reps.I was very disappointed in the new Kawasaki voyager as well as the nomad. The bags were flimsy - very flimsy. The seating area was cramped. There were several other aspects that just did not appeal to me. I sat on a voyager and just did not feel right - like it was smaller than my Nomad.
I spent some time with one of the reps (probably close to 1/2 hour), and she agreed that there has been "mixed" customer reaction. Asked about the red color, and she believes it is
not coming out this year.I asked about the engine, why they came out with a completely new engine, and not use either the 4 cyl or the 1600 or 2000. She said that they wanted to keep the V-Twin (we were discussion the Nomad mostly at that point). She indicated that what they did was use the top of the 1600 and mated it to the bottom of the 2000. So it really was not a completely new engine.
We also talked about why the belt as opposed to the drive shaft. She started with weight and increased angle flexibility, but ultimately came to what I considered to be the real truth - it was a marketing decision based on what other bikes in this group were doing.
As a side note, I looked at the Victory Vision. Hated the looks...then I sat on one. I am
in LOVE. It felt like the bike was made for me - with room to stretch out, great reach, low seating, and a decent size engine (1731cc). Lots of protection in a huge batwing and fiberglass lowers. Kind of tight between the boot toe and the shifter when upshifting, but a protective film would prevent any potential scuffing.Oh - and as a followup to the wiring on spots, I just extended the wires and everything is installed. Need to tidy the wires up a bit, but all the hard work is done!
