You should have learned. by now, tire change; the final drive stays in place. I remove the mufflers from the pipe and the loosen the caliper so it can stay on the torque rod. I swing the caliper up. With the bike on a board, the wheel comes out on the right no problem. Coolant bleed valves are on the front of the engine, too. There is a high quality purple gear oil. There is a fairing upgrade by Rifle that greatly improves airflow turbulence.
The zg1000 is legend. I have ridden thousands upon thousands of miles on several of them, including towing a trailer, moto camping, two-up multi-state touring and extensive 1052 build-ups. You cannot go wrong with this model.
Hell of a journey. Bought mine new in 1987 and heading to the COG 2023 National Rally in Oregon on it. Have many other bikes as well, but she is up to it as am I. Only 60,000 miles on 'er. Let the good times roll. Really enjoyed your story.
I've heard good things about the COG meetups. I actually joined the forum to try and diagnose a few issues, but the one that still eludes me is how hot this bike gets. It just traps heat in the fairings and cooks my legs. Nice when it's cold, awful when it's hot
I owned a C10 for14 years. 2 things, there are 2 oil drain bolts on this motor to get all the oil out. And when removing the rear wheel just take the right side muffler off(easy) and the tire comes right out the side.
I have since learned about the second drain bolt. The tire, not sure I did it the way I did. Maybe I was worried about rusty exhaust bolts snapping 🤷♂️
As a fellow Kawasaki owner I feel that I should remind you that the air filter for the contours is a saturated oil foam type. Don’t forget to oil it up! Great video.
27 year Harley dresser rider here looking for something different and considering a concourse. This was a well made super informative piece of work. Well done! I like the fact you were willing to do whatever it took, especially the tires. Great job, totally worth watching.
Thanks so much for watching! It's definitely a change from the cruiser style (I also own a Suzuki intruder). For me, personally, the riding position is better, but not everyone likes it. And yes... The tires were a bit of a headache. It would definitely help to have gotten them much hotter to install them easier. After doing it twice now I know what to avoid for next time
I must say as an owner of that bike. Thank you for your working through things. Also much kudos for getting it on the center stand. It has got to be one of the hardest bikes ive ever tried to put up on the center stand.
You're welcome! And yes, getting it up on the centerstand is difficult. It took me a bit to find the right technique, but once I got it it wasn't too bad
Center stand, don't work against the engineering of this motorcycle. Don't try to pull it up at an angle towards the rear. The fulcrum is in the stand itself, simply push straight down with your foot and pull straight up with your hands and watch how easily it puts itself up.
All bike's are the same practically when it comes to putting it up on the centre stand usually grab the rail or handle near the side cover and push down with your foot on the stand and lift at the same time most of the weight should be aimed at the bottom stand and it should rise straight up iv got a really bad injured right leg and have hardly any issues doing it and my bike's an FJR Yamaha 1300 not the lightest bike on the road 🛣️ practice makes perfect
I had three new ones back to back in the late 80s. They went like a rocket and their top speed varied between 131 and 139 m.p.h. But with panniers fitted they dangerously thrashed around due to air turbulence at close to 130 mph.I guess their model numbers fell in the A1 to A4 range. Because of the turbulence issue Kawasaki de-tuned later models and declared a new top speed of 118 m.p.h. For years I craved for a low mileage one. I now have a 1995 A-7 with 16k miles. I had it fully serviced inc. top of the range exhausts. Wheels painted etc. I had fitted top sat. nav. and two spot lights. But despite all this it runs like a 500cc piece of sh*t. So I now await my tuner's appointment. I don't crave Hayabusa performance simply the performance originally given to this model by Kawasaki which was quite adequate. The Kaw. dealer advises that my bike is close to perfect and runs like new. There is no bigger fan of this model than me, but only if it can be fully restored!
Dude! It's been a year! We need an update video. How's it been after a full season of riding? How many miles did you put on it? Any long trips? Maintenance or repairs? Mods? Come on man, feed the fans! Thanks
I’ve been through everything on this vid and I can honestly say Fuuuuuck all that. Your a better mechanic than I and I’m glad I’ve a great mechanic for my zrx1100. Thank you for sharing. I do miss my ex500 sometimes.
I changed the windshield for a taller one on my 04 Concours to eliminate the wind buffeting. The main complaint I had with mine is that it is very top heavy especially with that 7.5 gallon tank on top of the bike.
