I stopped by the dealer today to schedule to service work for the Bandit. After talking with the Service Manager, I wandered over to the showroom.
Low and behold, a C14 in the used bike area. The dealership owner stops over (we are good friends) to say hi and I ask him about the bike. The original owner bought it new last Summer and put 4,000 miles on it. During the time he owned, all the service work was done and he added risers, a Throttlemeister, and a Cee Bailey screen. Good grief. Bike junky Ken gets aroused.
They are looking to get $11K for it. It's in perfect condition. NADA puts average retail at $10,850. I asked the owner for the VIN to get an insurance quote. I just emailed it to my agent to check the premium.
I have a service appointment for the Bandit on Wednesday so I'm dropping it off in the morning. The owner will let me take the C14 for the day if I want to take it for an extended test ride. As much as I like the Bandit, I'd trade it in if they made the right deal on this C14. You only live once!
So, I'm curious to hear feedback from the C14 owners here. The C14 weighs about 100 pounds more than Bandit. They put out a comparable amount of torque at around 100 ft lbs for the C14 and 93 ft lbs on the Bandit. The C14 blows the Bandit away in HP, 156 versus 115. I wouldn't mind not doing chain maintenance any more. Used C14's are rare right now. This may be a good chance to get one and let someone else take the depreciation hit. What's a fair deal on this unit? Am I crazy?
__________________ 2009 Honda Goldwing Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
I can't add much substance to your knowledge base... but I will say this.
The 9er has permanent residency in my stable, AND the C14 IS my next bike. (unless history proves the design to be flawed in a major and unrecoverable way)
Ken,
I knew it would come to this, I just thought it would be in 2010! Coming from it's predecessor rocket ZX11. Another 100lb reduces nimbleness.... But confess to drooling on the C-14. The worse part is I'm not in financial shape to take your bandit to a good home!
Well the insurance checks out fine -- $400/year with collision.
The biggest/only knock I'm reading about is excessive heat, and those reports are prevalent.
I'll probably take it for that test ride while the Bandit is having some service done. It's probably a 'grass is greener' syndrome. This bike is pretty excessive for casual sport touring.
__________________ 2009 Honda Goldwing Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
This bike is pretty excessive for casual sport touring.
Yeah but a CL65AMG is excessive but if i could buy it i would!!!! That's the best part of motorcycles most excessively awesome bikes are still under $15k!!!
A guy I work with has a ZX-14, Concours 14 and a FJR1300. Out of all of them I like the FJR best. I rode the Concours, it's a really nice bike, but it's a big beast. Seems to me it is "trip" oriented. Nothing wrong with that, but for a daily rider or a weekend backroad bike it would be like trying to handle a Wing.
Let us know what you think after the test ride. Don't get me wrong. It's a fine piece of machinery.
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"Towards the end of the vid, it looks like she may have had a bafflectomy." - MarylandMike
Today I had a blast riding my 100horse 9er all over on rolling hills and was happy with 43MPG. Seriously no real need for an extra 50horsies to guzzle gas and be super throttle touchy. It's more of a liability than a luxury, and this is from a guy that graciously downgraded from ZX. Instead of spending that coin/time on a less nimble bike how about a nice extended riding trip on the bandit?
The insurance checks out. I shot the VIN to my agent and Allstate wants $400/year (100/300, collision, $500 deductible) on the C14. Very reasonable given the zip this bike has.
I've posted this message on a handful of boards recently. The reviews are very mixed but pretty typical. The owners mostly love them and rave about the brakes and the power. Many others chant, "Just do it!". But there have been a couple of former owners that piped up and went in another direction due to bike width (it's 6" wider than a Goldwing), roaring heat and cooked right legs, fears about the ZX-14 frame recall, and limited mile range for a tourer.
Most of my riding is day rides, commuting, and the occasional long weekend 2-up getaway with the wife. But we have a GL1800 for the major touring duty so a C14 might be filling a gap that doesn't really exist, except in Ken's head. The performance of the C14 is appealing. But for most of my riding around town and day rides, the Bandit does just fine. And I'm awaiting the new Holeshot header for the bandit -- with that header added and the weight factored in, the two bikes are pretty darn close I guess.
