XII's most direct competition

[Nails]

https://denver.craigslist.org/mcy/d/den ... 16960.html

(An acquaintance in Ohio has one in pieces in a shed. But I saw some rust.)

[Deep Thoughts]

Virtually the same form factor/aesthetics. Those taillights though...hideous!

[Nails]

Oh, you homeboyz.

[GrandpaDenny]

I read an article a while back comparing the Goldwing, Cavalcade, Voyager XII and the Yamaha Venture Royale. The Cavalcade was described as huge and wallowing, and relatively underpowered compared to the rest. The Venture's sole selling point was the engine - it was the fastest of the four. The 'wing is, well, a 'wing. The Voyager was the lightest, quickest (by far), most nimble, and just as comfortable as the Gold wing. It did, however, have sh*tty tires (Dunlop 404s). I forget which magazine it was. They didn't have much good to say about the 'zuki.

[Nails]

I remember seeing that comparo, dunno where.

I'm not the first to compare them here. https://www.amervoyassoc.org/~amervoya/ ... php?t=8504

There are some "Rattlecade" homeboyz too: https://www.amervoyassoc.org/~amervoya/ ... 120#p68120; https://www.amervoyassoc.org/~amervoya/ ... php?t=8504

When I was shopping for a tourer, the Cavalcade was on my short list, mostly because it's fairly unique. Found a Voyager first, mostly because it was cheap.

[Highway Rider]

I read an article a while back comparing the Goldwing, Cavalcade, Voyager XII and the Yamaha Venture Royale.

You don't know by chance where that article would be located

[Nails]

No. I saved a bunch of these old reviews, but apparently not this one. I spent a few minutes trying to find it in webistan but no joy.

[Conrad]

My previous (as in haven't sold it yet) bike is a Venture Royale. Loved the handling, almost like a sport bike above 30, horrible under that, kinda top heavy. Love the rumble of that v4, subtler than a harley, and revs like any inline 4. Uncomfortable seat though.

[GrandpaDenny]

webistan

[Deep Thoughts]

I read an article a while back comparing the Goldwing, Cavalcade, Voyager XII and the Yamaha Venture Royale.

You don't know by chance where that article would be located

A ten second search...Cycle World June 1986 titled "Coast to Coast to Coast Touring Comparison" page 32
"The Super Tourers. Fourteen days on the road."

[Nails]

This article was badly OCR-mangled. I took the liberty of fixing it to the best of my ability. There still might be misplaced paragraphs, but it's readable. PM me with your email addy if you want a Word .doc version.

And that link (above) had a short comparo between the Aspencade and the Cavalcade. https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article ... -the-cades

[GrandpaDenny]

Having just read the article, and remembering a few things, I would say the Cavalcade's competition was more the 1300cc Voyager, but that was definitely not a competition - the 'cade has all the shortcomings of the Voyager (size, size, weight, and size) and none of the advantages (um, speed, I guess?). Never having owned either, I can only go by what I've read. So my opinion counts for kronk!

[Deep Thoughts]

Just for nostalgia reading...or for those who do not want to look up the article; here is the meat of the CW article on our beloved 1200.

When it comes to touring bikes, Kawasaki deals in extremes. It was Kawasaki a few years ago that brought us that leviathan of touring bikes, the six-cylinder, 840-pound Voyager 1300; and it is Kawasaki that has just introduced the all-new Voyager XII, one of the smaller and lighter American-style ever built. But the XII is not simply a downsized version of the 1300; it is a completely new motorcycle from end to end.

Some engine technology for this new tourer has been borrowed from the latest Ninja sportbikes, but the XII’s engine was designed for this machine alone. The 1196cc, liquid-cooled, dohc inline-Four has four valves per cylinder, and features hydraulic lash adjusters that completely eliminate all routine valve maintenance. And to provide ultra-smooth running, the powerplant incorporates a gear-driven, dual counterbalancing system. The engine drives through a fivespeed gearbox, but with a fifth-gear ratio that is exceptionally tall. At 55 mph in top gear, for example, the engine is spinning only at about 2500 rpm. Final drive is via shaft, with two damping systems along the way (one in the gearbox, one on the driveshaft) to absorb driveline shocks.

Cradling the engine is a three-section chassis with a removable rear sub-frame. The right downtube also is detachable to facilitate engine removal. Suspension is provided by dual shocks in the rear and a typical fork in front, with both ends offering air-adjustability. A trio of disc brakes provides the stopping power.

Naturally,the XII has all the requisite over-the-road touring gear, such as a full fairing (that has several built-in storage compartments), roomy saddlebags and a tour trunk, with full-width light bars at the rear like those on Honda’s Aspencade. The saddlebags can be removed by taking out one pin per bag, and the tour trunk comes off by removing two wing nuts inside the storage compartment. The passenger section of the Voyager XII’s seat can be moved forward and back to give some lumbar support to the rider, and the tour trunk can also be moved fore and aft for the passenger.

As far as accessories are concerned, the Voyager has quite a few but is not “loaded.” There is no cruise control, (1986) for instance, nor is there an on-board air compressor for inflation of the fork or shocks, or a trip computer such as on the Aspencade SE-i or the 1300 Voyager. But the XII does comes equipped with an AM/FM/cassette player and two fairing-mounted speakers. The sound system has a remote control unit on the handlebar that includes a volume control as well as the usual scan and mute functions, and there is a separate control unit for the passenger mounted on the front of the tour trunk. In addition, the XII comes standard with crash bars, bag liners and passenger footboards. The only options, for now, at least, are a CB radio and a bolt-on lighting and accessory trim kit.

