Rode my friend's C14

[ponyfool]

After NAFO, I went south through the desert, over to the Cali coast, then up to Red Bluff where a friend of from Portland rode down on his new Kawasaki Concours 14.

His has been modified a bit in that the "inner butterflies"? have been removed, he has a PCIII and a Two Brothers Slip on.

We swapped bikes for a stretch and I have a few observations I'd like to share.

First off, is all of the comments about the bike being butter smooth are dead on accurate. It was amazingly smooth. Enough about that.

Secondly, 6th gear. Say what you want about the FJR not having or not needing a 6th gear, but I want one now more than ever. Just having the bike purr at 100mph instead of whine makes all the difference. Additionally, we stayed neck and neck during our entire ride, passing at the same time, cruising at the same time, and twisties at comparable speeds as well, yet when we went to fill up our tanks, he consistently needed 1/2 to a full gallon less gas than I did. That may not seem like much, but here's how it broke down: Approximately 175 miles between tanks. He would require only 4.166 gallons, roughly 42mpg average. I would require 5.1 gallons, or roughly 34mpg. That difference alone makes the range of the smaller tanked C14 roughly equal the range of the larger tanked FJR. Maybe if I had a PCIII and slip ons my fuel economy would increase. And I'm not talking about displayed fuel economy, I'm talking about real time, mileage vs gallons used.

Thirdly, while seats are subjective, and most people are never truly satisfied with stock seats, the C14's is more like a Corbin than the FJR's. It is hard, wide, and somewhat comfortable after a few miles (it was very awkward when I first got on it). Having said that, I actually really like the stock FJR seat, and am comfortable with it, even on long trips.

Fourthly, the dash layout was very disappointing to me. Granted, this is a subjective issue as well, but the entire cockpit area of the C14 was not nearly as refined as the FJR's. Also, the entire dash was lower than the FJR's, which I didn't like either.

Finally, we thought we didn't have much room for stuff on the FJR? The C14 offers NO space under the seat. While they have more room under the fairing for things, there is little to no usable space on the C14.

It is a very respectable bike. And while I am not a brand specific kinda guy, I simply like my FJR better. Maybe it's because I'm just more used to it? I don't know.

 

[Big-D]

It seems to me that an average of only 34 mpg on your FJR is low. I recently returned from a visit to Los Angeles to visit a friend where the total round-trip miles were a little over 600 and I averaged between 40-42mpg and I was running 80-90 mph most of the time with some short bursts into the triple digits. I figure my mpg by calculator, not by the gauge on the speedometer.

While riding the Connie, did you notice the excessive heat coming from behind the right side panel?

 

[ponyfool]

We were rarely under 90, except in the twisties.

 

[nitelife]

I put over 400 miles on one in a day and loved it, except for the heat cooking my left leg. The radiator fan stayed on most of the time during my 2nd and 3rd gear sweepers. Did you not have this heat issue?

 

[Warchild]

We were rarely under 90, except in the twisties.

[SIZE=36pt]LAWBREAKER!!!!!!!!!!!![/SIZE]

 

[MCRIDER007]

yet when we went to fill up our tanks, he consistently needed 1/2 to a full gallon less gas than I did.

My C14 mileage experience is just the opposite, when riding my C14 with an FJR, the FJR always got the best mileage, usually about 10-12 percent better than the C14....and while I love the feel of the very relaxed engine when using the 6th gear overdrive, I have not been able to see any improvement in gas mileage as a result of using that gear.

 

[SPORT]

yet when we went to fill up our tanks, he consistently needed 1/2 to a full gallon less gas than I did.

My C14 mileage experience is just the opposite, when riding my C14 with an FJR, the FJR always got the best mileage, usually about 10-12 percent better than the C14....and while I love the feel of the very relaxed engine when using the 6th gear overdrive, I have not been able to see any improvement in gas mileage as a result of using that gear.

I agree. Last June a C-14 and my '05 FJR did nearly 1,400 miles. He consistantly needed more frequent fueling and required more gas than I during each fill-up.

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

34 mpg? Damn, I get 46-47 mpg on my '03!

 

[Wicked Webby]

Pony,

Might want to get the mpg facts checked on the C14 again. My good friend from the C14 forum gets worse mileage with his C14 even comparing 6th to our 5th. His bike is highly tuned as is mine. He is not very happy with the bikes poor range..For him, usually around 170 miles.

I agree that the C14 is a nice ride. The lack of underseat area is pretty crappy.

WW

 

[caryt]

I have adv 47 mpg since new...

 

[ponyfool]

Pony,
Might want to get the mpg facts checked on the C14 again. My good friend from the C14 forum gets worse mileage with his C14 even comparing 6th to our 5th. His bike is highly tuned as is mine. He is not very happy with the bikes poor range..For him, usually around 170 miles.

I agree that the C14 is a nice ride. The lack of underseat area is pretty crappy.

WW

Mileage was calculated by us being side by side at the pump and seeing each other's fuel purchases. Mileage ridden divided by gallons pumped. At every gas station, he pumped less gas than I did. Granted, I weigh a solid 100 lbs more than him, and my bike was fully loaded, but it was a huge difference.

All you guys getting upper 40's etc and even into the 50's, all I can say is, what did you do to get that? Or, am I just a fat bastard with webbed arms and legs that causes the coefficient of friction with the air to be dramatically increased comparatively?

