fish_antlers
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The Truth is Out There
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posted December 03, 2006 04:13 PM
 Edited By: fish_antlers on 3 Dec 2006 20:21
Concours14 on display at the M/C Show....
Well.. kind of disappointing to be honest. Visited the Seattle MC Show on Saturday.
Though the Concours looked great in person, they only had one. The bike was sitting up on a podium with only the left side of the bike clearly visible to the crowd. The Kawasaki reps knew practically nothing about the bike.
We watched as the public was met with either terse remarks or brush offs from the KMC reps. I need to note that these were KMC show reps who stated they were from KMC, and not simply local dealers helping out at the booth.
Our only question about the bike was about the cooling capacity of the new Concours, and if there had been a second fan added to the bike. We played incognito when chatting with the reps. They had no idea who we were, and as far as the reps were concerned we were just plain old members of the public. When asked about the cooling of the Concours the first rep told us he knew nothing about the bike, and wouldnt even walk up to look at the bike for us to find out if he could see a cooling fan. When we later asked the second fellow from KMC the same question about the cooling fan, he looked at the 3 of us and told us that of course it had two fans... "it's exacltly the same as the ZX-14." he said.
The ZX-14 has only 1 cooling fan.
Kawasaki should educate their reps on their product line and give these reps some information to pass on, or instead simply instruct them not engage the public.
The contrast was made even sharper as we had just come from the Suzuki booth where the Suzuki rep/engineer (in town from their HQ in SoCal) was unbelievably informed about his products and extremely polite at the same time!
BTW... using the extreme digital zoom on my camera (while holding it way above my head) I managed to get a shot of the right side of the bike... the bike appears to only have one cooling fan (like the ZX-14)... here are close up digital zooms of the left and right back sides of the radiator...
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fastestbusaaround
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I eat Fish...
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posted December 03, 2006 05:19 PM
I don't think that the cooling fans are really the issue resulting in the excess heat on the ZX14, but rather the flow and dibursement from the rad itself. Hayabusa's have only one fan as far as I remember, but do not have any heat issues, nor do the late model Gixxers...I don't know much about air flow, but I suppose it's possible that the heat flow has been re-engineered on the C14 as opposed to the ZX14, or not. Kawi's run hot...my 10 and my 14 run hot...Suz's run cool....in comparison, at least through my own personal experiences. It took Yami 3 years to fix the same heat problems on the FJR...and Yami's run very hot.
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FYYFF!!!
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fish_antlers
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The Truth is Out There
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posted December 03, 2006 05:27 PM
Edited By: fish_antlers on 3 Dec 2006 19:49
quote:
I don't think that the cooling fans are really the issue resulting in the excess heat on the ZX14, but rather the flow and dibursement from the rad itself. Hayabusa's have only one fan as far as I remember, but do not have any heat issues, nor do the late model Gixxers...I don't know much about air flow, but I suppose it's possible that the heat flow has been re-engineered on the C14 as opposed to the ZX14, or not. Kawi's run hot...my 10 and my 14 run hot...Suz's run cool....in comparison, at least through my own personal experiences. It took Yami 3 years to fix the same heat problems on the FJR...and Yami's run very hot.
Thanks for your thoughts on the heat "issues", but that wasnt the point of my post... the fan question ... really it's just a sidenote...
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What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
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BlueLIGHTning
Expert Class
Posts: 227
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posted December 03, 2006 05:29 PM
They did the same at last years motorcycle show in Toronto, they put the 14 on a spinning podium and nobody could get close or sit on it!! STUPID!!
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CrotchRocket
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Bracket Racing with Betsy
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posted December 03, 2006 05:33 PM
Comeon Fish 
Relax have a good time and leave the reps alone...I get your point though, How can you rep a machine you know nothing about...
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Jason Miller StreetBike Seminars
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fish_antlers
Administrator
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posted December 03, 2006 05:33 PM
Ducati, Honda and esp Yamaha and Suzuki reps knew more than I could forget about their bikes... didnt talk to anyone from Harley or Buell.
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What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
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Bently
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posted December 03, 2006 06:36 PM
Harley and Buell what's there to know ,oh ya slow and heavy.
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Tool man
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posted December 03, 2006 06:51 PM
quote:
Harley and Buell what's there to know ,oh ya slow and heavy.
Or... Old and tired
Or... mature and exhausted
Or... getting on and weary
Or... not getting any younger and sleepy
Or... elderly and worn-out
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oldkawboy
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posted December 03, 2006 07:17 PM
Hey Fish,
As a newly hired Kawasaki "rep" I take note in what you said. Biketoberfest was my first Consumer Event with KMC and the C14 we had down there was available for the public to straddle, on and off the stand.
