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1,603 miles.

2K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  00tj2 
#1 ·
Hello all. I haven't posted much on the forum but I've been an avid reader. I just completed a 1,603 mile trip through New England, Canada, and NYS. I wanted to share my thoughts of my low millage 2010 leftover Vulcan that i purchased in april of 2012 and only had 2k or so miles on it with everyone on here. I guess I will outline my trip first and then get to the review of the bike and my own riding style. I left yonkers ny and picked up my girlfriend in Yorktown and finished the day in RI. From there we headed to Salem mass and enjoyed the history and beauty of a great state. The next day we headed to Port Clyde, ME. Boy did it rain!! I found out that my 59 dollar over pants are not water proof, my 89 dollar jacket is, as well as my 80 buck boots. Oh, and those 16 dollar gloves, def not!! Other than being a little wet that leg was uneventful. Port Clyde is a small New England fishing and lobstering town and is full of great people, good food and a beautiful light house that is a must see. From there we left for Bar Harbor, ME and the beautiful Acadia national park. I must say this is the one place you need to visit if you ever head to New England! And make sure you take the ride to the top of Cadillac hill. From there we headed towards the white mountains and of course traveled to the top of Mt Washington!! From there we left for Stowe VT and just dodged a mighty hail storm. Off the the great white north and the beautiful and friendly, Old Montreal. We stayed at an early 1700's B and B and enjoyed the old city for two days. From the great white north to one of the most beautiful states that I have even been to, and I've been to 39 of them. My home state of NY. We ended up at lake George for Ameracade. Had a blast despite of the rain. Good people and good times. And then sadly because vacation and funds only go so far, back to the grand city of Yonkers, NY. Well, that's all for now because I'm tired..
 
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#2 ·
Hello all. I haven't posted much on the forum but I've been an avid reader. I just completed a 1,603 mile trip through New England, Canada, and NYS. I wanted to share my thoughts of my low millage 2010 leftover Vulcan that i purchased in april.
Welcome to the forum and glad you had a good trip. I thought you were going to share your thoughts on your Vulcan, but that sentence is the last place that the bike is mentioned....? :D
 
#3 ·
what a great way to get to know your new ride Welcome to the Asylum
:beer:
 
#4 ·
Sorry dlars, I just got back today and I'm pretty beat. Plus the bottle of wine I just treated myself to isn't helping much with the posting:p... But I will try.

1) the bike handled great with 30lbs in the front tire, 40 in the rear. Rear shocks aired up to 40psi, and the damper set to IIII as per the manual and the weight I was carrying. As for myself, passenger and luggage. Me-190, my lady and very sexy 130 and I guestamate luggage at 50lbs so a total of 370. With full load soaked up the bumps with grace and didn't come close to bottoming out.

2) power. Well it was there the whole trip until I started ridding with my friends with Harley's in NY. I understand I had a greater load on my bike but knowing their size it really wasn't that much more. They did have the newer engine but instill had them on displacement and felt that I needed to really work to keep up at high speed on the highway. But overall I'm pretty happy with the power. Maybe I will stop dragging my butt and order Rancy's throttle mod.

3) fuel millage. So on that ride home from lake George ny to yonkers, I had to stop for fuel while my friend and his Harley kept on riding. Considering I wasn't carrying too much more weight and we were traveling at the same speed, I think the Vulcan is a little thirsty. As a disclaimer we were traveling at speeds that are only legal in one or two states and NY isn't one of them. I think im pretty happy with the over all millage I got in the trip. Most of the time I kept it at the speed limit or 5 mph above and seemed to average 40+ mpg when I wasn't working it too hard. In the mountains of NH and VT I had to work over 3k for some gears and still seemed to turn ok millage. It seems that the wind resistance has more of an effect at higher speeds then RPM does at lower speeds.

4) radio. Well I think we all know the stock radio sucks but I was truly disappointed when the speakers stopped working altogether. I'm thinking it is a connection in the faring because once I hit a big bump it started working again,and then stopped when I hit another big bump and stayed that way. Since I like tinkering I think I will just order a amp, new speakers and take it apart myself.

