Dreaming of Kawasaki Concours
Concours ZG1000 vs. Hayabusa & Ninja 250 - Lincoln Nebraska Motorcycles
Livecbradio.com Blog Page 3
Big Page with lots of Motorcycle Pics and Videos may Load Slowly
Please be Patient
1986 Concours FOR SALE !!! Lincoln Nebraska
Parking lot Racing How could all bikes compete when every bike is different? How could a full dressed Harley compete with an RZ350 on a course like this? Easy. Derive a mathematical formula to create a handicap for riders using a certain steering angle, turning radius, wheelbase, weight and other related factors. Example: A rider on a ninja 250 that could own a course like this would have a handicap compared to a huge GoldWing. Or simply have an expert rider pilot a wide range of bikes on the course and average the good runs with each machine to derive a fair handicap based on class of machine. This would make for some good racing. A woman on a Honda Rebel could easily have her shot at beating a bunch of guys riding 100+ horsepower superbikes. Can you just imagine how much fun that would be? I am not talking about some sissy course either. You would be seeing plenty of accidental wheelie's in the straights. And since the straights would be somewhat long, you would not have a team of scooter riders come along and own the course. Everyone no matter they ride would have a fair shot based on a fair and logical skill supported handicap. The guy or gal on the sportbike would have just as much edge as dirt bike champions showing up on CR250's. WOW, I am actually talking about it like it's going to happen. Such a shame this post is. Pure Fantasy. There has to be someone to blame since we can't have this. BLAME LIST: 1: The City of Lincoln and the Police. Studies show local government interaction in things like this have saved lives. There are plenty of cops in motorcycle forums on the net that admit openly to excessive speed in their off hours. God in all of his wisdom could not resist twisting the throttle on a motorcycle. That is a joke but probably not far from the truth. 2: Every Motorcycle Dealership in Lincoln Nebraska and anyone with the clout to organize such a thing. Is the insurance too much for events like this? We are not talking the Ace Cafe here. When the bikes fall over on this course you can be there to sell them OEM Parts. How much is insurance to let people ride around your parking lot at 45mph top speed? Cheap Motorcycle Gloves OK smart guy, where am I going to get some decent gloves for under ten bucks that look like they cost $75. Ancient Chinese Secret, "Handyman Gloves". Also called "mechanics gloves". They come in many styles. You don't want the loose fitting big work gloves, oh no. Several of them have that European strangler driving glove look to them. You want the gloves that have the leather in a stitch pattern on the fingers on both sides. Some of them are colored and sporty. Many of them look like actual motorcycle gloves. Like a good set of summer motorcycle gloves, handyman and mechanics gloves are designed to keep your hands cool while providing adequate protection. Several of these mechanics gloves are meant to look sporty due to the poularity of Nascar. Also called "Pit Gloves" They even have Skeleton Fingers. Motorcycle Picture Bike Show I was wrong about a couple details in my last posting. It was actually $5 to enter your bike and it was not the "Scott Grossman Ride". The Scott Grossman ride is coming up in the future. Trivial compared to how great this event was. The Hayabusa listed on this page Won Second Place Modified Sportbike. First place went to a stock looking Honda CBR with swingarm extensions. Best Bike was Awarded to a totally killer CBR 600 with Chrome swinger, triples, wheels and more. Everyone knows chrome on a sport bike is nasty, BUT, this bike was the true exception. The guy had the perfect combination going. Me and the guy with the Busa took one look at it knew it would win. It wasn't all tarted up like some sportbikes where they go wild with chrome. It looked well smart and deserved first place. Dude got his chrome done cheap at " genesplating.com. " By the way, Being the Hayabusa won second place, the Hayabusa is painted by "Precision Painting Lincoln Nebraska. I think. I will update this blog with the phone number/link to this painting service so you can all get professional quality paint and polish work here in Lincoln Nebraska for reasonable price. More about the show. There was two Concours 14. One of the Concours 14 rider was this charismatic older gent with something about "old fat bastards" above his license plate. Guy also owns a B-King. Besides the Concours on this page there was also another Concours 1000. Dark red or Maroon or Wine Color? It was a nice bike with tons of gadgets on it. It was getting more looks than my bike for what I seen. There was a ride after the show. Amazing it was. I estimate 70 bikes. Maybe more. Bikes stretched for 1/4 mile. Sunset ride. There were a few well competent Female pilots as well. One of them was a gal on a CBR with a pink helmet. Very classy and stylish. I could tell she was well smart at the controls. Very mild mannered but aggressive enough to display competence. There was also a gal on this jap cruiser that was keeping up with the big boys and their toys jumping on the highway. The best part of all this for me was this guy I met there. I was standing by the Concours and this guy asks me if this is my bike. He starts telling me "The only reason I am here is because of your Blog". I believe he was on a minty looking classic Suzuki GS650, black with gold trim. To say the eleast I was very flattered he was enjoying himself at an even that was advertised on this humble blog. Hayabusa Dan even brought up the post on this page about that article published in the newspaper. (below). The one about a local Harley motorcycle club leader that said imported bikes are all like disposable lighters. Anyone within earshot of this topic started saying how bs it was to make a statement like that. The Concours 14/B-King guy started going off about it. He said that one of these Harley clubs has member rules where, if you want to ride your Harley on a public ride with other bikes besides Harley, you have to get permission from the club. And if you do get permission from the club to ride with jap bikes, you have to lead them. Interesting. A bit of the old Harley vs. Jap bike banter is to be expected in any motorcycle atmosphere. To be honest I could care less. I seen a moped that was kool and of course a couple pocket bikes running around. The day I have too much pride to ride anything with wheels and an engine is the day should give up all mechanical things. Who cares who made it. Take it out and ride it like you stole it. And for the safe riders out there, who cares who made it, take it out and ride the wheels off of it. I can see one only wanting to support their own country's economy, but, that is not easy to do in today's world. Trade is trade. How can one really gripe about a brand name or where something is made when you drink $5000 dollars worth of Columbian coffee each year. The world is too big and complex and life is too short to worry about such things. Someone on a cheap Hyosung has just as much fun as the next person, although i would not be hog wild to support chinese trade. And finally, there was a 1988 GSXR there. It was minty. Super nice. Low mileage. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me. If I can get some shots from someone that remembered their camera I will post them up in the future. What a great time it was at the Lincoln Nebraska StarCityMotorsports sunday bike show and ride. It was nice to see the new Concours and get a close look at that Triumph 675. I also had the chance to sit on the B-King. Very strange feel to the position on that bike. It feels like the handlebars are very close to your belly while being in an upright seating position. It feels like you are sitting on a 70's 400cc cruiser with K&N drag bars. I am not complaining that is for sure, I just found it odd. Lincoln Nebraska Motorcycle Celebration & Bike Show If the Concours sells for for the asking price I will donate a couple hundred to the Scott Grossman fund. Scott lost his life not too long ago on his bike here in Lincoln Nebraska. My Mother called me the other day and made me aware of this. Turns out my old brother knew and rode with Scott. My Mother was also telling me that this now made three friends of my older brother that have lost their lives on bikes in a short time. All very experienced riders. It really makes one think but, I estimate none of these people would want you to stop enjoying yourselves. Riding a bike is a good indicator of someone with a passion for life. The sting of death is somewhat removed when it happens to someone doing what they truly enjoy. This by no means makes it any easier for Family, Friends and those in respect.