Well, I have to say I was disappointed at the carburetor segment of your video and lack of detail. Not helpful when in other videos and guys do carbs they disassemble everything/clean everything/sync etc. But it was a good overall. Im looking at a 2002 C10 with 52k on it and the guy wants $3800 for it. Pretty pricey. Anyway, thanks for your video.
Hey man, no worries. There are tons of videos on cleaning / syncing carbs out there and I didn't want my video to drag on and on. Was just supposed to be a vlog about getting the bike up and running and less of a how-to
FWIW, if you buy tires from Cycle Gear, you can dismount your wheels from your bike, take them to Cycle Gear, and Cycle Gear will swap your new tires onto your wheels free of charge.
Well im in Canada, so that would cost at LeasT a Quarter More in Price.! And i Need Both Tires Replaced on my Only Mode of Transport.! haa So im FKeD.......... The Front 1s showing Canvas already...... Bike Shop wants About $600 just to buy the tires.....So maybe i'll just bring it to you. lol It was Originally a US Bike Anyways.......ha 02 Concours 46,000 mls.........
I owned a 2001 GTR 1000 with 24000 KMs owned the bike until 2012 i traded it in with 164000 KMs without any issues on a new FJR Yamaha 1300 which im still riding im 65 in August so hopefully will keep my Yamaha FJR until im to old to keep on riding her all the larger sports tourers should last a very long time as at my age they hardly ever rev past 4 thousand RPM which is about 120 kph on the highway
Why is everyone so scared to take off the mufflers on these bikes? It's literally 2 bolts for each one, little wiggle to open up the crush fitting and off it is. Inspection of the metal crush gasket is still intact then just make sure it is lined up and wiggle it back on by hand as far as possible and finish it home with a rubber mallet. But the only important part is tap the hanger bracket that bolts to the passenger foot peg and not the back of the pipe itself. You can still spin it once it's deep enough or use a block of wood. Speaking of blocks of wood, why are we taking rotors off to change tires? Set the wheels sideways on some big blocks of wood so that the rotors are off the ground. They're the hardest and most durable pieces of steel on the motorcycle so if you damaged them changing the tires then they were already bad. I'm not saying pry on them but you shouldn't be able to hurt them with a simple bump or hit. Finally, if you find your break fluid in such poor condition just take that as a que to go ahead and rebuild the calipers and master cylinder. Same with the clutch. Parts are cheap for this and it's a super simple job. I guess that I should make a video for the Concours/GTR 1000 explaining just how exemplary the engineering actually is on this motorcycle. It's a masterpiece with only a few exposed flaws. I know that this is an old video and I hope that you'll have much satisfaction out of that machine.
Haha changing tires on car is much easier then bikes, that is why labor is much more. Bikes have to make sacrifices on dimension packaging since ya know they are small.
First thing you want to do is install an inline fuel filter. It can save you a world of hurt. Next open the gas cap. You should see a screw . It's a security screw to stop people from stealing your gas. It's also great at keeping you out of the tank if the cap ever decides to act up. Get rid of it... The tank may look fine, but here's the problem. The sides of the tank where it meets the bodywork are both lower than the fuel petcock. Water collects here, eats the tank. Then you get rust taking out the petcock. Then rust gets into the carbs, a float valve sticks open, cylinder or cylinders fill with gas. Hit the starter...bye bye engine. Remove tank, clean it thoroughly. Check the areas I mentioned for rust. Check that petcock is working properly. Did I mention inline fuel filter??? They are amazing bikes but have there weakness, now you know what it is. Address it and you'll have zero issues, these bikes are pretty much bulletproof. You're going to fall in love with this bike, trust me.
Hmm, great tips. Definitely gonna check out the fuel filter stuff. I've heard about the hydrolock thing so I definitely want to do what I can to avoid it!
Do you know anything about the 2008 and the 2009 Concours 1400 that had transmission issues ? I was told to stay away from those two years ? I would like input . There is a 2009 for sale 11k miles for $6,500 ..
Wry sweet ride. Sporty yet comfortable. A couple of observations. If you are going to keep working on bikes, you need a lift. Also, maybe it is from my days working in a cycle shop and my racing days, I am a believer in OEM filters and Golden Spectro synthetic oil. 20/50
Haha I absolutely need a lift. I need to do all my work *not* in a one car garage lol. Good info about the filter, I'll have to loom into that. The manual calls for 10-40 or 20-50, so I just went with tried and true 10-40 lol
**grumble grumble** You are right: You shouldn’t have to worry about vacuum petcocks leaking, but my bike’s crank is entirely full of fuel after replacing a a leaky petcock. Zero miles on this one and it leaked too. It’s a Kawasaki EX250J8F (2008 Ninja 250).
