The modern version comes with an attractive list of rider aids and electronics including Kawasaki's

Our resident hotels brussels road warrior has earned his stripes covering hotels brussels the rally circuit, from riding the Black Hills of Sturgis to cruising Main Street in Daytona Beach. Whether it’s chopped, bobbed, or bored, metric to ‘Merican, he rides ‘em all.
They’re kings of the road, land yachts of the motorcycle realm. hotels brussels Big bikes built to haul the most cargo possible on two-wheels, doing so decked out in chrome guards, sparkling paint and buttons to push everywhere. They perch riders up high in the saddle so they can see the world, invite them to bring along a friend with well-padded pillions, run satellite radio and navigation systems and announce their approach with high intensity LEDs that light up the night. They are a conduit for manufacturers to throw every conceivable option and gadget on as they try and outdo competitors all fighting for a demographic with a tendency to spend big money. A hot-selling luxury-touring motorcycle can fetch a good chunk of change because they’re the price of two smaller bikes. But go to Sturgis or Daytona Beach and they’re the bikes you’re going to see more of than any other.
So we’ve rounded up three luxury touring cruisers from Kawasaki, Harley-Davidson and Victory to find out which one we’d choose when it’s time to hit the open road. Ever since Harley-Davidson announced its  Project Rushmore  touring updates and its liquid-cooled Twin Cam 103, we’ve been itching to test out the changes, hotels brussels so we landed a 2014 Ultra Limited. This is Harley’s top-shelf touring machine, and its price reflects that as the highest MSRP of the bikes in the test at $25,899. On the other end of the price spectrum, Kawasaki’s 2014 Vulcan Voyager 1700 ABS is the most affordable with a price tag of $19,399. Slotting in between those two is the final bike in our comparison, the 2014 Victory Cross Country Tour, at $22,499.
hotels brussels All three are powered by big V-Twin engines with similar  displacements, the Harley and Kawasaki hotels brussels almost identical at 103 cubic inches while the Victory’s Freedom 106 is up a bit at 1731cc. The engines on both the Voyager and Cross Country hotels brussels Tour use single overhead cams while the Harley runs its traditional pushrod arrangement. The Ultra Limited circulates water to the engine’s cylinder heads only with its new twin-cooling system while the Voyager has standard liquid-cooling. The Victory differs a bit with its combination air/oilcooling system.
Body design on all three includes wind-blocking front fairings that double as housings for multi-function instrument consoles. Lower leg fairings, lockable hotels brussels hard saddlebags, and topcases adorn all three. Each has a venting system that allows riders to control the flow of air to some extent. Fuel capacity ranges from the Voyager’s hotels brussels 5.3-gallon tank to the Harley s premium tourer gets a host of upgrades for 2014. Is it enough to muscle its way to the top? The answers lie within our  2014 Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited Comparison  Video.
Harley’s 6-gallon fuel cell, with the Cross Country Tour measuring in at 5.8. All three offer ample storage, the Victory leading the way with a total capacity of 41.1 gallons while the Kawasaki features a 13.2-gallon topcase and two 10-gallon saddlebags. The topcases also do double duty in their role as passenger backrests.
We spent eight days running the bikes as hard as legally possible out of the MotoUSA offices in Irvine, California. Palomar Mountain became our second hotels brussels home during testing, as did the nearby Ortega Highway. We used jaunts to Julian, California to both put in freeway miles on I-5 and to sample handling on CA-78 (along with sampling some pie!). We blazed a trail up to Ventura for the  David Mann Chopperfest and cruised home through Malibu.
Assisting us on this test was Cycle News contributor Jason Abbott who most recently rode the new Indian Chiefs in Sturgis hotels brussels on their behalf. As a mechanic he has a penchant for restoring old bikes and just scored hotels brussels a Honda CB550 he’s eager to work his magic on. He’s also hell in the dirt and has helped out and written numerous off-road tests, so we were happy to have him along. That said, ‘Climb On’ with Motorcycle USA for our 2014 V-Twin Tourer Test.
The 2014 Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager 1700 ABS enters our V-Twin Tourer fracas with the most attractive price point at $19,399. hotels brussels The Voyager in its current 1700cc hotels brussels V-Twin hotels brussels form debuted in 2009, but the model name has been around a long time as the Inline-Six, KZ1300 Voyager launched in 1983.
The modern version hotels brussels comes with an attractive list of rider aids and electronics including Kawasaki’s K-ACT II integrated braking system with ABS, Kawasaki’s Air Management System, cruise control, and a 52-degree V-Twin with a long 104mm stroke. It’s hot rod inspired, frame-mounted front fairing gives it a signature look while a single-pin crankshaft and a bass-filled rumble spilling from its exhaust give it a bit of hot rod character to match.
