Year two brought on some modifications and 20k miles. I am starting with the windshield but for no particular reason other than starting in the front. The windshield is a big mistake by Kawasaki, I decided after looking around and being a frugal person that I couldn't discard a perfectly good windshield. My solution works well but is not the most attractive. I installed a Laminar-Lip, this was done with some hesitation as I couldn't find anyone at the time with experience with this on a Connie. I am 6'0 tall and I believe that is the most height an individual can be for the Lip to be effective on a Connie. I found that when I mounted it as high as possible on the windshield it gave good rain protection, not dry but good and outstanding protection from bugs. Wind noise was diminished by about 30% but of course a lot depends on the helmet you are wearing, mine is an Arai Astral full face.
Tires were next. I wore out to the belt the stock Bridgestone's in 5500 miles, not impressive at all. I contacted Metzeler for fitment and was advised that an all new tire is in the works but has not been homogulated for sales in the USA to date. From what my friends at Pirelli/ Metzeler tell me it is an absolutely awesome tire. I'll write a report when I get some. My second choice was Michelin Pilot Road 2 which is a outstanding tire. It is a dual compound tread, with great dry grip and the very best rain tire I have ever used. I found that tread life and handling improved greatly when I use 46psi. front and 48psi rear. I know what Kawasaki says, I am only telling you what I found to work very well, for me. I changed tires after 9000 + miles. Very respectable for a heavy bike, that is pushed, frequently.
Rear Shock preload. I adjusted my preload up a fair bit to transfer some weight to the front in order to get the bike to turn a little better. This along with the tire pressure increase made a big difference.
Passenger foot pegs were a real issue. My wife and I ride together and she absolutely hated the peg location. I really don't know what Kawasaki could have been thinking, the pegs could only be comfortable to a person 5"0 or shorter. I installed a set of peg lowering kits from Motorcycle Larry www.motorcyclelarry.com they were super easy to install and makes the passenger comfortable.
Summary
Year two , I love the Concours 14 it is not a perfect bike but I don't think anyone makes a perfect bike. With that said, I don't pull into any parking lot on the weekend that is full of bikes and wish I had something else. Sport Touring is a compromise that we all accept. A mix of comfort, usability, and performance, that each manufacturer is searching for . My tastes are weighted slightly towards the performance side but not much. If this matches your demands for a motorcycle go buy a Concours 14.
