Must be making more VXII's

[cushman eagle]

Today I saw the third Voyager XII in my area of Orrville, Ohio in a month That's more than I have seen around here since I bought my '99 almost four years ago.The one I saw today was a teal one,and it was on Ohio state route 57 north of Orrville about 4 pm.

[jn1200]

From 1986 t0 2003, Kaw made 68 Voyagers. You're very lucky seeing what you did!

[gearheadfla]

I keep saying that Florida is infested in them, there is 8 that I know in my area and I see others out on the road at rallys, the local Kaw store has one for sell right now, heck I have 3 of them lol, I think our little secret got out somehow.

Here is a swarm of them invading Carl's driveway.
Here's 3 of the 5 that showed up for our toy run last year

[96desertXII]

I saw one yesterday at Wally World in Apple Valley, CA. I was in the car with the wife and it drove by in the parking lot. Two tone red, it didn't have the factory tour pack on it, but the lights were in it and it was more rounded.

You know what they say................you never notice them till you own one!

[96desertXII]

From 1986 t0 2003, Kaw made 68 Voyagers. You're very lucky seeing what you did!

Really! that's all they sold?

[jn1200]

seems like it

[HMB Don]

Chuck

If you want to see lots of Voyagers in California, their are two ways.
1 come to a NorCal Voyagers Club, club meeting in Tracy, CA.
2 come to the AVA Western Regional Rally, Reno, NV. There are going to be 1200 Voyagers from all of the western states.

There are 6 Voyager 1200 members, and 2 1700 Voyager members near you. Remember that NorCal had Stainless Steel Brake Lines, plus Galfer brake pad in stock.

Don Medina
President
NorCal Voyagers Club
AVA Boardmember
2012 Voyager 1700

[OldKawDrvr]

You know what they say................you never notice them till you own one!

I remember seeing only one on the road. That's the one that inspired me to buy the one I have now. I'd be interested to know how many they really built.

[gearheadfla]

found this

It was a nice warm sunny afternoon and a customer of ours came in to sell us a 2003 Kawasaki Voyager. I had never owned a motorcycle of this size, a big touring bike, but I knew that I wanted to do some traveling with my wife who tours the country on a BMW. The Finger Lakes BMW Rally was coming up as we approached the Labor Day Weekend. So I purchased the motorcycle from the customer after we negotiated a price. I had hesitations as the motorcycle was only running on 3 cylinders, the forks were collapsed, and the fairing was hitting the front fender. But because of my roots in Kawasaki, I just had to take the chance on it.

.

Eric pulled the bike into the shop, pulled the carbs and went to town with it. The collapsed forks were just an air pressure issue, and the carb cleanup was routine for Eric as well as the general maintenance performed.



After the bike preparation, Robin and I departed for Watkins Glen, NY, taking the back roads on Route 6 across PA. It was a treat for me to ride a bike fitted with a tour pack and hard saddle bags, including liners, as well as AM/FM cassette tape player, cruise control, fairing vents, etc. Deep down inside, I am a true “naked bike” rider at heart. When we were young, we used to laugh at people who rode with windshields, as this was the first thing that came off the motorcycles. Now I’m singing a different tune...

So my wife and I were heading down I-80 to get to route 66 just West of Clarion PA. I started checking the mileage on the bike and we were getting a true 44-mpg through all types of traffic, a few bursts of speed through the hills and forests.

We had been riding 150 miles or so to Coudersport, I was getting accustomed to the feel of the heavy bike. I loved the brakes, the power, and the radio was really turning me on. It started getting old with my wife reminding me to “turn that radio down!” when we pulled into a quiet area with it blasting away. It was a real novelty for me to enjoy a radio while riding. On the radio that night they were talking about Neil Armstrong being laid to rest earlier that day. Ironically, the full moon was huge that night, practically lighting our way through the mountains. It was almost surreal and I had never seen the moon like that before.

We stopped at Coudersport PA after several hours of night riding, and checked into a motel West of town where we happened to meet 6 or 7 gentlemen gathered for a cross-country dual-sport ride. They rode everything from KLR650 to KTMs to Suzuki’s and came from as far South as TN to MI, meeting in the middle for a week-long off-road adventure.

