Wrenching and Riding (long)

[Sidehopper]

I got the oil changed in my 94 XII last week and wanted to get a good ride in, so I wrangled my brother and his 2012 Vulcan 900 Custom for a nice Sunday cruise of about 120 miles of standard Missouri highway. I pushed the bike a harder than I did on my previous rides and some of the roads were pretty bumpy, so I felt like it was a safe amount of stress to put on the bike to give me an idea of what I might need to fix next. I was rewarded with a great ride, some mild sunburn (I'm used to a full face helmet, currently using a 3/4 so I looked like Rudolph at the end of the day with a bright red nose), and some indicators of minor issues.

After I parked the bike, I noticed a couple of small oil drips under it where there hadn't been any before. The good news is that based on the amount of grime buildup, there has been an oil leak for some time and unless I really push the engine, it doesn't leak enough to lose much oil. The not so good news is I was about a half quart low. I checked the sight glass after it had been sitting a couple of days and the oil level was below the window. I warmed the engine, shut it off and checked the level 5 minutes later and the oil level was at the bottom of the sight glass. I added a half quart of oil, warmed it again, and checked it again after 5 minutes and it was properly filled to the upper 1/4th of the sight glass.

Side note - I know the sight glass is questionably accurate, but I think it's designed to be used the same way I'm supposed to check the oil in my 2015 Jeep Renegade - warm the engine so the oil is at operating temperature/expansion, shut it off, give it 5 minutes to drain, and then check the level. After a certain amount of cooldown it will no longer give an accurate reading. In my Jeep it's because they use the 0w-20 engine oil as hydraulic fluid to run the Multiair intake unit, which hydraulically/electronically adjusts the intake valves per stroke, and there is a secondary oil reservoir that feeds the hydraulic pump. It's really easy to get an incorrect oil reading if you check it like any other car (cold, in the morning before starting like most cars always have) because you have to ensure there is enough oil to fill the secondary reservoir and it takes a weird 5.5 quarts of oil to fill, so some lube shops give it back to people half a quart low from the start. Add the fact that the engine is an Italian designed oil burner and you get angry drivers who didn't know how to check their oil properly and learned it's been low for a good while. Or those owners who never check their oil and find out it's REALLY low when they push their oil change maintenance back since they used the 10k mile synthetic stuff. FCA says the acceptable oil burn level for the 2.4L Multiair engine is 1 quart every 1000 miles until 50k miles, then 1 quart every 750 miles after 50k miles . Since our bikes have hydraulic lash adjustment, this may be the reason the sight glass is a bit weird to use, but I haven't read about the way it works on the Voyager to know for sure.

I need to degrease the engine to find where it's leaking from, but it looks like I may be getting leaks out of two common spots - the oil sensor below the sight glass, and something near the driveshaft area. I'll be diving deeper to find out exactly where soon enough, but for now it's on the list. Also on the list - when I got the bike, the rear shocks were low on pressure, so I pumped them back up to about 32PSI. They leaked a little bit of air so I pumped them back up before the ride with my brother, and when I did my inspection afterwards I found that my left shock is leaking oil. I have read that there aren't really any serviceable parts in the shocks, so replacement is the only way to go. For fun I just tried to see if OEM shocks are still available and I can buy two sets of Progressive 412 shocks for the price of one OEM shock .

Last night, I also pulled my top triple clamp to make sure everything was tight and lubed. I followed along with a video I found of Don from the NorCal Voyagers so it was pretty easy overall. The bike's PO had Progressive springs installed in the forks and whoever did the work did a pretty good job based on the tips Don gave in the video, though they didn't move the DIN connectors in the fairing during reassembly so the inner fork-side fairing cover didn't seat deep enough and was getting scratched by the fork bolts whenever you would turn the bars to the right. I was able to get them pushed out of the way but the scratches are still there. During reassembly, I really noticed how tight the ignition wires and wires going to the left handlebar control assembly were. Even after I cut the left frame zip tie, they start to pull right before full right lock. Is that still normal, or should it be smoother than that? I plan to take the fairing off next week and play "grease the electrical contacts" at least so maybe I can get some more slack in the harness.

