New Rider Question

Last weekend my son bought an '08 Suzuki Boulevard 805cc bike and loves it. He's pushing me to get a bike to ride together. I've practiced on his bike all week and have located another identical to his. I'm thinking of purchasing the bike and adding a Voyager kit being that I'm inexperienced. And at 50 years old, I'm a little more cautious (my son just turned 20).:laugh: Before I jump in I have a few question. I'd appreciate any responses.

1. Will the kit make the bike difficult to steer?

2. Do trikes, Voyagers specifically, handle curves well? (we're planning on riding in the hills).

3. Would he 805cc on the Boulevard handle the Voyager kit OK power-wise?

Thanks again for any responses.

Welcome to Trike-Talk, Dennis,:wave4: I can't help you with your question's but i'm sure someone will come on soon with the information you need.....

[QUOTE=rhino 2;447708]Welcome to Trike-Talk, Dennis,:wave4: I can't help you with your question's but i'm sure someone will come on soon with the information you need.....[/QUOTE]

Thanks Bob

Hi Dennis

:welcome: to Trike Talk from South Florida:wave4:

:wave:

There are others who will come along that have more experience with your questions than I do.

Hello and welcome

I just wanted to say that I installed a voyager kit on my Honda GL1500 primarily so my wife who is vertically challenged can drive the wing.

Now, having said that and she will give me "that look" for saying that.

I can tell you the bike is totally a different machine with the kit installed.

It is steered round turns, much like a bicycle.

You need to approach curves differently as there is no counter steering.

It does require some upper body and arm strength in turns.

But Now that the kit has been on for a season and I have driven the bike often.

I really have no desire to remove it.

Braking is much safer and stops straight.

Having to put your feet down at stops is not required,

Stepping into a dip and dropping the machine (we have all done it) is no longer a thought.

I personally think you should have no problem with your choice of bike.

But I can only give you from my experience.

by the way, I am 68 years old and I did not ride motorcycles until I met my wife at age 55,,

I still love them both....LOL

Now that the kit has been on the bike for [QUOTE=summerskies;447705]Last weekend my son bought an '08 Suzuki Boulevard 805cc bike and loves it. He's pushing me to get a bike to ride together. I've practiced on his bike all week and have located another identical to his. I'm thinking of purchasing the bike and adding a Voyager kit being that I'm inexperienced. And at 50 years old, I'm a little more cautious (my son just turned 20).:laugh: Before I jump in I have a few question. I'd appreciate any responses.

1. Will the kit make the bike difficult to steer?

2. Do trikes, Voyagers specifically, handle curves well? (we're planning on riding in the hills).

3. Would he 805cc on the Boulevard handle the Voyager kit OK power-wise?

Thanks again for any responses.[/QUOTE]

Hello Dennis, welcome to Trike Talk from Missouri. I think baba67 told you just about everything except watch out pulling up to gas stations, you need a little extra room. Once you get use to the kit you will love it.

Thanks Baba and Ed for the replies. My only other question is about the 800cc Suzuki Boulevard. Would the kit take too much power from the machine? I know it adds weight and extra tires.

The 805 should have enough power to handle the Voyager kit... You may want to test ride a Voyager equipped bike first before converting... While what Baba says about increased steering effort is true, it can be fatiguing on a longer trip... You do sort of a push-pull on the handlebars to compensate for the extra effort, locking on arm and pulling with the other...

If available for your bike, you could add a rake kit to decrease effort in turns... I just added a 4.5 degree rake kit to my Goldwing and it really cuts down steering effort... There are differences of opinion as to whether or not it could be ridden on 2 wheels again with the rake kit installed... I haven't tried that yet, but watch for that post shortly as I plan to do that within a week or two and I'll report back on the results...

My trike kit is a Tow-Pac but they all do pretty much the same thing... I have been quite satisfied with mine and I bought it because of my aging (I just turned 71 this year) and losing upper and lower body strength and difficulties with holding the bike up with my wife riding with me... She is not an overly large woman - about 140 and 5'6" but the added weight sitting high does increase the difficulty of keeping the bike upright... She always told me: I'll ride with you anywhere but drop me once and we're done!! So being the wise old man that I am, I added the trike kit to retain my riding companion...

Good luck with your proposed conversion and let us know how it turns out...

