Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => The Bike - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: elp_jc on February 05, 2015, 12:40:31 AM
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Hey gang, was checking if my bike hyper-flashed with only rear LED bulbs (it did :(), and decided to try the feature that if you raise your screen, turn ignition off, and hit the screen switch, it stops the auto-retract (it works). In fact, you can operate the windscreen during the 5-sec KIPASS timer, so if you hit the 'up' button, you can raise it all the way again, and it stays there (awesome). Anyway, when I raised the screen, it made a horrible plastic noise. Went to investigate, and the moron tech who built my bike forced the left side of the body-colored panel under the black trim, in the arm's way. For what I could tell, no tabs were broken. And then, also noticed BOTH mirrors were not inserted into the body-colored panel underneath them, leaving a big gap, and not flush with the body-colored panel. All you need to do to fix it is remove the top pieces (where the storage compartment is), which requires removing the top black plastic tank cover. Then completely loosen the 3 mirror nuts and wiggle it until it snaps inside the body-colored panel. I also found the right mirror was quite loose, and noticed it vibrated on the highay ride home. Both are rock-solid now.
All the techs have to do is put the mirrors and screen, and can't even do it right. Oh, and the battery, where this guy rounded one of the bolts, routed the battery wrong, messed all 3 grommets, and terminals were loose, causing bike not to fast-idle. I'm used to this because have NEVER had a bike properly assembled, and I've bought over a dozen new bikes over the years. At least the front wheel and brakes come assembled, so no surprises with loose calipers and axle bolts (also got stranded another time on the way home due to completely loose battery terminals) :o. If you have this, need to reverse it asap to avoid permanent panel damage. Mine looks good, fortunately. Oh, and fairing bolts were super loose; check them too. Hope this helps.
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Not again! In the very beginning of this bike, the techs were fastening the mirrors improperly and actually cracking the fairings. I'm beginning to think that you bought from a dealer that has never sold a C14 before. At the very least you need to call the dealer and let them know what happened. You probably should call Kawasaki as well and give them the feedback. Kawasaki customer service number (949)-770-0400 then 1, then 5. If you don't inform anyone of importance (we don't count), then they don't know it's happening.
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They're bad at the factory for not tightening coolant hose clamps enough as well...not just the C14, on any Kawasaki. I've bought a couple new Kawi's with loose hose clamps, and I've found loose clamps on many others.
Rem
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Or aiming headlights at the front fender...
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Or aiming headlights at the front fender...
They're good at aiming headlights at the front fender. ;) ;)
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They're bad at the factory for not tightening coolant hose clamps enough as well...not just the C14, on any Kawasaki. I've bought a couple new Kawi's with loose hose clamps, and I've found loose clamps on many others.
That was the only problem with mine- it was very slow leaking coolant on the ground. Took it to the dealer and they tightened whichever hose clamp it was.
Remember what many dealers do for your hundreds of dollars of "prep" fee:
* Loose clamps
* Headlights pointed in the ground
* Under or over inflated tires
* Scratched bags
* Over/under filled fluids
* Unequal suspension settings
* Lost second fob
* Install battery backwards
* Strip bolt heads
* Lose bolt trim covers
* Overtighten the battery cage
* Severely undertighten the battery contacts
And more!
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That is why I never pay a prep fee. My local dealer ( who is now closed :( ) even let me participate in assembly and prep.
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At the very least you need to call the dealer and let them know what happened.
I already did. But will leave it at that; don't want to burn bridges with the only decent dealer anywhere around. But it's frustrating as hell. At least they built a 2014, but many monthg ago. There's no excuse for not checking your work. It's okay not to know how to do something, but freaking ask. My bike had a lot of the issues Maxtog mentioned. I was only allowed to 'build' my bike once; most dealers don't even want you watching their dirty work with the pathetic insurance excuse. This time they just called me that the bike just got there and was just built. The good news is no cracking, and everything looked okay after fixing thier crap. I think catching it early helped, since the plastic does bend when tightening the mirrors if not properly installed. Curious if any other recent buyers had this issue.
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elp_jc, just to get away from the dealer prep for a second and on to something that historically has been a problem (IIRC as it's been a while since mine was new)
but have you checked your header bolts yet? I'm fairly certain that this has been a factory problem for several model years of sending out header bolts finger tight, but I'll admit I haven't heard of it lately. Someone jump in here if I'm misremembering...I'm gettin' older.
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elp_jc, just to get away from the dealer prep for a second and on to something that historically has been a problem (IIRC as it's been a while since mine was new)
but have you checked your header bolts yet? I'm fairly certain that this has been a factory problem for several model years of sending out header bolts finger tight, but I'll admit I haven't heard of it lately. Someone jump in here if I'm misremembering...I'm gettin' older.
Farty, you screwing with a new owner's head or what? You know how serious he is about his bike. The tank and tupperware will be off tomorrow, for sure... ;D ;D Better post the torque specs soon . . .
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Farty, you screwing with a new owner's head or what? You know how serious he is about his bike. The tank and tupperware will be off tomorrow, for sure... ;D ;D Better post the torque specs soon . . .
:rotflmao: No, I wouldn't do that to him, after all he is here in Texas with me (albeit a time zone away). If he can't just skinny hand in a wrench from the side on a couple of them to check, then I'd say don't worry 'bout it. I'm sure I recall it was a widely reported discovery on the new bikes at one time. Again, I haven't heard anyone mention it lately.
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:rotflmao: No, I wouldn't do that to him, after all he is here in Texas with me (albeit a time zone away).
Where in Texas? I'm in the Houston area. BIG STATE, for sure...tp
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Where in Texas? I'm in the Houston area.
Just up the road a bit from you, Fort Worth. Dang...off topic again! ::) max' is gonna put us in the arena if we don't behave.
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Just up the road a bit from you, Fort Worth. Dang...off topic again! ::) max' is gonna put us in the arena if we don't behave.
FWIW, my mirrors and head bolts are fine. 08's are great. . . tp
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Farty, you screwing with a new owner's head or what? You know how serious he is about his bike. The tank and tupperware will be off tomorrow, for sure... ;D ;D Better post the torque specs soon . . .
Ha ha. Not that paranoid about the factory (dealer assembly, YES ;D), but I usually go over my new bikes with a fine comb, removing all panels, re-routing things better, zip-tying anything flopping around, and obviously checking torque of all critical fasteners. This will be my first exception, mostly because all the critical fasteners are not touched by dealers. And removing panels seems a lot more complicated than previous bikes. But your comment is an excellent one. And if I can just check one or two without removing any crap, like you suggested with just an open wrench, will definitely do it tomorrow. Loose header bolts can damage the valves, so nothing wrong with making sure they're okay. Most of those bolts are the locking type, which hope Kawi is using by now. What I found very loose were the fairing bolts (not even finger tight), so tightened them all by hand. My bike has a new TBR black-series (with no decal), grip puppies, Throttlemeister, LED city lights and license-plate light, and it's ready for a ride. Looking to go to Big Bend on an overnight trip next week to check everything, before a longer trip. Mainly the new screen and seat. And riding position and vibration as well. I don't expect any issues with the last 2. The screen I want the CopperDawg, but since I need to buy a lot of parts besides the screen, I'm balking at the $550 expense. If I'm not satisfied with the stock screen will order one for sure (when he's ready, in at least 3 more weeks by the time I return his color sample). But if I am, will seriously reconsider that expense.