Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => The Bike - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: Khrome on September 17, 2011, 09:31:22 AM
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Ok stupid question time... When you sit on your C14 and are riding in a straight line, are the bars, front forks and fairing all lined up symmetrically? Something seems slightly off to me.
Khrome
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I have never noticed any asymetry on mine but its not a stupid question. I beleive it is possible for the front axle to get out of alignment with the front forks which would make the bars look out of line. TRy rolling forward in a perfectly straight line and check if the bars are cocked at all.
The manual has a front wheel installation procedure which may be intended to prevent this.
here is the procedure in case you don't have the manual:
•Before tightening the axle clamp bolts on the right front
fork leg, pump the front fork up and down [A] 4 or 5 times
to all on the right front fork leg to seat on the front axle.
NOTE
○Put a block in front of the front wheel to stop moving.
•Tighten the axle clamp bolts on the right fork leg first.
Next, tighten the left axle clamp bolts.
Torque - Front Axle Clamp Bolts: 20 N·m(2.0 kgf·m, 15 ft·lb)
NOTE
○Tighten the two clamp bolts alternately two times to ensure
even tightening torque.
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You could also string it. That is put it up on the center stand and wrap a string or cord around the front and back wheels like they do to align rear wheels on chain drive bikes without single sided swing arms.
Your back wheel if attatched properly should have no variables in its location. when you align your front wheel within the string so that you know both front and rear are exactly staight then you can inspect the bar and forks to see where the possible problem is.
I hope that did not confuse you, but the string method is a long time sure fire way to align the rear as I said on bikes with adjusters on both sides and would at least give you a point of reference to start your inspection of the front end.
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It seems my instruments are slanted to the left. I thought I was seeing things and have never asked anyone what they thought. All other items seem symmetrical thou.
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I was reading this thread just before I got off work. Riding home, I checked to see if mine was off any. My instrument cluster is ever so slightly shifted to the left but it is straight/square with the rest of the bike. Had I never looked at it this closely, I never would have noticed it, at least until I read this thread. Now it is gonna be glaring at me :-\ :)
Matt
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I was reading this thread just before I got off work. Riding home, I checked to see if mine was off any. My instrument cluster is ever so slightly shifted to the left but it is straight/square with the rest of the bike. Had I never looked at it this closely, I never would have noticed it, at least until I read this thread. Now it is gonna be glaring at me :-\ :)
Matt
LoL glad I'm not alone.
Thanks much for the replies so far. I'm going to try and check it closer. After just getting it I haven't wanted to know if it was off because I would be compelled to do something.
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All who grew up on dirt bikes probably remember taking a spill and having the bars come out tweaked. I would stand in front of the bike and hold the front wheel with my knees and yank the bars back straight. I figure the same problem could occur with a streetbike for a variety of reasons although the same solution probably won't work with forks as big as the C14's.
I had a Blackbird and whenever the rear chain was not properly adjusted the error would be very visibile in the bars to cockpit angles. Was far more accurate chain adjusting method than the marks on the axle cam.
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Ok stupid question time... When you sit on your C14 and are riding in a straight line, are the bars, front forks and fairing all lined up symmetrically? Something seems slightly off to me.
Khrome
its odd that you bring this. just the other day I swear I noticed that my foot pegs are in sightly different positions. one knee rides higher on the tank then the other. regular cruising its not to noticible but when I get up on the tank for the twisties it really shows up.
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its odd that you bring this. just the other day I swear I noticed that my foot pegs are in sightly different positions. one knee rides higher on the tank then the other. regular cruising its not to noticible but when I get up on the tank for the twisties it really shows up.
Maybe one leg is longer than the other ;D My left arm is 3/8" shorter than the right :-\
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Mine is like the top of the right fork is pulled ever so slightly back, so it looks slightly off... still not sure. I need someone to take a pic looking at the bars from your normal view centered so I can compare. :-\
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Mine is the same way. It has been bugging me forever!
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well if that drives you nuts, here's another place to look....
stand behind the bike @ about 6 ft away, allign yourself by looking at the back of the bike, bags, and bars, so you are looking right down the centerline....
then glance down at the bottom point on the fender and see how it lines up with the center of the rear tire.....
