Ssky0078
Wizard
Now for the Kawasaki section
2013 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 ABS MSRP $12,099, 1,043 cc inline 4 with 6 speed chain drive
After my morning fun I headed over to Kawasaki's tent and found out they would only have 1 rider per person but I could wait around standby. So I did and there were 2 Ninja 1000's in the first group to leave when I got over there. I got permission and hopped on the bike.
First Impression: I liked the feel of the bike at first, the weird clip on/handlebar thing that Kawi has going on was a good height for me, very comfortable, the seat was comparable to my stock Fz1 seat and the rearsets were in a good position. I'm not a huge fan of the look of the bike because it is just something about it that doesn't draw me in. The instrument cluster was decent (tach on left, digital speedo on right) but backwards from the Fz1 (tach on right, digital speedo on left) and this kept throwing me off a little bit.
Ride Report: The low end on the Ninja 1000 is awesome. So much so that pulling away from a light after taking a right turn and getting on the throttle a little hard the front wheel came up on me (I got GoPro footage). Instead of having the Fz1 up over 6000 RPMs (which is around 50 mph) to really get into the torque curve the Ninja 1000 started around 3000 RPMs. After scaring myself with a wheelie I really just went into cruise mode because I didn't want to get kicked off the bike. Even in cruise mode the bike was very comfortable, maybe even slightly more comfortable than my Fz1 but that could be due to the full fairing providing the wind protection that my naked version does not have.
In summary: The Ninja 1000 would be a great 2nd bike for an intermediate rider. The engine has some balls and if you are not familiar with power like that (like me) then you could get yourself into some trouble. The throttle response was so smooth so it could lead to some good confidence building as a riders skill set grows.
2013 Kawasak Vulcan 1700 Vacquero MSRP $17,149, 1700 cc V-Twin with Belt drive
First Impression: I would never have ridden this bike if it wasn't that I was wasting time. The bike is HUGE, I mean 835 pounds HUGE. The Vacquero is basically the size of 2 sport bikes. It has a big fairing including a sound system and comms integrated. I like the flat black paint and very subtle chrome accents. Sitting on the bike it is like a recliner. Unlike the Yamaha Raider from the day before with a low seat height and high handlebars, the Vacquero had a neutral handlebar height about shoulder height. The floor/foot board were different for me and it took a little getting used to.
Ride Report: The bike was a decent ride for only being the second cruiser I have been on. I thought the shifting was a little clunky and not as smooth as I would have liked. The handling was decent and I was even able to scrape a floor board taking a right turn. I totally understand why you see the cruiser bikes swing wide on turns now. I eventually found myself leaning back as far as I could arms straight in front of me hanging on, "easy rider" style. The V-twin had plenty of grunt to it, and the Vacquero's exhaust was actually one of the best I heard all weekend. I liked to keep the RPMs in the middle of the 7000 RPM power band. Below 2000 RPM and it was really sluggish and above 5500-6000 RPM you could tell the power curve dropped off.
In summary: I thought it was a fun ride for a behemoth. The engine gave enough to barely feel like you were riding and not just pushing around a honda civic. Maybe when I'm 50 I'll consider a bike like that.
Kawasaki Concourse 14 ABS MSRP $16,199, 1,352 inline 4 with 6 speed shaft drive
First Impression: I initially did not like the look of the "Connie" It looks like a good bike but I'm just a Yamaha guy at this point and like the FJR looks more. I think it's the giant slit openings in the side of the fairing that just make me think of a 90s Mitsubishi 3000GT, looks fast but really is just a heavy beast instead. I specifically came back for this last day to ride the "Connie" because of the comment from BDazzler about the comparison between the FJR and the Concourse. When you go to start the bike it has the weird firing process where you have to push the key in and it clicks before you can turn it. I guess it is a form of anti-theft system in case you leave your key in the bike I heard a demo guy tell another rider. I was thinking to myself "WTF, my stop routine is always the same, engine kill, kick stand down, key off and in coin pocket in my jeans or zipped in my riding pants pocket as I get off the bike." So the overuse of technology didn't stop there.
Ride Report: I probably had my worst ride out of all the bikes on the Concourse. At first it was kind of fun and I could feel the power that BDazzler mentioned, but then I noticed if you kept the RPMS over 3500 then it got this annoying vibration similar to the Ninja 300 and ZX6R. Throttle response wasn't very confidence inspiring below 3500 so it was a situation of either deal with the vibration or feel a little sluggish. Then during the ride I had issues with the braking system the WHOLE EFFIN TIME. The K-ACT ABS (Kawasaki - Advanced Coactive-braking Technology ABS) as it's called was just terrible. If I applied the front brake and even just rested my foot on the rear brake all of a sudden the ABS would kick in. Then I'm getting this hard braking nose dive situation coming up on corners and lights. It was borderline unsafe. If I just attempted to use the front it would also have this weird like "break" point where if just an ounce too much pressure applied it kicked on the ABS. The only thing I did like about the bike was the adjustable windshield and the wind protection. But, it was a stark contrast to how smooth the 2013 FJR1300A was, and the FJR came with cruise control and traction control and co-active braking that actually worked.
In summary: I brought the braking issue up to one of the sales/demo guys and he said that another rider had brought up the issue the day before. He said what needed to be done was that someone would need to go high speed like 100 on the freeway and then jam on the brakes to basically reset the system and or get anything out of the "pucks" (I don't know what that is) that may be stuck in there.