Bro hows the bike? Any major issues? Did you rebuild the l carbs? Any information is helpful for me. I am thinking about sealing the deal on one of these babys!!
My major complaint is that it dumps heat onto your legs. If you primarily ride in a hotter place or in the summer, I honestly would not recommend this bike in it's stock configuration. It's a fairly common complaint on the Concours forums. Otherwise, it's a co for table bike with plenty of power. Get a good windscreen if you grab one, otherwise I had a lot of turbulent air issues
Did you loosen the pinch bolt on the bottom front of the right fork leg? I didn't see you loosen OR tighten it. It makes removing the front axle quite a bit simpler and also prevents the axle from unscrewing itself from the left fork leg after reassembly.
I had one for years. Fantastic bike. I think you've made more work of removing the rear wheel. Yes a simple piece of wood under the stand to raise the back up to give you clearance and remove the left silencer and out pops the wheel..
Owned a CB650SC from new. Bought a 2002 Connie used from my friend back in 2007 I think ~ 8K miles? I don’t remember…, got 22k now. Didn’t do a lot of riding last few years, don’t ask. As you already know, carbs off … not so bad. Carbs on, oh vaa! It can be difficult. I purchased new SOFT boots that fit into air box. Next time carbs come off, new boots will go on. As far as carbs are concerned, I was fortunate. I did change out the float needles, MurphsKits is a great resource IMO. Ships fast, USPS priority, prices include shipping, and what I’ve found some oem or equal if he has it, is sometimes almost 1/2! If you need an OEM part, it can be costly! Headers make bottom panel very hot, I had to replace mine. So many things that just flat wear out or get old and need replacement. BUT that’s the way it goes sometimes, my mc is 20 yr.s old! I’d like to say, I don’t ever want a bike with this much fairing pieces again! What a royal PITA to get to anything. Good luck, still like my Connie, but I’m old now, don’t care to wrench on it as I once did. Oh, if you’re going to keep it, & do your own maintenance, consider changing out the fairings “Phillips” head screws to Allen headed cap screws. Phillips head will strip out over time the more you take em off. MurphsKits has reasonable SS replacement kits for almost any, not all, almost any fairing, windshield, gas cap… Oh, the oil change, you missed the “Other” oil drain plug… . There are two. The higher one doesn’t hold a lot, but it does have old oil in it. Not that it matters that much…
Good job! I've a Concours 14 and done about the same services (except carburetors!) but definitely not in two days but within two months in 5-6 steps. I would have died doing all that so quickly. I don't know if you checked the bearings of the wheels when they were available. Also, cleaning the bobbins of the brake discs make them floating again. The painting of the bike is very good but the previous owner neglected many points which need service time to time. Now the bike is safe and enjoyable to ride.
If I remember correctly that engine has two oil drain plugs. About a decade ago I owned a 2004 Concours and Advance Auto didn't have an oil filter listed for it either but it was the same filter as my 85 ZN700 Kawa and they did list it.
Awesome video! A few months ago I picked up a 99 Concourse that I have been wanting to bring back to life. You just re-motivated me to start looking at it again.
@@N0Fumar I need to play with the carburetor and I’m not excited about that, definitely some new tires and a new battery. I’ve already changed brake fluids, oil, and coolant, but I still need to check the gear oil. I’m just now graduating from college this week so I’ll actually have time to get to it pretty soon
I love this adventure that you have logged. Absolutely killer my guy. I'm picking up an FJR tuesday. Sport Touring is absolutely the sweet spot for motorcycles.
I had some leftover 4' x 8' sheets of particle board so I split them in half and nailed them together. Then I cut them into 3 pieces and cut an angle on one end. So, when I park my 85 ZN700 Kawa on it I can remove the rear piece to give me a couple inches of more space under the tire and if I pick up the front and remove the front pieces too it gives me even more space under the rear tire.
One thing to check: there's a metal bracket that holds the front fairing to the rest of the bike up under the dash. Inspect it for cracking. Probably not an issue on your bike, but the one on mine failed and made for a very awkward riding situation for a bit until I got a welder on it.
@@N0Fumar yea. I've had many bikes. Katana, 636, versys 650. So I'm used to always being way larger than my bike. Usually it's just if I can fit. This is good to know. Thank you for your response!
