Tied for 1st place, BABE!!

[gibvel]

Rider magazine V tourer shootout. Kawi Vulcan Voyager 4th place, Vision 3rd place, Venture and Ultra Classic tied for 1st place!

[Freebird]

I'm really not surprised about the Kawasaki. The few people that I know that have actually ridden one were not too impressed. One of our newer members called me a couple of weeks ago, wish I could remember who it was, but he had bought one and after one trip, he and his wife absolutely hated it. He finally found a dealer that really wanted it and traded it for a RSV.

[1BigDog]

Dang Gib, you beat me to the punch!! I just sent a letter to the editor at Rider thanking them for a great article.

[gibvel]

Yeah, they did pick on how the RSV hadn't been changed since it's reintroduction and that it didn't have all the bells and whistles (and was actually more expensive than the Voyager) but it still hung in there like a champ.

[FJR Rider]

Best suspension in the group...if it had a couple of tweaks (e.g., FI and no tape deck) it likely would have beat the Harley

[Sailor]

I actually suspect that it beat the Harley but Harley spends a lot more on advertising these bikes than Yamaha does. Economics sometimes dictate results.

[FreezyRider]

What shocked me was that the bike that they hammered for too much engine noise including unacceptable levels of "gear whine" was NOT the RSV!!!!

 

I'd be willing to bet that mama Yama made very sure that the bike they got for the test was a "non chirper"!

 

Joe

[V7Goose]

Very interesting. I haven't seen the article, but I imagine the Hardly Trailerson they tested is the brand new re-designed 2009 model? If so, it almost boggles the mind that Yamahaha's stale 10-year-old tourer fully matched the newest and best that those jokers can produce!

Goose

 

And I also assume they had stock tires on that machine - just IMAGINE what they would have thought with decent skins!

[spear]

Is the article available on-line?

I'd love to read it.

(Don't get too many o.s. mags in my little village down-under.)

[Keitho]

Is the article available on-line?

I'd love to read it.

(Don't get too many o.s. mags in my little village down-under.)

 

This is all I could find. http://www.ridermagazine.com/output.cfm?id=2226349

 

Keith.

[SilvrT]

I checked a couple book stores here and can't find that magazine. This may not be an acceptable practise but, if anyone cares to scan the article to a PDF .... I'd sure love to read it!