Kawasaki Concours Forum
Introductions - Tell us a bit about yourself => Introductions => Topic started by: tenere on March 07, 2015, 06:21:07 AM
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Looking at a 08 C14 ,has 28000 miles on it with a rebuilt title .The seller was the told by the original owner that damage was superficial fairing,fenders and as such was a insurance write off.Checked out the motorcycle couple of days back,it appears in decent shape other than scratches on hard-bags.
Needs new tires front-rear & TPMS is not working and my main concern was noticed small oil leak onto exhaust header (nearest to coolant reservoir tank). Is this oil leaking common on C14 or where do you guys think could likely be leaking from,the seller is reluctant to open the fairings to let me have a look into origin of leak.
The seller is asking $5K,what would be a good price for the motorcycle in this condition.Taking it for a test ride today,is there anything else that I need to check before buying the bike.
Thanks
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Personally, I would want to strip off the plastics took for any damage to the bike that may be hidden.
During the test ride, take your hands barely off the controls and see how the bike tracks.
I have read several posts about the leak, and since the bike is about due for a valve check, you can fix it then. Either the valve cover or an o ring is leaking.
No opinion on the price, since I don't keep up with what they are selling for.
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Welcome to the forum, tenere. I wonder why they salvage titled the bike if the original owner took the insurance money and bought the bike back? The batteries are no doubt dead in the pressure sensors and can be replaced by you. Not a dealer option. The leak is probably the valve cover and is owner serviceable with a modicum of skill. The other known leak issue is the exhaust cam sensor o-ring which is also replaceable with a better aftermarket piece. The bike is pretty bulletproof. You might give the rear shock adjuster a turn to make sure it's free. Make sure two fobs come with the bike as they are the means to unlock the ignition. Replacement is not cheap if you lose your only one. I might offer less due to the title but the bike shouldn't be hurt. Good luck.
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There are some holes in the seller's story,he is a semi truck operator and has few motorcycles with rebuilt tile in his storage container.Think he must have bought the motorcycle at an auction and repaired the motorcycle from salvage.
The motorcycle has two brothers exhaust and power-commander .I like the look of the stock exhaust ,is it as simple as removing power commander and installing stock exhaust or would it need any re programming.
He has just one Key fob too and he could not kind a emergency key he said is somewhere underneath the seat.Any idea where this emergency key is usually stored.
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There is a small toolbox under the seat, the extra fob may be there. A new full size fob is a couple of bills, the smaller 'credit card' passive fob is $40ish. Both have to go to the dealer to register with the ecu. Loss of all fob will be 700 to1k for new ecu and fob/ programming. Returning to stock exhaust should be no problem. Since there is a PC thepast owner may have removed the secondary butterflies from the throttle bodies. Not a problem just nice to know. Is this an ABS bike?
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Yeah.was told ABS bike,will take a closer look when I take it for a ride today
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If you can get the VIN you could run it here http://www.kawasaki.com/OwnerSupport/Faq (http://www.kawasaki.com/OwnerSupport/Faq) and see if you can find anything about the bike.
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Welcome! My advice is don't buy it and look elsewhere.
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Welcome! My advice is don't buy it and look elsewhere.
Also a viable option.
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Test rode the motorcycle this afternoon,handles Ok.Quite different fell accelerating compared to my triumph rocket3 gets upto to speed in a hurry.
There is slight handlebar wobble at 30-40 mph if you let go handlebar.Is this normal but seemed go even out at 60mph
Rear tire has a slight bump on left side with uneven wear .
He still has old exhaust silencer but has dent on tubing not sure if that will affect exhaust flow if I install the stock silencer back.
He went down on price and think will go ahead and buy the c14.
Although got to change tires,valve clearance check and think will also replace TPMS battery during tire change.
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Wobble is not normal. Suggest r&r steering stem bearing and adjustment. Don't forget to acquire two fobs. Dent in the pipe might be oem.
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Was planning to leave the FOB in tool case always and just removing the key for locking steering.Does the key have a RFID chip or is that in FOB as well.
One drawback would be carrying the knob type key head.
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Was planning to leave the FOB in tool case always and just removing the key for locking steering.Does the key have a RFID chip or is that in FOB as well.
One drawback would be carrying the knob type key head.
If you are thinking about that, you might want to disable the Kipass system and just use a key. I'm not sure about it, but others on the forum could point on to the instructions.
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You can't disable KIPASS.
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But you can pull the battery from the active fob disabling communication.
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And why would one do that...so you can use the rfid, which is a pain? I don't see the logic in doing this. If the FOB works, which it does 99.999% of the time, then use it. If you don't like the KIPASS system get another brand of bike. It's really that simple.
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ouch...no be so fierce, Jim
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Grrrrrr.
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Good gracious! Put the fob in your pocket. Where do you keep your keys? In your pocket? I have no idea what the big deal is. Other motorcycles require a fob to operate and I've never heard anyone complain about it. Smh
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You can't disable KIPASS.
What is it you guys discussed about modifying something to allow you to still start the bike?
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What is it you guys discussed about modifying something to allow you to still start the bike?
That was about bypassing a stuck ignition activation switch.
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I think that there may be a Youtube video where someone got a real key with an rfid chip in it to work but no one else has been able to duplicate that. The ignition housing actually has to be touched by either the fob (if fob battery is dead) or the credit card spare key to activate the bike.
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Unless the frame of the bike has been certified, I wouldn't touch it. Frame /risk of damage is the #1 reason insurance companies quickly total bikes.
They'd rather total it than risk it being compromised after an accident. And the labor cost to certify is higher than the bikes value, frame has to be stripped.
A lot of times the frames are good. But one can't tell just by looking at it or making sure nothing weird feeling happens on a ride.
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Steve has a very good point.
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Looking at a 08 C14 ,has 28000 miles on it with a rebuilt title .The seller was the told by the original owner that damage was superficial fairing,fenders and as such was a insurance write off.Checked out the motorcycle couple of days back,it appears in decent shape other than scratches on hard-bags.
Needs new tires front-rear & TPMS is not working and my main concern was noticed small oil leak onto exhaust header (nearest to coolant reservoir tank). Is this oil leaking common on C14 or where do you guys think could likely be leaking from,the seller is reluctant to open the fairings to let me have a look into origin of leak.
The seller is asking $5K,what would be a good price for the motorcycle in this condition.Taking it for a test ride today,is there anything else that I need to check before buying the bike.
Thanks
Seems like I've seen 08 never wrecked with clean title for not much more than 5k.
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Ended up buying the motorcycle for under 5k and only thing will that will add is the 7db tip for Two-brothers exhaust .
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Nice bike. Congrats! I like the lowers painted to match. Enjoy it
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Ended up buying the motorcycle for under 5k and only thing will that will add is the 7db tip for Two-brothers exhaust .
Looks nice! Congrats!