2010 Kawasaki Concours 14: MD First Ride
To say that we were impressed by the 2008 Kawasaki Concours 14 would be a gross understatement. That bike represented a ground-up redesign of the original Concours -- essentially unchanged for a couple of decades. Despite being long-in-the-tooth, the original Concours had quite a loyal following, some of whom were aghast at the dramatic changes to the character and performance of their beloved sport tourer.
Most of the old guard that tried the new Concours 14 were impressed, however, as were we. What Kawasaki describes as "supersport touring" turned out to be a wonderful mating of high performance supersport technology and long range comfort. It looked like Kawasaki was in for another decade, or so, of small refinements to a winning formula, and that the first tweaks might be at least five years down the road.
Not so. Kawasaki went right back to purchasers of the 2008/2009 model, and started asking questions. While the bike was favorably received by its owners, there were distinct criticisms, including an uncomfortable amount of heat that reached the rider from the engine compartment and cooling system. To address this, and other owner concerns, Kawasaki went right to work on the Concours 14, and just two model years later is introducing some significant changes.
Source: 2010 Kawasaki Concours 14: MD First Ride
Most of the old guard that tried the new Concours 14 were impressed, however, as were we. What Kawasaki describes as "supersport touring" turned out to be a wonderful mating of high performance supersport technology and long range comfort. It looked like Kawasaki was in for another decade, or so, of small refinements to a winning formula, and that the first tweaks might be at least five years down the road.
Not so. Kawasaki went right back to purchasers of the 2008/2009 model, and started asking questions. While the bike was favorably received by its owners, there were distinct criticisms, including an uncomfortable amount of heat that reached the rider from the engine compartment and cooling system. To address this, and other owner concerns, Kawasaki went right to work on the Concours 14, and just two model years later is introducing some significant changes.
Source: 2010 Kawasaki Concours 14: MD First Ride
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