Kawasaki Concours - thoughts on

[crag antler]

These are they same folks who make KLRs, remember?

I know but we don't pick on Honda for making the XL's

[tkent02]

Because XLs are great bikes.

[Maddevill]

I think the only Connie to buy would be the 14. i have a ZX14 and even that makes a pretty good tourer. My friend is on his 2nd FJR, put 80k on his first and loves it.

[crag antler]

Because XLs are great bikes.

May be, but my '83 was a money pit.
Next enduro will be either a DR400 or DR 650.
See I'm heading back to Suzuki

[tkent02]

Good call.

[RichDesmond]

I have a 2000 Connie and have had her for over 5 years. Never had a dropping come up.
If you are aware of the big gas tank,I don't think it should be an issue.
It may be an issue with the height of the rider. I am 6'4" and she fits quite well...

Yeah, I think rider height has a lot to do with it. It's a tall bike, so shorter guys have more trouble with the weight.

...Get away from the top heavy comments and you will have a bike that will cruise all day in comfort, especially the later years, 1998+...

I don't think the year really matters. I had both first and second (94+) gen models, the functional differences were trivial.
The exception would be the first year, the '86s. Those had shorter bar risers and a shorter windshield, weren't as comfortable. Although a lot of people retro-fitted the 87+ pieces.

[tkent02]

Yeah, I think rider height has a lot to do with it. It's a tall bike, so shorter guys have more trouble with the weight.

You obviously didn't read my post, or the other guys. We are not short, it's a poorly designed motorcycle. The fact that some of you have been able to compensate for it does not change this.

[Ecklund]

Because XLs are great bikes.

Really? KLR is bad? I like the XR bikes a lot and assumed the XL bikes would be similar.

But the KLR seems like it would be a good cheap alternative to a BMW GS. Of course riding one might be a good idea...

[tkent02]

Really? KLR is bad? I like the XR bikes a lot and assumed the XL bikes would be similar.

But the KLR seems like it would be a good cheap alternative to a BMW GS. Of course riding one might be a good idea...

After riding a BMW GS, a KLR is a joke bike. Heavy, slow, no brakes, little suspension, unreliable and ugly as can be. And very cheaply made.

[RichDesmond]

You obviously didn't read my post, or the other guys. We are not short, it's a poorly designed motorcycle. The fact that some of you have been able to compensate for it does not change this.

Actually I did read your post, and I wasn't replying to you. I was making a comment aimed at the OP or others without experience on the bike. My statement was that shorter guys have more trouble with the weight, and as a generalization I think that's fair. Doesn't preclude the fact that some short guys ride it just fine, and that some tall guys struggle with it.
I'm sorry you didn't like it, but that doesn't make it a bad bike. (Nor does the fact that I liked it necessarily make it a good bike.)
It has a large and loyal following and sold in reasonable numbers for 20 years. Not one of the all time landmark designs, but a solid, useful one that fit the needs of a sizeable group of riders.

[GS1000G Shopper]

I couldn't stand mine. Too top heavy, wrong posture, wrong engine. Fairing is so-so, Handling is poor for anything with sport in it's name. Gas mileage so so, Seat was terrible. Could not sell it fast enough. Others will disagree.

Ride one a while before you pull the trigger.

No disagreement here. I had a 2006 model between GS1000G models . I don't miss it at all. The riding position was not at all comfortable. I'm over 6' tall and had a +7" windshield on mine. The wind protection was inferior to a Windjammer for me.

They had a decent forum when I had mine, but something happened and they split. I don't know about the new one. Of course, it was never as good as the GS Resources.

As for a suggestion, you have a GSX1100F, how about a GSX1100G? I just finished repairing mine (project bike) and it is great- mine has the factory fairing. There is a thread here on it in the "other projects" section. They are kind of hard to come by, especially with the fairing, but there are two FS in the road ready section here now, one of which has the fairing plus there is one FS on ADV Rider in PA with the fairing. The more I ride it, the more I like it.

[Guest]

I don't HATE the olde Connie, I just prefer the new one! I think the ZX-11 makes a nice sport tourer, though.

[GS1000S]

I had a 1990 Concour that I bought new. I liked some things about the bike but not others. Overall the Connies are a good bike and reliable as history has shown, and have a very loyal following. They came out with the ST1100 shortly after I purchased the Concour and I wished for years that I had bought one of those. Finally 19 years later I purchased an ST1300 and have really enjoyed it. It's a big improvement over the Concour I remember. The new 1400 cc.Concour is a whole different story and the writeups have been very good. 20 years was way too long a time for the makeover.