Text: Chris Myers • Photography: Adam Campbell, Kevin Wing

Kawasaki could write the book about playing the tease. For most of 2007, they coyly titillated the motorcycling world with hearsay about their long-anticipated replacement for the venerable Concours. Rumored release dates, tantalizing photos, and thinly veiled specs fluttered by, and each tidbit hinted at a machine that would share the DNA of the mind-numbingly fast ZX14. With all of the winking and nudging that was going on, Team Green obviously had something up its sleeve.

Over the last few years, the mercury in the sport-touring arena has been rising. Yamaha's much-improved FJR1300 and BMW's K1200GT came stomping in to set the genre afire with superbike levels of horsepower and torque. Kawasaki, on the other hand, seemed content to tend their coals - but for 2008, that all changes. In today's showrooms, yesteryear's technology will only go so far, and the folks at Team Green have stepped up to the plate, big time. Their old warhorse Concours, often said to have been Methuselah's daily ride, has been put out to pasture in favor of a completely redesigned tour-bred stallion, the Concours 14.

For any touring enthusiast who has ridden the mighty ZX14, it's all too evident that the velvety smooth sixteen-valve, 1352cc mill would make the perfect traveling companion. Sure, at 6000 rpm and higher, you'll feel like you've just been fired from a howitzer; but if used responsibly, this engine also rewards serenely, with a real-world roadworthiness rarely associated with a supersport model.

Shortly after the introduction of the biggest Ninja, the bags-and-fairing rumor mill began to churn. Then last winter at the nationwide IMS extravaganzas, an apparent working model of a Concours 14, roped off and displayed far from reach, had showgoers snapping photos like a horde of paparazzi hovering over Paris Hilton smoking a joint in Larry King's hot tub.

Finally, this past June, rumor became reality and the rubber hit the road. Kawasaki called in a bunch of us journalists, fed us breakfast, and then cut us loose in the wine country surrounding Santa Rosa, California. The finished product is a bold stroke indeed, an enticing combo of sportbike deployment and long-distance enjoyment in a package not so subtly branded a Transcontinental Supersport Tourer. All that's left to be determined is whether this new hotrod road (t)ripper lives up to the hype.

Be Careful, It's Loaded

There's no doubt the ZX14-based engine is the real name of the game here. It's essentially the same beast that has left a trail of torched rear tires worldwide. The mission for Kawasaki's engineers was to retune the big four-banger, channeling its incredible energy into a sport-touring power band that delivers more usable muscle across the low and mid range. That said, don't read retuned as detuned. Conventional wisdom might lead one to believe that tweaking for more bottom-end tractability ultimately sacrifices that famously stout top end. But "au contraire, mes amis," Kawasaki exclaimed. An all-new VVT (Variable Valve Timing) system nullifies this potential pitfall with remarkable results. The intake cam timing is advanced and retarded hydraulically in response to rpm and throttle position. When the C14 is slogging along in traffic or slicing through the twisties, the standard tuning delivers super-strong yet highly usable power at lower speeds. But when the guy driving the rental RV decides to slow down to snap a pretty picture, it's terribly easy to go ahead and add a blur to the image despite having a provocatively short passing lane. Just roll on the gas and hold on tight as the VVT alters the camshaft profile to a speedier bias, smoothly yet unquestionably transitioning the Concours into hyperspace mode. Thanks to this nifty new development, along with a digital fuel injection system controlled by the 32-bit ECU, the power is abundant, linear, and perfectly controllable from dead stop to triple digits across the entire rev range. Even the choppiness associated with fuel injection is negligible at best.

(End of preview text.)