This page is getting too big. This may be the final entry. I am thinking strongly about selling the Concours and moving on. I really love this bike but she is not the one for me. Most of my riding is city 35-40 mph. I need a nimble high power city street bike. The Concours is way too fast for as big as it is. It does an indicated 135 without breathing hard in 5th. Going 70 down the highway feels like 35. If you have read this blog you know I am fond of 2 stroke street bikes, the Honda 599 and 250-400cc four stroke gray bikes. Give me a ZXR400. I need something fast and light instead of very fast and heavy like the Concours. The price I am asking for the Concours is negotiable. The price reflects the current inflation trend with motorcycle value. Even ratty 1980's 500cc japanese cruiser motorcycles are going for near 2 grand this year on ebay and craigslist. Bike sellers are taking advantage of the gas crunch. I am not out to exploit this fact but it is somewhat of a factor in my asking price. $2750 dollars or best offer. Insurance for this bike is $65 a year. You could jump on this bike as it sit and ride to any place in the country with confidence. Change the oils often and she's good for another 50K easy. Something goes wrong with the bike and the parts are free from the club or had on ebay for peanuts. What is wrong with this Concours? Nothing. it's only hang-up is the front tire is cupped a bit. You don't notice this till ya let go of the bars and pay close attention. The front tire's tread is good but there is some slight cupping on the tire on the left side. This is something you probably would not notice in the test ride it's so slight. After 1000 trouble free miles on this bike this is the only thing one could possibly call a flaw. This was me looking very hard to find something wrong with the bike. I can't find any other flaw to the thing. No bodges, rigs or bugs. It's like riding away on a new bike in every aspect of the machine until hundreds of miles later you notice the cupped front tire. Handles great. No speed wobbles or other handling issues. And most importantly NOTHING LEAKS! No oil leaks anywhere on the bike. Fork seals, brakes, tranny and coolant DO NOT leak even a drop. Ever. The two previous owners before me were heated garage touring only older gents. First owner was a Concours owner group fanatic that babied it with all the expensive oils and care. The second owner was near the same. He only used it on the highway when it wasn't in a heated garage being babied with constant maintenance and expensive Mobil 1 oils. You couldn't ask for 2 better previous owners. In the almost thousand miles I have been on the bike I have changed the oil twice, changed the gear oil, fork fluid and flushed and bled the coolant system. I usually put around100 miles on it every weekend riding out to Crete Nebraska and back to Lincoln. Brilliant ride. Other than that I usually just ride down to the corner shop or around town. Everywhere you go there is always someone wanting to chat you up about this bike. More than half the people say "Nice BMW". No dents or scratches in the tank. All electrics work perfectly. The bike always starts within the first half of a second every time. It starts so quickly every time I have never heard the starter crank over for longer than a fraction of a second. If it had a kick starter it would no doubt be an every time fist kick start. The bike comes with Owners Manual, Service Manuals on CD, the rare and expensive plastics that go on the back of the bike if the bags are taken off, Concours owner group application, factory toolkit pouch with all tools and factory kawasaki lock with spare keys. That I assume is everything that comes with the bike as new. Special thanks to the previous owner for their wonderful care. If you are interested in this bike, the pics and videos of it are all over this page. I live in Lincoln Nebraska of course. My email is livecbradio@hotmail.com $2750 o.b.o 40+ mpg May consider trade for sportbike or something interesting. I have often admired these low milage salvaged sportbikes with nothing wrong but broken plastics. It would be nice to have a reliable, rideable project with nothing but cosmetic damage. (no front end damage)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Nebraska Reflects Motorcycle Trends"- BAH! Hogwash! This "Wittstruck" gentleman says that foreign models are "They're pretty much a bic lighter". Meaning they are disposable. And then Wittstruck refers to these foreign models as "poorer quality motorcycles". Meaning this gentleman is saying all motorcycles built outside of the USA have poor build quality compared to Harley. Meaning, things break often and they don't last. Let's address these comments. Build Quality and Safety: When you buy a modern "crotch rocket" you are getting the same build quality as what the company puts on the race track. Same brakes, same frame, same wheels etc. When you buy an R1 for example, you have the actual race bike. It's the same race bike with all the functions added to make it street legal. You are using technology and "build quality" that has 50 plus years and billions of dollars of research and development put into it. There is no better build quality. There are no better brakes. There is no safer motorcycle. I've never heard of a Harley with ABS, it may exsist but I've never heard of it. Who is Safer, people on crotch rockets, or people that buy a Harley? Being an idiot on a motorcycle is not brand specific. I'll tell you what statistics say about who wrecks the most bikes and gets killed. Harley Riders! Why? Easy Logic and fact. Look it up. Sure we see allot of "squids" doing wheelies or riding too fast on crotch rockets killing themselves. No argument. The thing is, the MAJORITY of sportbike owners are experienced riders that have worked up the chain. They start on 250 ninjas until they are comfortable enough to handle a 600 for example. This is common. In the jap bike crowd they call these "learner bikes". These people are not killing themselves in record numbers. The people that are killing themselves in record numbers are NEW Harley Riders.
