| The American Voyager Association Rally |
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| Written by Susan Hollingshead | |||
| Monday, 09 July 2007 14:23 | |||
 Kawasaki started to make the Voyager, their contribution to the touring motorcycle industry; back in the 80’s and continued until 2003. Their strength and their ultimate demise was the fact that they never really changed the style or mechanics in all that time. Year to year the only obvious difference between bikes was the body colour. For example our 1988 Voyager is gold and our 2003 is silver/grey/green. Owners can modify their bikes with accessories; added chrome trim, different windshields, custom seats etc. but essentially all Voyagers look the same. Today we attended the first official day of the American Voyager Association rally and we were joined by roughly 200 other enthusiasts. Most attendees are Voyager owners; however some are ex-owners, meaning they are now driving something else because they can no longer purchase a new Voyager. This is the eighteenth annual rally held by the motorcycle group which was created by owners for owners of these great bikes. So far we have seen folks in attendance from Ontario, Michigan, Maryland, North Carolina, Arizona, Florida, Wisconsin, Texas, South Dakota and Washington but for sure there are many other states represented. We joined one group of bikers on a guided tour to Spearfish Canyon one of three tours offered today and it was really enjoyable. We had the opportunity to get to know folks from all walks of life who simply enjoy riding a comfortable bike and see some sights. The weather was very co-operative; we enjoyed cooler temperatures 25C° (77°F) (much better for motorcycling) and beautiful sunny skies. It was windy but fortunately with our tour going through a canyon we avoided most of it making for a great day. Tonight we enjoyed a welcome dinner for all attendees and learned about some of the other events being held over the next two days. We heard from a Kawasaki representative, the various members of the board of directors and from the mayor of Rapid City. Again it was a great opportunity to meet other Kawasaki Voyager owners and we are looking forward to tomorrow. This picture was taken at the hotel parking lot as some of the group members were getting ready to go out on a tour.
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