Kawasaki GTR1400 - Son of Concours

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... BD would more than DOUBLE his current odometer readings just getting to and from Nevada... much less the mileage required to complete the event itself!
Oh the horror!! ;)

You guys act like I WANT it this way!

Hey, do you have any endurance events for sitting in the garage and staring at your bike?

-BD

 
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You guys act like I WANT it this way!
Here's one to think over- You're a volunteer, not a victim. Either you do want it that way or you're codependent, which I believe all successfully married men have to be to some extent.
Of course, there's an exception to every rule, and he'll be along to post up soon.

It's better to regret something you have done, than to sit in the garage and stare at your bike.

On the bright side- Your FJR AND your Concours will have good resale value with that extremely low mileage.
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This was posted over on a GTR site today, with no attribution to it's actual true origin (yet):

c14dyno.jpg


This would be killer if accurate, but without knowing the original source, it's kinda hard to put much credibility to it at the moment. Unless the source (actual folks who made the dyno run) can be verified as credible (or credible enough), it's sorta hard to think of this as little more than another internet rumor. Anyone can create a graph and type in DynoJet, etc, etc.....

Still, the graph looks intriguing, doesn't it?

Though 113 ft-lbs of torque isn't going to help the bike's rear treadlife.... :lol:

 
Anyone can create a graph and type in DynoJet, etc, etc.....
They sure can and this one looks like it was made up. The HP and torque curves should intersect at 5252 rpms (which they don't) and if you calculate the HP at the higher rpms (based on the torque curve) it seems to be understated (torque times rpms divided by 5252 equals HP).

 
I was in a Kawi/Honda shop yesterday and they also had a brochere on it but literally, like most other dealers, knew nothing except what was on the brochere. They had no clue as to the competition, FJR, ST etc either.

 
When's Kawi gonna put this bike on their site?
It's been on the Kawasaki USA site for a number of days now: Kawasaki.com: 2008 GTR1400

Kawasaki USA marketeers are fucksticks.... I can't bring myself to acknowledge any "Connie" reference to it.... :glare:

To the rest of the entire world, it's called the GTR1400....

 
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The more I look at this bike (it is growing on me), the more I think I have found my next solo rider M/C. Not the first year release though, need to make sure this thing is bullet proof first. :dribble:

I do like the standard 3 year warranty (no mention on mileage coverage), but still waiting for some of the other specs to surface. I do remember the ZX14 at the bike show last year being very long though and hope the seat to bar reach has been greatly improved.(to fit me at least) The seat does look like frequent visits to the gas tank will be common. :D The aftermarket seat companies will make a killing off this bike.

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You KNOW the bike magazines are salivating to do comparos between the K1200S, ST1300, FJR 1300 and the GTR 1400.

Let the games begin! :yahoo:

Until then, I will enjoy the heck out of my FJR. Ergos that suit me just fine, goes faster and quicker than I will ride it and handles more than adequately for my style of riding. As much as I like what I see, I hate to think about another round of learning a new bike and all the farkles that must be added.

Then again, before my FJR, I loved my Connie. If this GTR is a Connie on steroids....... :dribble:

"The new Concours™ 14 and Concours 14 ABS combine breathtaking engine performance, impeccable handling and a comfortable riding position with clean, convenient shaft drive, locking hard luggage, an electrically adjustable windscreen and a host of other features to create the most impressive long-distance, high-speed machine on the market today."

The rest of the world calls the ST1300 a "Pan American". There are other iterations of bikes named differently than here in the USA. No big deal. I'm supposing this is to mollify the current COG members and prepare them for the demise/discontinuance of that platform (Though its been a heckuva run!).

Ain't life interestin'? :unsure:

 
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My question is....does this mean Suzuki will step up to the plate with a busa like sport tourer?....then maybe Honda?.....then of course Yamaha would have to answer.....the people I see that could benifit here is US....bring on the competiton :D ....

 
It seems that Honda opened the eyes of the other manufacturers with the introduction of the ST1300. Yamaha trumped them by releasing the FJR1300, concerning a purpose designed, powerful and semi-agile Sports Tourer. Aprillia and Ducati have too narrow a niche to affect the larger market. Kawi had the ancient designed Connie, Honda had the ST1100. Both are competent machines within the bounds of their designs.

Now the war is enjoined. Yamaha decided to go "heavier", Honda is supposedly redesigning the ST1300 and Kawasaki is introducing the GTR1400. I doubt Suzuki will get into this fray as they never have before, though I'd like to be surprised. Its a great time to be a Sports-Touring customer who wants comfort for an aging physique and "yee-freakin'-haw" performance.

Hurray for us! :yahoo:

 
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I can still ride far and fast during the day. Night-time riding, OTOH, is another issue altogether. Even with the new 50-watt PHIDs, the best I can do at night is *maybe* the speed limit; and frequently, not even that.
Ahhh, it's all coming together now.

That just means you _need_ that Kawi to ride that _much_ faster during the day to make up for what you lack during the night.
Heh... no, not really.

The Blackbird has been my primary LD platform since 2002 (with one noble attempt to make the FJR the LD bike in 2004, with unfortunate results). I immediately went back to the XX for all my Endurance work.

The big, massive Cow GTR1400, like the FJR, is not going to hang with the Blackbird in any performance category, including top speed. Especially top speed.

If it did... if it was actually capable of 170+ mph runs... then I'd unload all three of my current bikes to score it. B)

But I'm thinking all three bikes are pretty much safe from that fate..... :lol: The FJR/GTR may have more cc's, but they don't have the aerodynamics to make 170+ speeds.

The ZX-14, the ZX-12R, the Heavy Bus... sure, these bikes will hang with (and surpass) the Blackbird in outright speed runs.

But no sport-touring bagger will..... no way, no how. ;) B)
Aawww! Makes me wish I had kept the ST when I had the chance, but I got tired literally of wrestling the 720lb wet PIG around and just couldn't quite bring myself to go naked.

This was taken at Deals Gap recently. Anyone crazy enough to strip one down this far is probably just crazy enough to see how fast she'll go. Those 1300s would handle better than they should even fully clothed. Just lacked some HP vs the XX. Now, heavily modded, who only knows. Maybe more rider vs. rider capabilities or who's kraziest!

https://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=3587431

 
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Just to clarify.

Hond VTEC as applied to the VFR is not VVT. One pair of valves in each cylinder is disabled until the switch point. Then all four valves in each cylinder work. The valve timing never changes. The reason for the expensive valve adjustment is that the actuation is hydraulic. That means than when checking the valves with the engine off (no oil pressure), you have to remove a cam, insert a special tool that connects the VTEC valve, reinstall the cam, check the clearnance, remove and reapeat for each VTEC valve. Very time consuming. It is not a hydraulic lifter, it is a hydraulically actuated hard link. When its disengaged, the valve stem is not pushed by the cam. When it is engaged, the valve stem is pushed by the cam. So its not VVT as in many modern auto engines. Don't know about the 14. Real VVT in a motorcycle engine seems overkill to me but so is VTEC.

 
How many times have you suited up to leave and realised the key is in your inside pocket or somewhere else not readily handy? Not an issue any more it seems?

"Features include KI-PASS (Kawasaki’s Intelligent Proximity Activation Start System), the first “smart” key ignition system in its class.

Tire pressure sensors are a nice touch as well. :dribble:

They are also quoting "Most powerful production sport tourer" so does this mean that it will be more than the 152hp BMW?

This image pretty much sums up what this bike is designed to be used for. Small in-town trips for groceries, though I don't know why they left the front shopping basket out of the photo's. :unsure:

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