Points made. This is no offense to long time Harley Bikers. These new age first time Harley riders make real Harley bikers look bad. They are killing themselves in record numbers compared to people that ride "foreign bikes". Having a Harley used to be a Lone Wolf thing. The few the proud.. Now it's the many and unskilled. Next time your insurance goes up it's not because of some squid on a sport bike with flip flop and wife beater shirt. It will be because of the record number of Harley wanna bees smashing up these heavy expensive machines and themselves. It takes years to hone the skills that makes a good street rider that can survive. Now imagine putting a newbie on the road with a 1000 pound machine with 100 pounds of torque. It's a true recipe for disaster. Build quality is not an issue when the entire machine is been smashed to bits. And finally, this article in the newspaper says something about the need to educate motorists to look out for bikes. NO WAY! if you think they are educated enough to look out for you then you will let your guard down. There is no educating anyone with more than three wheels, period. Number one rule is ride like you are invisible to everyone. Rule number 2 is to ride like everyone is out to kill you at any instant. Without riding this way you are dead. These new harley riders do not have a clue and this is why they are dead and will continue to butcher themselves at the hand of someone in a mini van, on a cell phone, turning left in front of you. When your bike weighs 900+ lbs. this is 10 times more important. New Harley riders are oblivious and over confident. We are speaking about majority/minority statistics here. Look it up. Have you ever been looking for your keys and can't find them, but they are right in front of your face. We all have done this. We are creatures of habbit. You can't educated a creature of habbit easilly. By this human principle now consider cars vs. motorcycles. They always say "I didn't see them officer". This is why. Motorists are in their creatures of habbit mode. They have not programmed themselves to look for you. They pull right out in front of you the same way you can't find your car keys and they are on the desk in front of you. It's the way our minds work. All the money into education is not going to be able to change this mindset. It's every man/woman for themselves on a street bike. People will run you over from behind because the keys, I mean the motorcycle is right in front of them. Ever see those people that run a red light because the green arrow comes on for the left lane? The creature of habbit thing took over. Now imagine if you are in front at the intersection and the car behind you sees the green arrow in the corner of their mind while changing a cd. They pull forward and run you over. Even parked at a stoplight with a car behind you are in grave danger constantly. You have to have one eye on that rear view mirror at the light, bike in gear with an escape route ready that you plotted when you pulled up to the light. In order to survive on the streets you better have the skills to ride a full dressed Harley like a dirt bike. I wonder if Harley makes their own ignitions systems, plug wires, regulators, rectifiers and other electronics. Starter Motor? Having pride in something is one thing but one has to be a little realistic. It all boils down to rider skill and preference. Don't buy a certain brand because you think it is what you want. The best choice of bike would be the one fit for your riding environment and skill level. Brand worship can kill you. Note: This blog entry was written at the request of the guy that owns the Hayabusa featured on this web page. Despite being upset about what was said in this article he is thinking about a second bike. A Harley Davidson Night Train. The comment about foriegn bikes being compared to "bic lighters" was what set him off and inspired this entry, Actually he told me to use his name and say "tell em I said Harleys are nothing but turd bucket tractors". He has ridden allot of Harleys. Harley police bike and others. V Max etc... He has truly ridden them all. Before buying the Busa he had three Suzuki GT750's. He thinks people put too much stock in what you ride as opposed to how you ride. I agree. I also agree there are some pretty stuck up sport bike riders out there. People that completely close themselves off to the experience to Harley. Reminds me of a long time ago when people used to argue which was better, Ford. Mopar or Chevy. The discussion caused fights, literally. You don't hear that any more. People got wise to the futility of the discussion. Now if you think being an idiot on a bike is brand / type specific, you better watch the vid below. And now a short story I heard last week. "I raced a Harley the other day. I would get close in a turn, but he would power away on the straights. I finally overtook him when the road turned to a series of turns. I never pedaled so hard in my life. " UPDATE: Correction: After reading an extensive study on motorcycle braking, it shows braking times are not longer with bigger bikes. In the study they compared a Honda Sport Bike with a 800 pound cruiser model. After more than 250 emergency stops on a closed course with much scientific monitoring equipment, there was no significant difference in braking distance between the two. Very Interesting. This is where I was wrong when I stated above that bigger bikes use a longer distance to stop in emergency braking situations. Turns out control is a bigger factor on the larger machine than actual distance and stop time. I stand corrected. This test was conducted by a professional that had equal skill with the brakes on both bikes. Project Wanna-Be Concours 14 When I bought this bike I thought I might fix it up and perhaps gain a high re-sale value compared to what I paid for it. After being around the scene a bit I see that may not be happening. I may stand to gain a few hundred bucks maybe, Nothing that will bring me any closer to getting on one of my dream bikes. I thought since my Concours was an 86 that it would have a fanzine making it worth more. Sure the bike is not an H2, but you would think there would a be a higher degree of worship of the 86. I mean, the 86 is the first year of the bike and silver only. Kawasaki redid the Concours in 2008 and made it a first year obvious tribute to the 86. Why do people not appreciate this? You would think this obvious salute would make the price of the 86 skyrocket. "Oh God, it's an 86, the first of it's breed and the reason they made the new 2008 Concours 14". Respect. Oh but this is not the case. I guess it doesn't work like Yamaha, oh well. Pretty much no matter what I do to this bike within reason it will be worth the same. I thought for sure it would be more than a respected classic. Bigger than life. Turns out I am the only one with this notion. Knowing this I now have a few ideas to better suit the theme of this bike. Concours 14 wanna be. First lets have a look at what we want to be. (the bike not the girl, try to be serious hehe) 2: Replace front fender with something that does not look like a banana peel. Something crotch rocket looking. I am thinking about fabbing up something like a GS500 front fender. I have pulled this off in the past. This is a pretty sporty looking fender for the day that likes mounting to old forks. Relocated holes could be drill with the old holes cleverly filled with those dome grommet buttons. It would look somewhat stock. Unlike the 14 I would paint the back side of the fender black. The same black as the underside of the saddlebag outer shell. 