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Noob question re: loose part

2K views 18 replies 6 participants last post by  Voyager 
#1 ·
Greetings, and apologies if this post is not in the right place. Just purchased a really nice 2005 K1200LT, this is our first ride since 2013 when we parked the Cow ('94 Kaw Voyager XII, 1200 cc). Doing some prep work including adjusting the shifter peddle (an interesting exploration) that required me to almost bend my ankle backwards to get my foot under it. Removed the left peg, panel and shift lever and did the adjustment last evening, ran out of time and daylight so left the reinstall for today. When I went out today to get on with it, I discovered this grommet laying on the ground under a dangling rubber tube - towards the right side of the bike. Can't see or reach far enough up to figure out where it came from or what it's for. Can anyone identify this for me? Any and all help appreciated, with thanks! (apologies if this post gets all fubarred) Tire Auto part Circle Rim Ceiling
Tire Automotive tire Automotive exterior Vehicle Auto part
 
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#5 ·
WOW thanks for the fast replies, guys! What a community, glad I came across it while looking for info on the Beemer! It's dark here now so I'll have to leave it til tomorrow. I do have another issue though, relating to that adjustment to the shift lever, and that is, how in the H**K do you get that thing back together?? When I removed it I did as the manual says, undid the relevant bolts & screws and undid the ball-joint linkage with a 13mm open-end wrench. The manual says to reverse the process for re-installation, but for the life of me I can't get a grip on the thing to get the ball-joint bolt started back into the shift lever. My wife tried with her smaller hands, and didn't have any success either. I was going to try coming at it from the bottom with a screwdriver to hold it in place while getting it started threading in, but of course the pipes are there. I'm reluctant to start tearing body panels off of it, but short of finding a triple-jointed leprechaun, I just can't see any other way. How do others do it? -or am I the only fool that's ever been dumb enough to take this apart in the first place? Help! No rides without a gearshift!
 
#8 ·
Thanks jzeiler, lots of good info there; does this mean that I can take the ball out of the socket, screw the bolt back into the lever, then pop the ball back in place afterward? If so that certainly solves that problem.
No Denny, I wasn't aware of the pin clips til I saw the doc that jz posted here. There's a rubber band-like circlet in there that obscures that view, and I was afraid to mess too much with it in case of damaging something that was there for some essential purpose - thought maybe it was to retain lube or something.
Yeah, I can turn a wrench, but beyond simple maintenance was never anything of a mechanic...
 
#9 ·
Just pay attention to the hole where you need to insert the clip, you want that to be easy to get to and snap in place then the other end can snap on and it will be easy to insert the pin. The rubber bushes are there to keep the grease in and water out. Same goes for removal next time you can hook the end of the clip and pull it off the shaft then the pin can slide out.
 
#10 ·
Thanks you guys, with your help I did get this adjustment done and everything back together. Just got in from a long test ride and the shifter positioning is just right! Also with help from posters on here I fixed a problem with the cruise control where it would work fine for so long, then refuse to set after riding for a couple of hours. Turned out to be the clutch lever microswitch which was loose, and I found this thanks to postings outlining the diagnostic procedures to follow. Thanks to all of you, and safe riding!
 
#11 ·
You are definitely in the right place. I see you already have your answer so I won’t mention that. I also came to the LT from a Voyager. The LT outperforms the Voyager in almost every way, but is far more maintenance intensive and costly to maintain and repair. It’s a love/hate relationship for former Voyager XII owners. :)
 
#12 ·
Yup, got the same relationship going with both bikes. We've decided not to sell off the Cow (Kaw) for now; we'll garage it along with the LT and rehab it in the spring, then decide what we want to do. It's been a long time since we had the Cow on the road, but I THINK I remember feeling more secure in the corners on it. We'll see. Both have a lot going for them and a few marks against them; so far the LT has been a lot of fun and I like all the built-in farkles. Biggest thing for me was to have a real cruise control and I was a bit unhappy when it didn't work on the LT, but with guidance from the forum here I was able to fix that quick and easy (it was the throttle linkage adjustment thing.) We could wind up looking for a good Voyager 1700, but I'm sure there's probably issues there too - and I really don't like big V-twins. Maybe have to ride one to change that. Cheers and a wave.
 
#13 ·
The cornering feel may be due to the lower seat height of the Voyager and the fact that you feel more like on a Gold Wing in that you are sitting in the bike rather than on it. However, I can assure you that the LT is far more capable in the corners than the Voyager with its super stiff cast frame and the telelever and paralever suspension. My Voyager would wallow in a curve if you hit a decent bump or dip while leaned over much. You could feel the flex in the frame and front forks as the oscillation damped out. The LT can hit a mid corner bump and hardly oscillate at all. All motion is in the up and down direction (relative to the bike, not the horizon) and nothing side to side as on the Voyager. And the braking on the LT is well beyond the Voyager. The lack of front end dive is almost spooky under hard braking, but I very much like it.

Having said that, I much preferred Kawasaki as a company and the dealers were better than my BMW dealer in Rochester (now defunct and for good reason). If Kawasaki had refreshed the Voyager XII in kind (inline 4, etc.) and simply given it fuel injection, ABS, updated electronics, etc., I would never have bought an LT. However, after waiting nearly 3 years for the “all new” Voyager and getting a warmed over V-twin cruiser, I was beyond disappointed in Kawasaki and how they misled the AVA and its members taking all sorts of input and then completely ignoring it. It is too bad Kawasaki (and more recently now Yamaha) decided to become Harley wannabes, but it certainly has been good for Honda and BMW who stayed more true to the luxury touring segment (although both have faded some from their zenith). I guess Kawasaki and Yamaha haven’t noticed how Harley sales trends are going...
 
#16 ·
You need to test it as follows: On center stand, front wheel off the ground. Move the bars side to side slowly then as fast as you can. If you can feel no difference then it needs help.
 
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#17 ·
Thanks for the responses, guys. Unfortunately I've been immobilized with a pinched nerve or something giving me excruciating back pain when I try to move (geez, I can't even fart without it shooting all the way up to my shoulder!) so I will check that out in due course. I have done the slow part of it but not the quick test. I've never had a bike with a steering damper before, so I naively didn't realize that the affect wouldn't be constant or linear - so that no resistance at a simple slow back-&-forth meant it was dead. I'll be eager to try the proper method (yours!) when I get vertical again.
 
#19 ·
Do you mean ventilation as in more air on the rider and passenger? I can’t see how this relates to the steering damper so I assume you are discussing an earlier comment, but I am somewhat at a loss on context.

If you mean air flow onto the rider and passenger, I have a hard time saying as it has been so long ago and I sold my XII three years before buying my LT so I never got to compare them back to back. However, I seem to recall the Voyager having quite good wind and weather protection for the rider and I think my wife would say that the Voyager is actually better than the LT for her. The Voyager sat her much lower and she did not get a lot of wind. On the LT, she sits well above me and gets a fair bit of wind, but not nearly as much as on the GTL.

Actually, believe it or not, but she said she gets less wind riding behind me on our KLR650 than she does on the LT. I found that hard to believe, but she said that I block virtually all of the wind when riding the KLR, but I don’t block the wind onto her helmet on the LT.

Of all of the bikes we have owned, rented to test ridden, the Voyager XII is still her favorite, but the Yamaha Venture Intercontinental is in the same league. The new Wing matched the Voyager in wind protection, but fell far short in seat comfort. The GTL falls far, far short and the GA falls short in wind protection, but wasn’t too bad in seat comfort. However, if Kawasaki made a new Voyager XII tomorrow, I’d consider buying one.
 
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