All Duels – Head to Head Kawasaki VN 1700 Voyager – Triumph Rocket III Touring: 4000 cc for the holidays! – In town: watch out for low speeds …

Face to face Kawasaki VN 1700 Voyager / Triumph Rocket III Touring: 4,000 cc for the holidays !

All Duels - Head to Head Kawasaki VN 1700 Voyager - Triumph Rocket III Touring: 4000 cc for the holidays! - In town: watch out for low speeds ...

Do you like to go far, long and on the couple? But you don’t know (or don’t want to) travel light ? No problem: Site has tested two ships on the road for you: Kawasaki VN 1700 Voyager and Triumph Rocket III Touring … Duel XXL !

In town: watch out for low speeds…

Even with experience, it is always with a certain humility that one sits on the handlebars of such machines … The two GTs are long and very wide, both in terms of the handlebars (one meter for the Rocket ) as side cases (about 90 cm on both machines). And the weight is in unison, since the Rocket flirts with the 385 kg all full made while the Voyager blithely exceeds 400 kg.

Raising these two monsters leaning on their side crutches is already almost a test of strength! The message is clear: despite their same very reasonable saddle height (730 mm), these are men’s motorcycles! Unlike a Honda Goldwing equipped with a precious reverse gear and whose center of gravity is placed very low, the weight of our two vehicles of the day is really sensitive during changes undertaken with the engine off or at low speed..

And their big front tires do not improve the picture: when parking, we will make sure to have as few maneuvers as possible to park as well as to set off again! The opportunity to note that if the position proposed by the Voyager is straight and natural, that of the Rocket is a little more custom-made with the legs pushed forward..

Let’s face it right away: the city is really not the cup of tea for our two GTs and the maneuverability of the two machines and their ability to squeeze through traffic are almost nil. Stuck in traffic, we fight hard with heavy front axles which engage at low speed: the phenomenon is particularly noticeable with the Rocket III and its enormous front tire 150 mm wide … Below 10-15 km / h, the front wheel resists the heading you want to give it, then seems to fall by exaggerating the steering: it will take a little time to get used to it !

In addition, the two motorcycles suffer from a dead center frankly annoying to find, while the fans of their water-cooled engines regularly blow hot air on the legs … Despite an undeniable capital show, the smallest quarter of hour spent in streets white-heated by the August sun inevitably turns into a sauna session !

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