• Can't post after logging to the forum for the first time... Try Again - If you can't post in the forum, sign out of both the membership site and the forum and log in again. Make sure your COG membership is active and your browser allow cookies. If you still can't post, contact the COG IT guy at IT@Concours.org.
  • IF YOU GET 404 ERROR: This may be due to using a link in a post from prior to the web migration. Content was brought over from the old forum as is, but the links may be in error. If the link contains "cog-online.org" it is an old link and will not work.

2010 -- Any heat issues

M

Mitch_Small_NJ

Big Wheel
Hello, I currently ride the ST 1300. I like the bike execept I'm getting tired of the heat issue. The 2010 C14 looks great! Can anyone say for sure that the C14 rides cooler than the ST 1300? Otherwise I'm sure I'll love the C14... Thanks
 
I came back through Manhattan from a 250 mile ride upstate last Sunday and hit gridlocked traffic on 12th Ave from West 72nd St all the way to Canal St (roughly five miles). The fan was on full time but I felt no heat off the Connie's engine. My legs would have been medium rare on my Triumph.
 
The 2010 C14 I own has been ridden in 100+ air temperatures. Yep, it gets hot along with everything else. The key is to keep moving, even if only a little bit. I suspect the heat management on the new Connie is about as good as can be done on a highpowered in line 4.
 
Note that they improved the C14 heat to rider for the 2010 version.  It was a bit worse on the earlier models.  At least that is what I heard.
 
Only someone who has owned both could truly answer that question! They also would probably would have gone from one to the other to truly feel the difference!
 
Mitch_Small_NJ said:
Hello,    I currently ride the ST 1300.  I like the bike execept I'm getting tired of the heat issue.  The 2010 C14 looks great!  Can anyone say for sure that the C14 rides cooler than the ST 1300?  Otherwise I'm sure I'll love the C14... Thanks
Click to expand...

Just re-read the OP, will answer. I went directly from a 2005 ST1300 to the C14. The C14 is cooler on the legs.
 
Mitch_Small_NJ said:
Hello,    I currently ride the ST 1300.  I like the bike execept I'm getting tired of the heat issue.  The 2010 C14 looks great!  Can anyone say for sure that the C14 rides cooler than the ST 1300?  Otherwise I'm sure I'll love the C14... Thanks
Click to expand...

Mitch,
  I test rode the 2008 C14. It was hot on the legs! I own a 2010 C14. No problem!
Rich
 
I don't know anything about the ST.  I ride a 2010 C14 in Dallas TX and commuted daily all last summer and had ZERO heat issues.
 
2010 owner - no heat issues for me at all.  Maybe some cold issues in the early/end of season instead now.
 
I had an 86 C10 and now have a 2010 C14.  The difference in heat management is night and day!  The old C10 was miserable to ride on hot days.  Although I have not had the c14 in any temps higher than 70 so far, I can tell that there is no heat issues with the C14.
 
I have owned both. The 2010 does not roast you right leg on the shin. I had blisters once from a 85 degree River Road ride and was wearing Olympia cortura pants without the liner.

The definitely moved the hot air off of the right leg.

Craig 8)
 
I rode the south part of the Ice Fields Parkway (Lake Louise to Saskatchewan River Crossing in Alberta) yesterday and could have used more heat.  Wet snow, 3 degrees above freezing and no traffic.  Lots of deer and mountain sheep (just off the road, fortunately).  No bears this time.  Pretty much had the mountains and valleys to myself, unlike tourist season in July.
 
Brand spankin' new to the C14, and my first post on the forum - I just bought an '09 and I got a blister on my right shin.  Is there any mod that can be done to deflect the heat?  Other than that, it's a fantastic bike.  Won't be worth much if I can't ride it without wrapping my leg in a heat shield. :)
 
Bink said:
Brand spankin' new to the C14, and my first post on the forum - I just bought an '09 and I got a blister on my right shin.  Is there any mod that can be done to deflect the heat?  Other than that, it's a fantastic bike.  Won't be worth much if I can't ride it without wrapping my leg in a heat shield. :)
Click to expand...

Yes there is a guy who goes by the name of Zteve on the forums. I do not know if he is on this forum or not. Anyway, Zteve makes a heavy rubber type heat blocker that installs in the fairing openings on the 08-09 C14. It does reduce the heat output onto your legs. He sells them on Ebay as well. They do work pretty good. I tried out a pair and found they did reduce the heat.
 
I have a '09 and a '10. I ride the '10 in the winter, and recently
went back to the '09. Holy Crap is it hot by comparison. I am
going to have to block off those hot air vents. It never seemed
like a problem before I until rode them back to back, but it is.
 
Thanks, Bob.  I'll try to find those.  Being in Texas where it is already pegging out over 100 degrees I wonder if added insulation is deflecting the heat to flow out somewhere else, or just cutting off the airflow all together.  We always have to worry about our bikes overheating down here.
 
Bink said:
Thanks, Bob.  I'll try to find those.  Being in Texas where it is already pegging out over 100 degrees I wonder if added insulation is deflecting the heat to flow out somewhere else, or just cutting off the airflow all together.  We always have to worry about our bikes overheating down here.
Click to expand...

Actually it will direct more heat out the side vents, where it should probably go. That's where I didn't care for them. Since I didn't have a problem with the heat in the first place. Directing the heat out the side vents made it pretty warm out in the air.
You see I like to stick my legs out in the air now and then to cool them from the heat of the sun baking down on them. With the heat blockers working so well, it forced a lot more hot air out the side of the bike. Then I couldn't cool my legs in the air any more, because it was much warmer. So I removed them. But let me stress, I didn't find the heat to be a problem in the first place. I just wanted to try them to see the difference. And yes they work!
 
