New bike in the near future?

[MAXIMAN]

Every day I go into the Kawasaki shop the "crew" is poking at me to buy this:







I am currently resisting temptation...but I will eventually succumb. I refuse however to be Kawasaki's "lab rat" to experiment on. No doubt the big 14 will be to sport touring what the Z1 was to superbikes, but it still has miles to go to be a proven platform. I am certain they have many bugs to squash before I am ready to snag one.

Nonetheless ...short of some financial disaster...one is in my future. I have GOT to ride that road from Fort Bragg to Eureka on one of these babies!

In any case I must articulate my fondness and fanaticism for the Eleven.

I will always have an Eleven...maybe two or three. That is because the Eleven ... I believe is still one of the greats. It was first of first for many things. But the greatest thing it has been for me is character. The Eleven has a character few bikes possess or every will.

And I have a feeling any sport touring machine...Concours...FJR...BMW or otherwise will not begin to compare to the "favorite jeans" comfort I have with my Zilla. WHY?

The comfortable and flexible riding position of an Eleven is like no other. I have three (3) positions to place my feet. Out front on the crash bars...underneath on the OEM pegs and behind on the pillion platforms. I can literally stay in the saddle of the Maxim 12 hours per day for 12 days in a row. I know...I've done it numerous times. My back never hurts...I rarely tire from saddle weariness and the bike will "haul the mail" so to speak.

Oh I'm sure you could get similar results for a Goldwing. But at what cost...18 grand? 22 grand? Plus I am simply not ready to "retire" from riding a real motorcycle. I've ridden a new 1800cc "Wing" and the thing was basically a car on two wheels. Kinda like going out to camp in a $100,000 fifth wheel mobile home!

As for now...the big lizard works well for me and takes me thousands upon thousands of miles with nary a fart of a problem. In reality I would likely be a darned fool for going to something different...but the winds of change are calling


Regardless of my future ownership of a big ST machine I will never shed myself of my customized XJ. It has become a part of me and forever shall remain until that certain day decades from now when my kids inherit it as the relic of an old man's dreams.

Max (alias Cody Griffin)

Ulee eetsee mai!!! Godzilla!

[John]

There is an article/test ride on that bike in the current Cycle World magazine. The editors were all impressed with it.
It hauls the mail, AND the milk also.

[GNEPIG]

"Nary a Fart" is what you'd be in the mirrors of that new Concours, if you tried em. Other bikes are cool and some are far better, but I wouldn't get rid of the XS11 either.

Cycle World really did like the new Concours, only whining they did about it was it didn't have some place to plug in your cell phone or some crap like that. Next year they will be so popular that you will have to wait in line for one..

[olebiker]

What kind of a seat have you got on that thing that you can go 12 hrs a day for some days in a row? I have only had one that I could do that with but not for days in a row.

[MAXIMAN]

It's not the seat...it's my butt!

Seriously I have a custom Sargent seat. I sent them my stock pan and they rebuilt it.

Is the Sargent that good? Not really...there are better. But the Sargent looks very slick and is indeed a vast improvement over the stock XJ seat because they use Super Cell Foam inserts.

Gene - I was surprised that Psycho Ward (read Cycle World) gave the new Kaw a big thumbs up. Usually they are not so kind to Kawasaki. CW reminds me of Consumer Reports and their disdain for American built cars when it comes to Kawasakis. So their positive review was indeed refreshing for this old Kawboy.

I've been reading many of the forum threads at the FJR sites and those guys are totally "dissing" the C14. I guess they have some inferiority complex about it. I have no idea why. The FJR is a great bike and a proven platform. I just have a gut feeling this Big Kaw will upstage it iin the long run...not just for size but for several reasons.

The Variable Valve Timing is a HUGE step for a motorcycle engine and a groundbreaker. Remember the first water cooled engines 30 years ago? Now they are all water cooled! You can bet Kawasaki did their homework before they started down that road. And you can bet many more bike makers will follow their lead with VVT.

The most revealing statement from the Cycle World review was this:

"Both Yamaha (FJR) and BMW (K1200GT) have magnificnet engines, but the Kawasaki, thanks to it's displacement advantage and VVT, simply makes more power and torque everywhere, all the time. It's just a better powerplant."

I also keep hearing how the big Kaw will run circles around the FJR in handling. Even though it's larger and heavier apparently the suspension system is miles ahead and the braking system is far superior to either the FJR or the K1200GT.

But as the crazy blind man once said "We shall see....we shall see."

[MAXIMAN]

Originally posted by John
There is an article/test ride on that bike in the current Cycle World magazine. The editors were all impressed with it.
It hauls the mail, AND the milk also.

I have now read 6 magazine reviews on the C14. I have yet to read much bad about this bike...unlike the FJR. The FJR had a few bugs in the first few models and it wasn't until last year they addressed the heat issue around the legs.

The reporter at "Rider" magazine said the Concours had a slight heat issue but NOTHING like the original FJR. He said as long as you're wearing long pants it's barely noticable. So who will be wearing shorts and riding a Concours? NOT ME! DOH!

Also every review I've digested indicates this bike will run proverbial circles around the FJR in the handling department. Regardless of what stupid numbers show...they say it has much more clearance for cornering and a far superior suspension of slicing and dicing canyons. The brakes...according to the reviewers ... are a significant improvement over it's competitors.

Several reviews indicated the FJR (Fudger) was not as stable in hard cornering as the Big Kaw. The Fudger according to these guys would scrape pegs when pushed in the Dragon Tails of roads whereas the C14 did not.

