29th Dec 2010, 14:32
Bought a 2nd hand '99 with 84000 km on it.. have put on an additional 16000 km on with no problems. Gets much better mileage than my old 1200GL, and has more power. All the toys still work perfect, and despite being 10 years old and having over 100000 km on it, it still looks good and performs great. Only items replaced this winter were front wheel bearings and plugs. Am going to try and find a low mileage '03 to replace it some day, but for now, it looks like it still has quite a few miles left in it.
20th Jun 2024, 23:15
I'm sure you've never ridden a Yamaha Royal Star Venture. I sold my 94 Voyager to buy the Venture, an 07 Midnight model, beautiful 10k mile example. I'm 5'6" 160 and have had several "oh shoot" events at very low speeds with the Venture while the wife was on the back, and I never had one with the Kaw. If you read the old road tests of the Venture or owner comments, you'll see that it's very top heavy, which is really unfortunate because everything else about the bike is wonderful. I just purchased (will pick it up in a few weeks) a gorgeous 14k mile red Voyager to replace the Venture. I feel much safer at low speeds, it's smoother and doesn't have the "whining clutch basket" issue of the Venture, the side and top cases hold more, it's over 100lbs lighter, and IMO has a more unique character than the Venture and new Voyager "Harley copies". My buddy with a newer Ultra Limited will surely laugh at the bike, but at least I'll be able to ride with the wife without fear of dumping it while parking or other low speed maneuver (if that happened she'd never ride again).
14th Jan 2010, 20:27
My experience with my 1988 and my 2002 Kawasaki Voyager Xll has been excellent. I had the 1988 front end rebuilt at about 65,000 miles. I seem to have more problems getting the plastic for the bike than the mechanical parts. The one problem I have is that I cannot locate (in Washington state) any mechanics who have knowledge of these bikes.
I put 26,000 miles on the 1988 and have not complaints. I just bought the 2002, have put 5,000 miles on it and so far, no surprises.
As far as I am concerned, these bikes are well worth the price and effort.