I test rode an 09 and waited for the 2010s to come out as they were listed as much better at keeping the heat off the riders legs. Missed getting one but my 2011 is a lot cooler than the 09 as I remember but everyone's idea of hot is different. I do notice that the heat gauge goes up a notch quickly in city driving but it doesn't seem to get much warmer on my legs.
TJ
 
Cap'n Bob said:
Yes there is a guy who goes by the name of Zteve on the forums. I do not know if he is on this forum or not. Anyway, Zteve makes a heavy rubber type heat blocker that installs in the fairing openings on the 08-09 C14. It does reduce the heat output onto your legs. He sells them on Ebay as well. They do work pretty good. I tried out a pair and found they did reduce the heat.
Click to expand...

Link to Ebay :  http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Kawasaki-Concours-14-GTR-1400-Heat-Shields-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3f0a2aa30dQQitemZ270753506061QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
 
I too purchased the foam inserts for the 09 off e-bay and they work great.  It has been very hot in North Texas lately and they cut the heat issue down dramatically.
 
I wish the experience I had with these foam inserts was as good as everyone else's.  I installed them and took a 30 mile ride on one of our recent 105 degree days, and I damn near cooked my manly bits.  Seems the heat went straight up, and the tank area got even hotter than before.  Temp gauge on the bike went up another bubble, too.  The guy I bought the bike from has Muzzy dual carbon fiber exhaust and a power commander.  I'm going to download the software and see if maybe there is something with the PC map that is making it run so hot.

I've never played with engine mapping, or even looked at it.  I'll go slow and see what I figure out.

Thanks.
 
Disclaimer: This is my opinion and only my opinion on the heat blocker!


I didn't find the heat to be any worse on my C14 than other motorcycles I've owned and less than the C10. But I tried them anyway out of curiosity. The heat blockers did work for me very well. I found less heat coming back from the fairing. So they did work well. It forced them out the side exhausts or the fairing like they should. The problem for me is that I like to dip my knees out into the air to cool my legs, when they get a little warm from the sun, motorcycle heat, etc.
I found that now with all that heat coming out the sides of the fairing, cooling my legs in the air didn't work anymore. It was now really hot air off the engine, which didn't cool my legs anymore. Without the cooling of the fresh air outside the fairing. My legs were way hotter than they were before. Like I said, the blockers do work very well. They just created another problem for my riding style. So I wound up removing them. I liked the outside cooling effect for myself, more than I needed the heat blocked in the first place. When I said this on another forum, I was flamed for my opinion. Which was really strange since I said all along that the heat blockers do work as advertised. It goes to my saying that if you say anything negative against what people own, your a bad guy. No Matter how true it may be!  :))
 
Bobby, I added these to my 08 c14 and they helped a great deal.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Kawasaki-Concours-14-GTR-1400-Heat-Shields-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem415c18ed46QQitemZ280718011718QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

45.00 is semi-expensive for pieces of foam, but the person making them went to a lot of trouble to get the fit perfect.
 
Bink said:
I wish the experience I had with these foam inserts was as good as everyone else's.  I installed them and took a 30 mile ride on one of our recent 105 degree days, and I damn near cooked my manly bits.  Seems the heat went straight up, and the tank area got even hotter than before. ...
Click to expand...

+1

I can only agree with you<>the foam inserts stop the heat coming from the engine and the back of the cylinders from getting out. Hot air tends to go up so guess where all this heat lands up... :mad:
 
I noticed a severe heat problem on my new to me '11.  Felt like I was riding into a blast furnace, faster I went the hotter it got. 
Of course that's cause I'm in Texas and it was 107 today. :))

Seriously, the bike was not the source of any heat problems.  '10's and up are great, it seems cooler than my BMW 1200LT and I thought it was pretty good at heat management.  I'm really diggin' this Connie.
 
I moved to my new '11 from an '06 st1300.  I was sick of the heat issue and the wobble that would hit at around 110.  I'll  tell you that my '11 has neither issue and I couldn't be happier.  :)
 
Cap'n Bob said:
Only someone who has owned both could truly answer that question! They also would probably would have gone from one to the other to truly feel the difference!
Click to expand...

Many of us have been on both bikes.  Heat has been improved on the '10.

Of course some extreme off-road places riding at idle speed mine has been warm regardless
bigthumb.gif


20110713-DSC_1832.jpg

 
Can anyone point me to pictures and or instructions for how to install a reflective heat barrier between the gas tank and motor? With or without the heat blockers the tank gets too hot for me. But it gets hot faster, gets hottter, and stays hot longer with them in. Once it gets to hot it does not seem to cool down on the freeway.  So I took them back out, but want to try shielding the tank and I think it will be good. Rode the bike today when it was about 70 degrees and it was a real joy. If I can get the heat out of the bike a bit better it would be great.
 
Hi ^-^

I tried the heat blockers sold on Ebay and experienced the same problem with my 2008 Concours

IMHO, the heat blockers are pure crap :mad: as the issue is not trying to keep the engine heat away (remember we're talking about a thermal engine), but mixing it with fresh air so that the air surrounding the tank stays relatively cool.

I used this summer (30°-35° C) two pieces of used 15 mm hosepipe (the thing used for watering your lawn) running through the foam on each inner side of the fairing with a very satisfactory result :), not to speak of the cost...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top