Road 5s are a newer, top-of-the-line tire that are $70 more expensive than Road Pilots but don't come in 55 rears. |
Monday 21 June 2021
Kawasaki Concours 14 GTR1400 ZG1400 Tires & Suspension Setup
Wednesday 26 May 2021
MRA X-Screen Windshield Installation on a Kawasaki Concours 14
I'm a fan of MRA windshields since one came attached to the Tiger, so the Concours is getting one, but this is my first time doing an installation. If you're installing an MRA windshield you can expect detailed instructions and all the parts provided in clearly marked bags.
There is an option to have a simple single pivot or a more adjustable but complex double pivot - I went with more complicated because I'm like that. The mechanism releases and locks in a wide variety of positions.
I'm curious to see how all the different positions work as I get to know this more complicated MRA windshield. With the extender set high at the top of the windshield the thing is about as big as the big slab of plastic Kawasaki put on it, except this one is also adjustable to go even higher and at a wide variety of angles. Set highest it'll be much more effective than the stock windshield.When it's all the way down the MRA windshield looks almost like a sports windshield and offers a solid windblast to the chest or lots of ventilation on a hot day.
Here is before an after. You can see how much taller the old stock windshield is:
The old windshield was going opaque with age and was quite pitted and rough. It also produced an astonishing amount of back pressure at speed which might have had something to do with the motor having problems. The new windshield is lighter, more aerodynamic, more adjustable, quieter at speed and seems to have no back pressure issues at all. I took it for a run up and down the river today and I'm very happy with this choice. Even at lowest setting, when I F-14 swing-wing the windshield up it still provides good wind protection and noise reduction at 100kms/hr.
It looks sharp too...
Monday 28 August 2023
Concours Tip Over
I was once told that bikes fall over, it happens to everyone, but I've never had it happen before. I'll be more cautious next time. My best guess is the road behind the restaurant channeled the wind making for even stronger gusts and it toppled the bike. We were around the corner on the patio when I heard the worst kind of smashing sound and immediately got up to come around to see Big Blue on its side. I remembered the lift with your legs holding the handlebar in and the back of the seat, and got the big thing upright again.
It started right up and I rode it around the corner to another spot on more even ground out of the wind tunnel. Much swearing ensued but it was really my own fault. I checked it twice to make sure it was stable, but that second check should have told me I didn't like how it was sitting and I needed to find a better spot. Lesson learned.
The wing mirrors on GTR1400 / Concours 14s are (big) plastic pieces over an aluminum frame. They're one of my least favourite stylistic choices on the bike. They work well but they are enormous and make what is already a big bike look even bigger, so my first reflex was to find a lower profile alternative. The bike looks much more svelte when it's mirrorless.The only aftermarket option I could find is pretty much the same thing - industrially big. I might be tempted to customize something, like perhaps an electronic rear view option, but something stopped me. I've worked hard to get the C14 to fit, but it never has. Bar risers, modified foot pegs and a pang Corbin saddle and it still feels like it was made for someone else. Love the engine and it handles well enough with the rear tire mod (slightly larger profile balances the bike forward a bit more) and getting the suspension set for my size helped too, but it still feels like someone else's bike, so I started looking at other options.
I reached out to the metal shop teacher at my school but he can't weld aluminum. He suggested Fergus Welding & Machine Shop just up the river from us. It was described as 'turn of the century - 18th Century'. I gave them a telephone call (because they have no digital presence at all) and went over to show them my broken mirror frame.Our shop teacher wasn't kidding. This place is in an old stone building and it was indeed old-school with paper filing upstairs and blacksmith come metal shop downstairs. The broken bit was in fact aluminum and their Yoda-like welder said that if it was 'white metal' he wouldn't be able to do anything with it and that he'd only find that out when he 'hit it' for the first time. I left my phone number on the box and off I went.
I got the bike undressed and cleaned everything up. I'm amazed at how strong the fairings are on this thing. Even with seven hundred odd pounds coming down on it the thing held up with only scratches.
Some Concours 14 Mirror Links:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005337788259.html
https://forum.concours.org/index.php?threads/mirror-replacement.13139/
Ebay Links are enormous
The electronic option: https://youtu.be/UZ2XPHB7mo4
https://innovative-cycles.com/gps-video-mirrors
https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-motorcycle-wing-mirrors.html
Dodgy fairing options don't include second generation Concours 14/GTR1400s.