Les

BTW, the Voyager kit weight is #195 according to their website info...

As far as the power to handle the kit, dadztoy stated it weighs 195, put a passenger on the back and see how much power it has then.

[QUOTE=Recycledteen;448444]As far as the power to handle the kit, dadztoy stated it weighs 195, put a passenger on the back and see how much power it has then.[/QUOTE]

Yup, that would definitely be a good idea if you can do it... I know Tow Pac had a few test bikes to ride to see if you liked it... You might try contacting Voyager or one of their dealers to see whats available for a test ride... I personally think the 805 will be fine with additional weight of the Voyager but you could try and simulate it with a passenger although it won't be a direct correlation due to wind drag and other differences...

Thanks everybody for the replies and good info.

Prior to my Goldwing, I had an 02 Suzuki Intruder. Same bike they just changed the name to Boulevard. I didn't have a Voyager attached but did ride two up occasionally. It is my opinion that it will handle the weight of the kit just fine. You won't win any races but that's not what riding is about for me anyway.

I will say this, if you think you will do much interstate traveling and speed, you may want to consider a bigger bike. After about 65-70 mph, you could tell that the bike was working pretty good. I rode mine for hours on end that way but it wasn't ideal for me. Still a great bike though!!

Rex

[QUOTE=summerskies;447705]Last weekend my son bought an '08 Suzuki Boulevard 805cc bike and loves it. He's pushing me to get a bike to ride together. I've practiced on his bike all week and have located another identical to his. I'm thinking of purchasing the bike and adding a Voyager kit being that I'm inexperienced. And at 50 years old, I'm a little more cautious (my son just turned 20).:laugh: Before I jump in I have a few question. I'd appreciate any responses.

1. Will the kit make the bike difficult to steer?

2. Do trikes, Voyagers specifically, handle curves well? (we're planning on riding in the hills).

3. Would he 805cc on the Boulevard handle the Voyager kit OK power-wise?

Thanks again for any responses.[/QUOTE]

I also have a Boulevard C50T I've looked at several different manufactured bolt on kits. the voyager adds about 450 pounds to the bike. This will effect your fuel economy and with an 805cc with the added weight it's going to cause some power loss. The steering is going to be different as there is no counter steering and no lean. After doing many ours of research I chose to go with Richland Roadster because it's under $4 k it adds less than 200 lbs to the bike, has an independent suspension so if you hit a curb or a high spot in the road, all three wheels are still on the ground. it comes complete with rims and actual car tires (Not trailer tires like some brands), has LED Lighting and wiring harness, and they match the color of your bike including two tone pain. They build the kit to fit your model of motorcycle. Most other brands want to charge you an additional $500.00 or more to paint your kit. some don't even come with tires and rims or lights unless you pay extra. And also during my research I've found that most of the kits are not made for Suzuki anymore according to phone calls I made. Hope this post helps.

[QUOTE=Murr;496186]I also have a Boulevard C50T I've looked at several different manufactured bolt on kits. the voyager adds about 450 pounds to the bike. [/QUOTE]

Are you sure about that??? The info I read said it was #195 pounds... 450 pounds sounds way too heavy for an add on trike kit... Specs from web site below

[LIST]
[*] [h=4]Kit Weight: 195 lbs.[/h]
[*] [h=4]Shipping Weight: 360 lbs; Box Size: 66" x 65" x 28"[/h]
[*] [h=4]Outside Width: A/D frame 55"; B/C frame 60"[/h]
[*] [h=4]Inside Width: A/D frame 36"; B/C frame 41"[/h]
[*] [h=4]Wheel Bolt Pattern: GM 100mm 5-bolt pattern[/h]
[*] [h=4]Shipping Costs: $309.00-489.00 (Continental US)[/h]
[/LIST]

[B]baba76[/B] told it like it is. I have my 2003 Harley Road King set up with a Voyager, and after tinkering, listening some more, tinkering some more, reading some more, and tinkering a little, along with some good updates to the suspension forks, I have a really decent trike. I bought mine used so I wanted perfection to go along with my persnickety personality. Wasn't hard to do at all. Wasn't expensive, and I did it in my garage with no outside machine work. I really like it! :clapping:

[COLOR=#ff0000][B]Welcome to the best trike site on the NET![/B][/COLOR] :D

Oldveteran :Trike1: