Did you ever ride the Vaquero at all? Someone selling one (but also owns the Voyager, which he's keeping) said the suspension is better on the Voyager, which makes sense as it's gotta handle the extra weight - he's suggesting I hunt for a Voyager (honest guy).
They're more or less the same bike aside from top vs side opening bags, lack of top box and a different seat setup. Mixed info out there on if they have different gearing, but not really sure. I'm 90% sure the suspension and everything else is identical, so any differences your friend noticed may have been simply because one vs the other had more or less air in the rear shocks at the time.
If you're touring, hands down the Voyager will be the better bike. A lot of people who bought Vaq's want to add the top box later on for touring (once you had one, you won't want to not have one), so you might as well just buy the Voyager to start.
Not bad. If you've never owned a V-Twin you'll have to adjust to much lower RPM's as they're all torque, not horsepower. A common mod on these bikes is the Ivan tune, it resolves some rideability issues, mainly 6th gear / OD being functionally useless below 100KPH, as well as a "mushy" throttle feel that bothers some people because they're throttle-by-wire. Also decel pop if you have aftermarket pipes. Some don't care about any of this stuff, some do. Beware, the Ivan tune requires premium fuel however...otherwise, they run on regular 87.
It's not a powerhouse, but it can get up and go just fine for a 900+# bike. It wouldn't hold a candle to my new bike however, although the SV has just a vastly bigger engine as well, so I guess that shouldn't be surprising.
Yes, for the most part. If you have longer legs and a shorter torso like me, YMMV however. Some love the stock seat, others hate it. It's one of those things where you'll just have to commit and see what happens. For me, after 600-700km in a day I really struggled with the ergos however, it just felt cramped to me and just never felt quite right. I think I touched on it all on page 1 of this thread IIRC. Or somewhere here.
It comes down to your build/size, and how far an average / big day of riding is for you as well.
As with all bikes, YMMV.
No heated grips from the factory ... assume someone makes them.
Oxford cruiser grips are an easy add on and worked awesome for me. Big and beefy feeling, and got more than plenty hot.
I like the Yamaha you replaced it with ... don't think they make those anymore - tell me how the 2 compare.
They don't make em anymore, no...sadly. Nobody knows if they're discontinued or what Yamaha is doing, but they just silently disappeared from the website one day and never returned. No announcement. They could reappear tomorrow for what anyone knows, although it seems Yamaha has completely exited the cruiser and touring market at the moment.
But it's one of the things that makes it unique now, most people have never seen one.
As for comparing the two, well honestly, they don't compare. Now that I've got a few thousand KM's on it, and a few 3-4 hour rides, the SV Transcontinental is next level - there's just a lot more refinement so far as air management (power windshield, adjustable wings to push air out or suck air in, baffles and better flow around the lowers, etc), comfort features (power windshield, heated seat(s), a solid infotainment system, better audio, etc. The Voyager is technologically still in the 2005 era IMHO, and the SVTC is very much a "modern" bike.
Would I rule out the Voyager however for someone looking? Absolutely not. It's a LOT of bike for a really good price, and like I said earlier, they're reliable, easy to work on for the most part, have some aftermarket support (within reason), and most people who own one love them. Just be sure to buy one of the 2011/2012+ models as they have ABS standard. Other than that, 2012 and up, seriously, just shop by whatever colour scheme turns your crank, has a mileage your comfortable with and is in good repair, and is a good deal. 2012 or 2024,
they're all functionally identical, literally the only difference is paint schemes. Honestly, I don't know why *anyone* would buy one of these new right now as you're buying a 2024 that hasn't changed (literally not even a single screw or bolt) in 13+ years now.
