Long-Term Wrap-Up: 2008 Kawasaki Concours 14

A sport-touring bike that performs like a low-flying missile.

Photography by Jeff Allen & Brian Blades

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14 - Long-Term Wrap-Up

We didn't plan it this way. Honest. After completing the test of Kawasaki's new-for-'08 Concours 14 for our October, 2007, issue, we just kept riding it and riding it and riding it... Its onrush of smooth, seamless power was intoxicating, its handling proved nothing short of astounding for something so big, and it was effortlessly and comfortably able to gobble up mile after mile, day after day. We were, in fact, so caught up in just riding the Concours that we never even thought about including it in our long-term fleet. But, as explained in the December, 2008, issue, we remedied that situation, even though more than a year had passed and we'd put almost 7000 miles on the 14.

Typically, we like to try various aftermarket accessories on our long-termers, but we never bolted a single item onto the Concours—partly because we adopted it into our fleet so late in the game, partly because it subsequently spent quite a bit of time out of our possession. On one occasion, a staffer rode the Kawasaki to a press introduction for another brand and left it with that company so he could ride back on one of the intro models. The 14 then somehow got lost in transition and wasn't returned to us for almost two months. We also loaned it to a friend of the magazine who ended up putting very few miles on it, despite having it for more than a month and a half.

Any time the bike was in our custody, though, we had trouble prying it away from Senior Editor Paul Dean. Of the nearly 11,500 miles the Conc accumulated before we gave it back to Kawasaki, Dean racked up more than 8000 of them. He and his girlfriend took several week-long trips on it, scouring the backroads of central and northern California for new corners to conquer, new patrol cars to evade; he also often used the bike for daily transportation and weekend rides. Thanks to the 14's spacious and easy-to-use detachable hard bags, the rest of the staff found the bike ideal for fun rides and occasional overnighters—with or without their significant others.

Although the Concours was subject to a few recalls (saddlebag latches, headlight adjustment knobs, rear-brake linkage getting bound up by road debris), we had no trouble whatsoever with our test unit. Our only complaints were with the windshield (too short, even when fully raised) and excessive heat radiating from the engine bay. Kawasaki has duly addressed both of those gripes—and more—with the second-generation Concours 14("2010 Kawasaki Concours 14," February).

Our expenditures, then, were limited to oil changes and tires. On-the-road repairs for a rear-tire puncture during a trip cost $72 (forgot the tire repair kit—#$%*&@) at 6836 miles. Both tires were worn out anyway, so we sprung for a set of Bridgestone BT021 OEM replacements ($413, including installation).

Just 3600 miles later, however, in the middle of a two-up ride in the Sierra Nevada, the sides of the front tire were worn to the cords. Chalk it up to many miles of aggressive two-up cornering and someone—we never did identify the culprit—having accelerated the wear by riding the bike with only 22 psi in the front tire rather than the specified 42. In the closest town, population 12,000, the only comparable front tire available was a Dunlop Sportmax ($192, including installation), which actually turned out to perform at least as well as the stocker, steering- and handling-wise, if not better. And by the time we took the bike back to Kawasaki, the original front brake pads were ripe for replacement.

We loved our long-term Concours 14, but we really don't miss it at all. Why? Because we're now riding the2010 model.

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14

2008 Kawasaki Concours 14

Slot: div-gpt-ad-leaderboard_sticky
Slot: div-gpt-ad-leaderboard_middle1
Slot: div-gpt-ad-leaderboard_middle2
Slot: div-gpt-ad-leaderboard_middle3
Slot: div-gpt-ad-leaderboard_bottom