Kawasaki Demo rides

[Dave]

I was wondering how many bikes did Kawasaki bring? Looks like a bunch.
I'm surprise nobody has written what they thought of the different bikes and how they rode.

[unwind2]

Think there were about 10-11 Vaquero(s); there were 2 Voygers;
a couple of Nomads; a 1700 classic; and three 900's.

I drove the 900 first just because it was there, available ....I have a 750 carbed Vulcan at home and thought my 750 had more umph than the 900 did. But very nice smooth just like our Nomads. The one I drove had the heel toe shifter too.

I also drove the Vaquero...it seemed to handle a bit better at the parking lot speeds to me than my Nomad...(little bit lower center of gravity they say). I would have a concern about the heat from the area of the belt drive against the legs in stop and go traffic. The radio was nice and cruise control worked well. Ken and I both noticed front brake noise on the 2 vaqueros we drove and wondered since we both heard this rather loud front brake noise on different bikes when applying brakes equally what that was all about. All and all I was impressed with the Vaquero.

I did not drive the new Nomad. Michelle drove the Nomad and the Vaquero and said she liked the handling of the Vaquero better. She currently has a Nomad.

That's all I got....hopefully others will chime in now. ;)

[cactusjack]

I'm just curious, were there a lot of locals there to demo the bikes? The Vulcan Nation Tour is fairly well advertised.

[coacha]

In my group, here was a local riding a 900 LT. She was scared as heck too. She was still shaking when she did the post ride evaluation on the Ipad. Davidjones was finishing his up and he heard her say that she was a little scared but her hands were shaking.

I rode the Voyegur and it was a nice ride but the stock seat seemed to bounce me around a little and I'm not a little dude. I would have to say I'd go with the heated seat option because it is a little less padded and seemed a better feel. My overall impression was that it is nice machine and I would put it on the top of my list were I in the market.

[Dave]

I wonder if Greg Wilson rode the Voyager? I'd like to hear an honest opinion on how the ride is compared to an Ultra. It surprises me how much smoother BD's Nomad with a car tire on it is over my Ultra when going over bumps.

[cnc]

I tried a Vaquero just because the voyager which I was more interested in was not available. I found it much more maneuverable in the parking lot than my Nomad, but boy was it windy on the hwy with it's low windshield. The one I had shifted nicely and I liked the instruments. Gear indicator was a nice touch. You really got to roll to keep the bike in over drive.
I asked one of the guys preping the bikes a few questions about any technical differences between the Vaquero and the Voyager.
Not much apparently. Both still have a slipper clutch, but the Vaquero has no rubber dampers and supposedly a different clutch feel. Also the ecu is mapped a bit differently. All of this to make the vaquero feel more lively. I personally didn't think it pulled that much stronger than my 2008 Nomad.

[glwilson]

Didn't ride any demo's Dave. The Voyager sits too high for me to ride safely.

[GIBBY]

I rode the Vaquero first and thought that it was a very smooth shifting, good handling bike. I had zero helmet buffeting with the low windshield but substantial wind noise right at ear level. My opinion is that the Vaquero is not geared properly for the riding segment it is trying to reach. Next I rode the base model Voyager. I think that the Voyager rides and handles exceptionally well. Zero wind buffeting at speeds up to about 75 mph. Cruise worked very well as did the radio and all the gauges. This bike had the ABS braking system and boy does it work well, great stopping ability. I think that the Voyager is geared much better than the Vaquero and is a very good value. The new Voyager is in my top 3 picks for a new bike. I REALLY LIKED IT. :)

[oldbikers]

I rode the Nomad because I couldn't reach the ground on the Voyager Sue the lady that led our group said I needed to get some boots like hers she had 4" soles on them. The Nomad handled much better than my Nomad but I didn't like the clunk from the transmission and unless you are some where that you won't need to accelerate for a long time then 6th gear is a waste when I gave it a little gas at 70 mph you could feel it lug and also I didn't think it had any more power than my 1600.

[ringadingh]

When I spoke with the crew setting up the bikes they said they had 19 bikes on the trailer. When Tom and Al test rode the Vaqueros they said they felt some buffeting, probably because of the low windsheilds. Tom really noticed the 2 cylinder thump compared to his Valkyrie, and both said that 6th gear is useless at any legal speeds we would encounter.

[VulcanE]

I rode two Vaqueros (one black & one red), and the Voyager with the driver's backrest. The first Vaquero (black one) was smooth as silk, very quick, and compared to my Nomad, handled like a sport bike. Then the wife and I rode the Voyager. It felt a little cramped to me to start with, but after a short time, it started feeling more ergonomically correct. The passenger compartment was cramped for my wife, but a trip to the upholstery shop to shave about 3 inches of the 4 1/2 inches of the backrest pad thickness would remedy that. Then the wife and I rode the red Vaquero with a quick detachable passenger backrest, all I can say about it, is that the wife said "we need one of these" . All the bikes handled extremely well, had plenty of power, and rode smooth as silk. The Voyager has moved to the top of the list for when it comes time to replace my Nomad. The only things I would change on it right away are to thin the passenger backrest, and make a windshield about 3 inches wider on each side, I did get some buffeting approaching 85-90 MPH.
Overall, The Vaqueros are tuned for low to mid range performance, and the Voyager is set up for the open road. The Vaquero seat sits the rider an inch further back than the Voyager seat does. For the type of riding I normally do, the perfect bike would be a Vaquero with the trunk on it, with a quick detach mounting system.

I was VERY impressed with the bikes I rode!

[fish]

would I trade by nomad for a voyager? not right now after buying three new bikes in three years. In a couple years? maybe. The voyager is a heavier bike but doesn't feel like it. It does have airplane gears for the open road.

I had to twist the throttle on the Vaquero in second gear and I was surprised that it did take off. The only problem I have with the Vaquero is pronouncing it name.

[coacha]

Originally Posted by glwilson

Didn't ride any demo's Dave. The Voyager sits too high for me to ride safely.

You could have used Sue's boots. She was one of the riders from Kawasaki and she had 3" platforms built into them.

Just kidding Greg. Glad you got to ride your bike at the rally.

[brote]

I must be totally out to lunch but I didn't care for the Vaquero. There were a couple of pluses, one being the 1700 V Twin had plenty of get up and go, much more than my 2008 Nomad. The Vaquero really is a great looking bike and had great manners at slow speed something my Nomad doesn't have. I really didn't care for the clutch on the Vaquero and found it difficult, in comparison to my Nomad, to keep in the "Friction Zone". I also didn't care for the belt drive. The Vaquero I rode was very noisy and I do prefer "Shaft Drive". I also felt like I was sitting to high on the bike where on the Nomad I feel more like I'm part of the bike. I know that is a strange thing to say but that is the feeling I had. Did I say the Vaquero is "Noisy" ? The transmission is "Clunky" and wind noise was terrible. To sum it up, the Vaquero is a really sharp bike and would probably be OK around town but I would rather have my 2008 Nomad.

Oh, Sue didn't let moss grow under her bike and gave you plenty of time to see what the Vaquero had. The folks from Kawasaki were great and answered any questions you had. I can't say thanks enough for all that ROK and Kawasaki did.

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by CoachA

You could have used Sue's boots. She was one of the riders from Kawasaki and she had 3" platforms built into them.

Just kidding Greg. Glad you got to ride your bike at the rally.

LMAO!!