Anyone know what colors will be available for the 2016 Voyagers? And whether there will be more than one combination available? I know there was only one combination available in 2015. But it seems like previous years offered two choices
.
I have been checking periodically. No word on color for 2016 yet. I am still waiting for a color combination that would make me want to part with my 2010, but I will probably just keep it until I have to retire it.
I'm with you, twowheeladdict. For my tastes, I thought the 2015 combination was the worst - definitely made it easy not to upgrade. I'm hoping they have something a little more interesting than dark gray on black this year, and maybe more than one choice, as in years past.
Hey now... there was black/grey AND there was block with a green stripe! But, yeah... I am hoping they bring some paint options to the Vulcans with some actual color.
I lucked out. For a couple of years I had been toying with painting my previous bike a nice sunfire orange, I just love that color on a vehicle. Then Kawasaki dropped the '14 Vaquero;
It's "wishful thinking", but I think it would be cool if Kawasaki would offer some sort of "loud" color as a secondary option for the Voyager. The Kawi green and black, the orange, etc. Typically, the Voyager gets more 'muted' and 'safe' colors and the Vaquero, in addition to black, is often available in some sort of more 'exciting' color scheme.
It's "wishful thinking", but I think it would be cool if Kawasaki would offer some sort of "loud" color as a secondary option for the Voyager. The Kawi green and black, the orange, etc. Typically, the Voyager gets more 'muted' and 'safe' colors and the Vaquero, in addition to black, is often available in some sort of more 'exciting' color scheme.
Actually I think that white Vaquero looks pretty sharp!
Kawasaki has never offered a large selection of colors; it's always been one or two. It's one of the reasons that MSRP is thousands below the competition AND; unlike the other brands, they actually tend to sell well below MSRP. It's cheaper to manufacture something when they're all the same color! Often if they've had a 'second' or 'third' color scheme, they've called it a "special edition" and charged a bit more for it. That's the case of my Vaquero. The color that year was black, but the "SE" was available in Orange.
If the color schemes are the only thing keeping you away but you otherwise like the bike, you could buy one, take it to a reputable paint shop, get it painted whatever color you want and still come out ahead!
It is pretty amazing that there's STILL no update to the line. The 900 remains unchanged now in it's 10th production year. I don't believe Kawasaki spends as much time on the cruiser/touring line as they do the sportbike line. The bikes are still well designed in a lot of ways, IMHO; though they all have their quirks. Consumer reports puts them up there with the top in reliability. I guess they figure the market doesn't demand as much change as the sportbike market; which is probably true. Harley Davidson has only made small incremental and 'under the hood' changes over the last several decades, with only a couple of big 'upgrades' in that time period and new engines. And they are wildly successful. It doesn't seem the market demands the cruisers and touring bikes move forward that quickly. Which is a shame. The sportbikes, and not just from Kawasaki, are constantly seeing new and innovative technology. Different market.
Roman, that's just what they did with the Vulcan S. Getting a bit more of Kawasaki's attention, it has 4 colors (orange, white, gray/black, and blue) and 3 different models (ABS, Cafe, and SE). That is one sharp looking and very cool 650.
The two largest markets in motorcycling right now are sub-1000cc, sub-$10k bikes and full dressed touring bikes. That's true for sport bikes as well as cruisers. The 600, 650 and 1000 bikes well outsell the 1300/1400 monsters, except for the fully loaded touring versions which sell well. 1000+ cc bikes are not selling well unless they come with hard bags, a fairing and cruise control. It's amazing how the market is shifting.
Those 650s's are selling like hot cakes. Previously, the VN900 was the best selling bike on the Vulcan line year after year. I am curious if the 650 is out selling it. If it is, I wouldn't be surprised if Kawasaki dropped any R&D on the 900 and just continued to sell them as-is until the sales drop enough to warrant cutting them from the line. Something of a Vulcan S / Concours hybrid would be super cool to see too.
Too bad the market is headed this way. A 1200 cc touring cruiser is missing from most everyone's line up. I just don't like the Star 1300 tourer. It's ugly. The CTX 1300 is OK, but it's not a classic cruiser.
Yes, but the market for that is small. Sub-1000cc is the sweet spot. Insurance is cheaper at that range but, for whatever reason (it's certainly not just that); the market gets smaller when you break 1000cc's, until you get into much larger touring bikes. Kawasaki's 900/1700 lineup actually is what the market is demanding. Even though there are plenty who want bikes they don't offer. Like a 1200cc cruiser, the V2K, etc.
I was surprised they went with single color options again. I was also very sad to see that the Nomad is missing again this year. I really would love to see the market research that is determining these business decisions.
When I heard about the "white" vaquero coming out, I wasn't really interested. But after seeing the pics, I'm really kinda impressed.
I think its a nice contrast in colors. I've asked my dealer to call me when he gets one in the shop. Not sure but with 50K on my 2011 vaquero and been wanting ABS, I might could be talked into a trade.
That said, my bike has been fantastically reliable and has many many miles left in it.
It would be nice if you could have some choice on paint colors. They don't offer many. Maybe just prime the bikes and sell them cheaper and let us paint them. Or you pick your paint at the dealer and wait several weeks to get what you want. That's my gripe with Ma Kaw. Seems certain models are hard to make your own.
Production and logistics. Kawasaki sells bikes very inexpensively with market-leading warranties, consumer-reports leading reliability and very good build quality and performance. Consistently besting other brands in reviews, etc. In other words; Kawasaki has to cut something somewhere in order to keep the price where it's at. They choose to cut production and logistical costs by keeping as streamlined of a product line as they can. It's been their modus operandi for a long time now; one or two colors each year.
For less than the price difference between a Vaquero and a Chieftain or a Street Glide, you could get your bike professionally painted.
Don't get me wrong, I'd like more color choices too. I just don't see it happening. The other metric brands do the same thing.
I found my black/blue 2013 in December of 2014. That was the color combo I wanted and I was able to get a good deal because it was an older model.
I've been looking at the photos of the 2016s and the paint combos are starting to look good. I REALLY like the way they did the paint design on the front fairing of the Voyager. That was a change for Kawi.
Here's your green versions. I did one with green/black and another done a bit brighter and in green/silver.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Kawasaki Vulcan Forum
712.7K posts
67.8K members
Since 2008
A forum community dedicated to Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, Vulcan 1500, Vulcan 2000, Vulcan 500, Vulcan 1600, Vulcan 900 and all other Vulcan motorcycles.