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Kawasaki Voyager ZG1200

  • Thread starter Thread starter lordcannon88
  • Start date Start date
L

lordcannon88

Guest
Hi all,

I was perusing the interwebs the other day and came across this bike. Does anyone have any experience with it? I like the fact that it has hydraulic valves...gah I hate valve maintenance. From what I've read, it's powerful, handles well and is reliable. The single pot brakes concern me though...
 
I have never ridden the 1200, but I had a 1300 Voyager for several years.
As a member of the Voyager club, I met and talked with several 1200 riders. They all loved their bikes, but the most common complaint was that it was rather top-heavy. Besides the fact that it is a water-cooled inline Four, it has a large gas tank over the engine, I think it's about 6.5 gallons, maybe a bit more.

The bike ran basically unchanged from '86 to '03, with minor updates along the way. If you can, avoid the '86 model, unless you can see proof that it has had the starter chain replaced and the ignitor updated. They had a problem with the ignitor that year that would cause the crank to kick back and break the starter chain. You have to split the cases to replace that chain. :eek:

The last few years included a few more farkles, other than that, the only difference from one year to the next was the color scheme, and they usually kept a scheme for two years. Yep, in any particular year, you had a "choice" of ONE color scheme, and it was there for two years.

If you are into long-distance riding, it's a wonderful bike. For general use around town or strafing corners on the weekend, look elsewhere.

.
 
Steve said:
I have never ridden the 1200, but I had a 1300 Voyager for several years.
As a member of the Voyager club, I met and talked with several 1200 riders. They all loved their bikes, but the most common complaint was that it was rather top-heavy. Besides the fact that it is a water-cooled inline Four, it has a large gas tank over the engine, I think it's about 6.5 gallons, maybe a bit more.

The bike ran basically unchanged from '86 to '03, with minor updates along the way. If you can, avoid the '86 model, unless you can see proof that it has had the starter chain replaced and the ignitor updated. They had a problem with the ignitor that year that would cause the crank to kick back and break the starter chain. You have to split the cases to replace that chain. :eek:

The last few years included a few more farkles, other than that, the only difference from one year to the next was the color scheme, and they usually kept a scheme for two years. Yep, in any particular year, you had a "choice" of ONE color scheme, and it was there for two years.

If you are into long-distance riding, it's a wonderful bike. For general use around town or strafing corners on the weekend, look elsewhere.

.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! I think I read somewhere the visible tank over the engine is actually faux and the real one is beneath the seat... I have an 1100GL with vetter touring gear, at the moment, but I am sick of the minimal range. I'm planning on converting it into an around towner/short distance bike and using the Voyager for long hauls.

One thing I really liked was the fact that it had a true alternator and it was connected directly to the engine. No belts like a goldwing... Do you know of a decent forum for that bike? I can't seem to find one.
 
I picked one up a couple years ago and was going to use it as my touring bike. I had to change the fuel tank on it and you basically have to remove the entire back of the bike to get it out. But doable . The bike ran good and had plenty of power. What it lacked was room if you are a larger person. I am 6'4 and felt very cramped on this bike and when I was riding 2up it was much worse. It is also the easiest bike I have ever put up on a center stand, 2 stage lift system. A 100lb women could do it. If it was not for being cramped I probably would have kept the bike.
 
lordcannon88 said:
One thing I really liked was the fact that it had a true alternator and it was connected directly to the engine. No belts like a goldwing... Do you know of a decent forum for that bike? I can't seem to find one.
Click to expand...
Yes, it had a true alternator, but was still a bit limited, depending on how many farkles you wanted to add. It was adequate for all the basics, but you had to be careful when using heated clothing, as it was easy to overload the system.

Yes, a Goldwing has belts, but not to drive the alternator. The belts on a Wing are to drive the cams. The good part of that is that they only need to be changed every 10 years or 100,000 miles. The bad part is that it is an "interference" engine. If a belt breaks, valves and pistons WILL be intimately acquainted. It is cheaper to replace the engine than it is to rebuild it. :eek:
(I replaced my belts at about 135,000 miles, they still looked relatively new. :o)

While I had my Voyager, I was a member of the American Voyager Association.

.
 
Steve said:
Yes, it had a true alternator, but was still a bit limited, depending on how many farkles you wanted to add. It was adequate for all the basics, but you had to be careful when using heated clothing, as it was easy to overload the system.

Yes, a Goldwing has belts, but not to drive the alternator. The belts on a Wing are to drive the cams. The good part of that is that they only need to be changed every 10 years or 100,000 miles. The bad part is that it is an "interference" engine. If a belt breaks, valves and pistons WILL be intimately acquainted. It is cheaper to replace the engine than it is to rebuild it. :eek:
(I replaced my belts at about 135,000 miles, they still looked relatively new. :o)

While I had my Voyager, I was a member of the American Voyager Association.

.
Click to expand...

Would it support, say heated grips and fog lights? Ahh, ok. I knew there were belts involved in a Wing, but I didn't know they turned the cams...yikes! Sketchy sketchy...

Good deal! Thanks for that link...I am perusing it as we speak. :)
 
hjfisk said:
I picked one up a couple years ago and was going to use it as my touring bike. I had to change the fuel tank on it and you basically have to remove the entire back of the bike to get it out. But doable . The bike ran good and had plenty of power. What it lacked was room if you are a larger person. I am 6'4 and felt very cramped on this bike and when I was riding 2up it was much worse. It is also the easiest bike I have ever put up on a center stand, 2 stage lift system. A 100lb women could do it. If it was not for being cramped I probably would have kept the bike.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. WHy'd you have to change the fuel tank?
 
lordcannon88 said:
Would it support, say heated grips and fog lights? Ahh, ok. I knew there were belts involved in a Wing, but I didn't know they turned the cams...yikes! Sketchy sketchy...

Good deal! Thanks for that link...I am perusing it as we speak. :)
Click to expand...



Next time you drive somewhere, look around you -- lots of cars and SUVs drive the camshafts with belts. Probably around a third of the four-cylinder engines you see, and several six cylinder models.

It's not sketchy at all unless the required maintenance is neglected.
 
bwringer said:
Next time you drive somewhere, look around you -- lots of cars and SUVs drive the camshafts with belts. Probably around a third of the four-cylinder engines you see, and several six cylinder models.

It's not sketchy at all unless the required maintenance is neglected.
Click to expand...


Aye aye. My car is one of them (96 Geo Tracker) I just don't like the idea of that, from an engineering point of view. Why not just have an internal, nonservicable chain, like a GS, for instance? What is the benefit of a replacable timing belt?
 
lordcannon88 said:
Aye aye. My car is one of them (96 Geo Tracker) I just don't like the idea of that, from an engineering point of view. Why not just have an internal, nonservicable chain, like a GS, for instance? What is the benefit of a replacable timing belt?
Click to expand...

With cars, the timing chains could and would stretch, or wear out the gears, or both. Of course, the last one I actually changed was in the '70's, on a '66 Ford V8 with a gazillion miles on it. :rolleyes:

But we digress.....
 
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