Riding a full dresser tips

[ital916]

Hey guys n girls.

I've just picked myself up an 2011 model (2012 reg) vn1700 voyager as my work/commute/long distance/short distance/do everything beast. Was going to go to Tauranga today but having only had it one day and not having ridden it much yet, felt a bit off. Always listen to the voice in the head aye. Just wondering if anyone who rides the bigger tourers has any tips or advice on handling them, especially around the tighter stuff.

[duckonin]

Just ride it, it is only a motorbike. Kick back on it, easy to ride just watch the weight when going slow. Most of all enjoy !

[MIXONE]

Plan ahead.With all that mass it takes a bit longer to stop and you just can't throw it into the twisties without a bit of forethought.
But the main thing is relax and enjoy.

[FJRider]

Avoid tight corners.

Avoid traveling under 10 kilometers an hour.

Avoid attempting to brake heavily.

Plan your braking no less than 10 kilometers ahead.

If it has a sound system ... check volume is set and your desired choice of music will play before you start. Both hands will be required on the bars ...

Avoid lane splitting.

Waving optional ... but if you do ... do it quickly ..

[DMNTD]

Hey guys n girls.

I've just picked myself up an 2011 model (2012 reg) vn1700 voyager as my work/commute/long distance/short distance/do everything beast. Was going to go to Tauranga today but having only had it one day and not having ridden it much yet, felt a bit off. Always listen to the voice in the head aye. Just wondering if anyone who rides the bigger tourers has any tips or advice on handling them, especially around the tighter stuff.

Get on it and ride but as mentioned plan ahead and relax.
Was given a new Goldwing to ride over a long weekend a couple of years ago and had a bloody blast!
Chillax and enjoy the beast for what it is but FFS, remember what you are riding re cornering and braking especially.

[Bison]

Just remember the extra size and weight of the bigger bike. It does the same thing as your smaller bikes, just takes a bit more time, distance and effort.....heck, that kinda sounds like both me and my GL1800.:2thumbsup

[george formby]

Tassles are necessary.
Just kidding, it's a big bike but a bike nevertheless & will love you for using both brakes.

[Road kill]

I had an FLHTCU for 60,000 kms when I lived in Aussie.

I Just rode the thing like any other bike I've ever owned,,,but with a few bonus's like CB/VHF,AM/FM/CD.
Fold down arm rests with inbuilt speakers for the passenger,,,,,,,we don't have pillions on real bikes thanks,,,that armchair is for the "passenger",,,,,the other one is for the "pilot".

In the twistys the only difference to any other bike is a slight ground clearance issue,but that's why you have folding running boards right.

On the Hume Highway,set electronic cruise control, pick ZZ Top,Willie Nelson or other suitable sounds,,,fold arms,,turn up the volume,,, lean back on the woman and relax.

Honestly the only time your going to be aware of any difference to any other bike is when your in car parks or other such unpleasant places,,,,and once you do get used to the wheight even that won't matter.

[Gremlin]

Depending on your previous bikes, remember the front brake doesn't have quite as much bias as say, a sportsbike.

The bike geometry is a bit different, more weight, just take time to get used to it, like you would with any new bike you get. I did learn they might not handle as well with a pillion when I had a VTX1800 gyrating through longer sweepers. Backed off a little and the bike was much happier...

[ellipsis]

...just carry on doing things as you would...when you are dragging bits and wearing things down and it doesn't bother you any more, you have arrived at the answer...

[wingnutt]

nice bike the voyager, dont see many around. I ride a 86 goldwing, and really it isnt about weight, its about technigue.

they have a low centre of gravity, which gives them good balance at any speed, they generally will trickle along at 5kph quite happily.

all good adice already given, one other thing to watch, is when coming to a stop, check where you feet are going to go,
before you stop, if the weight goes too far to one side when stopped, you may find it difficult to hold up.

always keep your head up, and dont dont pull hard on the front brake when stopping at lights, gas stations etc, if you lock, and you are a bit off balance, the front wheel isnt straight, then you might just lay it down again.

on you tube, ther is a tecnigue for picking them up.

braking is made to acccomadate the bike, and will pull you up under any circumatances without effortl

enjoy the ride, these bikes are made for long distance, and handle any situation, with no effort at all.

[ital916]

Rode the bike as much as I could today, did loops of the city, side streets and found nice tight carparks to ride through. Did some practice in an empty carpark tonight doing u turns and shapr turns and pulling up to a stop in a parking space/emergency braking. Feeling much more confident on the big gal now, getting used to her. Still gives me the shits a bit in the wet, that big cruiser front tire is a scary thing in the rain haha. Got the boards scraping today as well, handles amazingly well for such a big bike.

