working in our warehouse, and training to relieve my boss from time to time.

[JohnT]

Is Kawasaki reproducing the VXII again? We see everyone finding almost-broke-in VXII's,and a couple 1300's ,just in the last couple months

This poor bike did just barely get broken in, then was put in a garage to die. Thankfully the previous owner thought he would like to trade toward an ATV.
It's now time to light the bike up. (I get picked on due to my use of LED lighting, everywhere) And upgrade the stereo. And ride.

[shesseltine86]

Hello all. Last summer while working at our local HD dealership I walked into work one Monday in August with my small wad of mad money in my pocket. I was going to look at an old jet ski after work. On arrival one of our sales guys walked up to me and told me he took in my next bike on trade the day before. At that time I was riding a 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale so he figured I would be interested in a Voyager XII. I had bought the VR, my first full dress bike, 3 years ago with 23,000 miles and put 20,000 on in 3 years of owning it.I loved my VR but I looked anyway.
There it sat. 2003 with just over 8000 miles on the clock. And a Corbin seat. I called him a bad name, asked how the heck he knew I came to work with money on me, and bought the bike. BTW, if you want to STEAL a motorcycle, look for metric trades at a Harley dealer. Tax, title and tags included out the door for less than $1200. And just 8100 +/- miles.
So began reclamation of a mint but un-ridden bike. Carbs green? Yup. Brake and clutch fluid cloudy? Check. Tires? I will buy new. And so on. You folks know the drill.
I put new tires on it and flushed the brakes and clutch, changed the oil and filter, and rode it the rest of the summer. In short order the speedometer quit at 11,354 miles with another 2 months to ride.
I took it to a Kawi dealer near me with a known (to me) good mechanic and had the carbs removed and cleaned. Low speed jet uncapped and carbs synched. While there I had them flush the coolant because I thought there was a blockage. Turns out I was right, they found it much quicker than I would have. Cruise control fixed. Turns out not 1 but 2 of the #@%* safety switches were junk. And the on / off switch was intermittent. Speedometer needed a new drive.
And then the Northern NY weather turned back to crap. Haven't ridden it since I rode it home.
Chassis wise the bike is smaller than my VR was. (VR sold to my good friend Stan) Almost as comfortable as the VR. Truthfully it does not corner as well as the VR. Nor is it anywhere near as fast as the Venture. However, all in all it seems to be a very good motorcycle and I am happy. 50 + or - MPG is a big plus. The valve train of the engine is a sweet touch.
I have just 1 trip in on her. Geneva-On-The-Lake, Ohio has a bike event the week after Labor Day. The bike worked well on a medium trip. This year I am planning on numerous weekend rides. Never been to Maine. Want to go there just to go. And the rest of the North East states that I have not been to on a bike.
In the past 4 years or so of riding a touring bike I put on more miles per year than I did before in 3 years. I really enjoy riding Northern and North Eastern NY. (my backyard) I want to ride to The Dragon and see what all the fuss is about. Want to get to Biketoberfest. And before I get to old I want to ride to Colorado to see family I haven't seen since I was riding a dinosaur. As in the animal. Then on to Texas to see my brother and meet his new wife. On the way home I have never been to New Orleans and Bourbon Street sounds like a good place to have a cold beer. Then back to Northern NY. This one will have to happen soon. I'm not getting younger.
You can bet I will have too many dumb questions about the bike.
JohnT aka Johnny Goggles

I just got my 86, waiting for a new starter clutch and cleaning in the meantime, really looking forward to riding this one. Let me know if you end up coming to Maine, I'll try to meet up with you!