3: Paint the Concours belly pan black. the same colour as the second tone of the back and back of front fender. Not black and not gloss black. Somewhere in between there and matt black. A black with a slight gray. Perhaps the Concours 14 black trim paint code is available or something close. That's what I am shooting for. 4: Front area under the wind screen above the headlight. Notice the front screws on the windscreen that bolt if to the bodywork. I want to cut a piece of flat plastic to cover all of these holes and that area. A near flat spoiler. It would curve and contour around the whole area where the windshield bolts to the body. This would smooth out the mechanical look to the front of the bike. Hard to describe the vision. Like an almost flat hood. A small almost flat nose. It would look like some sort of after market panel you bolt under the wind screen. Why? temp changes over the years have slightly cracked the areas around the mount holes. No big deal and not worth a couple hundred to replace it. My windshield polishing will soon be completed in the future. Hayabusa Dan has a new expensive pneumatic polisher. With his 40 dollar bottle of whatever he can take the top layer off the shield and leave a surface so smooth and pure it looks like glass. Just wait till you see it. 5: Blinkers: Notice how the blinkers on the Concours are way classic looking. In your face yellow. The 14 has clear blinkers with yellow bulbs. To my knowledge you can't get clear blinker lenses for the Concours 1000. What is a person to do? I know this guy that tints blinker and brake light lenses using this special painting process. I've heard it's a special mix of paint and other chemicals. He paints the lenses with this special clear paint and then polishes the lenses. It transforms a normal brake light or blinker lens black with super clear high gloss. Now I would never do this for safety reasons. It does tone down the intensity of your light. Still it's amazing how bright a fully black tinted lens is. I heard it quoted, "The black polished lens with LED is just as bright as the stock red or yellow lens with a regular bulb". The idea would be to get LED lights in the blinkers and only tint my blinker and tail lenses say %25 of his fully black ones. This would make the blinkers a kind of gray black and the tail lens a polished glossy tinted black/red. Even with the tinting I would gain light intensity due to the LEDs. 6:Recover seat with a nice square yard of real leather. Simple. I may go as far as cutting the stock pad the attempt a more sporty contour. Electric turkey knife, magic marker and a staple gun. 7: Some guy sells caliper adapters allowing one to put modern 4 pot brakes on the front. Yep, for 70 bucks and some calipers I can have GSXR brakes on the front on the Concours. Notice on the Concours 14 how the black lowers on the bags, the black belly pan and other accents all flow with the bike. The black on the bike makes what is aluminum really look busy. Dare I say a sophisticated alien or aircraft look. A busy look. I like this. The above mods to the bike would truly step it up in the fashion area. A motorcycle makeover for little money. Although not outrageous it would look just different enough to let the Concours 14 know where it came from. A true Concours 14 wanna be. Bolting on a ZX11 front end would be a plus but likely out of my price range. Not including the brake mods I could get all of this work done for under a hundred dollars. It's good to have friends that do these things. All of my powder coating is free. The guy that does the lenses mainly does it to show off his skills and deserves a nice donation for his work. Leftovers from a body shop. I am obviously not a paint professional if I am using spray bombs, but I have talked to a few of them. Did you know you can paint a car for example with a brush and have it come out like showroom? It's true. This is done in some aircraft applications as well as other skilled trades. They say it's all about what you mix with the paint. I described my ghetto technique to one of these professionals and was supervised of the praise I received. And an even better plus is this guy will do any painting for me cheap. he painted the Busa you see on this web page. This guy's work is the real deal. Respect. I would go to him for bigger objects like the tank and plastics but, I will have no problem doing almost as good of a job with the rattle cans on the bits I will be doing. Grab Handles: It's my luck my buddy with the Busa, his son works in a machine shop. he is always fabbing up killer CNC bits for his dad. he also machines nuts,bolts and screws. Engraving, the kid does it all. Half price or less machine shop work. I could give him the passenger grab rails and have him modernize them. They have this weird old world look. Dude could chop the strange looking bungee strap holders off the ends and re sculpt the entire handle to look more "sporty". Or perhaps fab up something out of some scraps to the dimensions of the old ones. I would take them off the bike but the empty sockets on the plastic would look weird. Spoiler holes: You see many people filling in the open surfaces on their fairing spoilers entry holes with screen. Instead of seeing in the fairing you see the screen. Dude with the Busa put a woven mess style metal screen behind there that is powder coated black. Walmart has flat tiny diamond aluminum flat sheet for 99 cents a square foot. Cut screen to size of hole you fill and hot glue it to the back side of the plastic. Can be tacky I suppose, but I am thinking my theme of this bike is kind of an aircraft look besides a wanna be 14. I am thinking i could get away with the flat tiny diamond screen without powder coating. I seen this aluminum sheet at walmart in the BBQ accessories section. It's super flat aluminum sheet with tiny diamond pattern. That deadly green duct tape would hold those screens in place for years. JB weld forever. I know this mod is usually associated as a squid trick but the screen I am talking about is different. It actually looks the part like a proper automotive application. Odds and ends. OK! All this gets done to the bike. It's makeover for little money complete. Things look a bit more modern to people that do not know bikes. The general public now see it as a modern machine. "Wow it kinda looks like a Concours 14 but....". And now the final ingredient. You are going to like this. SUPER TOP GUN POLICE AIRCRAFT SCANNER BIKE Let me tell you what the real deal farkle would be to set the theme of this bike and the easy way it could be done. In the right fairing tray do a factory looking install of a high tech super small car stereo. This car stereo must have the "Auxiliary input" feature. You know like when ya plug a Ipod in and listen over the car stereo. You'll find a place to put some small speakers. Put them inside the dash board out of sight in front of that vent. Now install a police scanner on the left side pocket like it's a factory install. Easy. If you use a handheld scanner just lay it flat under a mounted/ to the flat piece of black plastic that is the cover. Custom cut the plastic so only the scanner's readout and buttons are exposed to the top. Seal and secure it easily. Now the handheld scanner looks like a digital control panel on the left hand glove box. To wire it up simply get a stereo 1/8' to RCA male jumper cord. Plug the 1/8' stereo end into the police scanner "external speaker out" and plug the RCA males into the car stereo's "AUX Input". If the car stereo has 1/8 input then obviously you need a 1/8' stereo on that end of the jumper. Get the end it requires for whatever aux input jack is on the stereo. Now turn on police scanner and select "aux input" on stereo. Now you