Bandit: 496 pounds, 115 HP, 94 ft lbs (with soon-to-be-released Holeshot header, this goes to 134 and 97)
C14: 615 pounds, 154 HP, 100 ft lbs
But I'm going to take up the dealer's offer and take the C14 for the day while the Bandit is having some service done. I'll let you all know what happens!
__________________ 2009 Honda Goldwing Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
6" wider than a Goldwing!!?? Hmmm...I think you need to go back to that Trimuph Sprint ST you were drooling over a few months ago.
Yeah that was a shock to me too! Not that lane splitting is legal in NY but if it were, this would be a dealbreaker.
The Sprint is out though. Loved the engine but it's more sex appeal than anything else. Yeah, the motor is sweet but I thought the rest of the bike left a lot to be desired. It was lust at first site.
__________________ 2009 Honda Goldwing Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
Wow that is quite a nugget you found! Four hours to take its cloths off! That's much worse than the ol' clamshell ZX. No wonder that new too wide and overly complicated Beast overheats! You just shattered my C14 dreams. Naked is where it's at!
Enjoy the free testride and keep sending fan mail to Holeshot!
Your plastic overdose point jogged my memory when I sat on a C14. It has a plastic "blade" on the tank that had a tiny storage hatch. Huh?! Besides being fugly, the thingy wiggled all over at slightess touch. I kept thinking why did K's marketing do that?! Now I wonder if the rest of the plastic plethoria would creak, rattle and fall off. Some well engineered protective sliders/cage would have been MUCH more desirable.
Well, truth be told, I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. The mags are way too quick to crown a new king based solely on power IMO.
Yes, it's a very nice looking bike. Yes, it has a completely amazing transmission. Yes, it has stopping power most riders dream of. Yes, Ken loved the dash readout that cycles through odometers, tire pressures, date and time and temp, battery voltage, and MPG and miles left. The powerlet on the dash is a nice touch too. The ride posture was very comfy and I'm certain it will eat a lot of miles very quickly.
But I wouldn't buy one for many reasons. It's as wide as a bus. It's 100 pounds heavier than my current steed, but feels even heavier. It handles nicely at speed but requires much more exertion to push the bars through the turns than I'm used to with the Bandit. It's a pig at slow speed. It's a real chore to back it up, I'd need to squat much more weight than I currently do to back this thing up with ease. The valve check job is $600 plus parts. The heat on my right leg was considerable, even at highway speed. I can understand why some refer to the C14 as an effective form of male birth control. It doesn't have as much usable power down low in the powerband as the Bandit (yes it will get up and go, but you have to wring it out pretty good to get that feeling in the pit of your stomach).
As I suspected, there isn't a gap in Ken's garage that this bike would fill. Maybe if there wasn't a big GL, it would be different. But the GL is a pure tourer. I would only get the C14 if I was contemplating replacing both the GL and the Bandit. There's too much overlap between the C14 and the Bandit for what I would use these bikes for. Considering the length of my riding season, I can't justify the cash outlay to move to a C14. And when I turned over the FOB for the C14 and jumped on the Bandit, I felt like Superman in the twisties. She said to me, "Welcome back".
__________________ 2009 Honda Goldwing Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
Hah! Pretty close to the same impression I got. Nice, heavy, "sport tourer" that's time is better spent beating the freeways loaded. Nice piece of machinery without a doubt, but really purpose built in my opinion.
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"Towards the end of the vid, it looks like she may have had a bafflectomy." - MarylandMike
Thanks for the outstanding comprehensive review! It gave flashbacks of wrestling my my ol ZX rocket through turns sweating and wondering if I'd make it. You certainly make quick and rational decisions!
From my experiecnce, Id rather have the ZX14 and put a double bubble on it and some soft luggage and be done with it . As much as I really wanted to like the new Connie, I to felt it was just too big ! Can yo uimagine haveing that pig fully loaded with the Mrs on it ! It makes my back hurt just thinking about it !
Just makes you appericate El Bandito even more !
