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I have been a sportbike rider for the past 18 years. I have owned 2 yamahas, 2 hondas, and one suzuki. About 5 years ago at age 36 i could see the end of all of my sportbiking coming to an end. I could feel my body giving me the signs that being all tied up on a sportbike for an extended time was starting to have consequences. it was at that time that i started looking at the sport-touring realm of our sport/hobby. My first views were of a VFR-nice enough, but just an F3 with a better engine. The ST1300 came to mind, but the dash looks like a Civic. Then a BMW-waaaayy too expensive for my tastes. Then the Yam FJR came out and showed what i thought was a great transition for me. And then in 2008 it happened. Kawasaki made a supersport tourer with a true sportbike's heart. I loved the looks of the bike with or without the bags. That ZX14 engine couldnt be denied. And the windscreen didnt look like a bubble. My only problem, cost. So my plan went into affect; give it a few years, pay down some debt (all of it basically) and come back and get one.
Then Kawasaki changed the bike. All of the new electronic gizmos are great, but that new fairing-not my taste at all. its a little big for me. Its not a sportbike anymore. but that's why the USED market is there. So i have taken possession of a very clean 2009 C14 with 10K on the clock. I bought it from a military man, who, by thier very nature, are meticulous about maintenance schedules. It is truely the bike of my dreams, and hopefully the last big ticket purchase i plan on making.
I still own a little 1st generation Yam-R6 to enjoy my trackdays with and to get out any aggression. But now i have what my father has called a "true adult motorcycle" in my black C14. Enjoy a 300 mile loop out to the West Va. Mountains on a saturday morning-no problem. Take the spouse up for a ride and enjoy lunch at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore-lets hit it. take one of the kids on a quick jaunt up to see the grandparents-lets go.
I truely plan on taking this bike from now (42yrs old) deep into my 60s until i cant ride anymore.
Because i have only ridden 600s for all these years, i plan on leaving this bike stock for the first year to get a true sense of its character. then i will make whatever changes i feel are needed. the windscreen issue isnt an issue at all to me coming off of sportbikes. the heat is there, but i'll live and be thankful for it when i am riding in Oct and Nov.
If anyone has any suggestions for me, let them fly. this is my first sport tourer so my learning curve is steep.
Patrick L
Ft. Washington, Md.
09-Concours 14 (street)
01-YZF-R6 (track)
I have been a sportbike rider for the past 18 years. I have owned 2 yamahas, 2 hondas, and one suzuki. About 5 years ago at age 36 i could see the end of all of my sportbiking coming to an end. I could feel my body giving me the signs that being all tied up on a sportbike for an extended time was starting to have consequences. it was at that time that i started looking at the sport-touring realm of our sport/hobby. My first views were of a VFR-nice enough, but just an F3 with a better engine. The ST1300 came to mind, but the dash looks like a Civic. Then a BMW-waaaayy too expensive for my tastes. Then the Yam FJR came out and showed what i thought was a great transition for me. And then in 2008 it happened. Kawasaki made a supersport tourer with a true sportbike's heart. I loved the looks of the bike with or without the bags. That ZX14 engine couldnt be denied. And the windscreen didnt look like a bubble. My only problem, cost. So my plan went into affect; give it a few years, pay down some debt (all of it basically) and come back and get one.
Then Kawasaki changed the bike. All of the new electronic gizmos are great, but that new fairing-not my taste at all. its a little big for me. Its not a sportbike anymore. but that's why the USED market is there. So i have taken possession of a very clean 2009 C14 with 10K on the clock. I bought it from a military man, who, by thier very nature, are meticulous about maintenance schedules. It is truely the bike of my dreams, and hopefully the last big ticket purchase i plan on making.
I still own a little 1st generation Yam-R6 to enjoy my trackdays with and to get out any aggression. But now i have what my father has called a "true adult motorcycle" in my black C14. Enjoy a 300 mile loop out to the West Va. Mountains on a saturday morning-no problem. Take the spouse up for a ride and enjoy lunch at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore-lets hit it. take one of the kids on a quick jaunt up to see the grandparents-lets go.
I truely plan on taking this bike from now (42yrs old) deep into my 60s until i cant ride anymore.
Because i have only ridden 600s for all these years, i plan on leaving this bike stock for the first year to get a true sense of its character. then i will make whatever changes i feel are needed. the windscreen issue isnt an issue at all to me coming off of sportbikes. the heat is there, but i'll live and be thankful for it when i am riding in Oct and Nov.
If anyone has any suggestions for me, let them fly. this is my first sport tourer so my learning curve is steep.
Patrick L
Ft. Washington, Md.
09-Concours 14 (street)
01-YZF-R6 (track)
