Kawasaki Concours 14

LONG-TERM WRAP-UP

Kawasaki Concours 14

A speed wagon for the long haul

WE DIDN'T PLAN IT THIS WAY. Honest. After completing the test of Kawasaki's new-for-'08 Concours 14 for our October, 2007, issue, we just kept riding it and riding it and riding it... Its onrush of smooth, seamless power was intoxicating, its handling proved nothing short of astounding for something so big, and it was effortlessly and comfortably able to gobble up mile after mile, day after day. We were, in fact, so caught up in just riding the Concours that we never even thought about including it in our long-term fleet. But, as explained in the December, 2008, issue, we remedied that situation, even though more than a year had passed and we'd put almost 7000 miles on the 14.

Typically, we like to try various aftermarket accessories on our long-term ers, but we never bolted a single item onto the Concours-partly because we adopted it into our fleet so late in the game, partly because it subsequently spent quite a bit of time out of our pos session. On one occasion, a staffer rode the Kawasaki to a press introduction for another brand and left it with that company so he could ride back on one of the intro models. The 14 then some how got lost in transition and wasn't returned to us for almost two months. We also loaned it to a friend of the magazine who ended up putting very few miles on it, despite having it for more than a month and a half.

Any time the bike was in our cus tody, though, we had trouble prying it away from Senior Editor Paul Dean. Of the nearly 11,500 miles the Conc accumulated before we gave it back to Kawasaki, Dean racked up more than 8000 of them. He and his girlfriend took several week-long trips on it, scouring the backroads of central and northern California for new corners to conquer, new patrol cars to evade; he also often used the bike for daily transportation and weekend rides. Thanks to the 14's spacious and easy-to-use detachable hard bags, the rest of the staff found the bike ideal for fun rides and occasional overnight ers-with or without their significant others. Although the Concours wassubjecttoafewre calls (saddlebag latches, headlight adjust ment knobs, rear-brake linkage getting bound up by road debris), we had no trouble whatsoever with our test unit. Our only complaints were with the windshield (too short, even when fully raised) and excessive heat radiating from the engine bay. Kawasaki has duly addressed both of those gripes-and more-with the second-generation Concours 14 ("2010 Kawasaki Concours 14," February).

"I'm afraid to tell you just how much I love my Concours 14 because if I do, my wife might leave me." -Jack Baldwin Dublin, OH

"When I traded an `05 Yamaha FJR1 300 for an `09 Concours 14, my riding buddy said I would regret it. Now he's riding a Concours, too." -Terry Howard Ypsilanti, Ml

FROM THE

w~u3c

I occasionally think about replacing my aging-but-still-enjoyable VFR75O, but the question that always arises is: With what? Most candidates somehow disappoint once I spend time on them, but not this one.

After major mileage on this Kawasaki both solo and two-up, I have to say that there is no bike I'd rather ride farther and faster than the C-14.

I'm wracking my brain to come up with something snarky to say about the Concours but I just can't do it. It's an ICBM for the common man, a bullet train you can straddle that lays its own rails.

Our expenditures, then, were limited to oil changes and tires. On-the-road repairs for a rear-tire puncture during a trip cost $72 (forgot the tire repair kit#$%*&@) at 6836 miles. Both tires were worn out anyway, so we sprung for a set of Bridgestone BTO21 OEM replacements ($413, including installation).

Just 3600 miles later, however, in the middle of a two-up ride in the Sierra Nevada, the sides of the front tire were worn to the cords. Chalk it up to many miles of aggressive two-up cornering and someone-we never did identify

the culprit-having accelerated the wear by riding the bike with only 22 psi in the front tire rather than the spec ified 42. In the closest town, popula tion 12,000, the only comparable front tire available was a Dunlop Sportmax ($192, including installation), which actually turned out to perform at least as well as the stocker, steeringand handling-wise, if not better. And by the time we took the bike back to Kawasaki, the original front brake pads were ripe for replacement. -

We loved our long-term Concours 14, but we really don't miss it at all. Why? Because we're now riding the 2010 model.

"After I put a Cee Bailey tall and wide windshield on my 2008 Concours, it was transformed into the perfect motorcycle for me." -Miguel Torres San Antonio, TX

SPECIFICATIONS

$13,799