Took a little ride through the GA mountains

[David (N. Alabama)]

My trip started out in an airplane. Flew into Charlotte, NC




There a member of the Vulcan Riders Association picked me up at the airport and brought me to my hotel.



We stopped off for dinner at a Cajun restaurant. I had catfish smothered in a jalapeno sauce. It was good.


The next morning I rode on the back of his '07 Nomad 60 miles to Rockingham, NC to pick up my new ride.


Thank you Rick for the hospitality.



Here is my new ride.



Kawasaki Concours 14 ABS



This bike is amazing! So much power, but so smooth that you don't realize how fast you are accelerating. The plan was to take two days to ride the bike home. I met Tom in Clayton, GA and he rode through the mountains with me.

[David (N. Alabama)]

The Concours just feels so planted in the curves. Very easy to ride. You just have to pay attention to your speed on this bike because it protects you from the wind and is so smooth that you really don't perceive motion like on other bikes.

Some photos of the ride with Tom.

[David (N. Alabama)]

It was a great ride home and I was ready to get the break in fluids out of the bike and do the first service when we got home.

[debron]

Nice! Thanks Dave, for posting. Love to see travel photos from other parts of the country.

I've often thought of going to a sport-touring bike. What is the riding position and comfort like on the Concours compared with the Voyager XII?

[HMB Don]

David

Very nice bike, That would be a great platform for the new 2015 Voyager 1400? We could still have the Voyager 1700 for the V-twin people and the Voyager 1400 for the inline 4 people. We would have shaft drive, rear mono shock, keyless ign. with a top speed of 170 mph with bags and trunk.

Enyoy the new bike.

Look foreword to seeing you in Kanab.

Don Medina
2012 Voyager 1700

[David (N. Alabama)]

You can go to this website and compare some bikes riding position.

http://cycle-ergo.com/

Expand all the options and you can place the rider on different sections of the seat. You can also replicate adding risers to the bike to see the riding position.

I think the leg room is roomier on the Concours 14 than it is on a stock XII. It would need risers for the hand position to be closer.

I guess you could add risers, oversized windscreen, (although the electrically adjustable windscreen does get the wind over you), trunk with passenger backrest and some aftermarket passenger floorboards and have a touring bike similar to the BMW LT.

Right now I am still planning on being on the Versys at Kanab.

[Mr Jensee]

David, looks like you are really living large. I rode a friend's 1400 Concours the first year it came out and it is one fabulous motorcycle. You are right it is truly a jet plane on two wheels. Dude, how many bikes do you have anyway? More than a bike mag editor it seems. I wish for all the world I lived in your neck of the woods because all those roads are motorcycle heaven. Please allow me to enjoy your playtime vicariously cause I will never be able to do any of it myself. You are my hero.

[David (N. Alabama)]

David, looks like you are really living large. I rode a friend's 1400 Concours the first year it came out and it is one fabulous motorcycle. You are right it is truly a jet plane on two wheels. Dude, how many bikes do you have anyway? More than a bike mag editor it seems. I wish for all the world I lived in your neck of the woods because all those roads are motorcycle heaven. Please allow me to enjoy your playtime vicariously cause I will never be able to do any of it myself. You are my hero.

Ride as many as a I can before I can't ride anymore.

I guess some might say I have my priorities out of whack. No personal car, small house, no other hobbies. Love to ride. love to wrench, love to travel, love to post on the internet.

[Mr Jensee]

I'd say your priorities are perfect. Ride on bro.

[Jim Loiselle]

David,

I love your pictures and the new bike. I can't wait to see how you do on the Versys to Kanab. If I downsize I may look at Versys to tow behind my car.

[David (N. Alabama)]

David,

I love your pictures and the new bike. I can't wait to see how you do on the Versys to Kanab. If I downsize I may look at Versys to tow behind my car.

Thanks Jim, Got the Versys about ready to go. Here is what it looks like today.



I got Terry Adcox to build me a custom seat for long distance riding.



Did 300 miles on it today and not a bit sore.

This is what the original seat looked like



I had him cut out the hump for the passenger part of the seat and widen it so I can move around on the seat for comfort.

[Jim Loiselle]

David,

The seat looks great, Terry does good work. If you haven't already you should check out this web site for your bike and equipment tests.


http://www.webbikeworld.com/