Any kawasaki councors 14 owners here?

[sdg97232]

OK guys my rebuild of my 03 cobra is about to start (build thread coming soon) and I've been thinking once its complete of buying a new motorcycle to replace my Gsxr 750. Originally I was looking at either the ducati street fighter carbon or m/v Augusta f4s, however here of late I've been looking at sport touring bikes. See I love to ride long distances and explore while riding and I've done many mods to the gsxr to make it more distance compliant raised windscreen, gel seat and grips, lower rearsets and cruise control (yes on a sport bike :dw but it still is getting harder for me to recover after long rides.

So I see allot of guys on here ride I was wondering if any had sport touring bikes? Or if any had gone from sport bikes to more cruise oriented type of bike? After reading reviews the kawi c14 seems to be an awesome bike I'm hopping someone on here has one and can give me a real world opinion on the bike, thanks! ............ride safe!

 

[Almighty-One]

I currently have a CBR and my next bike will certainly be a more sport touring style as I want more of a do it all kind of bike like a Triumph Tiger or a BMW F800R

I know the concours would be a great choice. I prefer the smaller triumphs and BMW's (like above) and realistically unless you are a hard core track rider the sport touring bike will do everything your GSXR will do but more comfortable

 

[sdg97232]

I was a hardcore track guy for years but its not the kind of riding I love to do now plus I'm not getting any younger, the years of sport bikes have taken their toll on my body. I think the engine is the biggest reason I'm leaning to the kawi, for a few years now I've been wanting an exotic bike (I.e. ducati, m/v Augusta) but after some seat time on a 1098 and f3 m/v I just don't see me riding them much. And that's allot of money to just park in the garage and spit shine lol. But that zx14 motor is an animal!!!

 

[Chaoticreign]

In all honesty I would consider the ZX-14 over the concourse. The ZX-14 is still a very roomy bike and a lot of people tour them. I have a 13' model because they finally added ABS and it is by far the nicest bike I've ever owned. The engine on the conni is a little detuned and not quite as much fun to ride.

If you're looking at touring bikes though I would also recommend Yamaha's FJR. There are a lot of little things that I feel are higher quality such as the foot pegs. Kawasaki tends to put these shitty little stubs on the passenger pegs which I find kind of cheap.

 

[sdg97232]

Thanks for the input! How is the riding position on the zx (I've never rode one) how dose your hands and wrist fell after 200 miles non stop? I've looked at the fj's and the styling just doesn't appeal to me as much as the conni, I really like Honda's vfr 1200f but I hear the fuel range is deplorable but its FAST. Do you know if a filter, power commander and exhaust would get the conni into zx power range?

 

[Chaoticreign]

Well the craziest I did with the ZX-14 was 500 miles in sub 32 degree weather and besides the miserable cold I wasn't that beat up. The riding position is kind of middle ground between a full sport tourer and the more aggressive race bikes. Lots of leg room and some forward lean but not overly so. I know some guys put risers on the bars but I haven't found the need. The 12' and up models are pushing over 200hp so it would be hard to reach that with the connie. Ride one if you get the chance. Smoothest engine I've ever seen and steady predictable throttle response in every gear/rpm. It's a stupid amount of power but easier to ride than the 1000 I owned a few years back.

Another bike I'm a fan of in that range is BMW's K1300.

 

[sdg97232]

Well the craziest I did with the ZX-14 was 500 miles in sub 32 degree weather and besides the miserable cold I wasn't that beat up. The riding position is kind of middle ground between a full sport tourer and the more aggressive race bikes. Lots of leg room and some forward lean but not overly so. I know some guys put risers on the bars but I haven't found the need. The 12' and up models are pushing over 200hp so it would be hard to reach that with the connie. Ride one if you get the chance. Smoothest engine I've ever seen and steady predictable throttle response in every gear/rpm. It's a stupid amount of power but easier to ride than the 1000 I owned a few years back.

Another bike I'm a fan of in that range is BMW's K1300.

:beer: I appreciate the info man, if you don't mind me asking how tall are you just to give me an idea on riding position? I will definitely keep my ear to the ground for Kawasaki demo days and go put some miles on both bikes and get the real world feel! Yes the k1300 is another I've checked out pricey but hey I was going to pull the trigger on an M/V Augusta. You reverberate most peoples thoughts on that engine (from what I've read) even with freight train power its still silky smooth, kawi's known for awesome engines so it doesn't surprise me.

 

[Chaoticreign]

I'm 5'11" and very comfortable on it. And of course with the kind of hp this thing pushes it's great at two-up as well. That was a factor for me because I hated two-up on smaller bikes but don't want to leave the girlfriend out.

 

[sdg97232]

I'm 5'11" and very comfortable on it. And of course with the kind of hp this thing pushes it's great at two-up as well. That was a factor for me because I hated two-up on smaller bikes but don't want to leave the girlfriend out.

I'm 6'1' so I got ya by a few inches, yeah my ex wife was 120lbs and I had mostly liter bikes when I was with her, never had an issue riding her. Then I picked up a modded 07 cbr600rr (my deals gap bike) and couldn't stand riding it with her lol so I know what you mean!

 

[king nothing]

I dont own one, but a friend of mine does. He rides it everyday that there isnt snow or ice on the ground. actually doesnt even own a car for himself (his wife and daughter have cars that he can use in a pinch)

 

[murse]

the zx-14 recommendation is a great idea, I had a zx-11 back around 10 years ago and it was the perfect balance of big enough/comfortable for long hauls, and a big enough gas tank to cover a lot of miles.

I used to read a lot of stories this guy had, he did some crazy 6,000 mile ride in 8 days... insane, but awesome too.
The Motorcycle History of the Pashnit.com Website | Pashnit.com

I would always get bored with a cetain type, I would have a bullet bike and then I would realize I wasn't 25 anymore and switch to a cruiser (vulcan 1500) then after a few years I missed the speed of the bullet bikes... the zx-11 was the best of both worlds.. you could tuck down and zoom-zoom or sit "normal" and ride for hours. Of course like a dummy I sold it!!!


good luck finding your bike

 

[sdg97232]

I dont own one, but a friend of mine does. He rides it everyday that there isnt snow or ice on the ground. actually doesnt even own a car for himself (his wife and daughter have cars that he can use in a pinch)

Well that says something about the bike if he doesnt fell the need to buy a car lol, thanks for the info!

 

[sdg97232]

the zx-14 recommendation is a great idea, I had a zx-11 back around 10 years ago and it was the perfect balance of big enough/comfortable for long hauls, and a big enough gas tank to cover a lot of miles.

I used to read a lot of stories this guy had, he did some crazy 6,000 mile ride in 8 days... insane, but awesome too.
The Motorcycle History of the Pashnit.com Website | Pashnit.com

I would always get bored with a cetain type, I would have a bullet bike and then I would realize I wasn't 25 anymore and switch to a cruiser (vulcan 1500) then after a few years I missed the speed of the bullet bikes... the zx-11 was the best of both worlds.. you could tuck down and zoom-zoom or sit "normal" and ride for hours. Of course like a dummy I sold it!!!


good luck finding your bike

Yeah I'm for sure going to check out the zx, but the heated grips and adjustable windscreen on the conni sure seem like nice options to have for long rides!!!

 

[king nothing]

Well that says something about the bike if he doesnt fell the need to buy a car lol, thanks for the info!

Yep, And we live in Illinois. He has heated handgrips and some other cold weather comfort stuff