V-Twin Tourers Electra Glide vs Kawi Voyager
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Last week is a blur. Doing 1700 miles in six days, dealing with LA traffic, cancelled appointments, accident-closed freeways, and a record-breaking heat wave can have that effect.
After driving the Sprinter from our HQ in Medford, OR to LA, I was able to escape the ambush the Ruckus Nation had set up and delivered the little scoot and the Honda ST1300 back to
American Honda.
"I am not Bart Madson," I declared to the angry mob of Ruckus owners who had gathered to protest B-Mad's less-than-stellar review.
The 2009 Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager has styling that attracted plenty of attention wherever we rode. The highway leading up to Big Bear Lake gave us plenty of opportunity to test its lean angles.
After that, it was down the 405 to our LA office in Irvine to conduct a little test between the 2009
Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glide vs. the 2009
Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager.
In one corner, the industry standard in V-Twin touring motorcycles, the H-D Electra Glide. With a new chassis, ABS, ETC, and a 1584cc Twin Cam 96 engine, the Electra Glide rides notably smoother than the one
I tested in 2008. What a difference a year makes. I got plenty of use out of the 80-watt Advanced Audio System as I cruised the beaches from Long Beach to Dana Point one day, followed by a more challenging trip over Ortega Highway and Lake Elsinore the next. Rode plenty of miles two-up to test the arrangement of the Tour-Pak system. With temperatures above triple digits, would the air-cooled V-Twin roast me alive, or did my groin survive?
Challenging the Electra Glide in the V-Twin touring class is Kawasaki’s Vulcan Voyager. Sourcing a 52-degree 1700cc V-Twin engine, equipped with Kawasaki’s Advanced Coactive Braking Technology and ABS, and with its own fully electronic throttle valve system, the Voyager gives Kawasaki a presence in the luxury-touring class again. Its muscle car-influenced styling drew plenty of attention wherever we rode. Climbing on, the tighter rider’s triangle is immediately apparent, with my knees snugger against the tank and my arms in tighter. Couldn’t think of a better road to test the Voyager on than the twisties leading up to Big Bear Lake, so up and down the mountain we rode. The Voyager feels lighter than the Harley, but how would its handling compare?
Look for the answers in an upcoming comparison between the two V-Twin powered luxo-tourers.
Post Tags: V-Twin touring motorcycles, Harley-Davidson, Electra Glide, Kawasaki Voyager, Vulcan 1700
