Concours C14 thread

[cls]

I sold my '09 primarily because of the heat issue, FWIW. Unacceptable on a bike of this price/caliber. YMMV, of course. If they put the new ZX14R engine in the Connie w/a few changes, I'd be back in the game. I hear the heat issue is a done deal.

[dmasters458]

@Mr.Moose When I was looking for mine, I went with the 2008 because the price tag was better, but mine came with heated grips, tc can, and taller windshield. These are pretty popular mods so you might considering looking for an 08 or 09 with them vs a 2010 if the prices are right. they are out there. ps i got mine for $7400 with 15k on it. I've seen them here in the bay area for $8-$10k depending on year, mileage, etc.

[Gregster]

Is there some upgrade to fix the heat issue with the earlier models?

[cablebandit]

You can get rid of some of it by blocking the rear of the fairing with foam blocking. It will still cook your feet though. If it rarely goes above 80° where you ride I don't think it matters as much.

I actually wish my 2010 had some heat issues once winter rolls around.

[WSikorski]

Originally Posted by Gregster

Is there some upgrade to fix the heat issue with the earlier models?

ZSteve on the ZGGTR forum makes a set of heat shields that keep the engine heat off of your shins. http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=287.0

[OneMoreTime]

Originally Posted by Gregster

Is there some upgrade to fix the heat issue with the earlier models?

I ride the 08 C14 in the winter and ride my DL 1000 in the summer, both used are about the same price of a new C14. Works great for me.

[Mr.Moose]

Originally Posted by dmasters458

@Mr.Moose When I was looking for mine, I went with the 2008 because the price tag was better, but mine came with heated grips, tc can, and taller windshield. These are pretty popular mods so you might considering looking for an 08 or 09 with them vs a 2010 if the prices are right. they are out there. ps i got mine for $7400 with 15k on it. I've seen them here in the bay area for $8-$10k depending on year, mileage, etc.

First off thanks to everyone for all the input its great to get feedback like this.

Its hard not to look at the 2008 with the price difference.looking through adds tonight I saw a 2008 with 6k miles on it for $6999. I could do a lot of upgrades for the$4k-$6k the 2010 would cost.. But do know that the upgrade list in 2010 was pretty extensive. But i will say that in the scope of thing these are great "problems" to have..

[sweetwater]

Moose, you're so right, these "problems" are kind of funny things to have to work around on upper-end luxury sportbikes like the C14, but they make the whole thing kind of interesting. Keep in mind that some of it is personal preference. Some guys are still swearing off C14s all together in favor of their old C10s.

I fell in love with The Connie by riding my good friend's '08. He then traded on a '11 and immediately went to modifying the snot out of it. He did a gob of performance upgrades trying to outdo the ZX14 in terms of raw power (he's nuts). When I was looking for my own C14 I didn't care what year I found, but got lucky on a new-old-stock 2010. There was a comparably priced '09 on the floor as well, but my bike was "new" and I liked the warranty et cetera. Well, that and the fact that I'd heard blue was the fastest, most reliable color

This time of year should turn up some good buys either way. Let us know what you find and best of luck in your search.

[motocopter]

What helped me was collecting information on nearby C14's of different years, new or used. Those are below. It helped me get an good idea of where the bargain is. My choice wasn't leaning towards a gen I or gen II model. It was simple, now wrecks, no damage, low miles, stock, and low/fair price.

The "Gas Expense" figure is helped determine how much it would cost to retrieve the bike. All had to be doable round-trip in a single day. This is not included in the "total" prices.

I really liked the red 2009, and that turned out to be the only gen I that survived the cut.

One bike had scratches that amounted to $648 in replacement parts. So, those type of expenses had to be factored into an acceptable price.