I am sure my bike isn't the only one that looks off by about an inch...an it's never hit the ground...
lemme know how yours looks...you may hate me for pointing this out. :'(
mine is an 08, but I don't see where that would matter much.
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It seems my instruments are slanted to the left. I thought I was seeing things and have never asked anyone what they thought. All other items seem symmetrical thou.
I thought I was seeing things after I got mine back from the dealer and I noticed my gauges seemed to be off to the left slightly. I put my bike up on the center stand and used a straight edge to make sure the front tire and rear tire were aligned. I measured the distance from the ground to the edge of each mirror and the right mirror was 1/2 inch higher. The floor was level.
I dropped my bike and broke the right mirror off and scratched up the plastic and had the dealer repair it, I swear either something inside is bent or they failed to put it back together right. I am about to take it apart and look. When I dropped it and broke off the mirror the bracket that runs from side to side broke and I do not thnk it is on straight.
My whole Kawasaki experience has been a pain in the butt. Final drive issues, issues with 3 dealerships, and Kawai Customer service. I guess I should not have left Honda after 24 years.
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I once saw a signature in someone's post on the Internet that addressed situations like yours.... oh wait, it is YOUR signature.
"Blame no one, Expect nothing, Do something!!!"
Brian
<snip>
My whole Kawasaki experience has been a pain in the butt. Final drive issues, issues with 3 dealerships, and Kawai Customer service. I guess I should not have left Honda after 24 years.
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Re I shouldnt have left honda after 24 years. I also have had a long standing preference to honda products. Heck, I have had 73,74,76, and 80 cb750's. 81 cb900f, 83 1100f and 750 interceptor. plus a 87 cbr600 hurricane and 99 vfr800. The 99 VFR was the end of the line on Hondas after continuing to search for something that gets my undivided attention. As I got a little older the cbr,s were out of the question and even though they are great bikes the st-1100 and st-1300 bored the sh*t out of me. Its like st stood for So tired.
Then along came the FJR. a 7 year 50k plus mile run on an 05 fjr made the Honda worship thing fade a little.
Now that the FJR has massaged the same platform for almost 10 years...Thats the 02 that came out in europe and the 03 forward for the states, it has also lost its place on top of the pile of japaneese affordable (under 15k for the most part) super sport touring bikes.
So here I am, a 99 vfr for sale never, a 06 dirt road bashing KLR 650 and the new King Of The Throne...C-14.
Maybe one day Honda will come out with a 160+ h.p. gear driven cam V-4 sport tourer that will draw me back in. The new VFR did not tug on me and it will take a big pull to get me off my new Silver Bullet.
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I once saw a signature in someone's post on the Internet that addressed situations like yours.... oh wait, it is YOUR signature.
"Blame no one, Expect nothing, Do something!!!"
Brian
I don't blame anyone but myself, It was my decsion to buy this bike and mine alone. I do love the bike but I have had a very bad experince with Kawasaki. I am sure many have had a great experience or they would not be selling bikes like they do.
I am doing something, the entire fairings are off the bike so I can figure out why it is not straight and I can fix the buzzing in the console. I will be trying some of the things I have read about on this forum and thank who ever posted them for that. I have also sent a formal complaint to Kawasaki concerning two of their dealerships, one who took 10 days to fix a final drive while I was stuck in a hotel, and the other who put my bike back together incorrectly and left out parts like the inside winshield bolts which I discovered today while taking the bike apart.
You are right that I should not expect much but I think almost $10,000 gives me the right to expect basic services from the company who built the bike. I do stand by the statement about Honda, but I am not complaining as much as I was wondering if anyone else thought the same about their experince with Kawasaki, I guess I should of stated that it was just my opinion and really is only important to me and my decsion making process when I decide to buy a different bike.
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OFFTOPIC:
My basic point was that coming to a Kawasaki Concours forum and lamenting how much better another brand is does not seem to be a reasonable course of action. I would not go to a Valkerie forum and comment how much better my C-14 is regardless of the fact that I feel it is so.
