New potential Voyager in NPR, Fla!

[MotoSquirrel]

Greetings and salutations!

My name is Jon and I'm one of those odd 30-something year-olds who gets into these big bikes early on in their riding lives. I'm looking at purchasing a 2002 Voyager 12 from a local shop, and so I figured the best way to learn about these bikes is to get to know those people who actually own them. I'm very curious about what everyone's impressions of these bikes are, what I should look out for, and what they're like to live with.
Thanks for all you fine people's time!

-Jon "MotoSquirrel"

[Neal]

I'd be willing to bet that if you buy the 1200, your Harley won't see many miles next season.

[cranky]

... have Ya put some butt on seat time? Taken'er for spin? Do know it has straight
cut gears in the rear end and you will probably have a howl @45-50 mph - its
easy to ride around it...

It has 5 speeds and makes Ya feel like Ya need 6, but rev'ing to 7500, it'll go plenty fast,
and get Ya 45mpg doing it.... look at it and see what you'll hafta add.. most add LED
running lights on the crash bars, saves the amps and helps ya see / be seen....

The seat is your first impression to get... I use a wooden bead cover over
an Airhawk to smooth out the seat... I can run 12 hr / 500 mi days...
How much does the dealer want for this 'ting'a'beauty????? I'm
guessing he is in the outrageous to stoopid range.... JM2C

[MotoSquirrel]

... have Ya put some butt on seat time? Taken'er for spin? Do know it has straight
cut gears in the rear end and you will probably have a howl @45-50 mph - its
easy to ride around it...

It has 5 speeds and makes Ya feel like Ya need 6, but rev'ing to 7500, it'll go plenty fast,
and get Ya 45mpg doing it.... look at it and see what you'll hafta add.. most add LED
running lights on the crash bars, saves the amps and helps ya see / be seen....

The seat is your first impression to get... I use a wooden bead cover over
an Airhawk to smooth out the seat... I can run 12 hr / 500 mi days...
How much does the dealer want for this 'ting'a'beauty????? I'm
guessing he is in the outrageous to stoopid range.... JM2C

I haven’t had a chance to ride it yet. I was looking at putting LED lights on in the future, the ideas on the seat are nice, I’ll have to look that up. Otherwise, it’s actually stupid cheap, as opposed to what it could be.

I'd be willing to bet that if you buy the 1200, your Harley won't see many miles next season.

With all the issues my Harley has I’m willing to agree.

[cushman eagle]

I bought my '99 9 years ago with 22,000 miles on it for $5,000 and I like it so much I would do it all over again
I have put over 56,500 miles on it,and it has never let me down,but with the ignition wiring harness issue,it almost did .Do a search on this forum to see what I am relating to.There is a good chance that one already had the problem taken care of.
From the factory the ignition harness was fastened too tight to the steering head,resulting in too much flex in the harness whenever the wheel was turned to the right or left,stressing the wires until they would break.This would cause electrical failure.Mine already had 2 wires jumped when I bought it and needed fixed by rewiring the whole harness.

[chevyman1]

I bought my 1990 in 2007 with 11900 miles on it I now have 92000 miles on it.
anything you need to know about these bikes is on this form.
anything you want to know ask and someone will answer.

[MotoSquirrel]

Thanks for all the input!

I bought my '99 9 years ago with 22,000 miles on it for $5,000 and I like it so much I would do it all over again
I have put over 56,500 miles on it,and it has never let me down,but with the ignition wiring harness issue,it almost did .Do a search on this forum to see what I am relating to.There is a good chance that one already had the problem taken care of.
From the factory the ignition harness was fastened too tight to the steering head,resulting in too much flex in the harness whenever the wheel was turned to the right or left,stressing the wires until they would break.This would cause electrical failure.Mine already had 2 wires jumped when I bought it and needed fixed by rewiring the whole harness.

I'll search for the topic you mentioned, so I can check the bike's harness (if possible without tearing anything apart) the next chance I get to stop by the shop.

[doug of so fla]

Very simple to find !!! look right in front of the false gas tank cover, you will see a wire harness coming from the bottom of the ignition and going to the left along a frame tube, If there is a ty-wrap on that harness attaching it to the round frame tube just simply remove the ty - wrap.

If you turn the bars all the way one way the ty-wrap will make the harness crimp up by the ty-wrap and turn it all the way the other way and it stretches the harness too tight and this constant kinking of this harness will break the many very small wires in the harness.