After our conversation with the off-road guys, we ventured down the road about 3-4 miles and discovered a unique café and bistro, the only place open for dinner at around 8:30 at night in Coudersport. “Olgas,” opened fairly recently, is situated in a stone storefront, featuring big windows, and a beautiful big wooden bar. What a find. You ordered off of a pretty extensive menu offering healthier and gourmet dishes, and while you waited for your food, you were encouraged to shop in their art gallery. The owner, Olga, is a young woman who does her painting and crafts right on site, and her wares decorate the entire building, several floors, along with the works of other artists. It was a nice find in an otherwise low-key town. http://eggdecorator.com/cafe_bistro.php

We rode two-up to dinner and back to the hotel, where we found our off-road buddies outside enjoying themselves, kicking tires in anticipation of the week’s adventures in the wilderness. Robin thoroughly envied them.

The next morning we set out toward Finger Lakes, heading toward Wellsboro PA, which is near the Grand Canyon of the East, then from Route 6 caught route 15 N, a new highway heading into Horseheads NY. As we were going through, all of a sudden it hit me, this bike is really growing on me. It was such a pleasure to be riding with my wife through this beautiful area. As we all know it is great to ride with a friend, but when you can ride with someone who is your friend, partner and wife, it is an experience that is hard to explain.

As we were riding our motorcycles, we were always looking for Kawasaki dealers, old stuff on the roads, etc. We fell short on that quest this time, but needless to say the riding was great.



Once we got close to Finger Lakes, winding up route 54 into Hammondsport we stopped at the Glenn Curtiss Museum. This is a real, must-see for anyone into airplanes and motorcycles and history. “Dedicated to the memory of pioneer aviator, Glenn Curtiss, the museum contains a priceless collection relating to early aviation and local history.” Glenn Curtiss began his career as a builder of bicycles and then, motorcycles. In 1907 he became the "fastest man on earth" when he attained a speed of 136.4 MPH on his V8 powered motorcycle. An exact reproduction of this bike is one of several Curtiss motorcycles that are on display. http://www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org/

Within a mile or two of the museum, you get your first eyeful of the Finger Lakes, heading up County Rd 87 toward Watkins Glen. This is a beautiful part of the country. This is where the Voyager really started to “gel” with me, thinking of past racing experiences, thinking about what you see on TV with the moto GP, we were riding some of the roads where the old Watkins Glen Grand Prix race took place before the actual track was built. These roads take you right past where the BMW rally has been held for over 25 years, on Labor Day Weekend.

I just couldn’t believe the horsepower of the Voyager as well as the brakes and the handling. For a truly vintage rider, this was really a treat for me.

We hung around at the BMW rally in Watkins Glen, met a lot of old friends, and met some new friends. Everyone has a story to tell at these rallies, and sharing these stories is really a fond memory. We rode around Seneca Lake, which is the largest of the Finger Lakes, about 38 miles in length. Our trip circling around the lake would be around 100 miles. Looking for photo-ops, these roads are lined with wineries and restaurants catering to the wine enthusiast. There are over 80 wineries in the area.

We also managed to fit in a charter boat ride on Saturday on the 1926 John Alden Malabar VII Schooner. “True Love,” was featured in the 1956 movie "High Society" with Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra. http://www.schoonerexcursions.com/

The rally always has a nice little flea market, and we did a little buying while there. We wound up buying some Buco saddlebags and some Wixom bags, and our friends from Toledo graciously offered to haul them back for us in their car. We stayed on the campground on Sunday night at the Connecticut BMW Club cabin, then said our final goodbyes. We then set sail back to Ohio. We were prepared for the rain as we left, but ended up shedding the Frogg Toggs partway into the trip, being reminded of how much protection these big bikes offer.

Although I have done very little touring on modern motorcycles, after I got used to the weight and maneuvering this large bike it became almost automatic. With the wonderful horsepower, instant throttle response, overdrive transmission, good brakes, and totally functional luggage, this is the best touring bike I’ve ever straddled. Our total mileage for the weekend was a little over 1,000 miles. We got a constant 40+mpg, and I would highly recommend a bike like this to anyone wanting to travel cross-country, once you learn how to manage the weight. There is something about a Kawasaki in-line 4 cyl that will grow on you. This is basically the great-grandson of the Z1 if you really think about it.