 

[SockMonkey]

All you guys getting upper 40's etc and even into the 50's, all I can say is, what did you do to get that? Or, am I just a fat bastard with webbed arms and legs that causes the coefficient of friction with the air to be dramatically increased comparatively?

No, even with your weight "advantage" (like how I spun that to a positive..? ) the mileage you're getting on your bike doesn't make sense. Even for as agressive as we were riding out to Golden (and certainly on the way home, eh Taff?), I averaged 42.5 mpg (must be those FZ1 mirrors...). Plugs..? Injectors..? Hard to say, but your bike never sounded like it was "off" in any way (particularly when you, ehem, stretched the 'ol gal's legs a bit on that stretch out in Western Colorado...).

Regarding the C14, it was a serious contender when I was bike shopping last year. The 2 things that kept me from buying it were 1) that fugly exhaust (which I know I could have replaced), and 2) no dealer was willing to cut a deal on one then.

 

[cadman]

We swapped bikes for a stretch and I have a few observations I'd like to share.

ponyfool,

Thanks for the ride report!! I would swap my FJR for a few miles to try out the C14.

How about you get your buddies impressions of the swap. I'd like to read what his thoughts were.

cadman

 

[mmonroe]

We were rarely under 90, except in the twisties.

[SIZE=36pt]LAWBREAKER!!!!!!!!!!!![/SIZE]

I'm sure he meant kilometers-per-hour... He is probably Canadian.

On a side note, I consistently get a measured 45-50mpg on my FJR, even with spirited riding with higher speeds and twistys.



Mark

 

[FJRBluesman]

We were rarely under 90, except in the twisties.

[SIZE=36pt]LAWBREAKER!!!!!!!!!!!![/SIZE]

Well thank you Mr. Busa. Or Mr. Oh, I wore out a tire in a few hundred miles on the 1088... doing the speed limit. I know without pix...

 

[radman]

Yeah, Frank gets what I consider shit mileage, a PCIII, Barbed, the whole shebang, but even wailin on 'im, he still gets 37-38. 34, sumpin ain't right. Sure you're sucking on the hydrator hose?

 

[Thumperbike]

Pony,
Might want to get the mpg facts checked on the C14 again. My good friend from the C14 forum gets worse mileage with his C14 even comparing 6th to our 5th. His bike is highly tuned as is mine. He is not very happy with the bikes poor range..For him, usually around 170 miles.

I agree that the C14 is a nice ride. The lack of underseat area is pretty crappy.

WW

Mileage was calculated by us being side by side at the pump and seeing each other's fuel purchases. Mileage ridden divided by gallons pumped. At every gas station, he pumped less gas than I did. Granted, I weigh a solid 100 lbs more than him, and my bike was fully loaded, but it was a huge difference.

All you guys getting upper 40's etc and even into the 50's, all I can say is, what did you do to get that? Or, am I just a fat bastard with webbed arms and legs that causes the coefficient of friction with the air to be dramatically increased comparatively?

Maybe you put that transmission together wrong.

 

[Wicked Webby]

Well Pony,

I never get that great of mpg when I ride anything either!! I think the weight can matter, how much... I don't know. Mainly the wrist. I have seen an big difference with fuels.. Up by North here in MN I can get the Non-oxy fuel with no ethanol.. I literary get drastically better mpg's with it over the standard MN 10% mix.

WW

 

[nsrrider]

We swapped bikes for a stretch and I have a few observations I'd like to share.

ponyfool,

Thanks for the ride report!! I would swap my FJR for a few miles to try out the C14.

How about you get your buddies impressions of the swap. I'd like to read what his thoughts were.

cadman

Well, let me start with saying I've ridden a few FJR's, and find it a great bike worthy of the loyal following that it has. Let me provide a little background.....I'm 54 years old, been riding for over 40 years and have owned about 60 bikes (maybe a third were dirt bikes)......I'm not brand loyal but have owned mostly Japanese bikes and maybe a few more Honda's than anything else. Most have been performance oriented bikes (R-1's, RR's etc) I've done a little racing of different sorts. I just got the C14 and have about 2,200 miles on it. Based on the C14 forum (gotta love the internet!), I almost immediately modified the bike with a 2 Brothers slip-on, PCIII (loaded with the economy fuel map) and I removed the secondary intake butterfly valves. Based on dyno charts provided by other forum members, it should be producing in the range of 150 RWHP and 100 FTLBST.

In comparing the two bikes it would seem likely that Kawasaki engineers carefully studied the FJR and probably set it as the target to beat. Obviously they had the benefit of the newest technologies in developing the C14. In the critical and non-subjective areas of comparison, I guess I would have to say the C14 exceeds (if not substantially) the performance parameters of the venerable FJR. Engine output (not surprising since its a little bigger and newer) is noticeably greater on the C14. It is also noticeably smoother in its operation. The gearbox operation is smoother and more refined feeling and the addition of an overdrive 6th gear was a significant improvement. The MPG performance was a bit of a (pleasant) surprise but may be a fairly even performance between the bikes. The FJR's larger fuel cell is a definite plus. Both bikes handle reasonably well for their size, but the C14 has a fair amount more ground clearance than the FJR, a really important feature, if you value such things. Beyond the non subjective areas of comparison, both bike are very nice and each have some advantages. In the areas that matter to me, the C14 wins pretty handily in a head to head comparo. That said, I fully expect a "C14 beater" is already on the drawing board of Yamaha (or Honda or whoever).....it's the nature of the business.