Texas dealer suggestions for buying a used Voyager

[Toku57]

Hoping those who bought their Voyager from a Texas dealership can help steer me towards a good one when I'm ready to buy. Mainland Cycle Center in Lamarque sounds like a good option. I've seen several of their videos advertising Voyagers and it's obvious they really like them and know a lot about them. On the other hand, there are a lot of lazy dealers that just copy and paste the Kawasaki marketing blurb without telling you about the one they have. Some don't even post pics of the actual bike, and instead just post stock art and leave you to guess the color. I figure those guys also probably don't care as much about assessing a used bike's condition or properly prepping it for sale.

If you bought your Voyager from a dealership in the Austin/San Antonio/DFW/Houston, or East Texas area I'd appreciate your feedback.

I'm certainly open to buying from a private party in my area as well, but it seems like the majority of used Voyagers are offered by dealers.

[Scootergptx]

Didn't get mine new, so didn't go to a Kawasaki dealer. Seems like the dealers around here all use the company feed of description and factory photos for the new models. Used it about the only time you see an actual picture of what they have.

[OldSchool]

I haven't bought anything from these folks,but I think I would. They go way out of their way to present their motorcycles to the public. I just have a feeling I would be comfortable buying from them.They have voyagers all the time and usually at reasonable prices.

https://www.cleanharleys.com

[Scootergptx]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

I haven't bought anything from these folks,but I think I would. They go way out of their way to present their motorcycles to the public. I just have a feeling I would be comfortable buying from them.They have voyagers all the time and usually at reasonable prices.

https://www.cleanharleys.com

I almost bought a bike from them back in 2012. When it came time to talk trade in, my 2007 C90 with 30k miles was worth $400. And in his words, "was being generous". Not a damn thing wrong with the bike.

This is where I bought the Vaquero.
Lots of photos of the bikes they have, and you can bargain on the price. Can't speak of the service dept, never used it. Did get a warranty that was "as good as a factory one". ECU went out and it would have been covered by the factory. Not the one I bought. Decent place to buy used. If you get a warranty, have them write that quote down on the bill of sale.

Oh yeah, 3 years later and they would give me $2500 for the C90. Got a good enough deal I kept it.

[Toku57]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

I haven't bought anything from these folks,but I think I would. They go way out of their way to present their motorcycles to the public. I just have a feeling I would be comfortable buying from them.They have voyagers all the time and usually at reasonable prices.

https://www.cleanharleys.com

Thanks - I remember checking their site out some time back and also got a favorable impression, although Scootergptx's experience with them is a concern. Still, I plan on selling my current bike rather than trading it, so might consider them.

Originally Posted by Scootergptx

I almost bought a bike from them back in 2012. When it came time to talk trade in, my 2007 C90 with 30k miles was worth $400. And in his words, "was being generous". Not a damn thing wrong with the bike.

This is where I bought the Vaquero.
Lots of photos of the bikes they have, and you can bargain on the price. Can't speak of the service dept, never used it. Did get a warranty that was "as good as a factory one". ECU went out and it would have been covered by the factory. Not the one I bought. Decent place to buy used. If you get a warranty, have them write that quote down on the bill of sale.

Oh yeah, 3 years later and they would give me $2500 for the C90. Got a good enough deal I kept it.

Thanks - they sound like a good shop.

[Scootergptx]

Don't get me wrong, they had a lot of nice bikes. Some really, really nice bikes.

[TX1700rider]

Action Kawasaki Suzuki in Mesquite, TX

I purchased my 2012 Voyager there just over a year ago. I travel extensively all over the south central United States and I visited dealers all over Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico looking for the right deal.

I filled out a credit app late on a Monday evening through Action's website because they had a 2012 in white which was my preferred color. The sales manager from Action called me back on Tuesday morning as I was getting in my car to drive across town to test ride another Voyager at a different dealership. He told me that my application had been approved and discussed all of the terms with me over the phone. He told me that he had a customer in Oklahoma who also wanted the bike but since I already had an approved app I was first in line and he would wait a couple of days for me to make a decision. He then apologized because he knew that sounded like a pressure tactic. I told him in all honesty that I was on the way to another dealer to test ride a 2010 Voyager that was almost half the price of his 2012. He talked to me and answered questions about the bike for almost an hour while I was driving across town to test ride someone else's bike. He even called his Kawasaki rep to ask a question about KAMS that he did not have an immediate answer to and called me back. We hung up as I arrived at the other dealership knowing full well I was going to his competitor. He politely asked me to call him after my ride and give him my impression and let him know if he needed to call his other buyer.

I called him back about an hour later (had to make him wait a little bit) to tell him that if he would throw in a free helmet that I had already looked at while at his dealership the prior week then we had a deal. He had the paperwork ready for me when I drove back across town to Mesquite and had the helmet I requested sitting on his desk waiting for me. All details were as discussed. The bike already had two more years of extended warranty on it and I had the option to add three more years with unlimited mileage for what I thought was a great price so I added that to the deal. I have warranty till October 2021.

