2003 looking to buy

[Openspace]

2003. Had 86k on it

Only $4500 out the door

Like it so far. Had it out 5 times and the turn signals stopped working haha so now it is apart waiting for me to diag

[mrbmoran2]

Hopefully a simple fix, good luck!

[mayhem8]

Looking at some easier mods I'm hoping to do on my 2003 Voyager XII. The Mrs is complaining that the stock rear seat doesn't have enough padding. Saw something about an Air Hawk seat here I believe. My seat did have this steel bar going through it to hold a driver's backrest, but I didn't get the backrest with the bike.

I wound up pulling that bar out because the Mrs was basically sitting on it. Definitely an improvement as was pushing the trunk all the way back and moving the seat forward a bit so she was it a better position. Before that her knees were bent more than 90 degrees. Still, after about 30-40 mins she says her butt is sore, so any suggestions on a rear seat appreaciated. I'm OK for now with the front seat.

I see good things about the Superbrace, but honestly, the bike doesn't feel that bad to me stock. Probably a case of ignorance is bliss

Will have to see the effect of pumping up the stock shocks beyond the recommended max of 36 PSI. If that does it I'll be happy for now but if not, probably looking at 412 progressives. Shocks would be a winter project but the seat and Superbrace are pretty quick easy mods.

Read some of the oil recommendations and saw Rotella was recommended, but noted the T6 was full synthetic. I had an 82 Suzuki GS750 and used synthetic in that once and the clutch slipped. Changed the oil to conventional and it was fine, so a little gun shy on full synthetic with a wet clutch.

[Nails]

I suggest starting a new thread. Or a couple of them. I don't know how to respond to your seat question(s) -- back braces are good, lots of pads available, and even a few alternative seats. What do you want to do, long tours, just putter about, or something else?

I'm guessing you need to change the shock oil. You might want to search that. When properly serviced, the shocks on these bikes perform very, very well.

Lots of info about motor oils here. These bikes do fine on Rotella, in all three flavors. (I just wish I could find 10W40.) Maybe you were using a car oil -- known to screw with wet clutches.

A Superbrace wouldn't be first on my list. Actually, it wouldn't show up on my list at all, but others here like them.

[cushman eagle]

Looking at some easier mods I'm hoping to do on my 2003 Voyager XII. The Mrs is complaining that the stock rear seat doesn't have enough padding. Saw something about an Air Hawk seat here I believe. My seat did have this steel bar going through it to hold a driver's backrest, but I didn't get the backrest with the bike.

I wound up pulling that bar out because the Mrs was basically sitting on it. Definitely an improvement as was pushing the trunk all the way back and moving the seat forward a bit so she was it a better position. Before that her knees were bent more than 90 degrees. Still, after about 30-40 mins she says her butt is sore, so any suggestions on a rear seat appreaciated. I'm OK for now with the front seat.

I see good things about the Superbrace, but honestly, the bike doesn't feel that bad to me stock. Probably a case of ignorance is bliss

Will have to see the effect of pumping up the stock shocks beyond the recommended max of 36 PSI. If that does it I'll be happy for now but if not, probably looking at 412 progressives. Shocks would be a winter project but the seat and Superbrace are pretty quick easy mods.

Read some of the oil recommendations and saw Rotella was recommended, but noted the T6 was full synthetic. I had an 82 Suzuki GS750 and used synthetic in that once and the clutch slipped. Changed the oil to conventional and it was fine, so a little gun shy on full synthetic with a wet clutch.

I have used T-6 since I bought my Voyager 10 1/2 years and almost 67,000 miles ago,and have experienced no clutch slipping.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

For my wife we added a 2-3" gel seat pad that is about the same size or bigger as the rear seat, bought at Wal-Mart for office chairs. I think its bulky but it adds just enough height that the rails from my backrest don't rub/dig into the back of her thighs. I also added a set of high-rise rear passenger foot pegs from Marvella. They give her 2 positions for her feet which she says makes her legs a lot more comfortable when riding (BTW....she doesn't really like riding but lobes me enough to ride along).
You can get bars/brackets (check the classified ads section) to move the trunk backward a few extra inches to give the passenger more room. Also, we added a set of arm rests (Goldwing arm rests), all of which made a huge difference for her. My thoughts are the more comfortable she is the more WE will ride!
You can get cup holders if she would like, my dear wife opts not to drink as it would increases the frequency of pee stops.

[SgtSlag]

Wife and I tried various seat covers/cushions. The AirHawk just did not work for us, period. Wooden beads are decent, but we ended up with a purple Gypsy Seat Cushion, from JoAnn's Fabric, marketed for sewing. It is an air cushion, but not like the AirHawk. Ended up buying a second Gypsy Cushion, after we liked the first one so much -- still haven't gotten one for her sewing room yet, to replace the one I 'borrowed'... We trade positions on the bike, every two hours, so I am personally experienced with both positions on the bike seats. My opinions are from my personal experiences, not the wife's.

The Passenger Highway Pegs, are really nice, as you can move your legs up, and forward a bit. It changes the position of the lower back, and buttocks, buying more time in the saddle.

The Trunk Extenders are worth every penny! We are both 5'11". The Extenders move the trunk back, almost too far for us! With it all the way back, we are MUCH more comfortable in back! It also creates a pocket, between the seat and the trunk, in which we stuff our bike cover, in its protective bag. This provides some lower back support, which is very helpful. We sometimes roll up our Mesh Riding Jackets, and put them in that space. It is really convenient for extra storage, which is low on the bike, keeping it from becoming too top-heavy.

