2010 Kawasaki Concours 14 Review

[sarnali2]

I imagine it will be. They're d*mn fine bikes, no doubt about it. The only negitive I've gleaned from tests is that they get pretty poor gas milage, other than that they're tough to beat.

For me the biggest reason I didn't get it or the K-GT was that I'd had a number of Sport Touring type bikes in the last twenty years and I just wanted a change, the Harley was more comfortable with better weather protection and I had no need of a 150 mph bike for my daily grind. Plus I felt I had come full circle, from Harleys to European and Japanese bikes back to Harleys again so for me it was a fairly simple decision.

Still, the Connie is by all accounts a fantastic bike.

[Dr_Sprocket]

Originally Posted by Pete_Brissette

An $1,100 increase to be exact. All Japanese brands raised MSRPs on various models regardless of the degree of updates. Last year (2009), too. The 2009 GSX-R600 went up $1,000 for no apparent reason.

To quote James Carville, "It's the economy, stupid."

[Dr_Sprocket]

Originally Posted by sarnali2

I imagine it will be. They're d*mn fine bikes, no doubt about it. The only negitive I've gleaned from tests is that they get pretty poor gas milage, other than that they're tough to beat.

Still, the Connie is by all accounts a fantastic bike.

They have to be pretty decent bikes because in past Tours de France, the main escort and photog bikes were BMW's. Now, the bikes I see the most on TV riding up and down those twisty mountain roads is the Connie 14. That's saying something.

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by Dr_Sprocket

To quote James Carville, "It's the economy, stupid."

Well, actually, "It's the printing presses, stupid" but I guess that's just quibbling.

[outpost22]

The bike is certainly an eye catcher. All that horsepower heat has to go somewhere.

It amazes me that my 1996 BMW R1100RT has a fully adjustable windshield (as well as ABS) and 13 years later Kawasaki has a pre-programmed 4 position shield??? When riding at different speeds, adjusting the shield really helps in wind management. Why the heck couldn't they just make it adjustable while riding? This lack of feature would probably be the deal breaker for me.

And whats with the locking, unlocking storage bin at 2 mph. Sounds like engineering for engineering's sake. Just one more thing to break. And I thought BMW had cornered the market on meaningless features.

What about it's fuel range? It's kind of important on a sport touring machine, especially if you're doing long stints in the middle of nowhere.

All in all I have ALWAYS had good luck with Kawasaki bikes. They have been well made and dependable. This one would be worth a look...now if I could rig the reostats on that windscreen....

[Pete_Brissette]

Originally Posted by outpost22

... and 13 years later Kawasaki has a pre-programmed 4 position shield??? When riding at different speeds, adjusting the shield really helps in wind management. Why the heck couldn't they just make it adjustable while riding? This lack of feature would probably be the deal breaker for me.


What about it's fuel range? It's kind of important on a sport touring machine, especially if you're doing long stints in the middle of nowhere.

...now if I could rig the reostats on that windscreen....

This is the problem with reading on the Net, I think. Some things are just hard to see on screen, and reading comprehension shrinks.

From the text:

"The same stepless pushbutton adjustment exists on the left switchgear ... You can at anytime continue to move the screen via the stepless up/down button. Cool!"

Fuel range is gonna vary from rider to rider, and/or ride to ride. It's a best guess scenario. 'Bout all you can do is consider the tank's (claimed) 5.8 U.S. gal capacity and multiply that by anywhere from mid-30s mpg to maybe even 40. We observed 33.5 over a long trip during our 2009 sport-touring shootout. Plenty of readers claim 40 mpg or more.

Soooo, there ya go.

[GS1100GK]

Originally Posted by Pete_Brissette

...Plenty of readers claim 40 mpg or more.

Soooo, there ya go.

High mileage is 51 mpg, low is 36 mpg, average 43 mpg. The C-14 is just like most big bore bikes these days, judicious use of the throttle will get you decent mpg. I can usually go 200 - 215 miles before I hit the "LOW FUEL" warning on the dash and I usually have about 1.1 gallons to go after that.

[Dr_Sprocket]

Originally Posted by GS1100GK

High mileage is 51 mpg, low is 36 mpg, average 43 mpg.

That's no worse than my Uly.

After seeing the full photo spread, I was left with one thought. The new bike's styling reminds me of seeing an old friend after five years. You look at them, recognize them but just can't figure out what's different. Did they lose some weight? Get their teeth fixed? I can't quite put my finger on it, but I like what they've done with the new Connie. Nice pics, Pete (& company)!

[User Name]

Personally the heat has never been an issue for me and I live near Sacramento. Second, heated grips and traction control have never been on my A list.

Now if they would have included factory cruise I would be more inclined to possibly trade up. But and this is a big one I only paid 12,300.00 for my 09 ABS plus tax and license.

[mugwump58]

I've been running throught the reviews, nice job! Best write up on this so far.

So here's my question: Will it run in ECO mode at a steady GPS'd 75?

In my perfect world they'd make one for me with 1/2 the weight, I'll accept 5/8 the engine and a belt instead of a shaft to help with the weight thing. However I'll have to go take a look, I need a dedicated long range bike.