Rode the new 08' Kawasaki Councours today

[2006FJR]

Well, I was lucky enough to take a 6 hour ride today on the new 08’ Kawasaki Concours 14 and I thought I would share some of the things that jumped out to me. First things first, I really like the looks of the bike and the styling works for me. I would have liked to have seen 2 exhaust pipes but hey that me. When you are on the bike it sits up nice and high. I am 6’5” 300 pounds and it was a comfortable fit while sitting on the bike. The key fob is a pretty cool little toy and something that I think should be on all bikes at some point. It allows you to keep the key fob in your pocket and will wirelessly allow you to start the bike up with a push of the button.

When you start the bike up it is so quite I had to look down at the tack to make sure the bike was on once I had the ear plugs in my ears. It is a very quite yet confident sound and the throttle has a nice meaty sound when you roll on the RPMs. The clutch is nothing short of a masterpiece and whatever they have done to make this happen, bravo! I have never felt such buttery shifts from gear to gear. The front gage is very easy to read and I like the fact that you can navigate your way around easily to find things such as gas mileage, miles to empty and PSI in both front and rear tires. The thing that stood out for me was that it was missing were no heated grips and no outside temperature gauge. Not that I needed the heated grips. When we stopped at a light it gave me a chance to ask Jerry to look at my gauge and tell me how hot it was outside.

The mirrors sit down very low and do not shake or rattle. The allowed me to see much more road to the side and behind me that my FJR ever did. The sitting position was very comfortable and very little pressure was put on my hands and wrists with my back only slightly bent. My legs were very bent due to how high the shifter and brake were. My legs are very long so it made shifts a little difficult but I soon got use to it. I have the lowering pegs for both front and rear on my FJR so I really value the extra real estate. The suspension was some of the best stock suspension I have ever personally had a chance to enjoy.

We met at the Starbucks just off of Ortega Highway and the 5 freeway at about 7:15am while it was still cooler and it gave us a chance to check everyone’s bikes out. We had my 06 FJR AE, a newer Yamaha R1, a Triumph Daytona 675 Triple and the new 08’ Kawasaki Concours 14. We all left from there on the bikes and I was lucky enough to be riding the Kawi 14 for most of the day. We stopped at Hell’s kitchen for some coffee and quickly found ourselves back on the road down to Lake Elsinore. For any of the locals who know this road it has lots of twists and turns and allows you to cut loose and have some fun. The bike handled high sped turns well and power was smooth. Did I mention how smooth the power was? The 6 gears also made it very nice once we were on the 15 freeway. I was at 80 miles an hour at about 3600 rpm with little or no vibration. It does not read 6th gear; it reads OD for Over Drive.

Well so far, you should all be wondering when I am going to sell my bike and run out and get a 08’ Kawi. Right? Not so fast, the bike on the right side was so damn hot I had to keep moving it around in different spots to keep it from burning my leg. The inside of my leg was on fire for the whole ride. The lower part of my calf on the right side was also burning but the inside of my right foot near the ball of my foot was by far the most uncomfortable. It was burning through my boots and there was nowhere to move my foot unless I planned on only using my front brakes. I am sure this would be a welcome feature during the winter but going through Lake Elsinore during the summer was painful and today was relatively cool compared to how hot it normally gets.

Is the bike faster? Not sure, but damn it went. Was the suspension better? The stock suspension felt better to me. Was the seat more comfortable? Yes, they really got it right with this seat and it should be fine for most riders. I thought the windshield was too damn short too but it was nice that it did not go all the way back down when you turn the bike off. I am sure there are going to be plenty of ride reports on this bike by much more qualified riders but these were some of the things that jumped out to me.

[SWriverstone]

Good review. So can you "unlock" the bike from a distance with the remote (key fob) and make it go "BEEP BEEP!"?   Interesting that it's so hot...I wonder if they'll do anything about that? I've never understood bikes that burn, because not all do. What are the hot bikes doing differently? (My VFR was nice and cool, by comparison, even on a hot summer day.)

Scott

[windsorgreen1]

Interesting that it's so hot...

I think you'll find that the amount of heat it puts out will vary from rider to rider. before I wrecked my ZZR my buddy said the heat from the engine was almost hot enough to burn the hair off of his ankles. I didn't notice the heat at all. Just like some people are cold when ids 70 degrees out & some love it between 60-70 degrees (me).

