My first big/super-bike or cruiser was hyosung aquila gv650 cruiser... I was happy with it till i realized how bad are the brakes... I love doing long touring {1000-2000km}. And then i really felt the need to upgrade to something which can take me to "LONGER DISTANCES AT SHORTER TIME COMFORTABLY"....i had enuff of cruiser category bike.
Never like the looks of proper touring bikes and naked wont help for touring.. Did lots of research for over a month and found about ninja1000 abs... Again the looks specially the front lights was very conservative... Then i got to know about the fastest and the best "The ZX14R BEAST"...
For more than a month, read 50+ reviews on internet.. It was rated the best in sports touring category almost next to GOD .. I checked the price and it was costing a bomb in india ... Thought for over a month as we dont get a test ride for the beast here in india... So spoke to lots of existing buyers about the sport touring capability of the bike and as usual the feedback was positive..
I made up my mind and booked the bike... Riding it on a highway for longer distance was a dream so decided to do a cross country ride on the day of the delivery {1000km one way}... Here is what i felt after riding it for 3500km+ in 1 month..
Needless to say the bike is a bazooka when it comes to speed... But the best thing about the bike are its braking... but the problem starts after this.. for some reason i am not happy with the sports touring capability of the bike coz of following reasons...

1] Gets too much pain in knee joints and thighs after ridden it for more than an hour.
2] Lil pain in the lower back when ridden for more than an hour
3] Lots of wind-buffeting at speed over 150km/h
4] Sometimes seat is uncomfortable too for both pillion and for me.

The bike till now is in stock condition... I need help in setting it up properly for longer rides... I read lots of threads about the handle-bar risers, corbin seats, zero-gravity touring but not able to find anything specific to my 2014 zx14r abs model on ebay..

please suggest the right mods for my bike and from where to buy those..

* Last updated by: aryan on 3/30/2015 @ 1:36 AM *

Firstly, it isn't a sports tourer. It's a big sports bike with more comfort. You are going to get sore riding it long distance but then again, you will get sore riding long distance no matter what bike you ride.

In saying all that, I just did 1400 kms over three days. Yes I got a sore back and sore wrists but nothing fatal. Whenever I got off the bike, I had a stretch and was fine. I rode with a sport tourer, and adventure bike and a cruiser. Everyone was sore. I may have been a little sorer but not much.

What I have done is get 1.25inch bar risers, lowered the pegs 25mm, I have pegs I can lower up to 40mm but 25 was enough. Lowered the gear lever and lowered the brake pedal. Oh, and got a double bubble screen.

A ZX14 is never going to be a super comfortable ride but for me, it's comfortable enough. I can live with these minor discomforts for all the other things this beautiful machine gives me. I am 195cm (6'5") and 120kgs.

Thanks for the valuable info... Can you plz let me know where i can buy those mods online...

I want to mod the bike and give it a shot one more time... Also will the kawasaki service engineer be able to install all the mods without any issue? Or is there additional work required like drilling holes?

How about the seat? Are you using the stock seats? I have ordered zero gravity touring windshield.

Btw i am 5'10 and 70kgs..

The pegs, risers and screen came from ebay. The risers are just a generic brand as is the screen. I paid about $80 and $25 australian delivered.

These are the pegs.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/271366761640?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The pegs, screen and risers are dead easy to install. The gear lever just unbolt it and bolt it back on in the position you prefer. The brake lever is a little harder. Search on here for lowered brake lever for instructions. The big issue with the brake pedal adjustment is the brake light adjustment. Again, Hub gave a good explanation on how, just do a search.

Seat is standard. I would have thought for your size, the double bubble would have been enough.

I think that's it.

* Last updated by: AussieZX on 3/30/2015 @ 3:48 AM *

I bought The apex 4" Risers, they made it alot more comfortable for those longer rides. Plan on getting the touring windscreen soon. here are some pics, not yet done, ordered some different brake and clutch reseviors.

