Monday, May 5, 2014

Kawasaki Concours Year 2001 -- Ride Quality

I've just finished my second ride on the Concours, and it feels like a cousin of the 2004 Kawasaki Ninja 636 that I used to own, except it is a lobos domesticado in comparison. Instead of the Fuel Injected, throttle position sensor driven, ram air aspirated Ninja, the Concours is carbureted and takes longer to warm up. It also took me a minute to remember the function of the choke. The bike stalls occasionally before warming up, and even when warmed up at idle. There are probably a few issues with the bike which is now about 13 years old. With less than 30K miles, it has not been ridden much. Nevertheless, the ride is very stable upto 85mph or so. I haven't really pushed it hard on the freeway, and honestly, it really isn't designed for 636 style performance. With its hard luggage hanging from each side and a 600 lb dry weight, the bike is a blue beast.

The instrument cluster is rather old-school but very clear and illuminated pretty well. The fairing has two small compartments, one on each side, which open with the same ignition key. The seat is comfortable. Overall the bike seems about what I expected, although I haven't yet been able to get 7 gallons in the tank. [Seems to max out at 4 -- perhaps I'm doing something wrong.] Assuming that the tank can hold that much fuel, it should approach 250-300 miles per tank.

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