can drive around on this bike with virtually no exhaust note listening to the cops or as the theme suggests 'Aircraft". Where do I put the scanner antenna? If you are out to listen to the cops when you ride, and if they are on 800mhz, the scanner will receive just fine with a stubby 4 inch rubber antenna placed anywhere on the bike. A good performing aircraft antenna for the bike could be done by making a dipole. Take 468 / 120mhz = 3.9 feet / 2 = roughly 2 feet. Take a piece of coax. Plug one end into the police scanner (bnc connector) and strip the other ends bare. Put a 2 foot piece of wire on each of those pieces of wire. One on the center lead and one on the shield braid. Tape them up so they don't touch. Now tape these 2 wires under the fairing not touching anything metal. Try to keep them away from each other. What we have built is a set of 1/4 wave rabbit ears tuned for 120mhz aircraft. It will receive for many many miles. That wire aircraft antenna will be more than good enough to hear the police or whatever else you have programmed in your scanner. And highway travelers remember this the Bearcat bc350 scanner receives cb radio. the truckers are always talking about where the cops are exactly. The cb on the highway is better than a radar detector by light years. You often hear "you got a smokey sitting on the side of the road at the four oh five exit takin pictures". "A kojack with a kodak at the four twenty". Meaning a cop running radar at that mile marker. Truckers are constantly talking about hazards and weather/road conditions no matter where you go. having a cb on the road is a crystal ball look into the future in your direction of travel. If you are listening to the cops you will surely hear them running your bike's plate if they happen to be checking you out and thinking about pulling you over. Select what you want to hear by simply pressing 1 button on the left panel. Of course the unit has a cd and am/fm tuner for music but this is secondary to the purpose. So there you have it, my low price high tech ideas for the makeover of this bike. Think how kool Tom Cruise would have been on Top Gun if he had a police scanner built into the Ninja to hear the F16s as he chased them. the Concours is so quiet behind the fairing one could easily hear people talking at 75mph with the volume down low. And with virtually no exhaust note it makes it even better listening. I have really no interest in listening to anything as riding is fun enough. However a little communications on a bike may have it's advantages. All scanners have one touch weather radio built in. You could accomplish the same thing with a police scanner in your pocket and headphones in your helmet, but it just would be the same would it? The best part of all these mods is you don't have to alter the stock bike in any way to power or install any of these gadgets. The Kawasaki Concours 1000 is one hot machine. Literally. Most people don't realize the Concours has a huge high power heating system onboard the motorcycle. It's called the engine. I decided to ride out to the Platte River today. It must be 100F outside. Even 70mph down the highway I was frying. Anyone wanting to ride in these temps with respectable gear for hours better have a box of corn starch in the saddle bag. During fall and early winter rides I will be toasty warm. I have been pondering respectable gadgets that may help with these issues. There is absolutely no airflow behind the dash and windshield. You could strike a match in this area and have it keep burning at 80mph. That is why this bike is so great and so bad for 100 degree summers. Even a simple small fan in this area would make a world of difference. I am pondering one of those little black trucker visor fans with the adjustable neck. I know I have seen them at the truck stop. A small fan the size of a radar detector that clips on the visor. 12 Volt. It would not stand out much and would look like it belonged. Lets look at the heating issues of the Concours from a different angle. Engine heat. Even the gas tank gets a bit warm and radiates heat. This is very uncommon for any bike. As a reference, the Suzuki Hayabusa has a heat shield unit under the fuel tank. It looks like a huge fiberglass mold covered in a metallic space age shell. That thing does wonders. 12 Volt computer fans draw very little current. perhaps a few strategically place fans could expel, blow or better circulate some of this tremendous heat lurking from of the engine of this bike. I know from experience a little computer fan will circulate enough air through the radiator of a liquid cooled motorcycle without a fan. If I placed a fan somewhere to suck engine heat of out the fairing engine area the trick would be expelling this hot air in a way it does not contact or blow up on the rider. I am also pondering putting a small computer fan on the radiator that runs all the time in the summer to better equalize the drastic temperature fluctuations during city stoplight riding. Motorcycle Dreamin Every motorcycle ride is a sentimental journey for me even if it's just down to the corner shop. I also think it has to do with the fact all the bikes I ride are special. Bikes that stand out and above the usual. I have been lucky to ride what I have in the near past. I get quite a few local miles in a week but I find myself doing more plotting and dreaming than anything. I have experienced so many personalities in these machines that it takes a special bike to keep me content. If I had a Honda cb350 out in the garage this blog would not exist. Certain motorcycles people are "fanatical" about. The people that tinker and worship these bikes often call themselves a "cult". These bikes tend to have characteristics that have put themselves above the rest. Most of the time it's performance. Reliability has always taken a back seat to performance but reliability is still a strong factor. The Executive To Hell and Back Ignore most of what I said in the post below. I just rode this bike in flash flood severe thunderstorm weather for 80 miles. Intentionally. Visibility 50 feet. At one point under a bridge I went through water a foot deep or more at nearly 50mph on Interstate 80. During this 80 mile ride it was pouring half the time and raining the entire time. While passing through small towns in Nebraska the gutters were spitting out 3 inches of water into the street. many roads were washed out or underwater. At one point I said to myself "what have i got myself in to?". I was being pelted by 50mph winds mixed with pouring rain. When I returned home and removed my jacket and gloves i was no more wet than spilling a glass of water in my lap. If I was on any other bike I have owned in the past I would be dead or washed away. I wonder how much a used Concours 14 will cost when this one finally pops. After this experience motorcycling has a new meaning to me. I could chase tornados with this bike. All Hail the Concours! There is nothing left to say. Kawasaki Concours Bliss The bike is dialed in. I have found the sweet spots. Number one goal was to clean everything clean enough to eat off of. Second it was time to tune the air filter. I always reverse engineer/build the filter on every bike. Too much flow and you lose low end and too little flow starves the top end. I use Uni Foam' sheet cleaned and oiled every 250 miles. Most importantly I adjusted the shifter on this bike. Poor adjustment to a size 10 boot was preventing full engage to second. Sorted. AMAZING BIKE! The only problem is I don't have anywhere to ride besides tooling around town. This isn't exactly the bike for that. I ride around with empty side bags just because it looks cool. i really should