fastestbusaaround
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted September 17, 2007 05:12 PM
 Edited By: fastestbusaaround on 17 Sep 2007 19:19
1st longer ride --
So, yesterday I put about 220 miles on the C14; not a long ride really, but enough to get a real feel for what it'll do. We were 2 up as well. No doubt, this bike is the overall winner in it's class. It handles beautifully and I get the feeling that I could scrape the bottom of the bags effortlessly in a turn without much if any rear end wobble. It just feels so stable in turns, much like the BMW 1200GS that I've seen scrape the aluminum bags more than once. It squats a fair bit higher than my ZX14 so it feels better in turns and even more effortless than the ZX, just because of the higher center of gravity and tighter ride. Ride comfort (suspension) feels nice and firm, but very well planted and travels incredibly smoothly over even the roughest roads here in Quebec (a fucking disaster). It brakes very well indeed, not quite as firm as the ZX14, but I believe that's only because of the weight difference; still, it has great usable brakes and the rear does a much better job when applied solo than the ZX. I notice that it's a pig to lift off the stand when compared to the ZX and when coming to an abrupt and sudden stop. I can see why the other site has that thread called "CDA's -- Connie Droppers Anonymous" (hopefully not me). I can't see a rider much under 6' having an easy time with this bike in slow maneuvers, but once you're traveling at speeds, it feels better overall than the ZX in hard turns. It's very impressive to say the least. I could ride this bike for hours and hours with no cramping or pain at all; 1000KM days should be a breeze on it. I like the creature comforts this bike has to offer; like the handy glovebox, electrically adjustable windshield and of course, those big-ass bags. It was only 14c yesterday so the heat was a welcome feature, but I can see in the dead of summer, it won't be nearly as comfortable in that respect. Raising the windshield to get more heat resulted in almost no buffeting at all, which was a very pleasant surprise. Handlebar vibration /buzz is most perceptible at 4K but disappears quickly after that and isn't really even a factor in any case. It's almost as smooth as the ZX. Again, there is a distinct lack of low end grunt, which I find disconcerting for a bike of this size and weight, but I'll get that fixed easily once a map becomes available. Being this heavy, the bike needs much more bottom end power. Goldwings have way more grunt on bottom than the C14. I'm not even comparing it to the ZX but rather the FJR, which has all the low end power that the C14 will, once it's uncorked. I can't believe that with all of this, I actually get 42 MPG during break-in, (16 more than my ZX). I'd expect that to jump up at least 10-15% after 10K KMS. I love the bike and if I had to, I'd live with the shitty bottom end. I'll be doing a 400 mile ride on Saturday (weather permitting) and will post more when done.
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FYYFF!!!
   
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rich8363
Parking Attendant
Posts: 23
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posted September 17, 2007 05:40 PM
Thanks for posting the results of your ride.
If all goes well I will have my c14 without ABS by Monday
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RIDE HARD OR STAY HOME
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fastestbusaaround
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted September 17, 2007 06:17 PM
Yup...ABS not required. 
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FYYFF!!!
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TedG
Moderator
Posts: 8222
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posted September 17, 2007 06:27 PM
FBA, nice writup. It will get smoother and more powerful as it breaks in. But I feel the same way. Long rides are awesome, and when the road gets twisty, the thing is even more impressive. I was just on the freeway in 5th and at 2200 rpms (slow traffic) and I just rolled on throttle and the thing just pulled very nicely up to speed.
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Ted
2000 Green ZX12 sold
The fast color!!
Green 2005 ZX10R
2009 Concours Black ABS
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