So while the Voyager XII may not have all of the gadgets found on some of the other big-rig touring machines, one of its most compelling features is its relative compactness. It is smaller and lighter than its main competition, and has a low price to match.

In this kind of going, where the trip constantly is interrupted by first-gear crawls through stop-sign-infested towns, Kawasaki’s Voyager XII reigns supreme. Although it’s really not that much lighter than its fully equipped competition, its marvelously low seat and easy slow-speed handling make for a very unintimidating package, even for smaller riders.

Not that the Voyager is only good for around-town riding. With a quick-revving, silky-smooth engine, a crisp-shifting transmission, and gearing that has the pistons barely moving at cruising speeds, the XII is an easy ride on the open road. Acceleration is fierce in the lower four gears, although the overdriven fifth gear means that a downshift, sometimes two, is required to zip past traffic in passing situations.

We also liked the extremely light twist needed to open the throttle, although the lack of a cruise control is almost unforgivable, even in view of the bike’s “economy-class” approach to touring. As with the Harley, the Voyager’s thumb-operated radio-volume control was appreciated, although we all felt the radio lacked sufficient decibels, especially at high speeds.

Still, the Voyager falls behind in several areas. Number one: For some reason, the Kawasaki liked to wander around. Nothing drastic, mind you, but it had a constant, straightline shuffle that always needed to be compensated for. Strangely, this trait didn't show itself in the corners, where the XII was very stable and limited only by a relative lack of ground clearance when really heeled over. Because the weaving got worse as the trip wore on, the solution may be as simple as a new set of tires.

Number two: Nobody really liked the fairing. Mounted rather far from the rider, it has a lot of air spillover, which results in almost constant buffeting. Some riders even suggested that the fairing was a contributing factor to the bike’s meandering and the radio’s lack of volume.

Number three: The seat, while by no means a Marquis de Sade special, could use some further development. We’d suggest softer and slightly wider padding for both rider and passenger.

Number four: Several riders were annoyed by the bike's gear whine, especially when cruising at high speeds with the radio off although some riders never mentioned the noise and others thought it was no worse than the sounds emanating from the other bikes in the comparison. Kawasaki engineers are aware of the whine and claim that as miles go by, the noise subsides slightly.

Even with those teething problems, though, the Kawasaki is such a good bike that the other companies would do well to pay attention. The Voyager clearly shows that a touring motorcycle doesn't have to be extreme, either in price or size, to take on the roads of America.

[Nails]

Having just read the article, and remembering a few things, I would say the Cavalcade's competition was more the 1300cc Voyager, but that was definitely not a competition - the 'cade has all the shortcomings of the Voyager (size, size, weight, and size) and none of the advantages (um, speed, I guess?). Never having owned either, I can only go by what I've read. So my opinion counts for kronk!

Well yeah, the XII doesn't compare too directly with anything else under consideration here. And I can think of other bikes that are smaller, smaller, lighter, and smaller than the XII, but they generally need aftermarket stuff to lounge-tour. (Bandit, for starters.)

Hurray for choice.

Personally, I think the XII's high point is price/value. After touring on it a fair bit, I definitely wouldn't want anything bigger or heavier. I'd honestly have trouble liking my XII without some mods I've made -- and I wouldn't have tried those mods if the bike was more expensive. (Call it my rat-tourer if you must.)

[GrandpaDenny]

Also, remember that the Voyager XII reviewed was a 1986 model. Perhaps because of this article, all of the things address were changed, most in 87. As a matter of fact, so much was changed for 1987 that it is considered to be a different model than the '86. The '86 is a ZG1200A, whilst the '87 and up are ZG1200B models. The fork is changed, cruise control and rear speakers were added, and a lip was added to the fairing to make it more effective. A few years later (I'm not sure what year) the seat was changed to be more comfortable. As for the wandering, we all know that it was directly caused by the Dunlop 404 tires. Our bikes are still somewhat susceptible to the wiggles around 40 mph, though the cure(s) are realatively easy (and cheap) to fix, usually just something loose (fender/brace) or needing adjustment (steering head bearing) and of course it can definitely be caused by tires. And remember, folks, to check the front wheel bearings you have to remove the brake calipers or you won't be able to tell if the wheel is wiggly! I suspect the same might be true for the rear wheel.

[Dave]

Having just read the article, and remembering a few things, I would say the Cavalcade's competition was more the 1300cc Voyager, but that was definitely not a competition - the 'cade has all the shortcomings of the Voyager (size, size, weight, and size) and none of the advantages (um, speed, I guess?). Never having owned either, I can only go by what I've read. So my opinion counts for kronk!

I had Cavalcade. During that same time, a military friend had a one year unaccompanied tour overseas. Rather than "mothball" his 1300 Voyager, while he was gone I would ride it a couple times a month. I was always happy to get back on my Cavalcade afterwards. The 1300 was much more top heavy than the Cavalcade which felt compact compared to the 1300. The 1300 did not feel much more powerful either.

[Nails]

I just realized I made a mistake in my Cavalcade homeboyz post above: I pasted the same AVA page twice but intended this one. https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/suzu ... t-40755006 This guy posted a few vids on ADVrider about his Cavalcade, but honestly kinda blasé despite pretty Canada. But he sure does like his Cavalcade.