sell it in case it falls over or something. I bought this bike out of convenience because there was not a light inline 4 cylinder sport bike available in the price range. As I have mentioned my dream bike is a Honda 599 Hornet. I have never owned a Honda and would like to try that bike. I have ridden the SV650 and liked it, but I would prefer the zing of a peaky inline engine. BUT, even though the Concours 1000 is not exactly the bike for me i have no lack of passion for it. For once I am truly content until I get exactly what I want. 1986 Kawasaki Concours for Sale -$3250 o.b.o Consider trade for 80 plus hp sport bike. i.e. Honda Hornet. Appreciate trade for Grey bikes like ZXR400, RS250, cbr gsxr 400 etc. Anything fast that makes it under the Insurance Radar. i.e. Concours 1000 with 100hp engine = $70 a year insurance. Also Consider trade for old RF900 or Buell XB9. I would be content to change bikes every month if I could get away with it. Till I finally find the one for me it's a joy ride. I have been plenty hard to please lately since I have been riding that Hayabusa. The Concours has done a fantastic job at pleasing my desires. The price I am selling it for should keep allot of people away, which might not be a bad thing. The price probably seems high for a nice bike with 50K on the odometer, but, that's just getting broke in with these bikes. You either have a good one or not, is what it boils down to. Parts availability is so good people are giving them away. When you buy a Concours you are not just buying a bike. You are buying an individual soul that all other Concours owners out there will strive to maintain. The Concours has it's own owner's group. Besides the manual, the bike came with a COG membership application and printed information in the saddlebag. The guys that own these bikes are more fanatical than Honda sportbike owners. There is one thing that stands out most of all about reading the words from hundreds of other owners of this bike. They don't fight with each other in the technical sections of their motorcycle forums. I have never seen a more open minded, honest and accepting group of people on the net. Reading through the forums for info I am always seeing the words "I'll send you one for the cost of postage". It's like a free 24 hour help line with free parts. There are even videos that show you how to do anything with the bike. A person with no experience could wrench this entire bike with some advice, a cheap socket set and wrenches. Items like oil filters, spark plugs and thermostats can be had from local auto supply shops. And finally, plastics are the most important part of a Concours resale value. Since every other part of the bike besides plastics can be had for cheap, a Concours with good a body and tank always brings the most money. If a Concours falls over and breaks the plastic it will immediately lose almost half it's value. My source for this estimation would be completed ebay auctions of Conc ours with good plastic vs. those with bad, in similar condition and similar mileage for same or close years. Break the plastics and you will likely spend almost half the value of the bike to restore them to previous/better condition. You will often see a 1990's model Concours sell for the same as a 2000 plus model in same condition. This is due to the fact the bike is virtually the same from 86 to 06. When you are buying a Concours 10 you either are getting one in the condition you expect or not. What year it is has little do do with condition in most cases. Most owners of these bikes keep them in a heated garage when they are not babying them down the Interstate at 4500rpm. Likely the bike I would want to have in an end of the world mad max style setting. What I really need is a 800cc two stroke snowmobile engine grafted to a gearbox and stuffed into a 250cc GP bike. The bike would be 250 pounds with 130h.p. Top speed would only be 135 but it would get there in 10 seconds. It would have a 0-60 time faster than the V-Max. It would sound and smell like a dirt bike. It would have a decal on the side saying it was an "RTX 250". I would spend my time riding around ready to make lunch of any over confident 600 to liter+ class sport bike owners wanting to race at secluded stoplights. When people asked what bike it was I would tell them "it's the new RTX 250 from Taiwan". Kawasaki Concours Home Video I tried to make a video. I need to get a better video converter. My cam puts it out in .mov which is like motion picture quality, but by the time it gets to youtube it stinks. Perhaps I need a better video editor that will do .mov instead of converting to avi. I have seen worse. Let's get the show on the road. Kawasaki Concours Coming Home I decided to ride the Concours back to it's birthplace. the Kawasaki Plant in Lincoln, Nebraska. I knew I was going to have to enter some restricted areas to get these pictures. I thought for sure I would be contacted by security. Evidently my actions must have been non threatening as I was able to get pics of the Concours in many of these areas. I was hoping there was an open bay door somewhere so I could get an indoor shot but I never found one. Since I have been plotting this before I got the bike, it's as if I was prepared to get busted for trespassing. The Concours Rules! This may be the last entry in this Blog page. Reading this blog from top to bottom would be in reverse time order. I went from dreaming about owning this bike to actually owning it. Now that I own it, I ride it and will fix it up. I've already changed the oil and filters, had the bar ends powder coated black, buffed the paint and more. This bike is now my pride and joy. Concours is Mine! The Concours is MINE! It's sitting out in the driveway. Interesting ride home. Fast and comfortable. Smooth, quiet, no bad engine noises. I don't hear any racket from the cam chain tensioner, engine noise..... I am impressed. The Bad: She seems to be pulling left a tiny bit when you let go of the bars. This could mean the front tire is cupped or other wear issues. The hydraulic clutch seems to be a little out of adjustment as it grabs way early. I hit neutral a couple times when going to second gear. Steering feels a bit heavy but I think that is due to riding small bikes most of my life. Overall I am truly satisfied. I feel what little bugs are present can be worked out with a little maintenance and adjustment. STOKED! Handling is solid and inspires confidence. Damn it's fast for as big as it is. Gears seem to last forever. Update: Late today I rode out to the Kawasaki Plant Lincoln Nebraska at Sunset. Brilliant ride. Brilliant Machine. I have never ridden a bike more than 60 miles and back. The Concours made me feel like I should just keep rollin down the highway and never turn back. I have always laughed and scoffed at "Touring Bikes". Boy was I being stupid and judgemental. It truly is a magical experience. Tooling along at 100mph feels like 45. Ninja Sold New tires on the Ninja today. It's gone. It was a weird fate. Guy who bought the bike has same last name as I have. Guy who bought the bike lives on the same street that I do but many miles away. When he left I ran inside and called the guy about The Concours. Owner is out of town for a couple more days. More time to ponder why I am so obsessed with a bike totally out of my league and riding style. I am bored and thinking about the Concours I've watched all the Concours vids on youtube. I was thinking about one in particular. The Concours turbo. Looks to be pretty darn quick. 