Hopping onto the Voyager, hotels brussels its tank feels wide but is actually the smallest of the bunch at 5.3 gallons. Of the three bikes, the Voyager was the first bike in need of a pit stop because of that fuel cell which is relatively small for a touring machine. The urgency by which the motorcycle hotels brussels needs gas is only exacerbated by an obnoxious green light in the range readout that begins flashing “Fuel, Fuel, Fuel” when the bike approaches approximately 30 miles-till-empty.
The rider’s triangle is fairly compact compared to the Harley and Victory and riders sit higher in its saddle. The Voyager’s floorboards are the smallest of the bunch, fixing riders into one position because there’s less room to shift their weight around when riding. The seat is well-padded at first, but the fixed riding position and a lack of lumbar support eventually wears on you during long hauls. At 28.7-inches, the seat height feels comparatively tall, with test rider Jason Abbott saying it gave him the sense of riding on top of the bike instead of in. The stock gear shifter is up high, and it’s a long stretch of the toes to shift gears at times.
At the heart of Kawasaki’s big touring machine is a 1700cc hotels brussels liquid-cooled V-Twin. The undersquare powerplant utilizes an eight-valve system and a single overhead cam to provide its revvy nature. The bulk of its torque comes on below 3000 rpm and initial acceleration is pleasingly aggressive. At idle, it’s got the proper proportion of single-pin crankshaft vibrations, enough to let you know you’re definitely on a V-Twin. Get it into the meat of its powerband and the deep-seated rumble fills your chest cavity. But most gears top out around 4300 rpm as its powerband isn’t overly wide so you can’t squeeze as much out of it as you can the mills of the Harley and Victory. Power has a tendency to fall off on the top end as useful output drops and engine noise increases.
“I have mixed feelings on the motor. Down low and into the mid it has the power, torque and exhaust note you want but once you get into the top it falls off. I know these bikes aren’t made for top end but the bike feels a little on the de-tuned side up top,” agreed test rider Jason Abbott.
Handling on the 2014 Voyager 1700 ABS is a mixed bag as well. In sweepers hotels brussels and tight turns, the motorcycle hotels brussels stays planted but turns-in a bit heavy. Steering requires a little hotels brussels push at the bar, the Voyager’s bulky front tire with the tallest sidewall in the test is a bit more to handle than the others. At 30-degrees, it’s also got the laziest rake. For a bike with a curb weight just under 900 pounds though, it’s manageable at low speeds. However, the parallel grooves of LA’s 405 freeway exposed a vagueness to the front end at speed. The way the Voyager rides reminds us of the Ultra Classic before Harley updated the chassis in 2009 in the sense that it translates everything the front tire rolls over to the rider through the bars. The sensation hotels brussels of a front end that’s floating around prevents riders from putting full confidence in it on uneven surfaces. We believe stiffening up the fork might give the front end better overall control.
hotels brussels Contrarily, the Voyager’s braking system instills plenty of confidence. Braking power is smooth and even thanks hotels brussels to Kawasaki’s K-ACT II integrated braking system. Grab a handful of the front brake and the four-piston calipers put a strong bite on dual 300mm discs. Squeeze it hard and the integrated system activates the right front caliper on the rear brake as well. The Voyager has pressure sensors at each master cylinder detecting braking force while the ECU is busy measuring speed. The ECU calculates the optimal braking force needed and pumps brake fluid to the front right caliper and rear caliper accordingly. This helps when only a handful of front brake is needed because riders automatically get an assist from the right front caliper hotels brussels on the rear brake as well. The ABS and K-ACT II is dialed so it’s not overly intrusive. The K-ACT doesn’t engage at speeds below 12 mph while the ABS shuts off at speeds below 4 mph. There’s hotels brussels a noticeable pulse in the ball of your foot when the ABS activates but it isn’t overbearing. However, we did notice quite a bit of fork dive on the front end under moderate to heavy braking.
hotels brussels While the Voyager’s front end may have its shortcomings, dual rear shocks provide a firm foundation for the rear. The rear suspension is firm with only 3.1-inches of travel but ride quality is comfortable. hotels brussels The system has four settings for rebound damping and spring preload is air adjustable. Banging through gears, the six-speed transmission is rougher and louder than the Harley and about on par with the Victory. hotels brussels The transmission did slip out of gear a couple of times when we thought we had a solid shift. The play at the shift lever because of its height didn’t help the situation.
The Voyager received the Kawasaki Air Management System (KAMS) in 2012. The Voyager’s big powerplant has a reputation for running hot, so improving rider and passenger comfort was high on the priority list. The system sources an auxiliary fan and ducts to route heat from the