If your harness has no ty-wrap and the harness moves back and forth with the bars movement you are ok.
Let us know what you find.

[Mr Jensee]

I didn't just put high power LEDs on the crash bars but recently I added a very high power LED headlight bulb which really gets attention. I even get cars signaling me to dim my already low beams when riding. Best safety item I could have added.
https://www.amazon.com/d/Automotive-Hea ... otorcycles

[cranky]

.. I think the best safety item is a headlight modulator! THAT thing gets attention!
... and I added LED tail lights that flash 8 times in 2 seconds, another attention
getter... whatever saves Ya!!!! JM2C

[VoyKimmer]

Mr. Jensee, Does the high beam indicator light operate normally? Does the headlight out indicator light stay un lit? In other words does it operate like a stock bulb except 200% brighter?

[Me Again]

I didn't just put high power LEDs on the crash bars but recently I added a very high power LED headlight bulb which really gets attention. I even get cars signaling me to dim my already low beams when riding. Best safety item I could have added.
https://www.amazon.com/d/Automotive-Hea ... otorcycles

If You are getting flashed then your lights are either poorly adjusted or to bright (and possibly illegal) and are a danger to you and oncoming traffic .
Either way you need to fix the problem.
I had a pair of running lights that would light up a city but never once had a car flash me .Brite lights are nice but not at the expense of other drivers .

[Mr Jensee]

I really really dont care if they are flashing me. Headlights have been adjusted but I also rarely ride at night anyway. The ones flashing me because LED headlights are not frequently used in Louisiana so far. The cops dont bother me so I can assume I am legal. I would rather other drivers feel uncomfortable when we pass each other because I know I am being seen. And I would rather be seen than not any day of the week. This is less obnoxious than running loud pipes.

[Mr Jensee]

Mr. Jensee, Does the high beam indicator light operate normally? Does the headlight out indicator light stay un lit? In other words does it operate like a stock bulb except 200% brighter?

The bulb reacts just like the original I replaced. No difference. And Me Again, as for adjustments. The adjustor on the dash will not turn. I have lubricated the cable with white lithium grease and it wont move. Checked the lights at night in the garage and they look to be close to being correctly aimed. The bulb is 12000 lumens.

[VoyKimmer]

Thanks Mr. Jensee,
I'm going to order one.

[MotoSquirrel]

thanks for all the additional info! I'm hoping to possibly begin the purchase process at the end of the month, if it doesn't sell before then.

[MotoSquirrel]

I finally got a chance to get back to the shop and take some pictures!

Front view

Rear view

From the top

My little boy likes it! LOL

The shop helpfully cranked it up, it needs its carbs rebalanced, they were cleaned not long ago, and it sounds like there might be some tapping in the engine, but I don’t think the oil has moved around very much in the bike or a long time. Everything seems to do what it supposed to, when I put a deposit down, I will take a test ride before I commit.

[ekap1200]

Looks like a repaint on the front fender, and the trunk seems to have orange peel from what looks like a repaint also. and the radiator fan belongs behind the radiator. I don't know whats going on there. I see it has a ( SUPER-BRACE ) FRONT fork tube brace. I can't tell if its missing the four parts that go under that from these pics, and the headlamp trim looks a bit out of wack. Me thinks this bike has went down at some point..
Gene Kap.

[MotoSquirrel]

Looks like a repaint on the front fender, and the trunk seems to have orange peel from what looks like a repaint also. and the radiator fan belongs behind the radiator. I don't know whats going on there. I see it has a ( SUPER-BRACE ) FRONT fork tube brace. I can't tell if its missing the four parts that go under that from these pics, and the headlamp trim looks a bit out of wack. Me thinks this bike has went down at some point..
Gene Kap.

The paint is not a massive concern, as I can repaint as needed, however is the radiator fan relocation difficult? Do you think it's been done for a meaningful reason, or is it most likely a lazy tech?

It was supposedly ridden a lot by an older gentleman who died a few years ago. . .

[VoyKimmer]

That's weird. I don't know how they could do that. The mounts for the fan are on back side of the radiator. It must be some weird POS mod. I don't know why someone would do that. The voyagers aren't prone to overheating. I sat in stop and go traffic in 113 deg heat on my way to the rally in Texas and had no overheating problems. The fan ran constantly but the indicator just went a hair above the middle range.