Check Amazon.com for Emgo Highway Floor Boards, 1" tube models. Inexpensive, bolt onto the Engine Guard bars, and are really nice for the driver. They are big enough to allow you to move your feet around just a bit, to find the best position (changes over the miles...). Cut up an old rubber bicycle inner tube, wrap it around the guard bars, and clamp the brackets over the rubber. They will grip the tubes, super-strong, and it will protect the tubes from being scratched.

If your bike does not have the OEM, burgundy, saddlebag liners, you can find some properly shaped alternatives on Amazon, which are black, and almost a perfect fit! Much less money than a set of OEM on e-Bay... My wife made a custom trunk bag, but we tossed that after a couple of years, and got a regular duffel bag, not the full size of the trunk, but big enough for us. Cheers!

[GrandpaDenny]

Read some of the oil recommendations and saw Rotella was recommended, but noted the T6 was full synthetic. I had an 82 Suzuki GS750 and used synthetic in that once and the clutch slipped. Changed the oil to conventional and it was fine, so a little gun shy on full synthetic with a wet clutch.

In Gertrude I use T6, full synthetic, not a problem. Shifts nice and easy. Geraldine ('84 Shadow 500) is getting T5 semi-synthetic because T4dino oil is recommended by Shadow owners, and T5 is half the price of T4, and I'm just flipping the bike, not keeping it.

Actually, at this point, I'm considering just selling the Shadow as is or junking her, since the starter clutch went and the regulator is bad. The starter clutch is unavailable and the regulator is almost as much as the bike cost. Pissed me off, bike was running before I went on vacation. Came back, starter won't engage and the regulator is shorted.

I'm gonna stick with Kawis.

[mayhem8]

Since the rear seat is so easy to take off, I'm considering just bringing it to an upolstery shop in the off-season and have them add more padding.

One other thing I forgot to mention is that I've seen adjustable side wings that mount on the side of Goldwing fairings, but thinking I could find something similar that would work on mine. On warmer days it would be nice to divert a little more air on us.

Will also look into the trunk extenders, as that may make the Mrs a little more comfortable. as mentioned, that gets more riding time in for US. The Mrs wanted a bike with a big compfy seat, and for $2400 and only 53K miles, I couldn't pass this up. It's everything I need in a bike so just working on making it more comfortable.

It did come with the highway pegs, or more like little floor boards. The first time I tried those it actually gave me a cramp in my hip, but the were in way too close for me (I'm 6'1"). I've moved them out further on the crash bars but haven't tried them again. I'm actually pretty comfortable in the regular riding position.

As for riding style, I'm mostly just putting around. Local rides of about an hour or less at a time. I'm only about 35 mins from the beach, so that's always a good destination for us and can do it on all backroads.

I did pump the rear shocks up a bit and that helped. Brought them up to 45 PSI and that worked well for just me. Thanks for the tip.

[drtechnology]

Since the rear seat is so easy to take off, I'm considering just bringing it to an upolstery shop in the off-season and have them add more padding.

One other thing I forgot to mention is that I've seen adjustable side wings that mount on the side of Goldwing fairings, but thinking I could find something similar that would work on mine. On warmer days it would be nice to divert a little more air on us.

Will also look into the trunk extenders, as that may make the Mrs a little more comfortable. as mentioned, that gets more riding time in for US. The Mrs wanted a bike with a big compfy seat, and for $2400 and only 53K miles, I couldn't pass this up. It's everything I need in a bike so just working on making it more comfortable.

It did come with the highway pegs, or more like little floor boards. The first time I tried those it actually gave me a cramp in my hip, but the were in way too close for me (I'm 6'1"). I've moved them out further on the crash bars but haven't tried them again. I'm actually pretty comfortable in the regular riding position.

As for riding style, I'm mostly just putting around. Local rides of about an hour or less at a time. I'm only about 35 mins from the beach, so that's always a good destination for us and can do it on all backroads.

I did pump the rear shocks up a bit and that helped. Brought them up to 45 PSI and that worked well for just me. Thanks for the tip.

Air in rear shocks? Get progressive springs and never pump air again!!!!!

Also the side faring wind deflectors are called biker air wings - still in business. I was gonna order some as soon as I got my new to me 2002 Voyager home, but I quickly realized where my legs n feet sit, the front of the bike actually is wide enough and covers my legs n feet fully and I felt ZERO wind on the freeway so no need for them - but they make them if you want them for show lol

[mayhem8]

I was actually looking for the air wings to deflect air TOWARDS us on those hot days. Otherwise the fairing gives me good coverage for cooler days and I do get some heat off the engine/radiator.

[triton28]

With regard to Baker Air Wings, I have a longish beard and with the wings set to drive wind in at me my beard covers my mouth; but with the wings set to deflect my beard rests comfortably below my chin where it belongs.
Without any air wings my beard dances around according to the direction of the wind but is tolerable.
Good thing it never gets too hot up here to the point where I would need the air deflected in at me or I would have to crop a lot off of my beard.
A small but humorous point about the effect the wings actually have.

[GrandpaDenny]

Baker doesn't make the air wings for VXIIs anymore. However, I have been told that the ones for 1200 and/or 1500 Gold Wings fit.

[mayhem8]

I never did bring my rear seat in to have padding added. Instead, I'm trying a Skwoosh rear seat pad. It's due in tomorrow, but may take a week or more before I have the Mrs on the back to try it out. If anyone is interested, It's about $50 and I posted a link to it in Amazon. Will update here what the Mrs thinks of it once we get to try it.

I'm a somehwhat fair-weather rider these days, but the Mrs won't even consider a ride unless it's sunny and 75F or warmer. I can get her to sit on it in the garage, but a longer ride is really needed to be sure. Right now, we maybe get up to an hour of riding in before she's sore.

https://www.amazon.com/SKWOOSH-Passenge ... 1837&psc=1