Took Connie out for a final ride before winter today

"Connie" is my 2003 Kawasaki Concours 1000 in case any of you is married to somebody named Connie.  I wanted to clear that up right out of the gate.

Anyway, I found Connie on FBMP about 4 months ago.  She is powered by essentially a detuned Ninja motor of that era featuring 4 carbs.  I bought it not running (dead battery at least), and have since drained the old fuel out and charged and installed a new battery.  I sent it over to a local Kawi dealer who tuned the carbs, changed the fluids, and installed new back brakes.  Other than that, she was given a clean bill of health.  She has only 14k miles, and these are known to easily go 5-6x that mileage with no issues assuming they are maintained.

Anyway, I rode it 3 miles home last Saturday.  At 689 lbs dry, she's not a small or light girl.  I have owned many street bikes plus quads, dirt bikes and jetskis, but this bike carries the weight a little higher and even though I am about 6' tall I can essentially just get both feel flat on the ground while sitting on it.  

As a result, I wanted to get some parking lot time with it in an office building parking lot to get more comfortable with the size, controls, and power delivery.  I spent about an hour with her today and it was such fun!  She runs well but the power delivery is smooth and it doesn't feel overpowered to me (its rated at just over 100hp).

My one minor complaint is that my right leg feels crowded and I noticed I was slightly dragging the back brake.  Ill need to see if I can find a solution that still allows me to cover the brake without constant contact from my foot.

Overall I am super pleased with my (minimal) investment and I think she is quite a looker.  I am already excited to log a bunch more miles in the Spring!

Nice, don't see these that often, especially not this clean. Great cross-country bikes.

I initially thought it was your wife but then realized wives can usually be ridden in the winter months. I see my mistake now.

Is there adjustment on the pedal height?

In reply to jfryjfry :

Actually I found one manufacturer that offers lowered pegs.  From what I have read they use Goldwing pegs with a modified mount.  I really like the ergonomics of bike other than my legs feeling crowded so I am excited about this.  Many of the Connie guys also install mild bar risers too which I'll bet would make it even better.  

Great looking old school Connie!  Those were a staple in the sport touring community for a very long time.  You may be able to rotate the brake pedal one tooth on the spline to lower the pedal a bit.  It's been a minute, but IIRC the linkage was adjustable on those.

In reply to Rodan :

Thank you and you are absolutely correct. I literally just read on one of the forums yesterday that they are adjustable and I am thinking my brake pedal is at the highest end of its range.

I know the styling is very dated, but I think its a good looking bike from most angles and for how little I have invested in it I think its a bargain!

In reply to Loweguy5 :

I still think it's a handsome bike (but, then again I think most new bikes are ugly!), and the only reason I never owned one is because I was already on to water cooled bikes, and the Connie was a little less refined being a decade old by the time I was in that market.  

In reply to Rodan :

The bike is liquid cooled, but not fuel injected.  The bike is definitely less refined than modern bikes for sure!  4 carbs to sync is a pita but I had the dealer go through it and they have her running well.

In reply to Loweguy5 :

LOL... shows how good my memory is.  I would have sworn the early Concours were air cooled.  I know my ST1100 was much smoother than the Concours I rode at the time, but that was 30 years ago.