Got it. Thanks!

Here is the install of the Denali D2 LED driving lights, one on each side of the front wheel. I fabricated and powder coated the brackets.

* Last updated by: privateer on 4/11/2012 @ 5:02 AM *

Hi privateer,I have being riding a 07 zx14 for the last 5 years and now I am 56 years old have decided to order a new c14 because I need extra comfort and don't need the raw speed any more. Since you are riding a c14, what do you think of it. Thanks for any advise you can give me.

I love it. I'm leaving the stock exhaust on it, it is so quiet the tunes in my C3 sound like a symphony hall now. It is smooth and have excellant grunt off idle. Balance is fantastic, despite the heavier front end. The forks and shock are upgraded to deal with a different distribution of weight and riding style.

And I can still ride it on my twisty 2nd gear mountain roads and have fun, because it sticks great and handles almost as good as my ZX14 did.

First, go to Cycle Ergo and add a motorcycle: 2011 Concours 14 ABS and then add a motorcycle : 2011 ZX14 and then click back and forth. See the difference in the seating position, dead stock?

Now, on the C14, add 2" riser blocks, and 1/2" dropped seat, and 1-1/2" dropped pegs. Make the riser blocks do 2" up and 2" back. I forget the actual values for the Genmar 406, but thats close enough.

Now look at the seating position.

You can ride farther, longer, in more comfort, on a C14 and for a couple hundred bucks, you can take that to the next level without really changing the motorcycle much.

I am about a week away from having the body panels back on, at which time I'll do a whole set of photos. I'm about 2 weeks from having the E52 top case back on it, I'm painting the lid gloss black and Admore is sending me the latest version LED light kit for it, which will not only do running and brake lights, but also turn signals. After I put that on, I'll do a couple different pictures.

Most of what I've done doesn't change the appearance of the motorcycle.

Thanks for the imformation, I'm so looking forward to the smoothness and quiet also.I am also looking forward to having a screen to ride behind. Like to see your photos when all finished.

Ok, all done

Left side... (see the Rostra cruise control actuator?)

Right side...

Front...

Back...

Baldwin Grand Touring saddle...

Console/Handlebars....

Closeup of Denali D2 LED driving light...

And of course, the Stebel compressor, mounted remotely....

Front MCE Canyon Bars installed....

* Last updated by: privateer on 9/25/2012 @ 3:03 PM *

Looking good what more do you have planned for your C-14?

I put the MCE Rear Saddlebag Guards on last night, and am waiting for passenger dropped pegs from Motorcycle Larry. He puts Yammie rubber-top pegs on his drop bars, and they make it more comfy for the passenger. Add in the Baldwin heated passenger seat and should be acceptable for most. Heh.

Pictures of whats new in a week or two.

I have to put Murph's dropped rider's pegs on. His remind me of the Ulysses (Buell) I put on the ZX14, nice and wide and long for comfort.

I need to drop the Nautilus plastic horns off the OEM mount, and mount them an inch higher. They probably won't touch on compression, but an extra inch is possible, so playing it safe.

And, I need to do the finish painting on my E52 lid, I let the first two coats sit and harden for a month now, so I'll wet sand it, and put two or three more thin color (Gloss Black) coats on, 2500 grit wet sanding after it sits another week, and then two coats of clear. All of it is Fusion Plastic, so it is sticking like crazy.

Once the paint is done, I have to take a bunch of little screw out along the inside of the lid, and pull the old Admore LED lights out, and put the new ones in. I will have brake lights, running lights, and turn signals after I do that. I have already wired in the bike side harness. When I was wiring in the relay for the brake toggle to the Rostra electronic cruise control, I also put a back-off style brake light modulator on, and ran +/- from the accessory leads in the rear boot, as well as +brake, and +left/+right. Those wires were just sitting down by the KIPASS ECU (the C14 has 2 ECUs) waiting. They are all cut and spliced into the Admore bike-side harness now, ready to go.

And eventually, probably not until riding season winds down, I need to build the heat control pod for the passenger, and wire it up and find a place for it. Quite small, so putting all the Kustom Komfort variable controls in it will sort of like building a ship in a bottle, but its worth it to keep it small and waterproof.

And thats just about it.

I did pull the Garmin Zumo 665's audio cable connectors up where I can get to them, so I can run my Schuberth C3 SRC wired and get good quality XM stereo from the Zumo, but I haven't decided what to do with them. Do I put them in a small baggy when not in use? Or a larger one so the plug from my SRC can be more waterproof? Or try to find a waterproof 3.5mm audio port I can mount on the ram tube covers somewhere? So far, I haven't found a good surface or flush mount 3.5mm female audio port.

just find a rubber cap for it
RatShack

Thanks, alg8er. I need a stereo 3.5mm socket though. The one you link is mono.