__________________
" Any book is a childrens book , if the kid can read !"
Mitch Hedburg
I've posted this over on the big Kawasaki board as well. I've been a member over there for many years, going back to when I was riding a big Vulcan 1500 cruiser. Some of the C14 owners have really taken my mini review personally and said "I've heard enough, the C14 will blow away the Bandit in every way." Well, this got me thinking of a tactful way to reply with logic rather than emotion and here was my reply:
To me, there was no comparison between the Bandit and the C14 low in the power band. The 1250 puts out nearly 90 ft lbs of torque at 3700 RPM's. The Connie needs well over 5K RPM's to make the same amount of torque. So, to Ken's built-in Dyno on his butt, the Bandit blew the Connie away down in the more often used area of the powerband. Perhaps this is why MCN gave it 3rd place in the roll-on category against the FJR and the ST13.
Now, wring that Connie out and she will blow you away, no doubt. Hitting third gear at 6K RPM's was breathtaking! But how often do most riders wring out a touring rig? Especially when2-up.
Finally, when you look at the power to weight ratios, things look a little different. This power ratio coupled with the big jump in bike weight and different handling characteristics are why I've decided to stick with the Bandit for spirited day rides, commuting, and around town fun, and the GL for the heavy touring duty.
*Note that although Kawasaki claims 156 RWHP, actual Dyno runs by tuners and aftermarket parts manufacturers such as Holeshot and Two Bros show considerably lower stock numbers of 143 and 138 respectively. This would put that ratio down in the .227 range.
__________________ 2009 Honda Goldwing Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
Ken, That's too funny that C14 brethren was uptight on your accurate review. Note though for the HP/LB ratio to be an accurate comparison you should add 2up weight of 300lb => C14 0.153 vs. B 0.170. At 11% higher the Bandit wins huge considering it's 100lb lighter! I am very discouraged C14 doesn't have supreme lowend grunt, which is crucial for ST acceleration. FJR still wears the ST crown.
I'd say the BMW K1200 GT may get the nod if you were to base it only on performance and handling. But if you toss in price and cost of ownership, the FJR eeks back up in the top spot.
__________________ 2009 Honda Goldwing Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
But if you toss in price and cost of ownership, the FJR eeks back up in the top spot.
I have no doubt the K1200GT is an awesome machine, hope to get some saddle time on one eventually. Never was drawn to the C14 from when it was initially introduced and I sat on one at the dealer, just seemed huge and not all that attractive IMO. Also missing little things, like the front storage compartment that both Honda and Yamaha offer on their ST's, might seem minor but that pocket conveniently holds my camera, wallet and cell phone readily at hand. Enjoyed my test ride of the ST1300, perfectly nice touring bike, but not fast enough and a bit too heavy feeling for my tastes. The FJR is virtually ideal for me, fits me well, extremely comfortable 2 up, powerful and fast, excellent handling and great brakes, really haven't found much to complain about or change yet other than the slightly heavy clutch and throttle action.
I'd say the BMW K1200 GT may get the nod if you were to base it only on performance and handling. But if you toss in price and cost of ownership, the FJR eeks back up in the top spot.
For some reason I always factor in price and cost of ownership.
One of my co-workers is a kawasaki "nut" (has a zrx and a zx-11; both older models). He has been in love with the connie since I started working there and at least once a day mentions that he will own one. Has stuff ordered for it already and does not even have the bike yet.
Anyways, i'll take a peek at it when he gets it and give my .02 on it. It seems like a pretty neat bike. But I suffer from short legs so I would not even ask to ride one. It's all I can do to throw my leg over my 919.
Looking back on this thread and the memories of that day-long test ride, I'm really glad I didn't make this move. I'm in love with the Bandit. And Holeshot's new header is now in production so Ken will have a little mod project soon. Not to mention 18 more horsepower and 14 less pounds!
__________________ 2009 Honda Goldwing Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
Do it!! That's all the info i got!! I've seen it and never set on it, buy it and enjoy!!
'02 Honda 919 - She's the only one for me!
Naked is where it's at! 
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