60mph in second gear and near a hundred in third without breathing hard. On the other vid I see what appears to be a zero to sixty in under three seconds without breathing hard. Pretty impressive for a 600 pound 20 year old touring bike. Straight up on the clocks of the Concours is 75mph. 100mph is a 2 oclock. The sound of the starter and the whirr of the engine is a total "Chips" TV flashback. Ponche and John. Kawasaki Police Bikes. Remember the Chips episode where the new hot shot came on the force and was doing wheelies on the big police bike. Eric Estrada himself would do wheelies in a few episodes as well. Remember the 80's news when Eric Estrada was injured on the show because he was doing some of his own stunts. LOL Come to think of it, remember the Chips motorcycle mechanic? I think his name was Harlen. Seems like there was an episode where he was doing wheelies on a police bike as well. Concours Update It's been a long wait. It appears this day is the last day of waiting. I had a nice visit to "Rod's Outdoor Power" Motorcycle dealership today. The Honda Dealer. Turns out they are swapping on the new Pirelli tires on the Ninja. Lincoln Cycle and ATV will not swap tires not bought in store. Why? Years ago some dill brought some super cheap tires in there to be swapped on his bike's rims. They did the swap for him and he went off and made a mistake on his bike. Dill with the new cheap tires then has his Lawyer call and make threats to this shop. I bet I know what the guy did. When you put new tires on a bike you have to take it easy for quite a few miles as there is "oil" on the tires. When motorcycle tires comes out of production at the factory there is a small degree of oil on/in them due to this process. One has to take it easy for quite a few miles till this wears off. The thing is, I had tires done at Lincoln Cycle years ago. When I picked up the tires they told me to go easy for a few hundred miles or whatever. My riding bud with the HayaBusa has tires done there as well. He has also told me this shop always warns him of this. Even if you already know it's a good reminder. Point is, all it takes is some idiot that does not listen to screw it up for everyone else. They told him to take it easy and he probably low sided. Rather than take responsibility for this mistake the guy calls a lawyer. Ha "Typical American". I hear this issue has spread as I hear people mention on the web their shop says "we won't change your tires unless you buy them here". Everything is a liability now adays because a huge industry of people are "ambulance chasers". I am going to start changing my own tires. Some place on the web is a DiY on how to build a motorcycle tire press / bead breaker? out of wood. Motorcycle tire irons are cheap as are those plastic rim protectors that are used in this process. It's $30 per tire now to change tires at the shop. This is if you bring the rims in by hand. Imagine how expensive it is when you bring the bike in. $100? A few years ago if you brought the rims in it was 10, 15 dollars each. Another Update Another Contact from the buyer. Looks like Wednesday is the day. The tires for the Ninja 250 arrived today. Pirelli MT75's. Wow. Nice looking tires. Low profile and very light. These are the tires that are supposed to go on the 250. 120/80-16 on the rear and 100/80-16 for the front. Kawasaki puts the wrong tire size on the rear 130/90-16, big ugly heavy doughnut. The Pirellis are low profile, quick handling and soft compound for the street. In fact they probably won't wear and last too well as they feel very soft. At $120 a set shipped who cares. Tomorrow morning it's off to Lincoln Cycle and ATV in Lincoln Nebraska. I'll just drop the rims and new tires off and pick them up Wednesday morning. If all goes as planned, the guy will have his new Ninja and I will have the cash to make the call on the CONCOURS. My general rule of practice is to never call anyone about a purchase unless I have cash in hand. However I have had meaningful communication with the seller via email. It appears to be looking good. Sweet Concours Update My buyer called and stated everything is going to work out as his co-signer has been approved .elsewhere. I was going to throw in the towel but it looks as if things are looking up. Currently the only risk would then be if someone was to buy the Concours during this few days of delay. It's a waiting game from here on out. Concours Setback My buyer was not approved for his loan to buy the ninja 250. Bummer. Right now this fine young college student is considering a co-signer to get this loan. Very disappointing to both of us. Looks like my dreams of picking up the Concours this weekend are shattered. The young man has instructed me to hold off till next week to see if his co-signature will help him get the small loan. I plan to honor this request as this guy has been totally straight up with me and has kept me updated nicely. Because I plan to honor this request for more time, it is very possible the guy will get the money next week to buy my bike, but at the same time the Concours could be sold by then. I dread the thought. If this happens I will have sold a lovely bike and be stuck with nothing. I'll end up finishing the riding season on a old beat up honda dream or something. NOT! One day soon there will be a final entry on this page. It will be good news, bad news, or likely a compromise. Maybe it will be my cue to build a bike again. Here are a list of a few bikes I would like to own. The problem is, the motorcycles I am fond of aren't exactly the most reliable machines you want to get out on the highway with. Here is a small list of my dream bikes and projects I have pondered.
Concours Obsession, Day 3 Here she is. Just waiting. Waiting. Obsession. Sigh. The Update. My buyer says the bank has received his application and is going over it. My feelings are now his bank better get their rear in gear and get er done. Do these bankers in their air conditioned offices not know what is at stake here? The nerve of some people. Here is a pic the seller sent me. She's mighty clean.
WIDE LOAD Concours Obsession, Day 2 The owner of the Concours has sent me an email stating he will be out of town for a bit. This is good. This tells me anyone looking to buy the bike in this time will be lost. This should provide a good opportunity for my buyer to get the money for my bike. The new plan being, when (if) the guy buys my bike this week, then I will be right there with the money for the Concours when the owner returns to town. I don't think I will camping out on the guy's lawn waiting for him to return, but the thought has crossed my mind. :) For now I am spending my time reading the thousands of things you have to know to own and ride this bike. Seems alot of fuss for a bike I don't even own (yet), or may ever own (fingers crossed). I thin it's all worth the hope, false or otherwise. Dreaming of Kawasaki Concours Since last fall I have been riding the 2005 Ninja 250R. Otherwise known as the EX250. It has been a brilliantly fun bike. I have often bragged about one thing in particular concerning the 250. The guy I ride with owns a Hayabusa. When I first got the little ninja it seemed he could not get enough of trading bikes. Even people with high expectations get off the ninja 250 with a huge grin on their face. Every city turn becomes a moto gp like curve. It's real easy to scrape a peg or drag a knee on this little machine. But, it's reasonably underpowered. I could see the ninja easily beating the hayabusa in a parking lot race but I need a little more real world power. Let's have a look at the ninjer. Have a look at what I get to ride when I switch bikes with Hayabusa Dan. Certainly I don't mind switching bikes as the Busa is plenty fun. Although, the power is very hard to manage and I find myself fairly cautious.
