Finally got rid of the Kawasaki

[Flicka]

And I replaced it with a new one.

My ZX-14R was an amazing machine, but I never really fell in love with it. I've been wanting a bike geared more toward long distance riding, but still with a lot of power. After a long time comparing and shopping around, I'm convinced that the Concours 14 is the best value in sport touring bikes. She's a 2013, but just came out of the crate. I rolled the bike out this morning with 0 miles on the odometer, and came home with nearly 300.

We had a good group today riding over the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway, and Skydivr was able to make a special guest appearance with the East TN crowd. Anyway, here's a few pics as required. A couple of bikes didn't make it into the last shot because they decided to use a real parking space...

 

[1busa]

Loving that TL out in front!

Not real familiar with the Kaws but couldn't you have thrown a set of bags and a windscreen on your 14R and pretty much have the same bike?? What are the major differences between the 2?

 

[Big E]

Congratulations!

 

[darciedog1]

beautiful bike.

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

The Connie stands on her own against the ZX14. The ergos are completely different as well as the adjustable windscreen. While a bit off the Big Ninja, the Connie is the Sledgehammer for power in the supersport touring class. But I'm biased so don't listen to me...

Congrats on the new scooter Daniel. We're gonna need a name change there Flicka

Loving that TL out in front!

Not real familiar with the Kaws but couldn't you have thrown a set of bags and a windscreen on your 14R and pretty much have the same bike?? What are the major differences between the 2?

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

Ignore that name change thing...coming from TwoBrothersBusa...

 

[1busa]

^^^ laugh I was just about to say something

 

[Flicka]

Loving that TL out in front!

Not real familiar with the Kaws but couldn't you have thrown a set of bags and a windscreen on your 14R and pretty much have the same bike?? What are the major differences between the 2?

That is Tiller's bike in front. It's very cool and easily the best sounding one of the bunch. He's done quite a bit of restoration work on it.

I'm sure I won't think of all the differences, but the Concours has:

- Heated grips
- ABS (this was not available on the 2012 ZX-14R)
- Linked brakes
- Power adjustable windscreen with memory settings
- Much taller handlebars
- More relaxed foot peg position
- Taller and cushier seat
- Remote key fob
- Tire pressure monitors
- Low maintenance shaft drive
- Rear rack for top case

So yeah, I'm sure I could have done a lot of work on the Ninja to make it similar, but it would never really be the same. The Ninja was a great bike, just not the best choice for me right now.

 

[proud dad]

sweet ride

 

[rockethead]

and its shaft drive right?

 

[Poppy]

That's nice....the blue is a nice color! Did you trade in your other?

 

[motochris]

Congrats Daniel!
Is it a 2013?

 

[BA BUSA]

A mod with a Kawi on a Busa site...where is the ban
button when ya need it

Lol

 

[Hayabusa4life]

Daniel,

You will keep looking around for better bikes...
You will keep trading every bike...
Until you realize that all you need to do is come back to the Suzuki side


Well at least its a nice color and not that Kawi green, I guess that's a start


Not bad for a Kawi

 

[newman]

Congrats.

 

[fallenarch]

That's great Daniel! I love to see older riders settle down into a nice 2-wheeled rocking chair when they can't keep up anymore.

It's funny I was looking at that exact bike and color this weekend. That is a great bike at a great price. I have been looking at adding a less demanding bike to the stable and the Connie and the BMW 1600 are front runners. When you look at what you get for the money it's hard not to love the Connie.

Congratulations!

 

[Flicka]

and its shaft drive right?

Yes, shaft drive. My first non-chain bike.

 

[Flicka]

That's nice....the blue is a nice color! Did you trade in your other?

Thanks! Yes, I traded the Ninja. I had it for sale for about two months with no luck. I'm sure I could have lowered the price more and made the sale, but by that point it made more sense to just trade it in because of the sales tax savings on the new bike. Kawasaki has lowered prices on the 2015 models, so that didn't help me much.

Congrats Daniel!
Is it a 2013?

Thanks, Chris! It is a 2013. It was fresh out of the crate, a nicer color, and cheaper than the 2014. I couldn't pass that up.

A mod with a Kawi on a Busa site...where is the ban
button when ya need it

Lol

When I got my ZX-14R, I'm pretty sure the thread title was "Might as well go ahead and ban me." Not sure what happened there...

 

[Quiksilver]

Nice bike congrats

 

[Flicka]

Daniel,

You will keep looking around for better bikes...
You will keep trading every bike...
Until you realize that all you need to do is come back to the Suzuki side


Well at least its a nice color and not that Kawi green, I guess that's a start


Not bad for a Kawi

Here's my issue with that... This version of the Concours is moving into its 6th model year and it's still more modern than anything Suzuki is offering in the US. If they offered anything in this class, I definitely would have considered it. I hope they turn things around soon.

That's great Daniel! I love to see older riders settle down into a nice 2-wheeled rocking chair when they can't keep up anymore.

It's funny I was looking at that exact bike and color this weekend. That is a great bike at a great price. I have been looking at adding a less demanding bike to the stable and the Connie and the BMW 1600 are front runners. When you look at what you get for the money it's hard not to love the Connie.

Congratulations!

Older riders? Okay, pops!

I looked at several other models, but the bang-for-your-buck factor is highest with this one. It's a really nice ride. With something like this, it would make sense to have a separate track bike, but she will still get down in the twisties.