No ill will nor hard feelings toward you but I find the C-14 to be just about ideal and I am simply not going to agree that Honda makes a better product. Both of us may be but one of us must be wrong: I just do not think this is the venue where you can win with a pro- Honda, con- Kawasaki opinion.
Brian
I don't blame anyone but myself, It was my decsion to buy this bike and mine alone. I do love the bike but I have had a very bad experince with Kawasaki. I am sure many have had a great experience or they would not be selling bikes like they do.
<snip>
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I'm not a Kawasaki fanboy either, but I've had more motorcycles than I can count and this C14 is the only one I've had ZERO *issues* with ( >41,000 miles).
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Most things bolted to the bike are somewhat 'negotiable' in the specific position they occupy. Virtually all of the holes for fasteners have some clearance and the entire bike is the result of these tolerance / clearance stack-ups. So in reality I don't think your thoughts regarding symmetry are stupid, in fact it is almost surprising that anything bolted together from so many pieces could be straight.
The basic frame and frame parts should be reasonably close to in-line, and there is not much to be done to align those parts anyway. I would do what others have said and take a good look at the bike from the back and see if you can notice what seems to be out of alignment. It might be something very simple like the handlebars were biased to one side when they were tightened; the handlebar stanchions have a fair amount of clearance and if both sides were pushed in opposite directions when the fasteners were tightened, that along might make the bike seem a bit crooked.
Of course it is certainly possible that some component(s) are out of tolerance or not correctly bolted to the bike. Unfortunately I do not know of any method or technique to determine this other than very careful measurement from some fixed points on the frame.
Best of luck finding the problem and with a little luck, it will be something fairly straightforward and isolated.
Brian
Ok stupid question time... When you sit on your C14 and are riding in a straight line, are the bars, front forks and fairing all lined up symmetrically? Something seems slightly off to me.
Khrome
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I'm not a Kawasaki fanboy either, but I've had more motorcycles than I can count and this C14 is the only one I've had ZERO *issues* with ( >41,000 miles).
Thats cool, I too have owned tons of motorcycles, lots of brands and have never had to take one in for a warranty issue until now and that goes back to 1976. It also includes my ill fated attempt to own a HD. Again I love the bike but if you cant express your frustration with the COMPANY on the forum that makes the bike, then I guess you are just suppose to shut up and go away quietly. I am not that type. Kawasaki has heard from me by phone and now in writing, maybe they look at this forum occassionaly. Who knows.
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Actually, I believe you can express about anything you want here to the best of my knowledge. I am not a moderator but I have not seen many posts or thread deleted.
But you will have to accept the fact that there will be opposing opinions. Your experience with motorcycles is general and the C-14 in particular is not statistically relevant. You are also combining experiences with the product and dealers and lumping them all into one as if they were one entity; they are not.
Honda had a fairly nasty problem with Goldwing frames cracking but they corrected that problem, fixed the existing bikes under warranty and moved on. The <relatively> few people who actually owned one with a cracked frame might complain endlessly about Honda, Honda's dealers, Alcoa aluminum and whatever company made the electricity that was used to make the original, poor quality welds. Still, Honda has an excellent reputation for reliability and those few cases cannot offset tens of thousands of trouble- free products.
I think the C-14 is a fantastic bike. I too have had some warranty issues but they were all resolved to my satisfaction and I have moved on, now having past 73K miles and ridden the bike from one coast to the other and back without incident.
It is sorta' like 'Point, counterpoint'. This is the part where I would say "Jane, you ignorant slut!" if I was Dan Akroyd.
Brian
Thats cool, I too have owned tons of motorcycles, lots of brands and have never had to take one in for a warranty issue until now and that goes back to 1976. It also includes my ill fated attempt to own a HD. Again I love the bike but if you cant express your frustration with the COMPANY on the forum that makes the bike, then I guess you are just suppose to shut up and go away quietly. I am not that type. Kawasaki has heard from me by phone and now in writing, maybe they look at this forum occassionaly. Who knows.
