XII's most direct competition

[Nails]

https://denver.craigslist.org/mcy/d/den ... 16960.html

(An acquaintance in Ohio has one in pieces in a shed. But I saw some rust.)

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[Nails]

Oh, you homeboyz.

[GrandpaDenny]

I read an article a while back comparing the Goldwing, Cavalcade, Voyager XII and the Yamaha Venture Royale. The Cavalcade was described as huge and wallowing, and relatively underpowered compared to the rest. The Venture's sole selling point was the engine - it was the fastest of the four. The 'wing is, well, a 'wing. The Voyager was the lightest, quickest (by far), most nimble, and just as comfortable as the Gold wing. It did, however, have sh*tty tires (Dunlop 404s). I forget which magazine it was. They didn't have much good to say about the 'zuki.

[Nails]

I remember seeing that comparo, dunno where.

I'm not the first to compare them here. https://www.amervoyassoc.org/~amervoya/ ... php?t=8504

There are some "Rattlecade" homeboyz too: https://www.amervoyassoc.org/~amervoya/ ... 120#p68120; https://www.amervoyassoc.org/~amervoya/ ... php?t=8504

When I was shopping for a tourer, the Cavalcade was on my short list, mostly because it's fairly unique. Found a Voyager first, mostly because it was cheap.

[Highway Rider]

I read an article a while back comparing the Goldwing, Cavalcade, Voyager XII and the Yamaha Venture Royale.

You don't know by chance where that article would be located

[Nails]

No. I saved a bunch of these old reviews, but apparently not this one. I spent a few minutes trying to find it in webistan but no joy.

[Conrad]

My previous (as in haven't sold it yet) bike is a Venture Royale. Loved the handling, almost like a sport bike above 30, horrible under that, kinda top heavy. Love the rumble of that v4, subtler than a harley, and revs like any inline 4. Uncomfortable seat though.

[GrandpaDenny]

webistan

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[Nails]

This article was badly OCR-mangled. I took the liberty of fixing it to the best of my ability. There still might be misplaced paragraphs, but it's readable. PM me with your email addy if you want a Word .doc version.

And that link (above) had a short comparo between the Aspencade and the Cavalcade. https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article ... -the-cades

[GrandpaDenny]

Having just read the article, and remembering a few things, I would say the Cavalcade's competition was more the 1300cc Voyager, but that was definitely not a competition - the 'cade has all the shortcomings of the Voyager (size, size, weight, and size) and none of the advantages (um, speed, I guess?). Never having owned either, I can only go by what I've read. So my opinion counts for kronk!

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[Nails]

Having just read the article, and remembering a few things, I would say the Cavalcade's competition was more the 1300cc Voyager, but that was definitely not a competition - the 'cade has all the shortcomings of the Voyager (size, size, weight, and size) and none of the advantages (um, speed, I guess?). Never having owned either, I can only go by what I've read. So my opinion counts for kronk!

Well yeah, the XII doesn't compare too directly with anything else under consideration here. And I can think of other bikes that are smaller, smaller, lighter, and smaller than the XII, but they generally need aftermarket stuff to lounge-tour. (Bandit, for starters.)

Hurray for choice.

Personally, I think the XII's high point is price/value. After touring on it a fair bit, I definitely wouldn't want anything bigger or heavier. I'd honestly have trouble liking my XII without some mods I've made -- and I wouldn't have tried those mods if the bike was more expensive. (Call it my rat-tourer if you must.)

[GrandpaDenny]

Also, remember that the Voyager XII reviewed was a 1986 model. Perhaps because of this article, all of the things address were changed, most in 87. As a matter of fact, so much was changed for 1987 that it is considered to be a different model than the '86. The '86 is a ZG1200A, whilst the '87 and up are ZG1200B models. The fork is changed, cruise control and rear speakers were added, and a lip was added to the fairing to make it more effective. A few years later (I'm not sure what year) the seat was changed to be more comfortable. As for the wandering, we all know that it was directly caused by the Dunlop 404 tires. Our bikes are still somewhat susceptible to the wiggles around 40 mph, though the cure(s) are realatively easy (and cheap) to fix, usually just something loose (fender/brace) or needing adjustment (steering head bearing) and of course it can definitely be caused by tires. And remember, folks, to check the front wheel bearings you have to remove the brake calipers or you won't be able to tell if the wheel is wiggly! I suspect the same might be true for the rear wheel.

[Dave]

Having just read the article, and remembering a few things, I would say the Cavalcade's competition was more the 1300cc Voyager, but that was definitely not a competition - the 'cade has all the shortcomings of the Voyager (size, size, weight, and size) and none of the advantages (um, speed, I guess?). Never having owned either, I can only go by what I've read. So my opinion counts for kronk!

I had Cavalcade. During that same time, a military friend had a one year unaccompanied tour overseas. Rather than "mothball" his 1300 Voyager, while he was gone I would ride it a couple times a month. I was always happy to get back on my Cavalcade afterwards. The 1300 was much more top heavy than the Cavalcade which felt compact compared to the 1300. The 1300 did not feel much more powerful either.

[Nails]

I just realized I made a mistake in my Cavalcade homeboyz post above: I pasted the same AVA page twice but intended this one. https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/suzu ... t-40755006 This guy posted a few vids on ADVrider about his Cavalcade, but honestly kinda blasé despite pretty Canada. But he sure does like his Cavalcade.