I also saw that the speedometer cable gets caught when going full right lock if it's routed between the forks. It gets pushed by the fork until it starts making noises against the rubber insert in the fairing. I re-routed it to the outside of the left fork, but it seems to get caught just about as much on full left lock. Is this something to be concerned about?

Finally, the left brake caliper on the front wheel seems to be a little tight, it makes a little noise when I spin the wheel when the front is jacked up. It doesn't seem to be too big of an issue and the pads appear to be OK still. I'll be working my way through these issues, plus going through the Periodic Maintenance listed in the service manual, so surely I'll find more things that need work as I do!

[GrandpaDenny]

I need to degrease the engine to find where it's leaking from, but it looks like I may be getting leaks out of two common spots - the oil sensor below the sight glass, and something near the driveshaft area.

The leak from the driveshaft area is pretty much guaranteed to be from an overly full final drive. If it's full to the threads, as specified in the manual, it's overfull. Needs to be about 1/4" below the threads.

For fun I just tried to see if OEM shocks are still available and I can buy two sets of Progressive 412 shocks for the price of one OEM shock .

Found that out myself when I blew out my left shock doing an Evel Knievel off an unmarked elevated railroad crossing in Georgia. I now have a nice shiny chrome set of Progressive 412s. Make sure to get the heavy-duty springs!

I also saw that the speedometer cable gets caught when going full right lock if it's routed between the forks. It gets pushed by the fork until it starts making noises against the rubber insert in the fairing. I re-routed it to the outside of the left fork, but it seems to get caught just about as much on full left lock. Is this something to be concerned about?

I just discovered this same issue after greasing my speedo cable a couple of days ago. The manual says to route it inside the fork, and it sure looks worse routed outside the fork. Also, the only time I really have the bars turned to full lock is when the bike is parked. So on my list of things to do tomorrow (I mean today, it's 2 am) is changing the speedo cable routing back to inside the left fork.

Finally, the left brake caliper on the front wheel seems to be a little tight, it makes a little noise when I spin the wheel when the front is jacked up. It doesn't seem to be too big of an issue and the pads appear to be OK still. I'll be working my way through these issues, plus going through the Periodic Maintenance listed in the service manual, so surely I'll find more things that need work as I do!

That's not unusual for disc brakes. If the discs were perfectly true, the pads wouldn't be able to release, and they would drag all the time. You *might* want to get the discs turned, perhaps next time you replace the pads.

[Sidehopper]

The leak from the driveshaft area is pretty much guaranteed to be from an overly full final drive. If it's full to the threads, as specified in the manual, it's overfull. Needs to be about 1/4" below the threads.

I'll definitely be checking over the rear soon, my wife and son are taking a trip to see grandparents for a week, so I'll have a free lane in the garage and a general lack of distractions to really devote some sweat to maintaining the bike. It's already a hot Missouri summer so sweat will be involved. Like a sauna! It's usually humid enough to be one.

Found that out myself when I blew out my left shock doing an Evel Knievel off an unmarked elevated railroad crossing in Georgia. I now have a nice shiny chrome set of Progressive 412s. Make sure to get the heavy-duty springs!

I'm going to try to see if changing the oil in the shock will give it enough viscosity to seal properly again. That will save me some money if it works, and if not I should have changed the shock fluid anyway. Regarding the HD springs, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be one-up the majority of the time - are the HD springs soft enough on the lowest setting for a single rider? I'm about 200 pounds. I'm DEFINITELY going to be the guy with the gear if I get a group ride organized. There's one guy who just bought an '82 GL1100 Goldwing Aspencade so we would be set for coolers full of drinks .

I just discovered this same issue after greasing my speedo cable a couple of days ago. The manual says to route it inside the fork, and it sure looks worse routed outside the fork. Also, the only time I really have the bars turned to full lock is when the bike is parked. So on my list of things to do tomorrow (I mean today, it's 2 am) is changing the speedo cable routing back to inside the left fork.

I routed mine back in between the forks tonight - maybe the fact that the speedo cable catches a bit prevents the overly tight head wiring from being pulled too much!

That's not unusual for disc brakes. If the discs were perfectly true, the pads wouldn't be able to release, and they would drag all the time. You *might* want to get the discs turned, perhaps next time you replace the pads.

