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!

Motorcycle Shopping

On Saturday Josh and I went around multiple dealerships and looked at candidates for my bike in the next few months. It was really down to the Kawasaki Concours 14, and the Yamaha FJR 1300. Unfortunately there were not as many bikes around the Seattle area in the Sports-Touring category, but there was enough that I could get something.

The first dealer had a FJR 1300, and although he seemed like a really nice guy and all, he wouldn't let me test ride it due to my international licence without putting the whole amount of money down first. And if after riding I said I didn't like it, they'd cancel the transaction. This may have been the dealer's policy, and I'm sure they weren't doing the dodgy, but it seemed like they would have been in too much of a position of power if in the end I didn't want the bike.

A Kawasaki Concours 14

So we moved on to the next dealer in Lynnwood, who had a brand new Concours 14. Luckily they actually did let me ride the bike. I only took it around the block, but it felt pretty good. It had strong power delivery and actually handled pretty lightly for a bike of that size. It has a lot of technology on it: Adjustable windsheids, ABS brakes, traction control, 'eco drive' thing etc. I'd didn't have the grunt of my Hayabusa, but I wasn't really expecting or needing that!

Then we looked at a second hand 2008 Concours 14. Which looked good but was a private seller who wouldn't allow test rides unless he had all the money (which is apparently common here in the US). Also there is a big difference between the 2008 and and the 2010+ models, in 2010 Kawasaki put a whole lot of fixes and features in (including traction control).

Finally Josh and I went the Ducatti dealership in the middle of Seattle, as they had a second hand Concours 14 and FJR. It was too late in the day by then to test ride, but both bikes at least looked pretty good. They Ducatti guys obviously suggested I buy a Multistrada, which was very nice, but probably way out of my price range. The Concours 14 was at least a newer version, a 2010 model.

The Harley Road King I test rode

On Monday Josh and I went to the local Harley Davidson dealership. Before coming over I was moving away from the idea of a Harley, mainly due to the back problems you get on cruisers, the lower top-end power on them and the cost of one. However, I thought it was a good idea to give one a ride. In my price range I only really had the choice of a Road King or a very old Electra Glide. The Harley dealership allowed me to take a black Road King out for a test ride, and it was a beautiful bike. Quite hard to ride I found, although it would be something I could get used to, the way the handlebars are positioned and how my feet sat forward took some getting used to. And I guess like all cruisers, this thing shakes when stopped at lights. Also the indicators are all weird, a button on each handle bar is pressed to turn on or off the respective indicators. Also the luggage capacity was pretty small, but in the end the bike looked really cool!

After much deliberation, I decided to put a deposit on a bike, a 2011 Kawasaki Concours 14. I wish I had more time to think about it and ride some more bikes, but I'm running out of time. The 2011 is basically the same as the 2012, but $3K cheaper. Only problem is that I have to go pick it up from a town 180 miles away called Kennewick. The other issue is that I'm going to have to get the first 600 mile service on it, as there is no Ks on this bike at all. But hopefully it was the right decision in the end, the bike should be pretty sweet and hopefully I get a good sale price on on it back in LA.