Rode a Concours 14 and a Ninja 1000 this weekend

[dietDrThunder]

I hadn't previously ridden either...I know this is old news to most folks, but holy cheese-and-rice, that C14 is a VERY nice bike. the Ninja 1000 was also a great one, but with a few niggles.

I was about to type up a little N1K review here, but I realized I'm late to a meeting...I'll edit later.

cliffs:

Ninja 1000 looks better from off the bike than on
The seat itself is good, but it's angled into the tank (unforgivable)
Seating position is very comfy
Motor is liquid-smooth mostly, and powerful
Great bike for someone who really wants a sportbike, but does not want the ergos.

More later...

[kevin_stevens]

+1 on every Ninja 1000 comment.  I thought the C-14 was awful.

KeS

[DoggyDaddy]

I thought the C-14 was awful.

KeS

Can you elaborate?

Thanks!
Steve

[kevin_stevens]

Can you elaborate?

Thanks!
Steve

I thought the C-14 was incredibly, mindnumbingly, astonishing awful.  It incorporated aspects of awfulness that I had only dreamed of in syndicated 1970s sitcoms.  

Oh, you meant more details!  Try here:  http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,61593.msg1432457.html#msg1432457

KeS

[Tpoppa]

The seat itself is good, but it's angled into the tank (unforgivable)
Seating position is very comfy

?

[dietDrThunder]

?

Where is your confusion?

The seat is good, but the angle at which it is placed on the bike is too sloped forward (maybe easily fixable?).

The seating position, that is, the relative placement of bars, seat and pegs is very good.

I don't know how to make it any more plain than that...

--

Anyway...ya, the bike is fantastic, and if I weren't constantly irritated by being pushed into the tank I would have been extra mega impressed. I raced bikes for several years, and have always loved sport riding, but I've never been a sport-bike-as-street-bike guy...too uncomfortable. This is the first bike I've ridden that truly feels like it really 'gets it' with regard to being a sport bike, but not being uncomfortable. Some other points...

fairing: looks good off the bike imo, not so much from behind the bars. Oddly, when riding it it feels like a naked bike that has a bit of plastic stuck onto it. the screen is pretty wide though, and it does provide significant protection. Overall protection I don't think would be significantly different from a naked bike with a screen on it.

motor: a tiny bit buzzy at low rpm, but not a bother at highway speed/rpm. Fuelling is excellent. The transmission feelis like it's directly off a pure-pred sport bike (which I'm pretty sure it is)...very short travel, very tight feeling without being notchy, clutchless upshifting couldn't be smoother/easier.

Exhaust: mufflers are all 8 ways of ugly. Luckily they are in the way of your feet when you put the balls of your feet on the pegs, so you'll want to jettison them immediately. If I were to buy one of these, I would buy slip-ons at the dealer, get them to install them for free, and never ride mile 1 with the stock pipes.

passenger accomodations: if you date or marry a 5'3 97lb beach beauty you're probably ok. Apart form that, YMMV re: domestic tranquility.

I'm probably forgetting something, but the bottom line imo is this: If you're looking for a sporty bike that will truly satisfy your sporting jones while being comfortable, this has to be near the top of your list. If fairing protection is important to you as part of a S/t ride, this bike is lacking, but apart form that, the Ninja 1000 would be a fantastic S/t bike.

[kevin_stevens]

The seat is good, but the angle at which it is placed on the bike is too sloped forward (maybe easily fixable?).

I agree with this, though it's not as bad as the "sister" bike, the Z1000.  I rode them both back-to-back, I could probably live with the slant on the Ninja, not sure about the Z1000.

motor: a tiny bit buzzy at low rpm, but not a bother at highway speed/rpm. Fuelling is excellent. The transmission feelis like it's directly off a pure-pred sport bike (which I'm pretty sure it is)...very short travel, very tight feeling without being notchy, clutchless upshifting couldn't be smoother/easier.

I rode two of the Ninja 1000s, and both had a very significant vibe/buzz point at 8K, which kind of surprised me, that's pretty high.  Mirrors stayed smooth throughout.

KeS

[dietDrThunder]

re: buzz @8k

The only times I saw 8k were 2 different runs to redline through a few gears, so I wasn't thinking about that aspect...don't doubt it's there at all though. Luckily, it's not too often one would cruise at 8k anyway, so that wouldn't be a drawback for me (not that I'm buying one...just sayin').

[Squidlius]

The Ninja has enough buzz to give it personality and make it not feel like a sewing machine. I don't like vibration and the Ninja never gets to the point where it annoys me. You can just tell it's there droning on the freeway and when you're riding it hard, it's so much friggin fun you don't notice the vibration at all. I've had mine for 5 months and it just keeps getting better and better.  

.

[JSharp]

Mine has more buzz when I'm in the throttle. The harder I run it the more buzz I get. At cruising it drops back to where it's not really an issue.