[2006FJR]

I agree that different people notice things differently but look at where the pipe is on the right side of the bike? The left side of the bike was not hot at all, only the right?

[molitorjason]

frankly, I'm boggeld about how the heat suprises anyone, especially an FJR owner.
The engine is ENORMOUS!

[2006FJR]

frankly, I'm boggeld about how the heat suprises anyone, especially an FJR owner.
The engine is ENORMOUS!

They had heat problems up to the 2005 but the 2006-07 do not have the same heat issues. On a scale of 1-10 the Councours was a 9 and the newer FJRs was about a 2. Really big difference in heat. Great bike and if they found a way to control the heat it will likely be my next bike.

[Stray Cat]

When I had my FJR the alleged heat issue never bothered me. I wore ATGATT. I'm wondering what the riders that are posting their opinions on the heat from the C14 are wearing as far as gear goes?

[molitorjason]

i'm a damn noob.  what's an ATGATT?

[nwconk]

i'm a damn noob.  what's an ATGATT?

ATGATT - All the gear all the time
MTGATT - Most of the gear all the time
ATGMTT - all the gear most of the time
STGATT - Some of the gear all the time
STGSTT - Some of the gear some of the time
WGWDNG - What gear we don't need Gear

well you get the idea.

--chris

[chornbe]

i'm a damn noob.  what's an ATGATT?

All The Gear, All The Time

[gunz]

I ride with it all on. Have some real good gear as far as thats concerned. But it doesnt matter, becuase its the same gear i was wearing while riding my 02 and the heat didnt bother me, Got on the 14 and OMG it was hot. Got off it and got on mine and cooled down on the trip back. Connie 14, you can keep em.

[2006FJR]

I have riden the older FJR and it is NOTHING like the Connie. The Connie after a few hours in the saddle made me want my FJR back.

[jude]

When I had my FJR the alleged heat issue never bothered me. I wore ATGATT. I'm wondering what the riders that are posting their opinions on the heat from the C14 are wearing as far as gear goes?

I ride my FJR frequently with jeans (sans riding pants).  Never an issue with heat.  There's no way a mass produced bike can have the kind of variance in heat that would bake some riders and not others.  No, it's simply a matter of wussiness.  

As an aside, the Connie drinks only premium?!  What the fuck was Kawasaki thinking?  They had the perfect opportunity to build a dominant class leader.  Instead, they built an also ran.  Why'd they do that?  

[gunz]

Well all I can say about the wussiness, maybe we have enought brain cells left to register heat. Its damn hot, Everyone that has ridden the new Connie says the same thing. Even the motorcycle mags report it as one of the worst as far as heat goes. i have ridden an older FJR adn it is warm as well, but not like the new connie

[chornbe]

As an aside, the Connie drinks only premium?!  What the fuck was Kawasaki thinking?  They had the perfect opportunity to build a dominant class leader.  Instead, they built an also ran.  Why'd they do that?  

So, you never dealt with Kawasaki before, huh?

[2006FJR]

I secretly hope they fix it. I would like to see the Connie do well and help build the sport touring world with new riders. At the same time I hope Yamaha has a few tricks up their sleeve for the 08 model year. We all benefit from better bikes.

[Snowbird]

I thought the windshield was too damn short too but it was nice that it did not go all the way back down when you turn the bike off.

I've never understood that complaint about the FJR. Why in hell would you want the ws to stay up? So a kid walking by can have more leverage to tweak it?   

Why is it so difficult to hit the switch and put it back up-- if you want-- once you get back on? Don't folks put the shield down when they pull off the highway before stopping anyway? I mean, I leave mine down most of the time...

[chornbe]

I've never understood that complaint about the FJR. Why in hell would you want the ws to stay up? So a kid walking by can have more leverage to tweak it?  

Why is it so difficult to hit the switch and put it back up-- if you want-- once you get back on? Don't folks put the shield down when they pull off the highway before stopping anyway? I mean, I leave mine down most of the time...

I agree, tho' I did pull the auto-retract connector on mine. I only did that to make cleaning it easier; don't need to leave the bike turned on to clean under and around the 'shield.

The irony is I was my bike maybe twice a year whether it needs it or not.