2009 Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Voyager ABS Motorcycle reviews

Overall it's a great bike with some tweaks. Stock I could not stand the programing of the throttle and it was very jerky, and lack luster response which wasn't smooth with dead spots that felt like you were pulling an Airstream behind you. That all changed with a reprogram of the ECU . It is now how the bike should have been from Kawasaki! It pulls smooth without the flat spots. 6th gear is now very usable without it shaking and will pull smoothly from as low as 45 MPH. MPG is also much improved. Before I had to really nurse it to get 40. Now I consistently get in the low to mid 40's riding normal with a few harder accelerations . Comfort is very good and I have no problems doing long trips. The bags and trunk seem flimsy and the trunk lock is a joke. I have a 1200 Voyager as well and the bags are MUCH more heavy duty and way more solid feeling. Belt tension is set way too tight from the factory! It makes the shifts quite harsh 1 - 2 especially and does create some wine and moises. I still need to loosen mine. I was hoping that it would on its own a little but after 6600 miles it is still way too tight. and makes some noise. The dealer wouldn't loosen it when I had it in for service saying that is was "in spec" even though they said that the factory spec is very tight. The only other thing is the windshield is a bit tall for my preference. I like (need) a bit of wind to keep me a bit cooler in the Florida heat. Oh speaking of heat. As per the gauge they do run HOT. stock. The ECM tune changes the temp that the fan kicks on which keeps the engine temp down in traffic. It is a great reliable comfortable and powerful bike. Well balanced and definitely feels lighter than it's 900 lbs. With a few not very expensive additions it becomes WAY better! WAY more bang for the $$$ than almost all other bikes in this class. Show less

Still loving this bike. I did have one breakdown which is very rare. We lost a rear wheel bearing on this bike on the Blueridge Parkway. This happened in an area where we had 0 cell reception. Lucky for us a park ranger drove past after 30 minutes that we were able to get to help us. We also met some very nice people in Bedford, VA. who were lifesavers. Kawasaki fixed the problem but would not cover the rear tire that wore out totally on one side due to the alignment issue. Overall, I'm still happy with this bike. Show less

This bike has performed excellent. Just returned from a 8 day trip to the smoky mountains. 3rd year in a row in this area. The Voyager has the grunt in any gear to climb 7 to 8% grades easily. It also handles the twisties of the tail of the dragon and any other road You want to travel. We averaged 42 MPG with riders and a full load of gear including a T-bag on top of the trunk. The 2400 mile ride was much easier on this bike. The comfort for My Wife was well above the Nomad. Cruise control is a blessing when it can be used on the straight roads. Overall Kawasaki has come up with another winner. Love every minute of our time on this one. Show less