I found a nice 3.5mm stereo socket on Amazon just now.

I think to "waterproof" it, I will take one of my spare BMW sockets, and cut the bottom off, then place the audio socket inside it flush with the top, and fill it in with urethane epoxy. The BMW socket has its own waterproof snap-closed lid. Perfect.

When it rains, I'll just run Bluetooth.

* Last updated by: privateer on 4/19/2012 @ 8:14 AM *

That seat looks amazing

Motorcycle Larry dropped passenger pegs....

* Last updated by: privateer on 4/30/2012 @ 6:30 PM *

New pictures soon, showing MCE rear (saddlebag, small) guards, and Murph's dropped pegs, and I'm moving the Rostra cruise control to a cooler location.

Hi Privateer,how you enjoying your bike now you have it all finished?Is the riding position with your risers and dropped pegs working ok?and are you happy with your new screen?

Love the Cal Sci Large, up I am in a quiet zone, down I get great air flow into the upper half of my helmet, just up a little and still air flow but skimming the top of the helmet. So can adjust for temperature and speed.

Dropped pegs are great, just going to have to pull the rod out of the brake piston assembly and shorten it some, I think. We'll see.

Riding position is just about perfect. Just a slight forward lean, but not enough to put weight onto the wrists.

Picking mine up next week, went for the red, looks amazing in the sunlight. I haven't had a ride yet, but do you think the flys should be removed?

Don't pull the flies. The traction control relies on the ability to close the secondary butterflies to feather the rear tire to prevent slip.

Better to take it to Don Guhl, tell him you want the COG (Concours Owners Group) flash, and you will end up with a secondary butterfly table that opens the flies really early, and keeps them wide open as long as you are accelerating.

So you get the benefits of a more responsive C14, while still keeping the benefits of traction control.

Thanks for your advise, not sure if we can do that in Australia.

Pretty sure you could mail it to Guhl, just means the bike would be down for 2 weeks.

I'd do that before I'd pull the secondary butterflies and ruin traction control.

I think I will leave the engine and pipes as they are, I'm really over racing around these days, will concentrate on the comfort side,risers, screen and seat.I still have my zx14 if I ever get the urge to go crazy.Thanks for your advise.

Murph's dropped pegs....

Rostra CC moved to right side under air tunnel cover... to the left of it is the Dispatch 1 electronic fuse box...

MCE small saddlebag guard bars, Motorcycle Larry dropped passenger pegs, pinned saddlebags...

* Last updated by: privateer on 5/10/2012 @ 8:21 PM *

Canyon Bars (front) due in 3 weeks. I sure don't miss my ZX14 and I'm glad I didn't get sucked into the ZX14R upgrade.

I hear you there privateer I think a big victory is going to parked in my garage in another year or two. I'm starting to crave the plush comfort of a big fat cruiser.

Hi Privateer,Im with you on this.I rode my zx14 for 5 years and loved every moment of it,I almost bought the zx14r,glad I didnt because my new c14 is just so much more comfortable and a pleasure to ride,maybe Im just getting older and enjoy the comforts a little more,I still have my zx14 but now the c14 puts a bigger smile on my face.

Not sure if its getting older, or what. I've been riding with my hair on fire for so many decades that I like having a cool head now.

Besides, I was riding as a child passenger with my dad on his knucklehead (he got a panhead the year they came out, I think it was 1965 - I got to ride around solo on that one) when the Honda Dream first came to the USA, and not too long afterward got my very own motorcycle, a used Kawasaki H1 Mach III.

I was at West Point at the time. We weren't allowed to own vehicles until the last year (Firsty year) starting in the spring. So only for a few months actually. I was a sophmore (Yearling) so I had to keep the bike off post. I had a girl friend at the time who's parents lived on a farm (it was all soil bank, I helped mow it on their big John Deere tractor many weekends) and I kept it in the barn under a blanket. Beth, my girl friend, would take the blanket off several times a week when she got home from school, and start it up. Found out one spring when a friend gave me a ride there she was actually riding it around on the farm roads, because as we drove up the lane she passed us. I never should have let her go.....

Then in 1973 I traded it for a H2, which I kept when I got my Z1 in 1974. I've had Kawasaki's fastest bike ever since then. Until now. Now I have their best sport touring bike.