Getting Down to Business. Dreaming of the Kawasaki Concours. Some college kid is supposed to come by and give me cash for the Ninja 250. I wasn't expecting someone to actually buy it. He seems pretty determined as the young man is looking for fuel saving eco reliable transportation to and from the University. He is willing to pay top dollar for the ninja and would be back soon with the money. It's looking good. But, I still wasn't expecting to sell the bike. I have had to look for another one. No worries, I have been switching bikes almost every year or two for the last five years. Before the ex250 was the Yamaha RZ350 race bike @ 275lbs. on the street. Well actually a race ported 370cc. Now that was wheelie fun right there. I built that bike. But anyway, getting off track a bit. I have to find a bike to replace the ninja. My dream bike for this purpose is the Honda Hornet, but that is a little unobtainable at the moment. Searching for a bike I noticed the Concours. Totally out of character for me and my riding style. The more I started reading about the Concours the more interested I have become. Lets have a look at the pics and then I will comment more about this bike. Below is the actual pic in the sales ad I blew up.
Since I don't actually own the bike the pic above is from the ad. Let us place a good clear picture of the same/different bike below for a clearer representation. What the heck is that thing? Lets just say it's a Kawasaki Ninja 1000 taken off the crack pipe. It's a sporty touring bike with a Ninja 1000 engine. It's pretty big. Reminds me of a European Police Bike. The beast is near 600 pounds. The Hayabusa is near 500 pounds. So yea, it's a big-un. Good thing it has that near 100 horsepower ninja engine tucked inside. The bike is twice the weight of most of the bikes I have ridden most of the time. I will certainly have to change my riding habits a bit if I get this bike. No more riding up the sidewalk into the front yard around the tree and into the garage. No more hanging off on almost every city street turn. With the Concours will come plenty of advantages. All of that fairing and gear will extend the riding season a month or two. THE POWER: Amazing how this bike is still super fast even though it's a pig. Oh man I hope I get this bike. The guy I ride with that owns the Busa is going to be stoked. No doubt I will be riding the Busa while he samples the wares of the "Connie", as this bike has been affectionately dubbed. The Concours has gone virtually unchanged from 1986 to 2007. In 2008 they have totally redone the Concours based on the Kawasaki ZX1400. See they are doing it again. Like they did in 86, they take the world's fastest production sportbike and steal the engine from it and throw it in a sport touring bike. The end result is what they call a "Sport Tourer". My Dad owned a Goldwing. Myself and just about everyone I have known call these big bikes "couches on wheels". this goes for some of the Big Harleys as well. Who would have thought I would even ponder such a thing? I have because the Concours is not just another touring bike. The Concours is made right here in Lincoln Nebraska. It's gray. It's the first year made. The new Concours 1400 with the ZX1400 engine is gray. The money the guy wants for the Concours is a steal. You just can't sell these bikes. The price of them are almost always half of what they are actually worth. The best thing is, this is an old man's bike. People that own Concours likely store them in heated garages and pamper them for decades. The bike I am after is exactly this. Near flawless condition, never been dented or down and always babied. And lastly another important thing about this bike is insurance cost. There are a few bikes out there that literally trick insurance companies. If it has plastic on it and looks fast the insurance is going to be very high. The Concours is a bike that slips by the insurance costs. I was quoted $60 dollars a year for liability. A bike with the same engine (ninja 1000) would be well over a thousand dollars easy. That is if you can find a company to insure that bike or others with such a nasty reputation. You could put full coverage on the Concours for under $300 a year with a $200 deductible. This bike is almost free to ride. Then again, this is obvious because the Concours if definitely a bike for the over 50 market. I am a little young to be owning such a machine but it's obvious this bike has more than a few tricks up it's sleeve to impress the likes of the young and power hungry. And finally it's a waiting game. If dude comes through with the cash I will be right over there picking up that Concours and riding away. Hopefully in the next 72 hours. This blog is my prayer that all of this will work out without issue. The next blog entry to this page will be good news or bad news. One positive note is I will not be going without a ride no matter what. If I keep the ninja I will still be stoked as I just ordered a new set of Pirelli tires for the bike. Stay Tuned. While we wait. Check out the RZ350 I built a couple bikes ago.
I miss this bike. Yamaha RZ350 NOTHING under 599cc could catch this bike. I raced allot of different bikes and left them wondering why they are left behind. Dusted off an older fj1200. Cleaned the clock of an old tired vfr750 honda. Embarrassed at least a dozen Harley Davidsons that tried it on. Pretty much everything slower than a modern 600 sportbike was made lunch of by the RZ. Fifty plus horsepower on a 275 pound bike on the street is nuts. New rear tire every 1500 miles due to excessive tire spin. Engine rebuild every 2 seasons. Sometimes when people would lose the race they would become angry and shake their fist. lol They pull up thinking it's some old bike with a tiny dirt bike engine. Light turns green and without fail the little RZ would fly the wheel out of the hole and not touch down for a couple of gear changes. The race always ended after I quit accelerating after 90mph. At this time they would always pass me doing well over 100. The funny part being up to 90mph they were always behind this bike stuck in a cloud of blue smoke. I think the funniest time was the guy on the new GS500 at the stop light. He pulls up next to me and said in an arrogant tone "what the hell is that thing". Then he starts getting up on his tank like he is ready to launch when the light turns. The light changes and as per usual the rz flys ahead on one wheel leaving his 500 in the smoke. I guess the guy thought he had 100cc short of a gsxr. Boy was he mistaken. As usual at near 100mph they always fly by after I let off the throttle. The way I always seen it was, if you can't win on a stoplight street race up to 70-80mph then don't fly by at 100mph after you have lost. Give up and slow down. After this experience I quit racing people at stoplights that begged for an education. I also got rid of the bike. One of the first times I raced the RZ was against some lovely young girl on a new R6. She left the little RZ in the dust after about 50 feet of neck and neck racing. It was humbling. Thing is, I later heard that same girl was killed on her bike. This and other spooky stories calmed me down quite a bit and attributed to the decisions I currently make when buying or riding a motorcycle. Even the Ninja 250 is going to get me hurt or in trouble. Everyone knows once you get on anything below 500cc you turn into an instant hooligan. The Concours may be a step in the right direction to chilling me out a bit. If anything the first year Concours would look sweet next to the 2008 Concours at the bike show.
|
|
|
|