New Connie 14

[Air_Bob1]

I got to ride one tonight. Sweet!

It doesn't handle like a big sport-tourer, bu my Sprint felt like a little toy afterward.

I want one!

[Kawboy]

I got to sit on one at the dealers today. We started it up and played with the electric windshield. I'd like one but it's just too much bike for the kind of riding I do.

[robrm250]

I don't want anyone to kill me but I would love to buy one but I bought a HD street glide about 1yr ago the bike handles like crap over 85 but HD service is just awsome.I bring it in at 1:00 on tues. and is ready and washed by Wed. at a pretty fair cost.I do not own any chaps or black shirts yet so everyone calm down but for the 1st time in 23yrs of marriage my wife asks me lets go to the Harley dealership and shop.She buys boots,shirts,sexy HD panties and I get to buy exhaust,stage 1 kits its kind of wierd.The last time I brought my zzr in for service I made and appointment,I called on it 4 days later and the service manager asked me if my pecker would fall off if I could'nt ride.

[Against The Wind]

We need more info on those sexy panties.

[Andrew]

I don't want anyone to kill me but I would love to buy one but I bought a HD street glide about 1yr ago the bike handles like crap over 85 but HD service is just awsome.I bring it in at 1:00 on tues. and is ready and washed by Wed. at a pretty fair cost.I do not own any chaps or black shirts yet so everyone calm down but for the 1st time in 23yrs of marriage my wife asks me lets go to the Harley dealership and shop.She buys boots,shirts,sexy HD panties and I get to buy exhaust,stage 1 kits its kind of wierd.The last time I brought my zzr in for service I made and appointment,I called on it 4 days later and the service manager asked me if my pecker would fall off if I could'nt ride.

Maybe that explains it,
Heck if you like it and She does as well=winning combination  

For me I would be happy if She wanted to ride (seems to loose her sense of ease while on the bike)

[bureaucrat]

Sounds like Kawi needs to start a panties line to catch the attention of the SO.

[Walker]

What I'm not digging about the Connie 14 are a couple of things:

1) those monsterishly tall 'ape hanger' bars, well, at least for a ST they comparatively look like ape hangers... I'd prefer something lower, like my GPZ... Actually, I though my GPz bars were too high after I transisitoned to it from my 600.

2) Plastic tank.  My magnetic tank bag won't work anymore, and I love my tankbag.  It goes with me everywhere.  I really don't want to go back to a strapped down bag.

3) Plastic clutch and brake fluid resevoirs on the handlebars.  I want to be able to mount accessories like radar on top of them, plus for a bike that went all out on everything else, the plastic looks cheap.  Plastic fluid resevoires are OK when inside a cage's engine compartment, or on a race bike I suppose, but I've seen flying gravel put a hole in a plastic reservoire once... Why not use the traditional aluminum?

Other than those three nitpicks, it looks like an awesome bike.

[Walker]

I don't want anyone to kill me but I would love to buy one but I bought a HD street glide about 1yr ago the bike handles like crap over 85 but HD service is just awsome.I bring it in at 1:00 on tues. and is ready and washed by Wed. at a pretty fair cost.I do not own any chaps or black shirts yet so everyone calm down but for the 1st time in 23yrs of marriage my wife asks me lets go to the Harley dealership and shop.She buys boots,shirts,sexy HD panties and I get to buy exhaust,stage 1 kits its kind of wierd.The last time I brought my zzr in for service I made and appointment,I called on it 4 days later and the service manager asked me if my pecker would fall off if I could'nt ride.

And this is relevant to new a Connie 14 how?  

[FlowBee]

The last time I brought my zzr in for service I made and appointment,I called on it 4 days later and the service manager asked me if my pecker would fall off if I could'nt ride.

Well?  Did it?

[dalan]

2) Plastic tank.  My magnetic tank bag won't work anymore, and I love my tankbag.  It goes with me everywhere.  I really don't want to go back to a strapped down bag.

Someone with a C14 can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the C14 has the same gas tank as the ZX14, most of which IS metal.  The forward half of it is plastic, but it's all metal from the gascap back.  I use a medium-sized magnetic tankbag on my ZX-14 and it works just fine.  I'd assume the same would work on the connie.

3) Plastic clutch and brake fluid resevoirs on the handlebars.  I want to be able to mount accessories like radar on top of them, plus for a bike that went all out on everything else, the plastic looks cheap.  Plastic fluid resevoires are OK when inside a cage's engine compartment, or on a race bike I suppose, but I've seen flying gravel put a hole in a plastic reservoire once... Why not use the traditional aluminum?

Agreed, I don't like the plastic resevoirs on either the C14 or the Zx14, but they don't prevent you from mounting accessories.  Just use a RAM mount clutch bracket ball mount, which attaches to the two bolts that hold the clutch lever assemby on the bar.  This is what I use on both my ZZR and my ZX14.

[ghostrider]

Having done only 30 miles or so on a C-14 (demo ride at Carlisle Summer Bikefest), I'm no expert on the C-14; however, with that caveat, I spoke to Kawi PR people about:

1. Larger windshield, all the way down, who needs it, and all the way up, it is too short and too narrow

2. The handlebars should be replaced with something like Murph's handle bar adapter, allowing the individual      to replace the stock bars with on of their own preference.

3. Though the new foot pegs are further forward (30 mm) and lower (also 30 mm), it would be nice to have them another inch or two further forward, so that those of us that are inseam challenged could put our feet down without having to put them in back of the pegs.

was advised that there is a fix for #1 in the Kaw parts bins (best of luck finding it)

Regardless, this is one awesome sumbitch of a bike,  trying to unload the 2 connies that i do have so I can get one

[MadMax96]

I just sat on a non-ABS model at the dealer yesterday - I'm guessing it wasn't sold already due to the lack of the ABS.

I really love the look of the bike except for one thing, not including the honking huge muffler - the whole tail light/license plate area.  Is it me or does it appear like that whole area was an after thought?  It's like the designers had the bike done and then said "oh crap, it needs a tail light right?  here, just use this......."

It doesn't look horrible - it just doesn't flow with the rest of the bike like it does on an FJR for instance.  The integration of tail light and indicators looks pretty sharp IMHO.

Why would this even bother me?  Well c'mon - when riding it you'll be showing your tail light to more people as you pass them by!  

[carlt828]

2) Plastic tank.  My magnetic tank bag won't work anymore, and I love my tankbag.  It goes with me everywhere.  I really don't want to go back to a strapped down bag.

I have a buddy with a R1. He glued magnets to the underside of his "gas tank" so his tank bag would work. I had to admit it was a pretty clever idea.

Oh yeah, make sure you get the polarity right on the magnets.