I honestly believe we could have left the rest of the bikes in the trailer since everyone swarmed the Concours.
We were told before the show that no data was available and that's the line I used. Of course everybody including me wants to know:
1. How much does it weigh?
2. How much will it cost?
3. When will it be available?
4. How much horsepower does it make?
5. What is the fuel tank capacity?
6. What is the alternator output? (gotta add the farkles)
I really liked the way the bike looks.........I'm buying one for sure but I'd love to know the answers to the questions above just as the average consumer, because that's what I am.
I could not make the Seattle show but will be at the Long Beach and San Mateo shows starting this week. I'm already practicing my line......."We don't have any specs on this bike at this time, sorry"
In Kawasakis defense, the bike you saw may or may not be the final version as they are still working on the final details so any hard data is not available or probably even known yet.
I can't help with the way the reps behaved, wish I could because our manager really stressed that we represent Kawasaki and we should act like it. I'm truly sorry that you felt jilted, as an enthusiast and consumer I don't want to be treated like that!
I am somewhat ignorant on the cruiser lines but have been studying our supplied information. I had to go get help on several occasions in Daytona because of my lack of knowledge of cruisers, it's tough trying to learn the particulars of every bike that Kawasaki builds.......but I'm trying.
Kawasaki takes pride in providing a good show. In fact we were the only manufacturer to have true sport bikes for demo rides in Daytona. We had the 14's, 10's and 6R available, no Gixxers, Yamaha R's or Honda RR's. People continually came up and remarked how much better our demo rides were than the competition.
Once again, I am sorry about your bad experience and will pass the info along.
Thanks,
Dan
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stevewfl
Moderator
Posts: 27920
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posted December 03, 2006 07:32 PM
Harley and Buell 
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2010 Concours14
'08 R1 YAMAHA
ZX14 gone!
CBR600RR track bike
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zerMATT
Pro
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posted December 04, 2006 04:22 PM
I have absolutely NO expectations of a Kawi (or any other brand for that matter) knowing much about a not-yet-released product at a bike show. There's a reason that the C14 was up on a podium... because it's an early prototype... it's not final. Why get upset about it?
What, exactly the the super-smart Honda or Suzuki reps tell you about? Bikes that they haven't even announced yet? Did they tell you about the all new CBR1400XX or the much rumored Hayabusa 1400? I don't think so. I'm sure those super-knowledgable Honda or Suzi reps told you ALL about their products that were ALREADY at the dealerships ready for purcahse by consumers... not bikes that maybe there is only ONE or TWO of in the entire country.
And as for the cooling question, that ball is definitely in Kawi's court. They've either addressed the problem, or they won't sell many bikes. Pretty simple. Touring guys won't be willing to sit on top of a hi-po cooker for hours on end.
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'06 Passion Red ZX-14 | Black D&D Slip-ons | Speedo Healer | V1 | zumo 550 | Heli-Risers | PhantomX
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VPN
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posted December 14, 2006 05:24 AM
quote:
1. How much does it weigh?
2. How much will it cost?
3. When will it be available?
4. How much horsepower does it make?
5. What is the fuel tank capacity?
6. What is the alternator output? (gotta add the farkles)
Very good questions, especially weight&power + fuel
and even the alternator
I'm planning to add extra outlets,
but I think it will be "enough"
I wonder if the Fuel tnk is 6.6 gallons (25 litres) or more?
some 150 hp on the back wheel will surely suck some gasoline
Maybe someday a twin-turbo diesel is selected as the powersource (of GW)
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zxhoya
Zone Head
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posted December 14, 2006 01:14 PM
They should at least have some 14C's for the public to get next too and sit on. And the reps should have some knowledge about the product and be courteous.
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''The angle of my dangle is inversely proportional to the heat of my meat'' Will Ferrell
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flite leader
Zone Head
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posted January 17, 2007 02:18 PM
saw the new bike at DC show
bike had been ridden extensively
reps must be having a good time
while not impressive
having not ridden the 14concours
no critcism
great 1st effort
will be HP king of sport tourers
which will only make a diff in europe......autobahn cruzn
should be a blast
20-30 HP less than the reg 14
a little bit more room for acessories in the dash & handlebar area
truly significant torque
cruise control
7speeds.......7th deep overdrive
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swft
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Full throttle!
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posted January 18, 2007 08:29 AM
Someone should put the crack pipe down...
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