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Actually, I believe you can express about anything you want here to the best of my knowledge. I am not a moderator but I have not seen many posts or thread deleted.
But you will have to accept the fact that there will be opposing opinions. Your experience with motorcycles is general and the C-14 in particular is not statistically relevant. You are also combining experiences with the product and dealers and lumping them all into one as if they were one entity; they are not.
Honda had a fairly nasty problem with Goldwing frames cracking but they corrected that problem, fixed the existing bikes under warranty and moved on. The <relatively> few people who actually owned one with a cracked frame might complain endlessly about Honda, Honda's dealers, Alcoa aluminum and whatever company made the electricity that was used to make the original, poor quality welds. Still, Honda has an excellent reputation for reliability and those few cases cannot offset tens of thousands of trouble- free products.
I think the C-14 is a fantastic bike. I too have had some warranty issues but they were all resolved to my satisfaction and I have moved on, now having past 73K miles and ridden the bike from one coast to the other and back without incident.
It is sorta' like 'Point, counterpoint'. This is the part where I would say "Jane, you ignorant slut!" if I was Dan Akroyd.
Brian
Are you sure the problems are not statistically relevant. I would think to determine that you would need to view the stats. The only people who know how many warranty issues the c-14 has work for Kawasaki and they are not publishing them, or at least not the real ones. I had two different Kawasaki Customer service people tell me on the phone thay they know their is a problem with Kawasaki final drives leaking. The first one was talking to me about the dealer in Las Vegas who did not have the correct tool to change out the bearing he stated, The tool is a required tool for Kawasaki dealers. You would think with all the problems with this issue the dealer would have one even if it was not required. The second was was a supervisor who I spoke to after I got home his statment was, "Kawasaki knows there is an issue with them (final drives) leaking and they are looking at it." In qoutes because they are his exact words minus the final drive. Also check out some of the issues on other Kawasaki bikes with this problem.
I have rode coast to coast several times with out a problem, the last time on a bike with 70k plus when I started. I just tried to take the trip of a life time from central Florida to Alaska and back. I had problems and was stuck first because a bike with 10K had and issue and stuck longer 10 days instead of the usual four because both the dealer and the Kawasaki Customer service were incompetent. I don't consider this general. it is very specific to my experoience.
With all that said I am not trashing the bike, I like it and bought it because I believe it was the best bang for the buck. My original statement was a question I have been asking myself as I have never had the number of issues on a new bike that I have had with this one and my statement was about my experience with Kawasaki overall not the bike alone.
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You know, my bike looks a little off kilter but it rides fine. It's only been down once and it fell on me so I don't think it was that. Doesn't affect handling or anything else. I ain't worried about it.
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You know, my bike looks a little off kilter but it rides fine. It's only been down once and it fell on me so I don't think it was that. Doesn't affect handling or anything else. I ain't worried about it.
Mine rides absolutely perfect so Im not gonna mess with it...I was just curious if it was a common thing that the bars were slightly skewed or if there was an adjustment under there I had not found yet... :)
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The bars are not adjustable but there IS a lot of clearance around the bolts so the bars can be biased a fair amount in both directions (away from center). You might want to loosen the handlebar stanchions and try moving the bars to a more central position; there are three bolts holding each one on and they are very easy to get to so it is an easy thing to try.
Brian
Mine rides absolutely perfect so Im not gonna mess with it...I was just curious if it was a common thing that the bars were slightly skewed or if there was an adjustment under there I had not found yet... :)
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The bars are not adjustable but there IS a lot of clearance around the bolts so the bars can be biased a fair amount in both directions (away from center). You might want to loosen the handlebar stanchions and try moving the bars to a more central position; there are three bolts holding each one on and they are very easy to get to so it is an easy thing to try.
Brian
:thumbs:
I will check it out... I put risers on my FJR back in the day so I was assuming there might be some play... every time I get near the C14 I just wanna go ride, I go out the the shop to look at it or check something and I just end up getting on and riding instead :o
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You know, my bike looks a little off kilter but it rides fine. It's only been down once and it fell on me so I don't think it was that. Doesn't affect handling or anything else. I ain't worried about it.
