International Motorcycle Show

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by cactusjack

My thoughts...if it was available now and if I was in a position to buy one - I'd have one in my garage.

Thanks

I guess I'll try to go to the show in Chicago. I am still waiting on the final price anouncement as well -- expecting it to be around $18-20k given comparables of other companies.

[cactusjack]

All I heard yesterday at the Kawasaki booth was: "no, we haven't announced an MSRP yet". The 1700's were generating a lot of interest.

[MarkG]

The Kawasaki guys on the show floor are guessing $16 for the Voyager, less for the Nomad. It will be interesting to see the final price.

Rode the Concours this morning, I was the 2nd bike in the stack behind the leader. The lead rider cleared the ride area nice and slow. Made the turn onto the street and I was a second slow grabbing the throttle. That put me almost a block behind. Fortunately the light was red, they had to stop. After that I kept up for the most part. Yes we stayed within reasonable speed limits (I think), nobody said you had to take your time getting to the limit. Very nimble, very very quick. For people that are more touring oriented, I understand 1" risers and a larger windshield make it much easier for long distances.

Tried the Honda Silverwing scooter. I guess it is alright for some people, it was a bit small for me. I did not feel stable leaning into the corners. There was quite a bit of lag in the throttle when starting up, too. The engine seemed to be revving fairly high even for an automatic at all speeds. Overall it seemed cheaply made.

This afternoon I got to ride the Burgman 650. Totally the opposite of the Honda. Handling is real good. Leaned it into a couple of corners and it was rock solid. Acceleration is good enough to keep up and merge with traffic. You can drive it in automatic or manual, even has an overdrive. Controls are easier to use and the display is easier to read. Had a pretty good crosswind and did not have any problems. When old age starts to creep in, this might be a good alternative as it becomes harder to swing the leg over the saddle. I was impressed with the capabilities.

Had a pretty good time at the show. Less vendors this year. Our next one will be bike week in March. Maybe by then they will have the Voyager and Nomad and we will be able to ride them.

[trip]

I just started a thread in the SouthCentral board concerning who's going to attend the show in Dallas on November 15, 16th. Let's get a group up and go.

[ice793]

For a stock seat it seemed pretty comfy and hugged my backside, very stable bike for a short rider as i am 5'7 i felt in control,not sure about the foot rests thought they did give when wieght was applied to them.All in all i was impressed cant wait to demo. when they come out sometime in the distant futur it seems cause no one has any answers on price or availability.

[glwilson]

Trip;

I wouldn't make it to Dallas mid-november; but would like to!

Regarding the Voyager; I am hearing more and more about its size. Being only 5'6"; the size sounds like it is for me; however it doesn't sound like it is going to fit a majority of rider's heights. Kind of mystery to me that Kawasaki would make a bike that fits a "minority" size person.

However; once I see one, I may be glad they did. (It won't do much for trade-in value though.)

[darthvulcan]

Wow, great insight and pictures! Thanks!

Man, that "Carolina Panthers" Blue/Black combo on the Voyager DEFINITELY does things for me!

[bobzinger]

Hey Markg. The Voyager doesn't look very big. I'm wondering how big a guy you are...Height/weight? I'm 5"11" and 265lb. I bought the Nomad because I can stretch out on it. On my Roadking my wife and I were really jammed up. It looks like there's not much room behind you in the picture.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by bobzinger

Hey Markg. The Voyager doesn't look very big. I'm wondering how big a guy you are...Height/weight? I'm 5"11" and 265lb. I bought the Nomad because I can stretch out on it. On my Roadking my wife and I were really jammed up. It looks like there's not much room behind you in the picture.

I'm bigger than you are, Bob. As I said, I felt comfortable on it. I don't ride two-up, though so that isn't a major deal to me. I would say the rear seat space is comparable to the 1600 Nomad with passenger backrest. I thought the same thing when I saw Mark's photos, but I think it's more of an illusion created by the wrap-around passenger backrest than anything else.

[MarkG]

bobzinger, I am 6'1" and around 285 with a 30" inseam. I also like to stretch out rather than being cramped. Except for the seat difference the new bikes felt exactly the same. Seemed like the same size, if not just a little bigger, than my Nomad and has extra frills of course. The lower fairing has plenty of room for very large boots. I noticed the pullback on the handle bars put things closer. That will probably mean most of the guys will not need risers. I would guess at most that loosening the bolts and rotating the handler bars up a bit will work just fine. The rear seat is larger than the 2008, just hard to tell with the camera angle.

[schoeney]

Great input guys. Now I know what to look for when the show hits Seattle in December.

Thanks for taking pics as well.

[leeceliz]

Went to the one last year. It was great. Got some good stuff cheap. Wish they would have it in Fort Worth instead.