I had to take the bike in for warranty service in September '17 to replace the gear shift indicator switch. I was treated very well. They had my bike for two weeks because of my work travel schedule and while they had my bike the battery failed. It had been giving me trouble already and it was five years old so I was not surprised. I work in the auto parts industry so I get a great discount on parts. The service manager was very accommodating and allowed me to bring my own battery when I picked up the bike and he helped me install it no charge.

I have purchased a couple of additional parts and accessories there and have received a 10-20% discount on everything because I purchased my bike there.

To say I have been pleased would be an understatement.

[Toku57]

TX1700 - they sound like an awesome dealership. I’ll definitely add them to my list.

[Scootergptx]

I've had to get parts for my atv from Action. Definitely a great experience.

A little out of my way, but they had the part, held it and gave me a discount for making the drive.

[Toku57]

Originally Posted by Scootergptx

A little out of my way . . .

They’re about 230 miles out of my way - I wonder what kind of discount that’d get me? Seriously though since there’s only one dealer in the Austin area I might buy from, I know it’s likely I’ll have to travel a bit to get the one I want.

[Scootergptx]

Originally Posted by Toku57

They’re about 230 miles out of my way - I wonder what kind of discount that’d get me? Seriously though since there’s only one dealer in the Austin area I might buy from, I know it’s likely I’ll have to travel a bit to get the one I want.

Woods Fun Center? I looked at used bikes from there years ago. They were giving some good deals on used bikes, but too far to drive.

Edit: I still get emails from them.

[Toku57]

Originally Posted by Scootergptx

Woods Fun Center? I looked at used bikes from there years ago. They were giving some good deals on used bikes, but too far to drive.

Edit: I still get emails from them.

Actually, Dream Machine Indian in Round Rock. Woods’ pricing has generally been kinda high whenever I’ve checked and their reputation is sketchy. The Dream Machine guys seem more customer oriented. There’s actually a little Kawasaki dealer pretty close, but they really have a bad attitude. It’s like the owner wants to loose money for a tax write off or something. 😏

[Scootergptx]

Originally Posted by Toku57

Actually, Dream Machine Indian in Round Rock. Woods’ pricing has generally been kinda high whenever I’ve checked and their reputation is sketchy. The Dream Machine guys seem more customer oriented. There’s actually a little Kawasaki dealer pretty close, but they really have a bad attitude. It’s like the owner wants to loose money for a tax write off or something. 😏

Dream Machine used to be part of the motorcycle place I bought my Vaquero from. They had that one, another shop in Killeen and the one up here. Not sure what happened with them all.

[Toku57]

So I finally got to test a Voyager - a 2015 at Dream Machines. They seemed real nice, and I would definitely buy from them.

The bike itself was much like I expected after reading about them extensively here and elsewhere. I'm virtually certain this was a non-Ivanized bike since it seemed to have the fueling issues associated with the stock ECU. Also, the guy I spoke with said they didn't have any records from the seller indicating it had been done. Nonetheless, I came away with a very good impression of Voyagers. It was the first time I'd even seen one in the flesh, and while the gray/black color of the 2015's isn't my favorite, I can see they really are attractive bikes.

Once I adapted to the comparatively ponderous pace and feel compared to my Bandit, I found the ride really enjoyable. The ergos - hand placement, seating position, leg spread, leg extension - all felt darn near perfect. And even though I was looking through the windscreen, I didn't find that to be a problem, although I only had the bike at highway speed for a very short time. The seat was really comfy on my short 20 minute or so ride, and seemed like it'd be great all day. I also found the bike real easy to handle at low speed and pretty nimble in general for such a big bulging beast. Really loved the K-ACT braking, which proved itself at my first stop as some jerk pulled out in front of me just before the light, and I found myself unable to find the rear brake pedal due to my unfamiliarity with the ergos. Grabbing the front brake provided a quick no drama response with very little dive. I also loved the stock exhaust note and felt some nice satisfying pulsing from the engine. And I loved the big groovy dash - so freakin' awesome watching the needles on those big analog dials. The only issues I found was I had trouble finding the kickstand with my heel to set it down, and the gas gauge needle suddenly dropped from just under 1/4 to E, although the range indicator still showed 46 miles to empty. The low fuel indicator was on the whole ride.

So I'm really diggin' the Voyager, and think I could make the mental shift necessary to embrace the more relaxed pace big 'ole boats like it provide. I'd no doubt miss the quickness of my Bandit in certain situations, but that overall comfort of the Voyager should more than compensate, especially for the long distance riding I want to start doing.

P.S. - Is the gas gauge issue I mentioned typical, or was it likely just a bug on that particular bike? They also had an issue with its headlight not working when they checked it out prior to my ride. They fixed it, but perhaps this particular one has a few electrical gremlins.

[mbarr10]

embrace the more relaxed pace big 'ole boats like it provide.

There you go, You have the bug.
If it was back firing and herkey jerky on the throttle then it was not Ivanized.
Kinda like a Lazyboy recliner on wheels, Yet runs better than the one that Guy in Duluth, Minnesota Had confiscated from the police and sold at auction for his DWI. It was on a Lawnmower frame.