I used MS Excel to build the tracker and this is how it was left in January of 2012. I ended up making an offer on a 2012 model locally. It was the ticket.

			offer $11.2k + tax
Year	2009	2010	2010	2011	2011	2011	2011
New or Used	used	New	Demo	New	New	New	Used
Location	Blarisville, GA	Primo Pwr Sports Lilburn, GA	Scott Lansford Crossville, TN	Amer MS Nashville, TN	Haydens OS Nicholasville, KY	Mtn Mtr Sports Kodak, TN	Barnesville, GA
Phone #	866-865-4290	770-985-8595	866-225-5890	615-834-8990	866-349-6675	866-381-4628	770-696-3768
Gas Expense	100	105	35	20	90	89	125
Bike Price	10295	13299	13700	14130	13479	13588	11995
Dealer Fees			195	149			0
Tax	793.44	1024.95	1055.86	1089.00	1038.83	1047.23	924.45
Total	$11,088.44	$14,323.95	$14,950.86	$15,368.00	$14,517.83	$14,635.23	$12,919.45
Year	2011	2011	2012	2012	2012	2012	2012
New or Used	Used	New	New	New	New	New	New
Location	Pandora's Eu MS Chattanooga, TN	Mtn Mtr Sports Marietta, GA	Mid-South Clarksville, TN	Mtn Mtr Sports Kodak, TN	Longshore Ctr Florence, AL	Cycle World of NJ	Bought at Mid-South
Phone #	888-332-2365	866-616-6415		866-381-4628	866-586-0075	856-795-7001
Gas Expense	69	98	0	89	50	!	!
Bike Price	11995	12518	15899		14695	13595	13805
Dealer Fees	199	626	261.5		345		261.5
Tax	924.45	964.76	1225.34	0.00	1132.54	1047.77	1064.00
Total	$13,118.45	$14,108.76	$17,385.84	$0.00	$16,172.54	$14,642.77	$15,130.50
		Bill @ Mtn MS in Marietta, GA 678-887-8665	offer
	$300 for saddle bag cvr
	$225 for LH fairing ctr
	$123 for LH fairing fwd

[dmasters458]

The fact that you can get this bike, with the way it stacks up against an FJR and the K1300 for $7000 with <10k on it is ridiculous. When I bought mine it was the most I have ever spent on a motorcycle. It is also the most comfortable and fastest motorcycle I have ever owned. And then I think about my buddies who ride Harley and how $7k will get you a 95 electraglide in need of a rebuild. The power of marketing i guess.

[FireIdiot]

I bought a 2010 ABS C14 from a dealer earlier this year for 12,000. Low milage, extended warranty and full of farkles. The only thing I need to add is exhaust. And I think I'm going to buy a CS One for myself for Christmas.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[cablebandit]

Originally Posted by sweetwater

He then traded on a '11 and immediately went to modifying the snot out of it. He did a gob of performance upgrades trying to outdo the ZX14 in terms of raw power (he's nuts).

Nuts indeed. The C14 will never stack up against a ZX14 because it's not supposed to. I ride with a slew of C14's from '08 thru '11 models. One in particular has done quite a bit to eek every last bit of power out of his.

Guess who's is the fastest? Mine, because I weigh 50 pounds less. He wasn't too thrilled when I pulled away from him like he was pulling a boat anchor.

[sweetwater]

CB, that is awesome. Every 30# equals one HP so you've got 'em by 1.67HP right out of the gate.

My friend is a total basketcase when he gets a new bike. If he can't be the fastest/lightest/wheeliest/koolest then he hasn't reached the Holy Grail...so, his search never ends. I think he enjoys the tinkering and the shopping as much as the riding, maybe even more. I gotta say though, he does ride almost every day and he doesn't let anything slow him down. He's a real enthusiast with the means to play with the big boys.

I am more boring, prone to keep a bike stock unless something breaks or really ticks me off. Aside from seats and screens everything I've owned in the past decade has been more motorbike than I've ever owned before. The 2010 C14 is no exception: more power than any bike I've ever had, plenty of tourability, and a huge fun factor for me with lots of laughs-per-hour. Now that I've seen the LeoVince pipe, I might "need" that addition, but still haven't gotten my head around pulling the flies and adding a PC 'troller.

[cablebandit]

Just go ahead and pull the flies. It takes 10 minutes and costs you nothing. The bike will actually have some bottom end once you do.

[sweetwater]

Like the devil on my shoulder: "do it, you'll like it, it'll feel good." OK, off to scour around for a pull-the-flies guide. Would it make any sense to pull them without any other upgrades or better to hold off until I get a pipe?

I can feel the cascade effect taking over