Serious consideration....1986 Concours...whaddya think?

[IraB]

No way to ride it before buying. 5" of snow on the ground when I arrived to check it out. But I was pretty confident after seeing it. Took my brother (lifetime rider) with me. He gave it the thumbs-up, and that was good enough for me.

Once I got some dry pavement to work with on Sunday, I was able to get it out for a thorough run-thru. Measured up just fine.

....just in time to winterize and put it under wraps until spring. Now I have all winter to shop riding gear and whatnot.

Sweet!

[connie_rider]

Congrats!!

Ride safe, Ted

[Walker18]

If you don't have overflow tubes on the carbs, do yourself a favor and send them to Steve to have it done. You don't
want any parts of the dreaded 'Hydrolock'.. Read Steve's section on Overflow Tubes for Absolute Hydrolock Protection
https://sites.google.com/site/shoodabenengineering/intake-and-exhaust

[LessPaul]

It's already got 'em. Thanx!

[RFH87_Connie]

Add some air to the rear tire of the car in the picture.  Other than that, nice looking bike.

[LessPaul]

Was waiting for someone to pick up on that.    It's my daughter's handicapper special (hand controls), and she's still working on her license. It sits most of the time and has a slow leak in that tire. Have since filled it up.

[Jet86]

Welcome to the forum LessPaul

I have an 86 to, bought it with 47k and now has 80k, been a very good dependable bike with basic maintenance witch i do most of myself thanks to the great people here on this site.

please ride safe and take your time getting use to it, specially when pushing it around or doing a slow turn, at first i had more then a few Oh S$$t moments but i learned not to lean the bike much and keep it straight up as possible even when turning and that helped me a lot with the top-heavy stuff, im only 5.7 and can't flat foot the bike so people who can flat foot it with both feet might not have as hard a time as i did but as i said i got use to it, been riding it just over 5 years now.

[LessPaul]

Hey Jet!   I'm very wary of the tipiness thing. Got some dry pavement over the weekend and took it out for a few miles and tested my limits a bit at stops/starts. I'll be very used to it in no time.

But moving it around in the garage can get a little tense. It's a honker. I've watched some online videos, but have still yet to get the hang of getting it up on the center stand solo.

All in the learning curve.....

[IraB]

Hey Jet!   I'm very wary of the tipiness thing. Got some dry pavement over the weekend and took it out for a few miles and tested my limits a bit at stops/starts. I'll be very used to it in no time.

But moving it around in the garage can get a little tense. It's a honker. I've watched some online videos, but have still yet to get the hang of getting it up on the center stand solo.

All in the learning curve.....

I'm 5'10 @ 190 and It's more about technique than muscle but does take some serious grunting.
More about pushing the stand forward with your foot and pulling the bike rearward with your arms than it is about trying to "lift" it.
I leave the side stand down as a back up just in case things don't go as planed.

[Jet86]

Center-stand trick is to make sure both feet of the stand are on the ground use the grab bar and bring it on up.

i learned from watching this guy on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0lbnHxBtSA

[elvin315]

I'm glad you stepped up and bought that Connie. An '86 in that good shape is a rarity. I know you're new and this might come a little too late for the purchase process but I suggest reading my Concours Overview. In it I give some history and the good and bad news regarding our bike. Some of the info might be dated as far as accessories go but all in all it should prove helpful in the care and maintenance of your new toy. Check out the rest of the FAQs for tips on suspension and brake mods, tire choices, seats, oil, windshields, etc.

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=574.0

[LessPaul]

Yours was one of the first posts I read when I was in the consideration phase.  Thanx!