5) faring design. My knees took a beating with water from Salem mass to port Clyde me. The space between the upper and lower does a great job of putting a steady stream of water right on your knee's. although I don't always ride in the rain I will try to fix this problem. I'm quite disappointed that the designers designed the fairing this way.

6) Seat. Let me tell you, this seat sucks. If my tailbone wasn't hurting my ass cheeks were. Took a lot of moving and flexing to keep comfortable throughout the ride.

Overall I have nothing to compare this bike to as I've never taken a trip this long with any of my previous bikes. I'd say I enjoyed it and with future mods I will enjoy it even more. I will say that I met someone who had a 900lt and was thinking about the VV. since my last bike was a 900 custom my advise to him was keep the 900, get a better seat, some lower protection, fog lights, a good 3rd bag and buy some speakers. Even with high priced parts you'd be cheaper than the VV first 3 months payments and if you only ride one you won't miss any power, IMO. If I had the 900LT I would not upgrade knowing what I know now.

Well that's it for now, time for some more drinks!;)
 
#5 · (Edited)
I must admit, it does amuse/bemuse and confuse me....as I've read MANY times that the enviable 1700 doesn't seem to have any more power than the venerable 900. In fact, I've read MANY times, that again, the 900 is quicker off the line. I ride with a friend who has a Rocker (all engine) and he shakes his head all the time at my "little" 900 and how much power it has. My 900LT has NEVER fallen behind with anyone I've ever ridden with...(outside of one guy who rides a Triumph sportbike)...phew, talkin about being left in the dust, lol. I guess it's all about lower RPM'S at speeds I don't go. I'll be keeping my 9.

Thanks for the trip report double 0. I always enjoy reading about others exploits. Maybe you need to "wake the bike up" with the big 3...as well as Ray's throttle mod.
 
#6 ·
I upgraded from a 2011 900 Classic to a 2011 1700 Classic and let me tell you there's a huge difference in power. It's noticeable from off the line to top end and having the 6th overdrive gear is great on the highway. By the way both bikes were/are stock. The 900 is a great bike, wish I could have kept it too.
 
#7 ·
I also upgraded for a 2008 900 Custom. I went to a 2012 Nomad. There is a dramatic increase in horsepower. I think most people dont rev the 1700s high enough. I think they shift way too early. The 1700 has a lot of travel in the throttle. Seems like a lot more than my 900 had.

Sent from Motorcycle.com Free App
 
#10 ·
I think you might be right when it comes to not reving the bike out enough. There was no tack on my 900 and I didn't know until right before I sold it that it has a 8500 redline or something close to that. I did find myself shifting in the 3-3500 range and only sometimes reving it out to the 45-5k range on this trip.

Please don't get me wrong, I still love my bike and all of its imperfections. Some of them have to do with the way I ride and I totally understand that. As for 6th gear it did do a pretty good job pulling up some of the long grades that I encountered as long as I was in the 70 mph range. Any slower and I would have to downshift but again we are talking about hills in NH and VT, and we are also talking about a .60 OD.

Rays mod is in the near future.
 
#8 ·
Took my 2010 Voyager to the west coast and back (with a stop in Vegas for a week)last summer. Total of 5468 miles round trip. Seat was just fine, power was great. Walked up any uphill I threw at it with the cruise on, no problem. My buddy that did the trip with me fell behind on almost every hill, on his Harley. As far as gettin off the line, well, if I really wanted to be uncomfortable and had the need to be somewhere 30 seconds befor someone else.....I'd get a crotch rocket. Lookin to get a left over 2012
just to get the air managment system.....maybe. I do love this bike. Leaving tomorrow for Vegas again with my buddy on his newer bigger Harley....we'll see if he can keep up this time?
 
#9 ·
There is no acceleration in 6th gear with these motorcycles. 5th has very little under 60. Drop a gear and rev it and I don't think a stock 103 is going to walk away from you. My Nomad seems pretty fast when revving out. Ihate the stock seat too. I dished out the rear of it and put an airhawk r on and now all day is no problem.
 
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