* Last updated by: Eray on 4/1/2015 @ 5:56 AM *

[quote]Firstly, it isn't a sports tourer. It's a big sports bike with more comfort./quote]

Sports bike? No way IMO but I reckon this depends on your riding history. It's a very capable sports tourer and an ideal compromise between pure sports and pure tourer but, having spent the last 30+years on pure sports bikes, for me the 14 is some way off true sports capability. Even Kawasaki themselves tout the 14 as Sports Tourer.
As far as mods go, bar risers, bubble screen, chain oiler and an Air Hawk seat for those long 600m plus riding days and thats about it. I'm currently 112kgs (working on it!) and have the suspension setting's towards the harder end of the scale but it's still softer than a sports bike which makes it a better all-round road bike IMO.

ZERO GRAVITY TOURING SCREEN.You'll like this.

It's a hyperbike.

Hagrid your wrong,it's a couch rocket,Aryan with your height and weight I'm surprised about hip and knee complaints I'm 5'7 have rearsets,stock screen and bars when I ride 800km days I make sure that I walk around a bit every gas stop.My butt is the only thing that gets sore,I'm not about to mod the seat, but intend to get an air hawk

pegscraper - I don't consider the ZX14 a sports bike, I was trying, badly, to make the point it isn't a traditonal sport tourer like the GTR1400 or Yamaha FJR1300. It's no where near as ergo friendly as those kinds of bikes. But I was also trying to make the point it is a very capable tourer besides this.

The 14 and 14R Big Sport Bikes which can be adapted to do some touring. They are not as nimble as a 1000 or 600 but they are a Cafe Style seating position bike with no luggage attachments without mods so they are SportBikes. The Concours is a Sport Tourer.

Thanks Aussie i have ordered the bar risers... i was looking for the same pegs which you mentioned... i will order them right away.

darryle yeah i do get pain in knee joint when i ride it for more than an hour.... if i am riding it for more than 5 hours with break every 1 hour, sometimes coz of knee pain i have to stretch my legs while riding the bike { i go down to 70km/h while doing this}.. Pain coz of seat is not that much and thats bearable.

I do take break every 1 hour and stretch myself but yeah i realized its not too ergo friendly right now with stock setting..

one mistake i did while buying gear was i bought the racing jacket which i was using during touring. The jacket is too stiff since its meant for racing purpose and not for touring. The AGV K4-EVO helmet was too tight for me {its still it is}.. my hat size is 56 and S ends on 56... everyone suggested me to go for S size... The helmet pain is so high that i end up taking break every 40-45 mts... So all of the above is not giving me the great experience i was expecting after spending a bomb on zx14r and the dainese gear/helmet..

I want to correct my mistake right now and first want to change the bike-settings and 2nd planning to buy a comfy touring 2 piece suit and a nice and comfy noise-cancellation helmet..

Suggestions of all you experts are welcome...

* Last updated by: aryan on 3/31/2015 @ 5:59 AM *

I also bought a Ogio mach5 bag... Was looking to pickup Kriega US drypack 40L combo set...
Does it work well on 14R? How easy is the installation??? And does it hold itself when the bike is ridden at 200km/h??

Also i have noticed that the Hydraulic clutch is too hard for occasional city use... Any workaround to make it lighter and softer..

Well if you are in the kind of pain after only riding for 1 hr, are you 70 years old??
I rode a CBR 1K now that's craped for someone 6 ft/190 lbs 210 with gear-- and done over 1,000 miles in 4 days through the mountains in Colorado.
I'm 50 years old with bad wrists back problems and I've had 2 shoulder surgeries and knee surgeries etc....
This bike is nothing like what you are saying, so far I've done a 400 miles in one day with all my health problems.
Either exercise to get in shape or sell it, you can do all the mods you want it will never be that touring bike you want it to be.

I apologize if I'm a hard ASS, Carinoart

i don't think you read the entire post clearly Carinoart.... also the purpose of the forum is to seek help and assistance... I am in great shape as i do workout 5 times a week.. And been doing it for more than 5 years.. But i am new to long distance touring on bike...

