The Kawasaki Tourer That Makes Gold Wing Owners Look Twice
Few motorcycles earn the kind of loyalty the Honda Gold Wing commands. Owners rack up staggering mileage on them, pass them down through families, and still swear there’s nothing better for eating up long miles in supreme comfort. They’re not wrong — the Gold Wing delivers a plush seat, generous storage, and a silky-smooth engine that makes continent-crossing feel effortless. But loyalty has its blind spots, and even the most devoted Gold Wing rider will occasionally glance sideways at a machine that offers something their beloved tourer simply cannot.
That something is speed — real, visceral, corner-carving speed. The Gold Wing was never designed to be a canyon weapon, and it doesn’t pretend to be. But what if you could get 80 percent of its touring comfort wrapped around an engine that borders on the absurd? That’s the question the Kawasaki Concours 14 answers, and it’s why Gold Wing owners have been eyeing it since the day it launched.
Brawn Versus Brain
The Gold Wing’s pièce de résistance is comfort — and plenty of it. It gives you the ability to sit back, relax, and cover hundreds of miles in a day, stepping off the bike at the end still looking and feeling fresh. That kind of effortless long-haul capability encourages multi-day rides and leaves you with energy to actually explore your destination once you arrive. Where the Gold Wing loses out is in the corners.
Now, it is hard to fault the Gold Wing for this, since corners were never supposed to be part of the job description of a full-dress tourer, but this is a fact. If you had a motorcycle that gave you 80 percent of the Gold Wing’s comfort and yet allowed you to enjoy your corners to the fullest, that would be the perfect combination for someone looking for a sporty tourer. If you don’t mind looking at the used market, Kawasaki has a solution for you.
The Process Of Elimination
If you forgive the Eliminator pun, Kawasaki has only one product available today that occupies the same space as the Honda Gold Wing. Unlike the luxurious Gold Wing, however, the Vulcan 1700 Voyager has not been updated in a very long time, and it is not a fair contest between it and the Honda. We could look at other brands like Harley-Davidson, Indian, and BMW as well, but they all lack that little bit of madness that makes Kawasaki stand out among its peers.
The Concours 14 Is The Kawasaki Tourer That Makes Gold Wing Owners Look Twice
Kawasaki is better known for building boundary-pushing machines that redefine what fast means than for the measured, comfort-first approach Honda favors. But Kawasaki also backs that reputation with serious engineering depth — these aren’t one-trick ponies. The Concours 14 was conceived as a sport tourer capable of crossing continents without breaking a sweat, launched in the mid-2000s as a flagship of the old-school sports-tourer breed.
The 14 replaced its 1,000 cc predecessor in 2007, and its performance was so strong that it soldiered on all the way through the 2022 model year before emissions regulations finally caught up with it. Even so, Gold Wing owners who know comfort inside and out will never quite replicate the experience the Concours 14 delivers: something close to warp speed. And you don’t need Mr. Sulu for it.
Pricing Depends On How Well You Can Search And Haggle
The bad news is that it is no longer available as a new motorcycle. The good news is also that it is no longer available as a new motorcycle. Used examples hold their value well — a testament to how reliable the platform is — so expect to do some searching and negotiating to land a good deal. Factor in the cost of fresh tires and brakes at purchase, or very shortly after; on a used sport tourer that’s been ridden hard, those items are non-negotiable.
An Engine That Could Cross Continents And Also Hang At The Drag Strip
The Concours 14 engine carried on Kawasaki’s legacy of making big, brutal inline-fours with massive power and torque. This is a 1,352 cc inline-four with a compression ratio of 10.7:1. It generates 155.4 horsepower and 100.5 pound-feet of torque, and features variable valve timing on the intake valves. The system uses electronic oil pressure to continuously vary intake timing across a wide range of degrees, giving the engine a broad, strong torque spread throughout the rev range.
A Top Speed Of Over 150 MPH Is Possible
Mitsubishi helped develop the variable valve timing system for Kawasaki, and the result is a top speed of over 150 miles per hour and a 0–60 mph time of under 3 seconds — remarkable figures for a big, heavy touring machine. That performance translates to effortless highway cruising even with a full passenger and luggage load. A six-speed gearbox and shaft drive were the sensible choices for a sport tourer of this type: the shaft requires minimal maintenance beyond routine preventive care and eliminates the chain adjustments that would otherwise interrupt a long tour.
Bulletproof Reliability Has Your Back, Too
One of the reasons the Concours 14 became so popular among long-distance riders was its proven reliability on extended tours. Kawasaki builds dependable motorcycles across the board, and the Concours is no exception. What set it apart from other Kawasakis of its era, though, was its oversized engine that barely had to work to sustain serious highway speeds. Where a smaller motor would be straining, the Concours 14’s inline-four was simply loafing along. That relaxed operating state is precisely why so many examples out there carry six-digit odometer readings without complaint.
The Chassis Would Be Advanced Even Today
The Concours 14 uses a monocoque aluminum frame similar to the one found in the Ninja ZX-14R, with the engine serving as a stressed member. The suspension consists of a 43 mm inverted front fork with adjustable rebound damping and spring preload, and a Tetra-lever double-sided swingarm with stepless rebound damping adjustment and a remote spring preload adjuster. Suspension travel is 4.4 inches at the front and 5.4 inches at the rear. The brakes were respectable for their era: twin 310 mm petal discs gripped by four-piston radial calipers up front, and a single 270 mm petal disc with a two-piston caliper at the rear. Seventeen-inch alloy rims with tubeless tires are the natural choice for a motorcycle in this class.
This Is A Big, Comfortable Touring Motorcycle
The Concours 14 is a sport tourer, but it is large enough to carry a pillion and luggage without feeling cramped. It measures 87.8 inches long and 31.1 inches wide, with a 59.8-inch wheelbase. The seat height of 32.1 inches is typical for the segment. Ground clearance is a modest 4.9 inches, so riders should exercise caution on rough roads. The fuel tank holds 5.8 gallons, and the bike tips the scales at 690.2 pounds fully equipped — a figure that reflects its touring priorities. Despite the weight, the Concours 14 strikes a genuinely impressive balance between performance and long-haul capability.
Modern Feature Set Only Misses Bluetooth And Navigation
The Concours 14 features an instrument cluster with two large analog dials flanking a central LCD unit — a layout similar to the ZX-14R — displaying revs and speed alongside a full trip computer on the digital screen. The notable omissions are Bluetooth connectivity and integrated navigation, as there is no TFT display. On the plus side, the bike comes with keyless ignition, an electrically adjustable windscreen, and standard hard luggage. Tire pressure monitoring and heated grips became standard equipment from the 2010 model year onward.
Among the mechanical and electronic features is an electronically controlled set of throttle valves working in tandem with the cable-actuated ones, smoothing power delivery in a manner similar to Suzuki’s SDTV technology. The brakes are linked, so applying only the front lever prompts the computer to distribute an appropriate amount of braking force to the rear wheel as well, even without input at the rear brake lever. ABS and traction control are both standard.
Speed Is Also A Luxury Feature
The Gold Wing will always be the logical choice for long-distance touring; no model will dethrone it. But the heart will long for the madness of the Concours 14, with its speed and corner-carving capability. You might arrive in style with the Honda, but the Kawasaki will have you grinning all the way there.
Source: Kawasaki USA
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