Kawasaki Concours 1000 Review

Overall Rating

full coverage faring, largest fuel tank in the market, huge saddlebags, lots of power, same size tires as Honda Aspencade, lowest cost in the class, traditional styling, lots of aftermarket parts available.

windshield causes buffeting above 55, handlebars are too low, pegs are too high, some people complain of buzzing--not on mine.

The Kawasaki Concours 1000 motorcycle was last updated in 1994 which means to me that it needed little modification to keep up with the market. It could come out of the factory with a better windshield, higher bars, and lower pegs, however. Kawasaki does not offer a factory trunk to match the saddlebags but Givi offers many models that work well.
Its competitors, the BMW 1200RT, and the Honda 1100ST are almost double the cost and require the same modifications to be comfortable for long hauls over 200mi. Many "Connie" owners put hundreds of thousands of miles on a single bike and return to Connies after trying one or more of its competitors.
It also has the largest fuel tank of any factory motorcycle presently in existance at 7.5 American gallons. Some claim this makes it top heavy but I've never noticed that and I'm a small guy, weighing only 145lbs. Its less top heavy than my old bike, Honda's GL500Interstate.
However, the faring could be built out of thicker material. Mine, 18 yrs old, has had some warping and parts of it are hand bendable but then again what do you expect after 18 years. Even after all that time and no rebuilds the engine/drive train is still very reliable, powerful, and smooth running(for a straight four).
Over all I have found that riding the Connie has been a pleasant experience and trouble free

Members' Comments onhambikenut's Review

• franklb7 on 10th Jun 2005

  Handle bars are too low, buzzing is back of seat and the biggest problem is when using rear brake your foot hits the faring and not the brake. other that that i love my bike.

• hambikenut on 25th Oct 2005

  My foot never hits the faring, and the buzziness has never bothered me. I now have 6,000 miles on the bike. I put handle bar risers on it and added a Givi trunk. Its still a great bike. Too bad Kawasaki has cancelled its production with 2005 being the last model. And they are not replacing it with a new sport-tourer either!

• gthomas15229 on 9th Mar 2006

  You got some bad news about 2005 being the last year. I just bought a 2006 and I like it. I will be adding the risers and a Givi tour box. The '06 has eliminated the buzziness as far as I can tell. It handles like a dream. I have not ridden for 12 years but it makes riding very natural. I formally owned the Kawasaki Voyager XII and that was the best touring mc ever. It actually handled like a motorcycle, not like a two-wheeled car (Honda Goldwing). Too bad they discontinued that model.