Ace

I have a Hagon on my millennium RSV. To change preload, you have to remove the shock from the bike to turn the adjuster nut on the top which is a major pain in the rear. I do change preload when I am going to tour fully packed and pulling a trailer. Its something you can't do on the side of the road. If you asked me if I'd buy another Hagon for an RSV my answer would be no.

I'll admit, I never fell in love with this bike right of the bat as it took some miles to break it in and "learn" how to ride it. I doesn't have quite as much room for rider and passenger than an RSV but I did make some mods so as to create more room. I modified the backrest on the Backup drivers backrest I purchased so it sits lower allowing me to move it back to where its comfortable, then on the passenger backrest, I built new mounts to mount the pad directly to the trunk. How it comes from the factory is that the passenger backrest is rubber mounted to the trunk actually pushing it forward 1". Moving that passenger backrest back that inch made all the difference in the world. I was surprised it was a better riding bike than the RSV but even my wife who rides most of the miles I put on my bikes said it rides quite a bit better, she sleeps back there a little more on this one..... Can do full lock slow speed turns with ease. Absolutely ZERO transmission or clutch whine. At any speed all you hear is the rumble from the pipes. I replaced the kick stand with one from an older nomad 1600. The voyager from factory comes with a very short kickstand and leans over way too much for my liking. Any kickstand from any vulcan 1500 or 1600 is about 1 1/2 longer and will fit on a voyager , puts the angle better. Kawasaki's specs on drive belt are WAY too tight. I had a lot of strange noises right off the bat so I did a little research to find that everybody loosens the belt. I set mine to how I used to run the belt on the Harley's I have owned, all the weird noises gone and it actually rode better after adjusting. I did that within the first 100 miles of owning it. Stock tires suck! I only got 8800 km which is 5500 miles out of the rear and the cords were showing. Kawasaki's spec for pressure in the front tire is only 28 psi! It does ride nice at that pressure but your tire will be cupped badly within the first couple thousand miles. Rear Tire selection is bleak if you stick with stock size which is 170/70/16. I went to a 180/65/16 which is the tire used on '09 up Harley touring so there is lots of selection. I went with the Michelin Commander 2. I'll post up anything more as I think of it. And puc, yes I will find some pics of it to post up...

Actually puc, the fan you are speaking of pulls the heat from the rear header pipe and expels it on the left side below the passenger floorboard. I'm actually not sure if it has a separate sensor to turn it on and off but I have checked and it has been running when the rad fan is running.

The "quirks" just to call them something are: 1.The transmission has a clunk when shifting from 1st to second gear. It's hard to just snick it into 2nd, it almost always clunks. I have developed shifting techniques to lessen it and now that I have rode it for a season I don't notice it much any more and it is lessening as the miles rack up. Still not nearly as bad of a couple other brands of touring bikes. 2. At creeping 1st gear speed the bike is a little herky-jerky - just off closed throttle at real slow speed bike is not smooth. I've corrected this somewhat by modifying the throttle cable(s) cam like most Voyager owners do. Not a big deal 3. Brakes are very sensitive. Maybe that isn't a bad thing but because of how I have always applied my brakes, I have had to relearn how to brake with these linked brakes. IF you apply some rear brake, then apply some front, the bike will do a quick nose dive just for a milisecond. The first few times I rode the bike with the wife on the back I think she smashed her face into the back of my helmet because of this and the fact that you need very little pressure on the brakes. I have developed techniques for smoother braking in the last 10,000 miles. Don't get me wrong, this bike will stop on a dime! Lots of people that own the 1700 Voyagers think they run hot. I'll admit they are a little warm but a lot of it's perception in my opinion. Kawasaki installed a very sensitive temperature gauge in the dash and the needle does get over the 1/2 way mark when it is hot outside or in stop and go traffic but mine has never gotten close to the red. the needle moves fairly quickly on the gauge giving the perception it is getting too hot. I'll admit I was watching that gauge like a hawk at first but now it only gets a glance every now and then. Also the rad fan runs a lot during slow speed riding and stop and go adding to the perception of being hot. I've owned newer Harley Ultra's, believe me this bike doesn't run nearly as hot as one of those. Other than that I like it, has good torque, great all speed handling and rides awesome. I always thought the 2 RSV's that I put many many miles on was the best riding bikes for long distance but It's not even close to as good as this.

I landed up buying the very bike you are talking about this spring. It works well and I see no issue with any of the plastics and I worked it over hard this year. It is a MUCH better riding and handling bike. It does have its quirks but every bike does...

They are great trailers, I know 'cause I have the exact same one and have pulled it in excess of 50,000 MILES! bought it brand new in '09 for $600 US on ebay. If you are going to keep and use the trailer, I highly recommend checking wheel alignment. When I bought mine I din't bother checking and I wore the tires completely bald in 2000 miles, never noticed the tires wearing until it was too late. Found the wheels 3/4" toe'd out! after I aligned it I haven't had to replace tires again. BTW, beautiful new RSV!

I've increased the pilot jet size one size on both of the RSV's I've owned. Neither were backfiring but it really improved cold starting and really really improved off idle throttle response. Didn't affect MPG at all, just made the bikes run better.

Exactly how they run the health care system here where I live....

Only thing I can comment on is the cables. Yes stock length RSTD cables are 2 - 3" longer than the stock length RSV cables. I used stock RSTD cables when I went to a different handlebar setup and they are definitely longer.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it but there is an o-ring around the brass seat that seals the seat into the body of the carburetor. When I tried to buy just the o-rings, Yamaha told me that the o-rings weren't sold separately and I had to buy the brass seat and the o-ring was included. I landed up purchasing the new seats (o-rings were already installed). The orings were completely shot letting fuel pass around the seat.

I have had this happen to both of the RSV's I owned. The cause I found on both bikes was the o-ring that seals the seat to the body of the carb were badly deteriorated allowing gas to pass around the seat and overfilling the carb and puking out the vent hoses.

Stock RSTD cables and hoses are about 2" longer than stock RSV cables and hoses.

I built a set of custom risers for my RSV that gave me an additional 4 1/2" of height over stock. All I did is buy a set of RSTD throttle cables, front brake line and clutch line off of ebay and I run them the same locations as stock and nothing is tight. There is plenty electrical cable inside the fairing to accommodate taller bars, just need to get into the fairing to clip the ties and pull what you need, then re tie-wrap.

IF you are only going 10" then you only need an additional 2" longer cables and hoses and purchasing cables and hoses for an RSTD will give you that 2" additional length.

With the the flares off the bottom of the fairings and the lowers off it will be not fun riding on the highway, you will get an updraft producing a bad case of baby head....