I have a set of Shinko 777 on the way, so I'll be pulling the wheels off at some point. I'll take a look at the rotors when I do. I took a look at my rear tire and I was wrong - I have an Elite II on the rear, and a D404 on the front. I wonder how much the mismatched tires are affecting the balance of the bike at low speeds, especially since the 404 doesn't work on our bikes. Hopefully having a matching pair of shoes will help smooth out the ride. My brother took the Voyager out for a test drive and I warned him before he left that it's wobbly at slow speeds and that he shouldn't use the front brake unless the bike is upright. He did fine, but he did notice the wobble a lot. I'm comfortable riding the bike as is, and practice is helping me get way less wobble in the front.

I get the feeling it's because of the higher center of gravity. It's easier to feel when the bike starts to fall into the turn a little bit, so it feels scary to let the bike do what it wants to at first. My first ride, I was pretty wide in the slow speed turns until I was fast enough to countersteer, and I was using a lot of see-saw overcorrections since the bike "felt" like it was going to fall over. The more I fought it, the worse the wobble got, but I eventually learned to just let it lean and loosened my death grip on the bars.

Thanks for the advice Denny!

[Sidehopper]

I checked the rear shock pressure today and it's actually still where I left it before the ride with my brother, so maybe the shock isn't leaking after all. It could just have some oil on the boot from the gear/engine oil leak.

[GrandpaDenny]

are the HD springs soft enough on the lowest setting for a single rider? I'm about 200 pounds.

I would think so. I'm about 280 and have them on the second highest setting. Also I live in Philadelphia where the potholes eat motorcycles for breakfast. Manhole covers are either six inches below or two inches above the road and spaced randomly and frequently throughout the road. Pavement cracks and buckles can make you pee yourself. Then there are the bad roads...

I routed mine back in between the forks tonight - maybe the fact that the speedo cable catches a bit prevents the overly tight head wiring from being pulled too much!

I did, too. If you cut the wire ties off the wire harness by the triple tree you should be OK.

I get the feeling it's because of the higher center of gravity. It's easier to feel when the bike starts to fall into the turn a little bit, so it feels scary to let the bike do what it wants to at first. My first ride, I was pretty wide in the slow speed turns until I was fast enough to countersteer, and I was using a lot of see-saw overcorrections since the bike "felt" like it was going to fall over.

At slow speeds you should be steering into the turn, not countersteering. Countersteering before the turn, though, help the bike fall into the turn. As for falling into the turns, yes, these bikes turn extremely quickly for bikes of their size. This is due to the small front wheel. Can't really compare them to other big tourers, as they are kind of part sport tourer in disquise. They LOVE to dance. Get the suspension right, get the tires right, and have a kronkin' blast! Other big tourers are made for the freeways, to eat up the miles in comfort, but aren't so good in the tight and twisties. Ours, on the other hand, are just as comfy on the big roads and high speeds, but are darn near flickable in the twisties. I play follow the leader regularly with a souped-up Concours 1400 and keep up well in the twisties, without melting the rubber off the tires like he does LOL. The best part is when we hit a rough road and his wife is hanging on for dear life at 5 mph whilst I go cruising by drinking coffee and leaving them in the dust.

[Sidehopper]

You know, I don't think I've ever heard anybody have anything good to say about Philly - seems like a tough town in basically every way. I'll make sure to get the HD springs whenever I pick up a set. I added a few more PSI to the front tire and it seems to have reduced the D404 wobble quite a bit, so I'm hopeful for the new tires to improve the ride even more. I am steering into the turn at slow speeds, I just meant that once I got up to about 15 MPH I didn't have any issues going wide on that first ride home. As I ride more my confidence on the bike is growing so even at slow speeds with the poor D404 on the front I never feel like the bike is ignoring my steering input or misbehaving, most likely because I am learning the balance point of the bike and developing muscle memory to keep it steady.

