BigLenny

Don, You made a good choice by going with Sena. I started off many years ago with Scala Riders, but ran into Sena at a bike rally, and they were just getting into the motorcycle segment with their products, and had their prices really low to entice people to try them. I took the bait, and have never looked back. I have had 3 Sena sets over the years. The latest version we have is the 20S. Before that, I had the SMH10's. I have found their sound and functionality to be far better than Scala. I had know about the Sena name because they were one of the pioneering companies to invent and market bluetooth devices. They mainly marketed to companies who had phone agents wearing headsets and talking to customers all day. I work for Grainger, and our phoone agents have worn Sena Bluetooth headsets for years. As far as VoX or push to talk. I leave the dang things in constant open mic mode, and have never had an instant where they ran out of battery before the day ended. Wait, lemme rephrase that; back in 2014, we did have an issue with my wifes headset running out while we were going across Utah late one night. But, we had started that day at about 7:00AM in Durango, and had ridden all day, seeing 4 Corners, Monument Valley, and got to running real late, and right before we got into Page, AZ, about 9:00 that night, her headset died. Other than that, we go open mic all day long. Hope you like them. Big Lenny

I just jumped in. Nobody there.

I don't really think I would buy one. But, it sure is intriguing. I agree with others when saying it is not near the level of overall fitness and quality feel as the SVTC, or even the RS Venture. But, the value buy is certainly a valid discussion to be had. I saw a Kawi dealer south of Houston Texas today advertising on you tube that you can buy this bike, 2018 model that lists for $17,499.00 for in the high $13K's. After rebates and such. That to me is crazy talk! I know Kawasaki makes very good quality stuff. So, common sense tells me the bike will last. But, when I actually test rode the 2 times I did, it just felt less smooth, and the plastics were certainly less sturdy feeling. I also forgot to mention it has linked brakes that become unlinked below 18mph. It comes with a factory 3yr unlimited mile warranty, and, for less than $700.00 you can buy another 3yrs of Kawasaki factory warranty. If you bought the thing for $13,900.00, and added the warranty, the Kawasaki accessory rear speakers, the CB, and the intercom system, you're into this bike for $16K, and still waaaayyyyy less than the other brands. I don't know, it just seems kind of crazy to me. But, I'm pretty simple minded, I think. Lol. Big Lenny

Ive never seen that color combo. Is that a gray with red? Congrats!

Hi All, You know? I was just taking a gander at the Kawasaki site. Just looking at different bikes they sell. I made my way to the Vulcan Voyager section. It just freakin amazes me how they can list that bike for $10K less than the other competitors in the market. It is water cooled, fuel injection, ABS. I have personally test driven this a couple times, and I have even stated on this forum my dislikes about it (flimsy plastics, no intercom system, no rear speakers, no heated seats and such. But, I still wonder how they can list this bike for waaaaayyyyyy less than the competition, and still make money? It lists for $17499.00, and I had a dealer a few months ago through a mid $15,000.00 number at me. You can buy that water cooled VTwin, with ABS, and fuel injection for mid $15's! I don't know how they do it and make money. Or, Yammy, Honda, and Harley are loading up with profits. Just wondering........ Big Lenny

Wait a cotton pickin minute here!!! What the heck??? YPE is a yapper. That brother has been yappin, yappin, yappin for weeks now, waiting on this new ride. Gettin us all fired up and excited for him. He finally takes delivery of it, and this is all we get??? Well, I’ll be........

OH NO!!!! My heart hurts so bad! Teresa and I are in Phoenix on vacation, and I haven’t checked the site in a few days. Seeing this news breaks my heart in two. What an integral part of our venturerider family Dan has been. This is gonna hurt for a long while. So many times during the past 9 years that I have been on this site, Dan has offered me sage advice that helped me. And, on numerous occasion, he very cleverly poked fun at me to keep me on my toes. To know how happy he was about getting his new to him trike, and then to hear the word that had gone down after getting to spend such a short time on it, well, I just stumble for words express my sadness. Teresa and I will certainly keep the Wardon and the rest of his family in hour prayers, as they walk through this extremely tough time. I’m simply at a loss for words. Big Lenny

Now look what I've gone and done...........

I know, I know. I need to keep my yapper shut.

