OK, ya caught me. Being that the bike shop in San Jose recently quoted me $830. and I really don't trust these "mechanics" anyways from the stories I hear, I will do it if I notice a lack of normal valve noise, the mpg drops or it runs differently.
As you know, I waited far too long to check/adjust mine, and it was way off. There was no drop in MPG and no valve noise. Although it was running poorly and performance was considerably off. As to whether any permanent damage can be done unless there are symptoms, I don't know; perhaps?The C-14 engine and running gear is built like brick outhouse- you would have to flog it mercilessly for years, never do any maintenance or be a complete idiot to harm it. 5 quarts of syn oil plus water cooling and being way under stressed means it's virtually bulletproof. My '74 Z-1 still purrs and rips after 45 years and it's air cooled.
OK, ya caught me. Being that the bike shop in San Jose recently quoted me $830. and I really don't trust these "mechanics" anyways from the stories I hear, I will do it if I notice a lack of normal valve noise, the mpg drops or it runs differently. I'm never selling it, so any harm being done is my problem. No one on here has complained of any burnt valves yet either, and I'm pretty sure there are more bikes with more miles than mine w/o valve checks. The spark plugs will tell a tale when I replace them after 10 years and 100k miles. Even though it is in perfect shape, the bike is only worth probably $2,000. and will outlive my riding time I'm sure the way I'm maintaining it. You guys can flame me, but I have asbestos underwears.
Boys and girls, the O.P. stated MAJOR repairs Oil, filter, fluids, pads, tires are not major repairs
'10 purchased in March of 2011, warranty runs out next month.
approx. 94,000+ miles
One set of spark plugs (@50,000+ mi),
two valve adjustments (@18,000 mi.+ & @50,000+ mi),
3rd-4th gears replaced under warranty for broken tooth on 4th gear @approx 48,000 miles.
<snip>
Many will continue to say this bike is bullet proof, and perhaps most are. However my experience was not unique, and once the dealer called the
area rep he was able to accurately guess what the problem was over the phone. He had seen this before. The tooth broke off of my 4th gear and
fell down into bottom of the case. No I wasn't rough on it and I always use the clutch to shift gears. I think there was a known heat treatment problem
somewhere in the mix as the 3-4th gear part numbers changed well before the 1st gear ratio change in '15.
other not bulletproofs:
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=20433.msg253669#msg253669
http://forum.cog-online.org/concours-14-zg1400-general-chat-and-tech/concours-tranmission/
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=19841.0
....so IMO, pretty reliable bike and I love mine,....... but bulletproof? No.
No flaming hear. I did mine once and dont plan to do it again.Just gonna ride it. I wanted a feel for how often people with high milage bikes checked them.IMHO the 1973-74 Z-1's are the best looking original superbikes- liking the black headers. Mine still has the original clutch, Mikunis, dual points and rear brake pads. My Z-1 smoked a lot of Hondas, H2's and Corvettes in it's day and still feisty.
Wayne
Added a pic of my 74
IMHO the 1973-74 Z-1's are the best looking original superbikes- liking the black headers. Mine still has the original clutch, Mikunis, dual points and rear brake pads. My Z-1 smoked a lot of Hondas, H2's and Corvettes in it's day and still feisty.
Hey guys, it's been a while but I used to be the proud owner of a 2012 C14. I owned and rode it for 2 years before trading it in and it had 50k miles on it when I let it go (approximately), but it was running great at that time with zero issues. I traded for a Triumph Trophy, a really nice bike, with serious issues after 30k miles! I am now on a Triumph Tiger and it, too, is a great bike but I am preparing to send it in for a warranty repair, bad alternator, and then see where it goes from there. The Trophy started failing the exact same way, bad alternator. Then, 2 of the gears had to be replaced, the clutch basket had to be replaced, and finally, it sucked a valve and that was the end of that bike for me. It spent 8 months of 1 year in the shop! The Tiger was their way of helping me get out of the Trophy. I do like the legroom the ADV bike offers but I do miss the wind protection offered from a sport touring bike (it's very windy and noisy on the Tiger and I am not a huge fan of that). I read how all of you are enjoying trouble-free ownership and I get jealous! I am 100% confident I would have had 200k miles on my 2012 had I not traded it. Do I regret letting it go? Heck yeah! I have always been partial toward the C14 and will be so until it dies! I did need to test the waters but in the end, I do miss my Concours and if my knees can handle it once the Tiger is done, there is a good possibility I am going back to the Concours. I miss my flashed C14; so much power, soooo smooth, so much fun to ride but I took the bait and have to finish what I started. Enjoy those trouble-free miles boys and I might be back, someday.Mike I remember you well since Ojai is one of my 5 favorite places to ride in Ca. I used to give you grief about the wife and spending money- all in good fun I hope. It's good to hear you are coming back to your senses after doing other bikes, and being disappointed. For most of us, C-14's are best.
....and will wait to see what the 2021 model looks like. I have heard that Kawi is going to add LED headlights to all their bikes so I am assuming the 2021 models will have them.
2021 model?...Wow, aren't you the optimist.
There are many reasons to want to go back to the Concours, only 1 or 2 that would keep me away. The main factor is going to be legroom; the ADV bike has sooo much of it whereas the Concours makes my knees feel tight!
I DO NOT care for the new color scheme and will wait to see what the 2021 model looks like.
I have heard that Kawi is going to add LED headlights to all their bikes so I am assuming the 2021 models will have them. I thought I needed all that technology that the Tiger and Trophy have but there is something really nice about the simplicity of the Concours.
There is a 2019 still sitting there on the showroom floor of my dealer...sales claims it hasn't even been an afterthought for most.
Maybe I'll wait till the 2019 drops below $10k and then get it! I'd ride that color for under $10k! I would take the green stripe off though!
My thoughts exactly when it comes to the color...peel off the green and paint what needs to be painted!