My current biggest issue at low speeds is making sure I'm smooth on the throttle once I roll down my driveway or do some similar slow speed maneuver, the wobble definitely seems worse when I go from no throttle to some throttle. Maybe I should drag my rear brake and keep the throttle open a smidge while rolling down the hill to make sure it doesn't suddenly grab and upset the bike when I do roll on. That, or my carbs may need a little tuning in case they aren't all opening at the same time. If one carb is more or less at idle while the others start opening I can imagine that would affect the smoothness of the power delivery. It's not an issue once I'm going, even at a really low speed in first gear, so maybe it's just another muscle memory thing to work on.

I absolutely love the handling of these machines though, I was always afraid of larger touring bikes because they just look like they'd be a pig in the corners and awful at low speeds. Most of the corners on the highways around me feel like I'm not even leaning, it's almost like the bike is begging me to squid because it could handle the corners at much higher speeds than the posted limit wants me to ride. I'm smart enough to know that even if the bike could handle it, I don't have the experience to do it safely...and on the limit riding isn't anywhere close to safe in my farming community. Blind corners over hills often have tractors, and if you've never seen a hay bale spike on the back of a tractor, well, they are pretty big and designed to hold over 1000 pounds of hay so they wouldn't have an issue impaling a rider.

It's gotta be fun to have another rider to consistently gauge your skill with, especially if they have a "faster" bike than yours! Once it's dialed in the Voyager XII feels like it does everything pretty well, Kawasaki nailed the design without too many compromises. I went ahead and changed my oil again after getting about 400 miles on the first oil change I did, and it was a good thing too - it came out really dark. That Rotella T4 must have a heck of a lot of detergent! It also let me gauge how bad the oil leak is, and I took off the left side water pump/final drive cover to check a little closer. It looks like the biggest portion of the leak is from the rubber boot on the final drive, right above the hinges of the center stand. It's hard to tell what the leaked fluid smells like since it's dripping onto long-dried sludge but hopefully I can degrease everything a bit tonight. I see what looks like an o-ring and a gasket on that assembly so those might need replaced.

[GrandpaDenny]

You know, I don't think I've ever heard anybody have anything good to say about Philly - seems like a tough town in basically every way.

Really? Then those people didn't really know Philly. Yes, unfortunately quite a bit of the city is pretty much in ruins (as is true in any large American city, especially the older cities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic). However, those areas are getting smaller as gentrification is setting in, even in the notorious Kensington area. So there is hope for the city there, and the population is growing for the first time in 40 years. Having said that, there is much wonderful about Philly. We have a true world-class art museum, the music scene is second to none, Center City (what most places call Downtown) is thriving, construction is booming throughout the city, other than murders in the (shrinking) baddest areas the crime rate has been trending lower and lower (2020 was a sh*tty year for every big city, I believe). Yes, our freeways were designed by people on very strong drugs. Yes, projects that were started were never finished. Yes, many of our roads are horrendous. This is mostly due to weather - winters, freeze/thaw cycles, salt road treatments, plows, all tear up roads. Philadelphia has many wonderful neighborhoods, such as my own (boy am I lucky and blessed to live where I live now - I just moved here six months ago). Make jokes about our public transportation system, SEPTA, we all do, but under the jokes it's actually very good, and not as expensive as some other cities. So Philadelphia is definitely not perfect, but it has come a hell of a long way, and it is improving every day.

I'll make sure to get the HD springs whenever I pick up a set. I added a few more PSI to the front tire and it seems to have reduced the D404 wobble quite a bit, so I'm hopeful for the new tires to improve the ride even more. I am steering into the turn at slow speeds, I just meant that once I got up to about 15 MPH I didn't have any issues going wide on that first ride home. As I ride more my confidence on the bike is growing so even at slow speeds with the poor D404 on the front I never feel like the bike is ignoring my steering input or misbehaving, most likely because I am learning the balance point of the bike and developing muscle memory to keep it steady.

When you put a decent tire on the front you're going to have to relearn everything. However, once the basic skills are mastered (take a class!) they apply to any bike.

