The Honda Gold Wing is one of the best touring bikes you can have, money no object. So much so that you will probably never find an unhappy Gold Wing owner, and some of them are the third or fourth owners of the motorcycle! That’s how good the Gold Wing is. However, you can’t have everything in life, and that applies to motorcycles as well, even luxurious ones like the Gold Wing. It has to give up something to be so good at certain other things. And that is why there is at least one bike that Gold Wing owners look upon with envy.
Brawn Versus Brain
The Gold Wing’s pièze de resistance is comfort; lots of it. It gives you the ability to sit back, relax, and cover hundreds of miles in a day, and get off the bike at the end of the day still looking and feeling fresh. This will encourage you to ride for multiple days and still have energy to explore the destination once you have reached it. Where the Gold Wing loses out is on corners.
Now, it is hard to fault the Gold Wing for this, since corners were never supposed to be part of the job description of a full-dress tourer, but this is a fact. If you had a motorcycle that gave you 80 percent of the Gold Wing’s comfort and yet allowed you to enjoy your corners to the fullest, that would be the perfect combination for someone looking for a sporty tourer. If you don’t mind looking at the used market, Kawasaki has a solution for you.
The Process Of Elimination
If you forgive the Eliminator pun, Kawasaki has only one product available today that occupies the same space as the Honda Gold Wing. Unlike the luxurious Gold Wing, however, the Vulcan 1700 Voyager has not been updated in a very long time, and it is not a fair contest between it and the Honda. We could look at other brands like Harley-Davidson, Indian, and BMW as well, but they all lack that little bit of madness that makes Kawasaki stand out among its peers.
The Concours 14 Is The Kawasaki Tourer That Makes Gold Wing Owners Look Twice
Kawasaki is more known for making mental bikes that push the boundaries of speed as we know it. But it also backs it up with some incredible engineering. These products aren’t just one-trick ponies; they display a breadth of ability that is second to none. In the same way, the Concours 14 was envisaged as a sport tourer that could cross continents. It was launched in the mid-2000s, which means that it is one of the old school of sport tourers.
The 14 replaced its 1000 cc predecessor in 2007, and its performance was so good that it lasted all the way until the 2022 model year. Emissions regulations finally got the better of it. Yet, even today, Gold Wing owners might know comfort, but they will never get the experience that a Concours 14 can deliver: one of warp speed. And you don’t need Mr. Sulu for it.
Pricing Depends On How Well You Can Search And Haggle
The bad news is that it is not available as a new motorcycle anymore. The good news is also that it is not available as a new motorcycle anymore. Currently, a 2022 model can be found for a typical listing price of just over $13,000, which isn’t much depreciation from its $15,999 new price because of how reliable it is. If you put a little effort into it, you should get one for a little less than that. But remember that you will need a new set of tires and brakes as soon as you purchase one, or really soon after. Take that into account.
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An Engine That Could Cross Continents And Also Hang At The Drag Strip
The Concours 14 engine carried on Kawasaki’s legacy of making big, brutal inline-fours with massive power and torque. This is a 1,352cc inline-four with a compression ratio of 10.7:1. It generates 155.4 horsepower and 100.5 pound-feet, and has variable valve timing on the intake valves. This system uses electronic oil pressure and can continuously vary the intake timing across many degrees, meaning that this engine has a very broad and strong torque spread across the rev range.
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A Top Speed Of Over 150 MPH Is Possible
Mitsubishi helped develop the system for Kawasaki, and the result is a top speed of over 150 miles an hour and a 0-60 MPH time of under 3 seconds, even though the Concours is a big, heavy bike. A six-speed gearbox and shaft drive are chosen, as this is a sport tourer. The shaft drive offers convenience over long rides and zero maintenance beyond the periodic preventive work it requires.
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The Chassis Would Be Advanced Even Today
The Concours 14 has a monocoque aluminum frame similar to the one we see in the Ninja ZX-14R today. It uses the engine as a stressed member. The suspension consists of a 43 mm inverted front fork with adjustable rebound damping and spring preload, and a Tetra-lever double-sided swingarm with stepless rebound damping adjustment and a remote spring preload adjuster. The suspension travel available is 4.4 inches at the front and 5.4 inches at the rear.
The brakes were alright for their time. They consist of twin 310 mm petal discs with four-piston radial calipers and a single 270 mm petal disc paired with a single two-piston caliper at the rear. 17-inch alloy rims and tubeless tires are the obvious choice for a motorcycle like this.
This Is A Big, Comfortable Touring Motorcycle
The Concours 14 is a sport tourer, but it is big enough to accommodate a pillion and luggage with ease. It is 87.8 inches long, 31.1 inches wide, and has a 59.8-inch wheelbase. The seat height is normal for a bike in its segment (32.1 inches). But you might want to be careful on bad roads because the 4.9-inch ground clearance is quite low. The fuel tank is fairly big with a 5.8-gallon capacity, and the overall weight stands at 690.2 pounds, which is heavy. Clearly, the focus here was on comfort rather than outright speed, and overall, it has a great balance between performance and weight.
Modern Feature Set Only Misses Bluetooth And Navigation
The Concours 14 has an instrument display with two large analog dials flanking a central LCD unit. It’s a similar setup to the still-on-sale ZX-14R, and the dials show revs and speed. A full trip computer is included in the digital screen. The only thing it misses out on is Bluetooth and navigation, as it does not have a TFT. Other features include keyless ignition, an electrically adjustable windscreen, and standard hard luggage. Tire pressure monitoring and heated grips became standard equipment from the 2010 model year onward.
Among the mechanical and electronic features is an electronically controlled set of throttle valves in line with the cable-actuated ones. That helps smooth out power delivery from the engine, quite like Suzuki’s SDTV technology. The brakes are linked as well, which means that should you use only the front lever, the computer will decide how much braking force to apply to the rear wheel as well, even if the rear brake lever isn’t depressed. ABS is a standard feature, as is traction control.
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Speed Is Also A Luxury Feature
The Gold Wing will always be the logical choice for long-distance touring; no model will dethrone it. But the heart will long for the madness of the Concours 14, with its speed and corner-carving capability. You might arrive in style with the Honda, but the Kawasaki will have you grinning all the way there.
Source: Kawasaki USA