[wingnutt]

Rode the bike as much as I could today, did loops of the city, side streets and found nice tight carparks to ride through. Did some practice in an empty carpark tonight doing u turns and shapr turns and pulling up to a stop in a parking space/emergency braking. Feeling much more confident on the big gal now, getting used to her. Still gives me the shits a bit in the wet, that big cruiser front tire is a scary thing in the rain haha. Got the boards scraping today as well, handles amazingly well for such a big bike.

glad to hear she is coming together for you, you wll find they hold a very good line in the corners, at any speed, and if like the wing,
they are very forgiving and will allow instant change on the lean without any panick. the 'look where you want to go' is very handy in car parks. Nor sure if the voyager has linked brakes, but if it does, you can carry a bit of rear brake into a corner, without any hazzle I found.

a trick for car park cruising this works on the wing, might work for you, put the bike in 3rd gear, no throttle, just use rear brake only, and
it wont stall while looking for a park.

it will depend on the tires you have on to some degree of course, but found they are very stable in the wet, still a look out for shiny bits though.

good luck

[BMWST?]

dont underestimate the power of these things either

[wingnutt]

dont underestimate the power of these things either

Aint that the truth!! it can forgiven that the wings, voyagers', bmw, etc are slow monsters, because they are usualy seen
mostly just cruising, the rider enjoying the ride, but beleive me, when asked, they can really boogie!! lol.

[ital916]

It has metzler marathon 880s on it. Getting more confident every day on it. Had the boards dragging at times today when practicing tight turns and u turns. Had a big moment on it though, went to adjust my visor so took one hand off the bar and it got some HUGE headshake, thought it was going to spit me off but managed to get it under control (undies promptly changed haha.) I can see, once I've gotten used to it that I will be able to throw it around a bit. :laugh:

I think the supermarket workers were thinking why the hell this dude is riding in circles in the car park.

[BMWST?]

It has metzler marathon 880s on it. Getting more confident every day on it. Had the boards dragging at times today when practicing tight turns and u turns. Had a big moment on it though, went to adjust my visor so took one hand off the bar and it got some HUGE headshake, thought it was going to spit me off but managed to get it under control (undies promptly changed haha.) I can see, once I've gotten used to it that I will be able to throw it around a bit. :laugh:

I think the supermarket workers were thinking why the hell this dude is riding in circles in the car park.


some bikes do that ,check the tyre pressures

[Tricia1000]

From an instructor point of view, I would strongly recommend learning and practising slow speed manoeuvring technique, so that you can control the bike, virtually effortlessly through traffic, rather than constant foot up, foot down, foot up.
Secondly, you will need to plan where and how you will stop, at say traffic lights, or more importantly on badly cambered roads. If the road falls away to the left or right, you will need to stop on a slight angle maybe, depending on your size and strength. As someone has already said the hardest bit, will probably be manoeuvring it into a parking space, so where possible always reverse in, (unless that would mean going uphill) so you can ride out. (I made that mistake, with my first heavy bike, a long time ago, and almost gave myself a hernia trying to get the bike back out of the space again..:clap: Once the bike is moving, of course, the weight will look after itself, but cornering and such, be aware of where the weight is distributed for best contact with the road..

Oh.... and enjoy it... You are living your dream........:rockon:

Tricia1000
RoADA (Dip)
Consultant to NZTA
Roadcraft School of Motorcycling Ltd.,
0800 4 LESSON


Hey guys n girls.

I've just picked myself up an 2011 model (2012 reg) vn1700 voyager as my work/commute/long distance/short distance/do everything beast. Was going to go to Tauranga today but having only had it one day and not having ridden it much yet, felt a bit off. Always listen to the voice in the head aye. Just wondering if anyone who rides the bigger tourers has any tips or advice on handling them, especially around the tighter stuff.

[Bison]

It has metzler marathon 880s on it. Getting more confident every day on it. Had the boards dragging at times today when practicing tight turns and u turns. Had a big moment on it though, went to adjust my visor so took one hand off the bar and it got some HUGE headshake, thought it was going to spit me off but managed to get it under control (undies promptly changed haha.) I can see, once I've gotten used to it that I will be able to throw it around a bit. :laugh:

I think the supermarket workers were thinking why the hell this dude is riding in circles in the car park.



Just wondering if you got the PM I sent you on your riding?

Bison

[Bison]

the hardest bit, will probably be manoeuvring it into a parking space, so where possible always reverse in, (unless that would mean going uphill) so you can ride out. (I made that mistake, with my first heavy bike, a long time ago, and almost gave myself a hernia trying to get the bike back out of the space again..:

I solved that problem and park face in, downhill all the time. Easy to solve without being a pro-wrestler...ride a Goldwing GL1800 with reverse. :)

[ital916]

Hey Bison, yup got your pm, were some good tips, still getting used to the weight but much better now, able to do u turns and pull into tight spots without hassle. Today is the first day riding with a passenger so should be good!

I don't know why they don't put a reverse on most of the full dressers, she is a 1700 but could do with a reverse haha.

[Bison]

The extra weight is not as much a concern if you treat it like you are starting/turning on a hill. Bit more revs and use just the first bit of clutch friction zone. I used to train our riders to do u turns from a dead stop on fully equipped Road Kings on very steep hills. Throttle up, revs up, bike stays up. You can see how I use it in those videos on my website. Yolu could also consider counter-balancing by shifting the "outside" bum cheek 1/2 way off the outside of the seat...away from the lean. (Hope this is not too graphic?) This will give you more confidence to lean into the turn a bit more.