Okay YPE, You asked for this. I already toldja about one of my cousins who switched to the Harley from a Goldwing, and how much they liked it, and that story about caused you to run down and buy a new Road Glide. LOL!!! Welllllll........I have another cousin. Lol. He and his wife rode a Suzuki V-Strom 2 up for a couple years, and then he decided to get a touring bike. The bike he finally decided on was a BMW R1200RT. WHAT A SWEEETTTT FREAKIN BIKE!!! Over the past 4 years he and her have ridden that bike to 47 states, and this coming June they are heading out on a trip to get the final 3 states on their map. I have had the opportunity to ride it a few times, and WOW!!! An incredible machine! Okay, I'll shut up now. Don't wanna instigate any divorce proceedings for ya. Big Lenny

Do y'all remember way back whenever the new 3rd Gen Venture was unveiled? We all started yackity yacking about what target customers Yamaha must have their eye on. There was a strong consensus that the recently abandoned Victory riders were most likely one of the main targets Yammy was going after. There was a number of us here that kept a close eye on the Vog.net Victory riders forum because there was a boat load of those folks pissed off, and they had a loooong thread going over there about how nice the new Venture was, and a bunch of them were saying the new Venture appears to be the bike that they had been waiting for Polaris to update the Vision to. Well, we've been waiting and waiting for this great wagon train of Vic riders to come on over here and join our wonderful Yamaha Venture family, and it just hasn't happened. But, and this is a huge BUT, what has been so surprising is, it has been the Goldwing riders that have been making the change. I gotta tell ya, I for one have been floored to see all of our new family members that are coming from the Goldwing ranks. Who'da ever thunk it??? Big Lenny

YPE, I'm super excited you're gonna get your bike soon! Won't be long now, you'll be rolling down the road with the Ol Kool and the Gang tunes blaring. I'm an Earth Wind and Fire guy myself. Hey YPE......come here real close......I wanna tell you something that some others here might not need to hear.....They might get off-ended............come here real close........really quiet now I'm gonna tell ya; You made the right choice on color, red is the best! Shhhhhh, don't tell anybody I said that. [/size]

YPE, I feel I owe you an apology. Looking back at this thread, it appears this all kind of turned on a dime whenever I told you the story of my relatives who were Goldwing riders, but are now happy Harley Riders. I certainly wasn't wanting to stir up any kind of great desire for you to go look at a Harley Road Glide. I was just telling you a funny story of how shocked we were to see our relatives change from of all things, a Goldwing to Harley. It was crazy watching that happen. Having said that, we in the family who ride motorcycles on a regular basis, and especially several of my family members who are long riding touring folks who have put miles and miles across this great nation on their bikes know without a doubt that, even though our cousins like their Harley Road Glide, they most certainly left a far better quality bike in the GW to go to Harley. I have personally test ridden both the Road Glide Ultra, and the new Yamaha SVTC. The Road Glide 3 times, for a total of about 2 hours, and the SVTC twice for about an hour and a half total. I don't personally care which bike you buy, my main concern is that you are ultimately happy. But, I can tell you unequivocally, the SVTC is the nicer, better performing, better fit and finish, better technology, better overall comfortable bike between the two. And, that dang SurePark system that the SVTC has is another strong reason the Yamaha is far more advanced than the Harley. Harley does a great job at dazzling folks with glitz, glam, community, a good, not great quality bike. They are certainly in tune with their customers, and seem to listen to their wants and needs, and bring that to the market (as long as it stays within the confines of the old style design). And, yes, they absolutely have a current inventory of a gazillion bikes just waiting for suspecting souls to come snap them up. I highly respect them for who and what they are, and for what they have created in the Vtwin touring market. When I go into a Harley dealer, I get mesmerized by all the colors, and styles, not to mention the clothes, and accessories. Man, it's rather cool. But, in the end, I always bring it down to the bike. And, that is where the gap seems to hit me. When you sit these two bike side by side and compare them for what they truly are; there simply is a gap between the two. When I've test ridden the Harley, I truly know I am on an ages old bike, that they have done a good job of updating over the years with making the frame, engine, electronics, suspension, etc, better. But, it's still an old style bike. However, within the first few minutes that I was on the SVTC, I new that this was a high tech, precisely built machine, that was on another level from other VTwin touring bikes that I had ridden. It was one sweet machine. It is simply the most updated VTwin bike on the market right now, and you can feel it. There is a reason that all the major bike magazines are ranting and raving about this bike. It is a great VTwin bike, that is second to none right now. And, you can feel the unmistaken Yamaha quality when you are on it. A couple years ago, Consumer Reports did their first ever motorcycle quality rankings. Of all the years they have been rating automobiles, they had never done a motorcycle brand quality ranking. Well, after extensive research that they are known for, they came out with their first ever motorcycle quality ranking, and the brand name that they rate highest quality on the market, with the least repair rates, was Yamaha. Honda was second. Harley was way down the least toward the bottom. Yamaha makes really great stuff. Very high quality stuff. Is it gonna come in forty bazzilion colors, with 9 kinds of this and that? No. Is Yamaha ever gonna have the inventory that Harley has? No. Is it ever gonna have the community that Harley has? No. But, they are always going to be the highest quality built rides out there. And, they are gonna perform year in and year out, for miles and miles with little to no issues. Now, having said all of this; if you go get antsy pants in the next couple weeks and buy a Harley, I'll be as tickled for you as all get out. Grinning from ear to ear for you. But, I just wanted you to know that what you're waiting on (and I know it's bugging you), is a world class built VTwin bike that the motorcycle world is recognizing as a very significant hit to the VTwin touring world. A year from now, it's not gonna matter that you had to wait a long while to get the dang thing. Big Lenny

