Proud new papa!

[trikebldr]

OK, gotta brag a bit now. For a long time Lucasind has gently nudged me towards the Voyager XII instead of/in addition to my current two Voyager 1300s. I don't have enough leg strength anymore to safely hold a 1300 up in heavy traffic at stops. I added a sidecar to one of my 1300s and it gets ridden regularly, but my poor solo 1300 gets ridden maybe once a month just to keep it in good shape.

Was recently scouring Craigslist for a 550 Spectre when I saw a 2001 XII. Looked so nice in the pics so I talked to the guy about it. He was asking $3000 and it had 50,436 miles. he hadn't ridden it much since last summer so he was going to siphon out all the fuel. I looked at it and decided to take a chance and fired it up on the old gas. it started right up but was a bit rough at first. After smoothing out I blipped the throttle and it responded instantly, but took it's sweet time coming back to idle. I think it has some stickiness in the slides, so I'm thinking just some Seafoam for a few miles might clear that up. Absolutely no rust in the tank. (Yes, I stuck one of those probes into the tank to see what it looked like.).

The bike has a lot of accessories on it.

I can also sit on it with both feet flat on the ground rather than tip-toeing it like on a 1300. This bike felt as nimble and easy to handle as my 1100 Spectre. So, I now have a new favorite cruiser for two wheels.

Here's the bragging part. I now own a 2001 1200 Voyager XII, two 1300s ('84, '85), a '82 KZ1100D Spectre, and a '82 KZ750DN1 Spectre. Now I am looking for a '82 KZ550D Spectre to round out my family of matching Kwaks.

[triton28]

Nice purchase trikebldr.
One thing I noticed is the passenger armrests appear to be mounted directly to the plastic wall of the trunk and not to the large, load spreading, chrome wraparound plate as shown in the Markland mounting instructions, which are available to view in "Accessories", of the Voyager XII Tech Section.
Perhaps the plate is painted the same colour as the trunk and it doesn't show in the photos, or it may be mounted on the inside of the trunk wall, but either way I would hate to see the armrest brackets/mounting bolts wear holes in, or tear out of, your plastic trunk walls.
Just an observation,
Dave

[Me Again]

Congratulations.
I think you will like it.
At 6ft 2in I could never get comfortable on the baby V but I have to admit it is much lighter and easier to move around than the 1300 .

[trikebldr]

Nice purchase trikebldr.
One thing I noticed is the passenger armrests appear to be mounted directly to the plastic wall of the trunk and not to the large, load spreading, chrome wraparound plate as shown in the Markland mounting instructions, which are available to view in "Accessories", of the Voyager XII Tech Section.
Perhaps the plate is painted the same colour as the trunk and it doesn't show in the photos, or it may be mounted on the inside of the trunk wall, but either way I would hate to see the armrest brackets/mounting bolts wear holes in, or tear out of, your plastic trunk walls.
Just an observation,
Dave

Dave, thanks for that heads up about the mounting issue. I'm new to the XII, so these little hints are welcome! I own two 1300s and had one when they were new in 1983, but this is my first XII and I'm loving it. Would hate to have something like ripped-out mounts ruining it. Will take a closer look at it and report back here. Again, thanks!

[trikebldr]

Congratulations.
I think you will like it.
At 6ft 2in I could never get comfortable on the baby V but I have to admit it is much lighter and easier to move around than the 1300 .

The 1300s are roomier, but are just too much for me to hold up safely at stops anymore. This XII feels lighter and more nimble than even my little KZ1100 Spectre on the streets! Loving it! But, I still will always have a 1300, even if it does have a sidecar hooked to it!

[Lucasind]

.....Many miles of enjoyable riding on your new XII are heading your way ! you will be impressed on the way they eat up the miles on long trips ,and beg for more !

[triton28]

I hope it may be of some help trikebldr.
Dave

[Jimvoyager01]

I had a 1300 also,,,the fuel tank on top made it top heavy for me....the 1200 tank is under your seat. I loved my 1300 but now i love my 1200

[Me Again]

I always thought it would be fun to cut the bottom off the 1300 tank and push the battery and a bunch of electronic gadgets under the "tank" and drop a new tank under the seat .
In theory it would not be that difficult but I have no where near the proper tools to attempt it .

[Eydugstr]

Congrats on the new ride, looks good!