Concours C14 thread

Hey, I just test drove a c14 at a Kawasaki good times last weekend and loved it. I was very impressed with the power and electronics. Makes my ST1300 seem like old technology.

I'm going to get one soon. Been pricing them. The $13,250 seems like a great price today, but its sure to go down in the fall. If I wait I may be able to pick one up for below 13k.

Eight? How many C14's have you had?

I think the 2011 is the best year.

Forgive the misunderstanding. Ive had 8 BMW's. Heres a tip for new C14 owners. The 2010-11 windscreen has been updated already. just get a Laminar lip. seems to work pretty good.

I'd really been eye-balling a new C14, but the more research I've done the less inclined I am to buy one, and mainly for one simple reason...the stupid TPS sensors in the wheels.

- $160+ each to replace them, and most folks are only getting 2-3 years out of them before the battery goes dead.

- Battery in the TPS sensor is soldered in and not designed to be replaceable, though it can be done if you want to mess with it yourself. (dunno how many shops would be happy to have your wheels/tires sitting around an extra day while you take the sensors home though)

- If the TPS battery gets low it locks up the LCD display and requires you to do the two button tango to clear it out.


It's a shame as I really like the C14 and have always been partial to Kawasaki's, but I'm not going to spend that kind of money on a bike that has such a serious flaw and no readily available solution. If there were a patch to disable the TPS warning system in the KiPASS ECU or Kawasaki offered a sensor with a replaceable battery I wouldn't be so critical of it, but until that happens it looks like I'll be leaning towards the FJR1300.

I think someone came up with a way to replace just the battery, probably find that on the cog forum. I wouldn't let that deter you from buying an otherwise fantastic bike.

One of my TPS batteries is going. I got the flashy screen for a while, didn't bother me very much. I don't "live and die" by anything on that screen that is obscured by the TPS battery low message.

I been ignoring it, and it has mostly gone away.

As said, I wouldn't let THAT deter you from the bike. Possibly other things, but not that. I love mine.

I have ZX-14 Throttle Bodies on a shelf waiting to go in.

YMMV,
Barry

3 year wanrantee. buy the Kaw good times protection 6 years.
TPS is a non issue.

That's actually a good point. I got mine used still under the 3yr. OEM warranty.

I got an additional 3 yrs. through Kawasaki for about $300, and got my updated warranty paperwork in the mail like 4 days later. So I have 6 yrs. unlimited miles of warranty.

See www.zggtr.org and drill into the C14 Bike forum. The dealer is in Richmond, Va., and you can do all of it via email. I did.

Barry

Yes it can be done, but it's a hassle (break into the sensor w/o destroying it, unsolder the old battery and solder in a new one, they try to get the sensor back together w/o breaking it) and you still have to remove the wheels and pull the tires to get at it. I still think the ideal solution would be for Kawasaki to come up with a TPS that by design has a replaceable battery. That way you can just replace the batteries every time you get new tires put on (or every other time) and it only costs you $10-20 for the batteries.

I was told by my dealer that the warranty (standard or extended) doesn't cover the TPS batteries as they're considered a standard wear item just like brake pads. Some folks have reported select dealers going to bat for their customers to get them replaced under warranty, but I'm not going to rely on a dealers good will for something this expensive and common.


I haven't totally ruled out the C14 and still prefer it over the FJR, but they'll both do what I want with relative ease. I just don't like the idea of paying that kind of money for something and knowing it has a flaw (how significant is debatable, but it's still a flaw IMO) and the manufacture isn't doing anything to rectify it. Why should they, they're making a killing on selling new sensors (so much so that they're currently back-ordered with no ETA for availability).

warranty WILL cover the tps system. I have had both of them replaced twice since 08. the first time i got lucky and needed tires at the same time. since the tires have to come off to get the sensors out, i had new tires put on for free!

if your dealer gives you a hard time, tell them you will call kaw because you know thats not true...then find another dealer.

the cog forum has gone through a recent change, but still lots of good info there. member 'fred h.' is the guy who replaced his batteries. just takes some good soldering skills is all.

i think the issue will be resolved soon as kaw is getting tired of replacing these things. it has been a supplier issue.

From what I've read over at http://zggtr.org (used to be the concours.org forum), it seems Kawasaki Corp is the one who has changed it's policy regarding covering the TPS under warranty due to all the problems they've been having with them. As a result the better dealers are just replacing them at their own expense to keep the customer happy, while other's just quote Kawasaki's new policy. Now they're supposedly back-ordered with no estimated ETA on availability which makes matters even worse.

Fortunately one of the guys over there turned me onto a viable solution. His recommendation, if you don't want to be bothered by the Low Battery warnings just replace the sensors with standard valve stems when they go bad. I figured this would generate it's own error message, but he assured me that with no signal being received from the sensors the display will just read "--" for tire pressure and temperature.

if its that big of an issue, then kaw will be held to the warranty even more, not the other way around. the magnusson moss act clearly states the companys responsibility in that situation. mine latest set was replaced not too long ago, and kaw approved the warranty service. the problem is lazy dealers.

if indeed kaw is trying to opt out of there obligation, then it wont be long until alot of complaints with the feds should convince them to change thier mind. as i mentioned before, its not kawis fault, the manufacturer of the tps system (french company, iirc) will ultimately have to foot the bill.

I picked up my '09 Red ABS last week and I am in deep lust with this bike. I had already sold my ZX10 and Nomad 1600 and was actually considering a big GSA but the dealer network is not that convenient. I also want to make some other investments so getting the Concours for half the price just made more sense.

The red color I find stunning. I'm still breaking it in but the bike clearly hauls and gives me most of the satisfaction from my prior ninjas with more comfort and those sweet hardbags. The biggest suprise is the handling; I can't believe how fine a 600lb pig can feel through an onramp.

All shined up

Artsy fartsy​

I can confirm that not having TPS installed does NOT generate any kind of error/light.

One was a casualty of a tire changer and the other went dead after nearly 50,000 miles.

I would like to have that info, but it's not a showstopper for me..I'm thrilled with the rest of the bike.

Just picked it up today. 2011 Concours 14. First farkle is going to be a Kaoko throttle lock.

Man I love this bike...Maybe in the cards soon.
I have a buddy I ride with that has an 08 C14 and he has had the TPS sensor battery issue. I haven't read all 19 pages of this thread but forgive me if this has been mentioned here ( I know I said it somewhere before on ADVrider) but have you guys performed the " AIR PRESSURE " trick to get rid of the issue you're having? From what I gather from my riding buddy he was told by the dealer that in order to get rid of the TPS low battery issue ( not sure if it's a permanent fix) just inflate your tires to 70 Psi or slightly above and leave them for 24 hrs+ and it gets rid ( resets the sensor) of the stupid low battery warning thingy. He did it last june and it worked until he put his bike away just before winter. I haven't asked him if it came back but he never mentioned it...
Anyone else try it or have you tried it and it still comes back in the cold?
Thought I'd throw it out there, just in case!

They sure are a hoot ... i like mine more and more everytime i ride it.

****
70PSI!!!.
someone else chime in....Im guessing thats not good for the tire, maybe to pop the bead, but 24hrs? WTF.

No, the sensors need to see above 50 psi to wake up but it is only necessary when they come from the factory.