My current biggest issue at low speeds is making sure I'm smooth on the throttle once I roll down my driveway or do some similar slow speed maneuver, the wobble definitely seems worse when I go from no throttle to some throttle. Maybe I should drag my rear brake and keep the throttle open a smidge while rolling down the hill to make sure it doesn't suddenly grab and upset the bike when I do roll on. That, or my carbs may need a little tuning in case they aren't all opening at the same time. If one carb is more or less at idle while the others start opening I can imagine that would affect the smoothness of the power delivery. It's not an issue once I'm going, even at a really low speed in first gear, so maybe it's just another muscle memory thing to work on.

Again these are basic skills that are taught at motorcycle riding classes such as MSF and Total Control and others. I think they run $150-250 in general; here in PA they are free to PA residents. I take a class at least once a year, and I ride about 14-15000 miles/year average (and that's going up). I *STRONGLY* recommend taking at least one class, whether it be the Basic course with the little bikes they provide, or the Intermediate (BRC2 for MRC) with your own bike. You will likely be shocked and amazed at how these big bikes can be flicked and danced around, and not just our bikes, any bike.

It looks like the biggest portion of the leak is from the rubber boot on the final drive, right above the hinges of the center stand. It's hard to tell what the leaked fluid smells like since it's dripping onto long-dried sludge but hopefully I can degrease everything a bit tonight. I see what looks like an o-ring and a gasket on that assembly so those might need replaced.

That's a sure-fire sign of the final drive being overfilled. One-banana and zero-dollar (other than the cost of gear lube) fix. Fill to about 1/4" below the threads (don't follow the manual's directions, that's why it's leaking!).

[cushman eagle]

Sidehopper,I found my'99 did not have the rear end vent drilled,as it began leaking when it was full.
I drilled it and it stopped the leak,yes I do keep it down 1/4".It can be drilled with the tire/wheel off.
My rear end had the indent for the hole,but was not through.
Do a search on the forum about the vent,and there should be a picture of the location,there was one when I did mine just before the Ashville Rally.

[Sidehopper]

Again these are basic skills that are taught at motorcycle riding classes such as MSF and Total Control and others. I think they run $150-250 in general; here in PA they are free to PA residents. I take a class at least once a year, and I ride about 14-15000 miles/year average (and that's going up). I *STRONGLY* recommend taking at least one class, whether it be the Basic course with the little bikes they provide, or the Intermediate (BRC2 for MRC) with your own bike. You will likely be shocked and amazed at how these big bikes can be flicked and danced around, and not just our bikes, any bike.

Taking an MSF course would be my preferred way to get my full motorcycle endorsement - well worth the money for the class and life-saving training. I think the Missouri State Highway Patrol offers them somewhat regularly so it's definitely on the list. Also, glad to hear I've been misled about Philly! The music scene is the main reason I'd want to visit, there are a few places that play fun electronic music and I met some pretty cool people centered around that scene online.

I got my new front tire put on Tuesday after work, and I did the rear last night, but the change in handling with the new front alone was incredible. It's been a bit wet here so I want to make sure I get the tires cleaned well before going out (used dish soap as lube and it gets everywhere) but I'm stoked for how it's going to feel with properly matched tires. I still need to work through changing all the fluids in the bike, which brings me to:

Sidehopper,I found my'99 did not have the rear end vent drilled,as it began leaking when it was full.
I drilled it and it stopped the leak,yes I do keep it down 1/4".It can be drilled with the tire/wheel off.
My rear end had the indent for the hole,but was not through.
Do a search on the forum about the vent,and there should be a picture of the location,there was one when I did mine just before the Ashville Rally.

I took the opportunity to drill this out last night while I was changing my rear tire! My '94 was the same as your '99, it had the small indent but no hole. Whenever I get the final drive fluid changed I'll make sure to put it 1/4 inch below the threads, but for now this will stop it from making a bigger mess on the underside of the bike.

I appreciate the discussion and advice from you both, especially since the Kawasaki service manual can be very...short on advice. It seems to expect you to already know how to work on the bike so there's lots of cross-referencing and exploded view inspection for every job (the first time I do it, anyway!) When I did my front tire, I took off my fender and found that it does have some small cracks in the plastic, They aren't too bad right now, and don't seem to go all the way through the plastic. I think I remember reading that Gene Kap made the proper spacers in the past, I'll send him a message sometime to see if I can get a new set of them to make sure I'm not looking for a set of spacers AND a new fender.