Now that we are back in Ohio sitting down to write this article, I realize how much I'm riding this bike as a daily rider to run errands for the shop, etc. The Avon Tyres finally did arrive and got mounted; in one month, we’d already put another 1,000 miles on those tyres!

Perhaps it will be difficult now to return to my Z1 roots.
===================================================================================================
I found this wright up while I was trying to find out how many XII's was built, the search goes on. Had to copy and paste it, the link didn't work

[96desertXII]

Chuck

If you want to see lots of Voyagers in California, their are two ways.
1 come to a NorCal Voyagers Club, club meeting in Tracy, CA.
2 come to the AVA Western Regional Rally, Reno, NV. There are going to be 1200 Voyagers from all of the western states.

There are 6 Voyager 1200 members, and 2 1700 Voyager members near you. Remember that NorCal had Stainless Steel Brake Lines, plus Galfer brake pad in stock.

Don Medina
President
NorCal Voyagers Club
AVA Boardmember
2012 Voyager 1700

We will be in Montana for the rally dates, at Glazier Park, at another rally on vacation. Maybe one day I might make the 6 hour trek for a meeting..........we'll see.

I may have to get some brake line though.

[Lucasind]

gearhead,, your not gonna believe this, but this long story you posted is about MY 03/voyager. It came from a small shop in wadsworth oh.,, a suburb of akron oh. ! ! I have put nearly 3000 miles on the bike since buying dec. of 2012. The bike has performed flawlessly ,having riden it all thru the winter.the bike has never even hic-uped, just a great machine that I know I will get many years of service from. ..........tony

[biggersm]

Here is a challenge. What are the most Voyager XII models that can be seen in a single picture. I thought we had a pretty good crowd in Bowling Green KY in 2008 (and by the time of that rally the last XII had been created five years before). Of couse not every bike in this picture is an XII (some are Voyager 1300s and this was before the 1700 came out).

[/url]


At the chapter level they are all over the place down here in the Sunshine State. This is one of the larger gatherings we had back in 2008 at Daytona and then a little later for our first annual Leesberg/Yalaha ride.



You might say in the picture below that there are Voyagers as far as the eye can see



Mr. JN1200 Actually you are pretty lucky you are near two different active chapters and will have the chance to see several XII that are still on the road.

Check out the Enchanted Voyagers: http://enchantedvoyagersmc.com

Also check out the Lone Star Voyagers: http://www.lonestarvoyagers.org

By the way this is from memory but I think the production run was about 40,000 XII models. If someone knows differently please chime in.

[biggersm]

Your probably wondering what some guy in Florida is posting all about New Mexico. I was an Enchanted Voyager and we used to have several events with the Lone Star Voyagers. The pictures below are from the Palo Duro Canyon Run where we also went to the Cadillac Ranch.

For the record some of us have moved on to other motorcycles (we now ride a GL 1800 because we got such a great deal, $4,600 under MSRP with 1% financing). All of us continue to be Voyagers. We hope you can spare the time and money to join the AVA and come to some of our events.

[biggersm]

I found essentially a tie for the number of motorcycles at a Rally. We were not able to make the 2010 Rally but I counted 82 in this parade; about half of which were Voyager XII.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfbrBKjZyiw

We are counting the days to see all of you in Ohio!

[David (N. Alabama)]

Today I saw the third Voyager XII in my area of Orrville, Ohio in a month That's more than I have seen around here since I bought my '99 almost four years ago.The one I saw today was a teal one,and it was on Ohio state route 57 north of Orrville about 4 pm.

As the Voyagers change hands from those who hardly ride them anymore to those who are excited to own one, you are more likely to see them on the road.

I am still amazed at how many low mileage full touring Voyager XIIs there are out there.

[PKarl]

was at Thunder in the Valley in Johnstown this weekend saw 3 other voyagers this year besides mine..last year saw one other voyager