[kevin_stevens]

I like "sewing machine" bikes, so the 8k buzz did kind of bother me, but better up there than the typical 4500-5000 range which you hit every ride.  And apart from that one place I thought the Ninja was very smooth.

It was odd, but the Z1000, which, true to its heritage, is buzzy *everywhere*, was almost less objectionable, since there was no particular point in the rev range to avoid.  

Its very impressive how Kawasaki made two such similar bikes feel significantly different.

KeS

[JSharp]

I've looked a lot at the exploded parts views since I got mine and there are assorted dampers and rubber blocks everywhere. I find it strange how the seat on my bike is the first place the vibration shows up followed by the pegs. I would think it would be the bars but it's not. The pegs are rubber topped, rubber mounted and the brackets have these round weights on them just to tune them.

No matter how it works, someone spent some time on this stuff.

[Squidlius]

I like "sewing machine" bikes, so the 8k buzz did kind of bother me, but better up there than the typical 4500-5000 range which you hit every ride.  And apart from that one place I thought the Ninja was very smooth.

It was odd, but the Z1000, which, true to its heritage, is buzzy *everywhere*, was almost less objectionable, since there was no particular point in the rev range to avoid.  

Its very impressive how Kawasaki made two such similar bikes feel significantly different.

KeS

Yeah, I think the Z1k and the N1k vibrate about the same, they just tried really hard to mask it on the Ninja with strategically placed counter weights, extra rubber mounts and thicker seats.

Maybe I'm just getting used to mine but it sure seems to vibrate less after 2000 miles and some spirited rides where I bounced it off the rev limiter a few times to make sure it's completely broken in. Saw 150 on the speedo. Man is this thing fun!  

[Giaka]

I like "sewing machine" bikes, so the 8k buzz did kind of bother me,

+1, that kinda sucks, this bike is on my list but if there is a buzz I would have to pass. The ST1300 has pretty much spoiled me in that regard. I doubt I will ever ride anything that has a prominent buzz somewhere in the RPM range ever again.

[Bravnik]

Did you guys fix the slant on the seat? If so, did you have a custom seat made or buy another seat? I test rode the N1K myself last weekend and the seat slant was really annoying for me. I felt like I was sitting on a 2x4 that slanted down towards the tank and I found the tank very narrow and hard to get a good grip with my knees. Other than that the bike was nice. Had small vibe at 80mph sustained with a little mirror vibes as well. Fun bike, smaller than my VFR but more toss-able and quicker for sure.

Maybe I'm too spoilt to the VFR Seat/Motor (vibes).

[JSharp]

The bike is new and appears it will be popular. I'm sure someone will fix the seat soon enough.

Since it's only held on by 2 bolts I figure the seat will be easier and cheaper to replace than fixing engine issues or chassis problems. One of the reasons I like the bike is because the tank is so narrow. A set of cheap pads will make the sides stickier.

[rajflyboy]

You guys just need to buy a ZX14 and put bar risers on it and lower the foot pegs

The motor is sily smooth and the wind protection is good (even with the stock windscreen)

No Vibrations and Oh yeah >>>  its way way way fast if thats what you want

[Squidlius]

You guys just need to buy a ZX14 and put bar risers on it and lower the foot pegs

The motor is sily smooth and the wind protection is good (even with the stock windscreen)

No Vibrations and Oh yeah >>>  its way way way fast if thats what you want

Exactly.  If you ride a new Ninja and it doesn't absolutely snap your shorts, move on. Obviously the bike isn't for you.  I like the bike a lot and couldn't imagine having to ride anything as big as a ZX14.

.

[Squidlius]

The bike is new and appears it will be popular. I'm sure someone will fix the seat soon enough.

Since it's only held on by 4 bolts I figure the seat will be easier and cheaper to replace than fixing engine issues or chassis problems. One of the reasons I like the bike is because the tank is so narrow. A set of cheap pads will make the sides stickier.

My seat is held on by 2 bolts.

[JSharp]

My seat is held on by 2 bolts.

Yeah, 2 bolts in the back.  

Guess I should proofread...

[rajflyboy]

Exactly.  If you ride a new Ninja and it doesn't absolutely snap your shorts, move on. Obviously the bike isn't for you.  I like the bike a lot and couldn't imagine having to ride anything as big as a ZX14.

.

Right on!

I do think the new 1000 is a sweet ride.   The bike can't possibly have the vibs that an older Z1000 had and I must say that the old Z1000 was an absolute blast to ride!

[Squidlius]

Right on!

I do think the new 1000 is a sweet ride.   The bike can't possibly have the vibs that an older Z1000 had and I must say that the old Z1000 was an absolute blast to ride!

People who have ridden and modified both tell me the 2010+ is noticeably smoother and higher revving than the previous models.

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