X2. Both my experience and those of a couple of Connie owning friends who, like myself, have been riding since the late 60's.
Willie
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X2. Both my experience and those of a couple of Connie owning friends who, like myself, have been riding since the late 60's.
Willie
G
Guest
Guest
Yes to either!!
E
Ecklund
Guest
I didn't feel so strongly about my first year Concours as TK, but his list of the bikes limitations is very close to my experience.
The bike has a good following with a good forum. I did all the little tuning tips found on the forum and they mitigated some of the negatives.
I rode my bike home from Pheonix to Denver when I bought it. The ride included a high speed late night blast that is a good memory so I have a bias. TK's list appears less affected by personal bias.
The Yamaha FJ series seems like a well thought of alternative to the Concours.
Fix the Kat. Turf the seat and get a Corbin. I love mine for touring. Not the best in the twisties, but a fine bike with a great trouble free engine. Not to mention it goes like stink. I added 2 teeth to the front sprocket { not intentionally but Z1 sent the wrong part just before a trip } I like it. Just ticking over nicely at 80mph.
S
subforry
Guest
bccap: good to hear about going with a larger cog on the Katana - I have been thinking about doing that. Do you have hard luggage?
I think for now I will stay with the beast I know - the GSX1100F Katana.
The Katana is getting some electrical upgrades so I have been riding the GS850G and am being reminded how much fun it is to ride. Today I wound it out in first only to have a light turn yellow, pop-pop-pop (backfires) - what fun. Not sure if it was belching fire but the thought of it put a grin on my face.
No I have soft luggage from Moto centric which I really like. It holds it's shape when empty and it straps under the seat so I don't have to take it off when parked. And the Corbin seat, still available, is great for long rides. I wasn't too impressed with the stock one.
If you do adjust the sprocket ratio. Don't do it like I did. I was stuck with a front sprocket 2 teeth too large and didn't have time to return it. The sprocket cover case had to be modified by removing one bolt stud or it would have gone through the sprocket teeth. No biggie but you can accomplish the same thing the other way around. If I were to do it again I would probably go with one tooth though I have no regrets.
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Wow, surprising to hear all the hating on the Connie. 
I've had two of them, an '87 and a '94. Combined, put 50-60k on them. Daily commuting, long tours and everything in between.
The pros: Comfortable, good weather protection, fast enough, handles well for what it is, dead reliable, great luggage, good aftermarket support, and a very active, knowledgeable and friendly user community.
The cons: A little buzzy at high speeds, hot in the summer (but no worse than any other big sport tourer, and better than some) and heavy (again, common to the group)
The weight was probably the biggest negative to me, I just got tired of dealing with it around town. I'm not a big or strong guy, 5'11 and 150-155 during the time I owned them. Classic pencil-necked geek to be honest. In spite of that I never dropped it, and certainly didn't feel like a drop was imminent just in daily use.
Replaced them with a 650 V-Strom, which I'm extremely happy with. But the Connie is definitely a good bike, and if what you're looking for is a big sport tourer and don't want to shell out big bucks they're certainly worth looking at.
I've had two of them, an '87 and a '94. Combined, put 50-60k on them. Daily commuting, long tours and everything in between.
The pros: Comfortable, good weather protection, fast enough, handles well for what it is, dead reliable, great luggage, good aftermarket support, and a very active, knowledgeable and friendly user community.
The cons: A little buzzy at high speeds, hot in the summer (but no worse than any other big sport tourer, and better than some) and heavy (again, common to the group)
The weight was probably the biggest negative to me, I just got tired of dealing with it around town. I'm not a big or strong guy, 5'11 and 150-155 during the time I owned them. Classic pencil-necked geek to be honest.
In spite of that I never dropped it, and certainly didn't feel like a drop was imminent just in daily use. Replaced them with a 650 V-Strom, which I'm extremely happy with. But the Connie is definitely a good bike, and if what you're looking for is a big sport tourer and don't want to shell out big bucks they're certainly worth looking at.
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.
Been all over New England and have yet to have any issues.
Do a jet change and she will purr.
I had a '83 GS1100ED before and had to do some tweaking before I was happy.
Every vehicle I have owned needed some mods before they worked for me fine.
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+.
Windshield protects me in all weather.
I never close my face-shield unless I am in a down-pour.
Luggage holds quite a bit and she is a sharp looking bike.
There will be nay-sayers to any bike but look at the following these bikes have had and they were made, basically the same for almost 20 years.
I'm sure Kawasaki would keep making something for that long if it was wrong.
Granted there are different bikes to do different things.
My GS100 was no GSXR but I knew it and dealt with that.
I wish my Connie could go off-road but it ain't going to happen.
Look around and study what you are looking for the bike to do.You'll find it .
To show how much you can carry and still ride comfortably.
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.
Been all over New England and have yet to have any issues.
Do a jet change and she will purr.
I had a '83 GS1100ED before and had to do some tweaking before I was happy.
Every vehicle I have owned needed some mods before they worked for me fine.
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+.
Windshield protects me in all weather.
I never close my face-shield unless I am in a down-pour.
Luggage holds quite a bit and she is a sharp looking bike.
There will be nay-sayers to any bike but look at the following these bikes have had and they were made, basically the same for almost 20 years.
I'm sure Kawasaki would keep making something for that long if it was wrong.
Granted there are different bikes to do different things.
My GS100 was no GSXR but I knew it and dealt with that.
I wish my Connie could go off-road but it ain't going to happen.
Look around and study what you are looking for the bike to do.You'll find it .
To show how much you can carry and still ride comfortably.
There will be nay-sayers to any bike but look at the following these bikes have had and they were made, basically the same for almost 20 years.
I'm sure Kawasaki would keep making something for that long if it was wrong.
These are they same folks who make KLRs, remember?
M
Maddevill
Guest
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.
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:-k
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.
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.
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.
E
Ecklund
Guest
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.
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.