After riding it for over 5 hours {600km+}, the pain starts inducing in knee joints... Lower back and hip is bearable but this was projected as sports tourer... I was under the impression that it will be super-comfy like my cruiser.. But yeah as other mates mentioned its not a proper tourer. Its more of a hyperbike/sports-bike which can do comfortable touring.. I am trying to make it more comfortable... As i bought this only for that purpose.

Anyways thx for your feedback...

Longest ride I've done in one day is 798 miles and the only thing that suffered was my butt. Since that ride I've bought the Airhawk which makes a huge difference and well worth the money IMO.

Once again Aryan I think you may have the wrong expectations. The 14r is a comfy SPORT BIKE. Not a Sport Tourer. The sport tourer version of this bike is the Concours. The 14r is a comfy SPORT BIKE which can be modded to do some light touring. If you want to do longer distance "sport touring" it sounds like the Concours would have been a better bike for you.

The more often you ride your body will slowly adjust and adapt to the bike, over time I could ride further with less discomfort - a higher level of fitness also helps.
I had a bracket laser cut to move the pegs by 20mm lower and 10mm back,and fitted a MRA screen (www.mra.de/en)to help with wind buffeting at high speed. I'm 6'4" and find this helped for longer rides.

* Last updated by: nkd on 3/31/2015 @ 2:18 PM *

[quote]Once again Aryan I think you may have the wrong expectations. The 14r is a comfy SPORT BIKE. Not a Sport Tourer. The sport tourer version of this bike is the Concours. The 14r is a comfy SPORT BIKE which can be modded to do some light touring. If you want to do longer distance "sport touring" it sounds like the Concours would have been a better bike for you. /quote]

Sport or sport tourer??

Kawasaki Motorcycles

* Last updated by: pegscraper on 3/31/2015 @ 3:51 PM *

This bike can be whatever you want to be. It's all about how much you are willing to modify it. Mine if getting close to as capable as my FJR.

In stock form it's not even close to what I'd consider a sport-touring bike. Not even close.

* Last updated by: Auron on 3/31/2015 @ 5:41 PM *

In the USA the 14R is listed under the Super Sport heading. It is NOT a Tourer. The Concours is the Touring version of this bike. Mr pegscraper

http://www.kawasaki.com/

* Last updated by: ninja191 on 3/31/2015 @ 6:22 PM *

Take this, Mr Scregpaper! SuperSport it be.

Longest ride I've done in one day is 798 miles and the only thing that suffered was my butt. Since that ride I've bought the Airhawk which makes a huge difference and well worth the money IMO.

Glad to read this: I was on the fence regarding the Airhawk due to the price tag. I'll probably commit based on your input.

On airhawks site two models seem to be good for the 14,the R model is double the price.i need a lot more info to justify double the price.If I can do 800 km days without monkey butt I'm happy

pegscraper we don't get concours in india.. The only touring option were ninja1000 abs, triumph tiger and kawa Versys...

I found all of the above lil boring when it comes to looks and performance..

I am not expecting a touring performance from the 14R, but trying to make more comfortable for long touring as compared to stock settings.. The bike is so amazing and awesome when it comes to performance.. I don't want to give up on it...

You are right it will take few more months and few 1000's km more to get used to its ergo... thr is a long tour coming in may { 2500km to and fro}.. I want to make the bike in its perfect condition by doing all the mods...

I appreciate all the feedback and comments..

Happy riding.

[quote]In the USA the 14R is listed under the Super Sport heading. It is NOT a Tourer. The Concours is the Touring version of this bike. Mr pegscraper /quote]

So this must be a marketing thing? Kawasaki UK list the 14 as a Sport Tourer. Kawasaki USA list the 14 is in the same class as the 10R! I guess riders in the UK must have a completely different idea of what a Sport or Supersport bike is. It's true that those guy's who berate the 14 are usually those that haven't ridden one but call the 14 a 'Sport Bike' over here and you'll probably get laughed at. It misses the sport class by some margin but this is not me slagging off the 14 in any way. It's a half way house between sports and tourer and probably the best ALL ROUND road bike I've had in years.JMO