Don, I agree with you on. The jury is still out on how I feel about what it looks like wearing a helmet while riding in one of these rigs. Arkansas is a no helmet state law too, so you see a lot of folks around here riding them without helmets. I guess we always equate wearing a helmet with being on machines that we can fall off of. But, one thing that the states that require a helmet in these is, the front windscreen isn't the same as an automobiles windscreen. Automotive windshields are built to a certain lawful spec that is supposed to be able to withstand a certain level of impact from items that would be hitting the windshield. In a Slingshot, it is just a piece of clear plastic, so the states that require helmets might be thinking the rider needs more head protection in the event of encountering sizeable debris. Who knows if that even makes sense. That's a cool looking ride though. Big lenny

YPE, Take the time to read this Rider Magazine comparison between the 2018 Harley Road Glide Ultra, 2018 Indian Roadmaster, and the 2018 SVTC. I think you'll be very satisfied with your decision to purchase the SVTC. Rider is one of the very reputable magazines, as it pertains to touring bikes. http://ridermagazine.com/2018/04/06/2018-harley-road-glide-ultra-vs-indian-roadmaster-vs-yamaha-star-venture-tc-comparo-review/

Don, Thanks for that ride report. I am truly amazed that those rides have sold as well as they have. When they first came out, there was so much chatter about them being so similar to a convertible car, that they might not sell that well. Hmmm, wrong! Those things have taken off! And, by all reports seem to be a blast to ride/drive. Do you wear a helmet when riding in that machine? Another question: How's Eileen's Murano doing? I see it there in the background. I bought Teresa a 2017.5 Platinum Murano identical to the color of yours a year ago, and she is loving it so far. Big Lenny

YPE, I can't give you a personal experience of owning a Harley. There are others here who can, and I'm sure will. Freebird, the owner of our wonderful site here might possibly chime in pretty soon about his experience/opinion of the Road Glide Ultra that he owned a few years back. I have test ridden several Ultra's over the past couple years at bike rally's and such, and I gotta tell ya, I was really impressed with the ride and drive of them, with the exception of 2 things: The classic Harley vibration at idle would eventually drive me nuts, and the the bike just seems too scrunched up for my 6'6" frame. It's a shorter distance between the saddle and the handlebars than my RSTD, and absolutely more scruched up than that big beautiful SVTC you're waiting on (I've test ridden it). But, everytime I ride one, I come away with an understanding of why so many people ride Harley. Are today's Harleys the quality of Yamaha, Honda, BMW, etc? I have a tendency to believe they aren't, but I can't stake the deed of my house on it. It appears Harley has made crazy great strides in their quality in the past 10 years or so. I do have a family story to throw at ya though: I have a cousin and her husband who were die hard Goldwing riders for years. I mean like GW nuts. They went through 4-5 Goldwings over the years, and have ridden every state in the country except for Alaska. They made it a point to go to the Wing Dings rally every year. Had all of the Goldwing branded riding gear. I mean true GW ambassadors. Well, a few years ago, right after Harley introduced their new water cooled Ultra bikes, they were returning from a two week ride out west, and stopped at a Harley dealer in Colorado, just for the heck of it. I do that sometimes, even though I'm not a Harley rider. Well, outa the blue, I got a texted photo of them standing beside this brand new Electra Glide Ultra with the message, "We got a new bike"!. I quickly responded with, "yeah, right". BUt, they confirmed it was true, and that they were about to leave the dealership to ride it home to Arkansas. Myself, and all the other family members who ride bikes about fell out!!! None of us ride Harley's in this family, and these two would've been the LAST of any of us who could've been pegged as possible future Harley riders. Well, since that time, I'm pleased to report that they have absolutely LOVED their Harley. Actually, a year later, they traded it in on a water cooled Road Glide Ultra because they wanted the fixed fairing. They have ridden the hair off of that thing the past couple years, and have turned into true Harley fans. Every time i talk to them, I make it a point to ask them how they're feeling about the Harley ownership. No regrets from them. The biggest difference they are enjoying is the dealership experiences as they travel across the country. You're gonna love your SVTC when it gets to ya. And, the thing that is gonna be so cool for you is; it is going to be a unique ride that nobody else around you will have. You can't say that about a Harley. When you buy a Harley (or even a GW), you're just part of this sea of sameness that a ton of other folks are part of. Bores the heck out of me! But, your SVTC, now that's gonna be a conversation piece whenever you ride up to motorcycle joints. Big Lenny