Monday 10 May 2021
Kawasaki Concours 14 Project Updates: Easy Fob Battery Swaps and clutch gaskets
It takes a 2025 lithium battery which you can find anywhere, I found this one hanging up in a Shoppers Drug Mart. Pop out the battery, pop the new one in the slot (make sure the negative side is up), and snap it all back together again. It took all of two minutes. No reason to send that job to the dealership.
Sunday 13 June 2021
Sail Away: First Long Ride on The Kawasaki Concours 14
First long ride with Big Blue/Nami-Chan (not sure what its name is yet) today up to Georgian Bay to listen to the water. For a kid who grew up by the sea living in landlocked Southern Ontario wears on me so sitting by the shore listening to the water lapping on the rocks calms my permanent sense of dislocation.
Thornbury Harbour, Geogian Bay, Ontario - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
The Tiger (when it works perfectly which isn't often recently) is a capable off roader on trails and fire roads and lets the wind pass through you since it's practically naked, which is both exhausting and exhilarating. After the long ride today the abilities of the Kawasaki are much more clear. The only nagging issue is that my backside has gotten used to Corbin seat engineering and the Kawasaki stock saddle just isn't up to the job, but otherwise the bike is a revelation. Effortlessly quick, smooth and surprisingly agile in the corners, though you can still feel the weight carries but it carries it low.
Windshield down, lots of airflow, a great view and the bike feels more likes sports-bike. |
Ergonomically, the windscreen also does something smart for airflow. If it gets hot you can lower it to the point where it almost vanishes. This pushes a lot of air through your upper body and supports your chest from leaning on your wrists. I hadn't put much stock in an adjustable windshield but it not only changes the look of the bike, it also changes its functionality too. On long rides changes in airflow keep you comfortable and focused.
Windshield up while you're making tracks on less demanding roads and you're in a quiet bubble of air that lets you go for miles. |
Sunday 30 May 2021
Kawasaki Concours C14 Farkles
(Lightly) Tinted headlight covers: $40
The big googly eyes on the front of the Connie aren't my favourite styling aspect of the bike. These tinted covers claim to offer a less obvious googly-eye without making the lights useless at night. They also provide some protection from debris.
Corbin (heated!) seat for a C14: $711US ($864CAD)
NOTES & RESEARCH
Tuesday 26 January 2021
How Many Motorbikes is Enough?
motorcycles is right? Egan's list follows his own interests in the sport. His suggestions are:
- a sportsbike for short, focused rides that are all about dynamics
- a sport touring bike for spirited long distance riding
- an off road bike (though this could be a bigger dual sport or adventure bike, not just a dirt bike)
- a Harley for long distance 'Merican Dream type rides
- an old nostalgia machine that takes you back to a bike you couldn't afford when you wanted it
- Athletic Distance Machine: (Kawi Concours14)
- Dynamic Rider: (Fireblade, Z1000, or another light weight sport or naked machine)
- Adventure Bike for Canadian Exploration (roads suck here, even if they're paved, and they often are suddenly not. An ADV bike will cover the rough over long distances)
- Dirt/Trials Bike (a pedigree machine for intentional deep woods trail riding)
- Revolving Door Bike (project, by and sell, experience something new bike - sometimes even a Harley!)
Thursday 13 May 2021
Concours Arts & Crafts
Solve the top-box situation
I've never had a fancy, colour matched top box before. The one that came with the Connie is a Givi-based device and I have another Givi box that would slot right in there, but I want the fancy back.How to get the fancy back? The stock one broke off when the former owner tipped over a in a parking lot and snapped it off. It broke one of the bars that hooks into the base and cracked the other.To solve the breaks and restore the bike to normal removable top-box function I'd need to replace the broken tab. The former owner threw a couple of bolts through the bottom into the frame mount, but this leaves two bolts poking out if the top box is removed and means the top box is basically permanently attached to the bike, which isn't ideal if you're heading into a hotel for the night when on the road.
The solution was to take some steel frame and bolt it to the bottom of the top-box while poking it through the hole so it would act as the broken off tab. The Dremel helped me clean up the holes and the steel frame fit snugly through the break. I bolted it to the bottom of the case with low profile stove-style heads so they won't interfere with the base and then used Gorilla construction glue to seal it all. Once it's dry I'll sand it down and paint it flat black and then it should be back to regular service.
I'm very happy with the final results. I used the Dremel to round the metal tab I made so it matches the stock one and the box slides on and off like stock. The Gorilla construction glue sealed very strong and securely. Painting it all flat black makes it all but invisible, not that anyone would see it on the bike anyway.