2013 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 ABS MSRP $12,099, 1,043 cc inline 4 with 6 speed chain drive
After my morning fun I headed over to Kawasaki's tent and found out they would only have 1 rider per person but I could wait around standby. So I did and there were 2 Ninja 1000's in the first group to leave when I got over there. I got permission and hopped on the bike.
First Impression: I liked the feel of the bike at first, the weird clip on/handlebar thing that Kawi has going on was a good height for me, very comfortable, the seat was comparable to my stock Fz1 seat and the rearsets were in a good position. I'm not a huge fan of the look of the bike because it is just something about it that doesn't draw me in. The instrument cluster was decent (tach on left, digital speedo on right) but backwards from the Fz1 (tach on right, digital speedo on left) and this kept throwing me off a little bit.
Ride Report: The low end on the Ninja 1000 is awesome. So much so that pulling away from a light after taking a right turn and getting on the throttle a little hard the front wheel came up on me (I got GoPro footage). Instead of having the Fz1 up over 6000 RPMs (which is around 50 mph) to really get into the torque curve the Ninja 1000 started around 3000 RPMs. After scaring myself with a wheelie I really just went into cruise mode because I didn't want to get kicked off the bike. Even in cruise mode the bike was very comfortable, maybe even slightly more comfortable than my Fz1 but that could be due to the full fairing providing the wind protection that my naked version does not have.
In summary: The Ninja 1000 would be a great 2nd bike for an intermediate rider. The engine has some balls and if you are not familiar with power like that (like me) then you could get yourself into some trouble. The throttle response was so smooth so it could lead to some good confidence building as a riders skill set grows.
2013 Kawasak Vulcan 1700 Vacquero MSRP $17,149, 1700 cc V-Twin with Belt drive
First Impression: I would never have ridden this bike if it wasn't that I was wasting time. The bike is HUGE, I mean 835 pounds HUGE. The Vacquero is basically the size of 2 sport bikes. It has a big fairing including a sound system and comms integrated. I like the flat black paint and very subtle chrome accents. Sitting on the bike it is like a recliner. Unlike the Yamaha Raider from the day before with a low seat height and high handlebars, the Vacquero had a neutral handlebar height about shoulder height. The floor/foot board were different for me and it took a little getting used to.
Ride Report: The bike was a decent ride for only being the second cruiser I have been on. I thought the shifting was a little clunky and not as smooth as I would have liked. The handling was decent and I was even able to scrape a floor board taking a right turn. I totally understand why you see the cruiser bikes swing wide on turns now. I eventually found myself leaning back as far as I could arms straight in front of me hanging on, "easy rider" style. The V-twin had plenty of grunt to it, and the Vacquero's exhaust was actually one of the best I heard all weekend. I liked to keep the RPMs in the middle of the 7000 RPM power band. Below 2000 RPM and it was really sluggish and above 5500-6000 RPM you could tell the power curve dropped off.
In summary: I thought it was a fun ride for a behemoth. The engine gave enough to barely feel like you were riding and not just pushing around a honda civic. Maybe when I'm 50 I'll consider a bike like that.
Kawasaki Concourse 14 ABS MSRP $16,199, 1,352 inline 4 with 6 speed shaft drive
First Impression: I initially did not like the look of the "Connie" It looks like a good bike but I'm just a Yamaha guy at this point and like the FJR looks more. I think it's the giant slit openings in the side of the fairing that just make me think of a 90s Mitsubishi 3000GT, looks fast but really is just a heavy beast instead. I specifically came back for this last day to ride the "Connie" because of the comment from BDazzler about the comparison between the FJR and the Concourse. When you go to start the bike it has the weird firing process where you have to push the key in and it clicks before you can turn it. I guess it is a form of anti-theft system in case you leave your key in the bike I heard a demo guy tell another rider. I was thinking to myself "WTF, my stop routine is always the same, engine kill, kick stand down, key off and in coin pocket in my jeans or zipped in my riding pants pocket as I get off the bike." So the overuse of technology didn't stop there.
Ride Report: I probably had my worst ride out of all the bikes on the Concourse. At first it was kind of fun and I could feel the power that BDazzler mentioned, but then I noticed if you kept the RPMS over 3500 then it got this annoying vibration similar to the Ninja 300 and ZX6R. Throttle response wasn't very confidence inspiring below 3500 so it was a situation of either deal with the vibration or feel a little sluggish. Then during the ride I had issues with the braking system the WHOLE EFFIN TIME. The K-ACT ABS (Kawasaki - Advanced Coactive-braking Technology ABS) as it's called was just terrible. If I applied the front brake and even just rested my foot on the rear brake all of a sudden the ABS would kick in. Then I'm getting this hard braking nose dive situation coming up on corners and lights. It was borderline unsafe. If I just attempted to use the front it would also have this weird like "break" point where if just an ounce too much pressure applied it kicked on the ABS. The only thing I did like about the bike was the adjustable windshield and the wind protection. But, it was a stark contrast to how smooth the 2013 FJR1300A was, and the FJR came with cruise control and traction control and co-active braking that actually worked.
In summary: I brought the braking issue up to one of the sales/demo guys and he said that another rider had brought up the issue the day before. He said what needed to be done was that someone would need to go high speed like 100 on the freeway and then jam on the brakes to basically reset the system and or get anything out of the "pucks" (I don't know what that is) that may be stuck in there.
You know I'll be on that first chance I get (even though I don't like that dealer).