Maybe it's you that's off kilter then Jim?
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Why don't we discuss that in person next year at some point over multiple beers.
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Yeah, the liquid in the glass tilts if you put your drink on the fuel tank and the bike is on the sidestand. It looks wrong but is perfectly normal.... ;D
Brian
Maybe it's you that's off kilter then Jim?
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Why don't we discuss that in person next year at some point over multiple beers.
You're on! Then we can both be off kilter.
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Are you sure the problems are not statistically relevant. I would think to determine that you would need to view the stats. The only people who know how many warranty issues the c-14 has work for Kawasaki and they are not publishing them, or at least not the real ones. I had two different Kawasaki Customer service people tell me on the phone thay they know their is a problem with Kawasaki final drives leaking. The first one was talking to me about the dealer in Las Vegas who did not have the correct tool to change out the bearing he stated, The tool is a required tool for Kawasaki dealers. You would think with all the problems with this issue the dealer would have one even if it was not required. The second was was a supervisor who I spoke to after I got home his statment was, "Kawasaki knows there is an issue with them (final drives) leaking and they are looking at it."
I have experienced the leaking and the trouble with Kawasaki customer service taking care of it. I posted the whole story here shortly before the whole damm forum was deleted! Is that what you want to happen again? So then shut up and enjoy all the positive comments! Just kidding. About shutting up. The rest is true.
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I could swear mine was off-kilter as well. Then I rode to Floriduh where some blue-hair wanted to occupy a lane at the same time I was in it. Down she went and it is perfectly aligned now......Not really, but sounds good huh? (although the crash part was true)
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I have a new 2017 Concours that is a little crooked with the handlebars as well . It’s funny because the instrument cluster looks a little off as well. Were you able to sort out your issue by chance?
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My new 2017 also has the instruments slanted to the left. After looking at the bike it is obvious the fairings are not installed correctly. I mean either the way it was assembled, shipped or prepped by the dealer has the front fairing tilted to the left. Also looking at the gaps between the body panels, on the left side as compared to the right side, I see that the gaps between panels on the left are much wider than the right. Maybe removing the body panels and tweaking the mounting points will
correct this condition.
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Resolved the issue with my 2017 Concours. The instruments looked to be tilted to the left and seemed to be worse when riding. Put the bike on the center stand on a level floor. Then placed a torpedo level on top of the speedo and tach, sure enough the gauges were tilted left. I removed the windscreen and the access panel under it. Next I removed the two side trim panels, the one housing the little glovebox, and it’s mate on the other side of the cockpit. This exposed the mounting hardware for the instrument cluster. I loosened these two nuts and found enough play that I could tilt the whole assembly to the right so it was level. I reassembled it, instruments level, and went for a ride. Things still looked biased to the left on the highway so I returned to the garage and put it back on the center stand. This is when I noticed the fork heights were different. The left one was protruding through the upper clamp more than the right one. I loosened everything on the front end including the wheel. I pushed the right fork up to match the left, adjusted both per the manual, and re- torqued everything and went for another ride. Things were better but at highway speeds things still looked a bit off. The final thing I did was increase the preload on the fork springs and bingo, operational check was good. Took my level along on the ride and everything looks and is level both on the highway and on the center stand. In the end it was assembly tolerances and suspension set up from the factory. In closing I will add that the curved instrument cluster bezel and the round instruments are a bit disorientating and present a slight illusion when trying to decide if things are level or not, kinda weird. Things were obviously leaning left but are level now.
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Excellent!
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Always good to move things to the right. 8)
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Always good to move things to the right. 8)
Leave it to you to somehow politicize this...
:D
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What ? ? ? Your mind is in the gutter. He said things were better when he tilted them to the right. It's right there in his post.
I think you're watching too much TV Marty.
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What ? ? ? Your mind is in the gutter. He said things were better when he tilted them to the right. It's right there in his post.
I think you're watching too much TV Marty.
Hey, all I did was to quote my betters, and post a smily face. From that you get that my mind is in the gutter?
I may watch too much TV, always have and always will. 8)