The bike is about neck and neck with the FJR on 1/4 mile times. But I ain't gonna be drag racing it! ...On otp the Big Kaw wins big. The 160 attained by Psycho Ward is actually limited by the rev limiter in top gear a 9000 rpm. If the federal government would butt out!!! the Bike would easily roll 170. There again I won't be using this feature of the bike ...unless some jackazz on a Fudger pushes my buttons on the Golden Gate Bridge!

And the numbers some of these guys are reporting like 60-80 roll on in top gear are BOGUS. It shows the FJR much quicker than the more powerful C14. But top gear on the Connie is 6!!! Not 5 like the Fudger. That 6th gear on the Concours is basically an overdone overdrive. If you put the Concours in 5th and the FJR in 5th you can bet your bank the results would be different. Some of the tests they do make my head hurt. They really don't do good side by sides.

In light of those performance reports...every review I saw essentially said the Big Concours made more power through out the rev range than anything in it's class. AND...the power was much smoother and more user friendly. This is attributed to their VVT technology that advances the intake valve timing as the bike runs up through the rev range...allowing the bike to gin up excellent torque on bottom and still wind like a clock on top.

The Tetra-Lever drive shaft makes the bike feel like a chain drive virtually eliminating the phenomenon of "shaft-jack". The reporters all complimented this design saying it was very conducive to a smooth ride and better handling when accelerating in and out of curves.

The review at Biker magazine said...and I quote..."If you're waiting for Kawaski to work the bugs out of the first generation bike...DON'T!...there aren't any."

I think GNEPIG summed it up. Next year these bikes are going to be more popular than life savers on a sinking ship.

[mason79]

so cody,

bob jone says manufacturers after an economic slowdown in the 80's for 2 wheels , commisioned parts that cycle out far sooner than the parts used for the eleven, do you subscribe to this notion?, and see the connie as another heap in 10 years while the eleven punches along?

[MAXIMAN]

Mason!

Good to see you made back to LA safely!

As you know Bob is a little eccentric...a great guy...just eccentric.

However on this issue he may be right. It took me a couple years to fully understand the simplicity and beauty of the mechanical design of the Eleven ... but I now am convinced it was really was built to stand the test fo time.

One of the biggest indicators of his idea that Yamaha and others began pursuing "planned obsolecense" occurs within the family of Elevens!

This is most clearly demonstrated with the advent of the brush type generator on the Maxim. The XS had a purely "electro-magnetic" generator (brushless) whereas the XJ employed an "Eletro-mechanical" with brushes and contacts in its generator.

I realize the XJ makes a little more juice...but at what cost? The system on the Eleven is ....for all practical purposes... indestrucable. It has no brushes to wear out. About the only thing to fail is the bearing the rotor spins on and those things we built to last indefinitely.

As far as the Connie being a "heap" in ten years...you may be right. Only ten years will tell. Having said that...the old Connie is certainly not a heap...and it had withstood the test of time. Kawasaki sold those bikes for 21 years ...all built in Lincoln, Nebraska. The first gen Concours is likely the most popular sport tourer ever built and there are scads of them still running. I have personally seen 3 or 4 with 100,000 plus miles.

But then 100,000 miles and the old Eleven is just getting broke in good eh? hehehehehe...

[Dan Hodges]

Concours vs FJR

Here is the test of an FJR and the new 1400 Concours, interesting. Of course one cannot believe everything he reads.

[MAXIMAN]

I went to the Yamaha shop yesterday and did a walk around of the FJR. The I went around the block to the Kawasaki shop and did the same for the Concours.

There is a HUGE difference literally. The Concours is much larger than the FJR in size. Kinda like a F250 next to an F150.

The front fairing on the Connie is larger and should create a bigger slip stream. The bags on the Concours are a lot bigger...they are deeper...taller and wider. This would be a huge bonus for me as I carry everything on a road trip INCLUDING the kitchen sink. Indeed John may have this one pinned "...it hauls the mails and the MILK too..."

I guess what amazes me about the reviews I've read is every report indicates the Concours handles very very well to be so big. Two reports I read said it will out corner the smaller Yamaha ...or maybe

But like Dan said...ya can;t believe everything you read. So I guess I'll just have to find out for mee-self.

[Dan Hodges]

Geritol Express

I'm waiting for Cycle Worlds upcoming shootout between these two Geezer bagged out sport bikes before I cast my verdict. According to the attached specs, the FJR can carry slightly more weight but it's bags are smaller and so the added weight capacity afforded by the FJR would only come in handy if you were hauling fat girls. Of course I would never do that, of course.

[MAXIMAN]

Face it Dan...you know you'll buy the FJR...

You're a Yamahore.

I probably will too. You know what they say...

"When you know how their built...you'll buy a Yamaha."

[Meatloaf]

Yamaha does seem to creep into your life without you knowing.

It starts with a dirt bike, then a streetbike, then it's an ATV, a snowmobile, boat motor, electronics, underwear....

[olebiker]

Underwear

[JWSanders]

Yeah, there's underwear....



When you can't see the tuning fork logo anymore, you know it's time to change them.


As far as the bikes go...I sure do like the look of the FJR. Every time I see one around town I like them even more. Haven't seen the new Concours up close yet though. It looks better than previous incarnations for sure. I never cared for the "bench seat look" on the 2006 model I've seen. The owner raved about it though.

I imagine it'll be a long time before I get a new bike of any flavor, unless I just get a terrific deal on it. Almost bought a mid-70's Triumph Bonneville the other day. Had to talk myself out of it until the garage is built....after that, watch out! I could see me getting half a dozen old bikes.