Chief, That is one sweet looking bike! Lordy, I love that red! Big Lenny

SilverT, A couple weeks ago, I did the same. Stopped by a Yamaha, Honda, Kawi dealer. I was able to test ride the Venture, then jump right on the Goldwing and test ride it. The Venture was very nice and smooth, but the Goldwing was special. that dude highly impressed me. Extremely smooth, and crazy aggressive in the curves. Everything on it felt high end. It is certainly quite a bit smaller than the old GW, and the new Venture.

ChiefGunner, WOWWWWW!!!! Lookie there!!! That is one cool looking seat. I bet that was some serious "coinage", as you put it. I think that is cool for that bike, because the SVTC is a little bit not blingy, with all of the matte finish trim on it. I would say that is BLINGY for sure. Big Lenny

YPE, All good points, but I gotta ask something; you mean you went all that time before your "big conversation" with her quietly riding back there leaving you alone? Wow! My hon from day one 20 years ago has been a bossy, talking machine, keeping me on my toes. LOL. "Watch out", "Slow it down", "There's a critter", "Be careful through here", Yada, Yada, Yada. The girl never quits yacking. I never knew they called it "co-riding". Sounds a lot like back seat driving that I hear when I'm in the cage with her. LOL. I'm not sure I have the intestinal fortitude to tell her that what she is doing is called being a "co-rider". She would probably respond with a "no Sh** Sherlock" look, and walk away with her arrogant head held back like the queen hen that she is. LOL. Love her to death. Big Lenny

Okay, I'll admit, I'm really glad ya bought the red. my FAVORITE color. My RSTD is red, by truck is red. I'm kind of a fan of red. LOL. I understand what your sayin about the new Goldwing; a couple weeks ago, my wife and I stopped by the local Honda/Yamaha dealer and test rode the new SVTC, then immediately test rode the new Goldwing. The Venture was one sweet riding machine. My wife made the comment as we were riding it that it was a Cadillac, and I whole heartedly agreed with her. We loved the heck out of it. When we test rode the new Wing, I was highly impressed with the handling in the curves. The Venture was very capable in the curves. A lot better than the current Venture. But, the Wing was on another level. The dang thing felt like it was begging for the curves, and it was a rocket ship. That new trick front end gave it a very aggressive feeling. And, it felt very good on the freeway. But, here's the big hang up with the bike, and the reason it isn't going to retain a number of current Wing riders; IT IS SMALL! Honda whacked some size off of this bike, and you can feel it. And, it has way less luggage space than the previous Wing, and the new Venture. Current Wing riders are used to a bike that does it all so well, plus, you can pack all kind of stuff on it and head out into the wild blue yonder. The new Wing is not that bike. It's a far better performance bike than the past Wing, but leaves one standing in bumfuddled awe when looking at how much less storage room is on the bike.

YPE, That's great! Crazy happy for you! What color did you order (please say red, please say red)? Just joking. I like both colors. I test rode the gray one, and its cool looking too. I hope it gives you hours, days, months, years, of trouble free riding. Big Lenny

Don't know why I did this. I was the original starter of this thread, but then, when I finally got to test ride the machines I started a complete other thread about it. I had forgotten that I had started this one in the first place. I'm getting old. Se attached: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?135348-YEEEEHAAAA!!!!!-Venture-and-Goldwing-in-the-same-day! Big Lenny

LOL! This is such a great study of how many folks read the fine print