Picking Up Bike in Kennewick

Today I drove down to Kennewick to pickup my motorcycle. As I explained in an earlier post, I decided it was worth me taking the 220 mile drive from Redmond to Kennewick to save about $3000 on the cost of the motorbike. The Bike is a 2011 Kawasaki Coucours 14 (AKA 1400GTR in Australia), and because it isn't a 2012 I save a bit of money. There is no real difference between the '11 and '12 models, where there is big differences between the '09 and the '10:

For 2010, Kawasaki added the KTRC traction control and K-ACT ABS and brake assist, as well as linked brakes[4] which are optional in some markets and standard in others. The 2010 model also features revised bodywork to improve engine cooling, mirrors raised by 40 mm (1.6 in), a larger wind screen and with memory function, a handlebar-mounted switch to control the dash computer, variable heated grips,[4] and an eco-mode switch that tells the ECU to use a leaner, more economical air-fuel ratio at engine speeds less than 6,000 rpm and road speed less than 80 mph (130 km/h).[5] The tank-mounted storage area was removed and replaced with an auto-locking glove box in the left fairing, the exhaust silencer cap was changed, the instrument cluster illumination was changed from red to white, included key sets were changed from two active fobs/keys to one active fob/key and one passive mini fob/key, the front fork fluid levels were increased by 25ml, and the oil pan was modified so that the drain plug faces forward instead of downward. The ECU was programmed to limit top speed to 154 mph. The rear pannier covers were fully painted (instead of leaving a black area at the bottom).

The end result being that Kennewick had a brand new 2011 model in the colour I most wanted (black of course), which was 3K less than the new one in Lynnwood and was better equipped than the FJR and the older '09 Concours from the private seller. The only problem was getting that first 500-500 Mile service and driving to Kennewick.

Luckily enough for me, my rental car booking could be modified so that I could drop off in Kennewick. So after waiting on my money transfers to process from Citibank to Wendy's US bank account, I set off down to Kennewick with a cashiers cheque in hand.

The ride to Kennewick is both beautiful and ugly. Closer to Seattle is full of striking wooded mountain ranges and lakes. As you move further towards the middle of the route, the scenery changes to patchy farmland, then to eventually one can only describe as "badlands". Unfortunately I had no way of getting photos of the landscape.

I arrived in Ridenow Powersports in Kennewick, where I processed the transaction with the very friendly staff, then drove my rental car back to Budget. The Budget staff member was nice enough to give me a lift back to the bike dealer so I could pickup my bike!

I had to fit my iPhone mount to the bike so I could navigate back to Josh and Wendy's place in Redmond (I have the Navigon GPS App, which allows me to get GPS directions and listen to music on the bike at the same time). The staff at Ridenow (a man by the name of Ukiah to be precise) was very happy to give me a hand installing it. Once done, I was off down the highway back to Redmond.

As with my Hayabusa that I bought new, the bike has to be broken in. This meant that for the whole ride to Redmond I had to keep changing through gears to keep the RPMs different (apparently keeping a bike at one RPM level for a long time during break in is bad). Additionally I had to keep the bike under 5K RPM, meaning no super speed yet.

But, the GPS worked really well (even fades down my music to give me a direction), and I got to Josh and Wendy's without incident!