Congrats, you've got an awesome bike there. I bought an 01 Concours new, sold it for a dual sport, missed it so much bought another 01 a year later. One thing to remember if you didn't already do it is to grease the splines on the rear wheel. I took mine off once to replace the tire and didn't lube the splines, they stripped a few months later on the freeway, freaked me out! They're are great bikes for the price, probably why they were in production for 20 years!
Amazing my friend…wow great video…you did great …I know about all the work you did …..on the bike and making video…I hope your happy …do you still have the bike …if so how is it ???? God bless brother!!!
Another idea is that you can remove the front tire and drop the bike on the forks to raise the rear high enough to get the rear tire out. If you are changing both tires, it is no extra effort.
For the most part I did. I did a benchtop sync using a drill bit and making sure the butterfly valves opened up the same amount each time. Haven't had any issues yet.
@@N0Fumar Usually it's a run-time check. You hook up the mercury gauges to each carb and adjust the vacuum of each one to achieve highest vacuum, then adjust to make sure all of them have the same exact vacuum. Great video though.
I will say the ex500 and Concours have very similar templates. They came out of the same era so it makes sense. They didn't update either designs until the bikes were discontinued. They did relaunch the Concours with the zx14 motor in it.
looked for a video on removing and reinstalling carbs on ZG1000. From 10 or so others I stumbled up on Yours is the ONLY one that is possible to watch. Stationary camera, logical sequence of operation from start to finish which makes it possible to understand what you are doin. Pleasure to watch. I envy you your warm garage. I will be removing my carb in the garage with 30 *F .
Thanks for the kind words! I've tried to improve upon my video making and having things be clear and quick. No need to have the camera rolling for super simple stuff, but the complicated things, definitely. How did removing the carbs go?
Great video man. I appreciate the effort and the detail. I just bought an 09 concours so even though different bikes still interesting and helpful information. Love the blooper reel at the end. Two thumbs up my dude!😅
Man! Nice video! Nice bike! I oun '99 concours and I love it! But my bike have some resonant vibrations on 4000-6000 and it annoy... Easy way to remove rear wheel is to unscrew 4 bolts on the frame, 2 screews on rear fender, disconnect stop signal wire and turn signals - in this case rear part of frame with all plastic can be removed and wheel removed much easier!
I'm gonna be honest, the EX is a lot more fun. If I'm gonna go touring or ride to work or anything fast for a long time, it's definitely the Concours. Only problem is it gets pretty hot from the engine and it cooks my legs. So if I just wanna go out for an hour and pitter patter around or do twistys, I'd absolutely take the EX.
When I disassembled my set of carbs, I disassbled the entire assembly, labeling each carb with a sharpie. I did only take apart a carb one at a time, so I didn't mix up any internal parts or potentially loose them all at once. For the boots, I've heard you can soften them up considerably using wintergreen oil. If doing that, look up the proceedure.
Wintergreen oil DOES work but one has to monitor cause it causes them to swell slightly. The air side it makes em REALLY swell due to thinner rubber and if ya not careful, you'll need new ones
Well, that was very cool and informative. It shows me everything I don't want to do on my original '98 that has been sitting in the garage for 10 years. As soon as I can giver her a bath, she's going up on eBay with no reserve. I just hope she finds a home as good as yours.
At least you'll let someone get some use out of it! Honestly if you have Facebook, marketplace is not bad for selling vehicles. I've almost used it exclusively to buy my vehicles
I'm really interested in one of those finger snapper things.... I can't find one anywhere ! ... There aren't many vids out there like this so thank you very much bringing us along.
Very informative , loved it ! And timely as I'm looking for a Concours to get cheap Collectors insurance here in B.C. Bike has to be at least 25 years old ..if I get one I'll be rewatching the video a lot ! thank you
I am looking to make the riding position of my 89 ZX10 more comfortable and I am of the opinion that the handlebars of the GTR1000/ZG1000 Concourse would fit. But I just need some rough dimensions from the bars fitted to a Concourse to be sure. Would you be willing to take some measurements for me?
@@N0Fumar please measure the distance between the mid point of the cap head screws that attach the bars to the top yoke (in mm please). The distance of the upper and lower mid point of the screws on one bar and the distance across the yoke between the mid point of the cap head screws between both bars. Search for images of 1989 ZX10 handlbars and you'll see why I am asking about the distance between the cap head screws both on one Concourse bar bar and when both bars are on the yoke. I used a tape measure, so no need for super accuracy.
Also, I will say you may have some air bubbles in your coolant. You first should open the bleed valve on the water pump and fill until there is no air coming out. Then close the bleed valve on the water pump, open the bleed valve on the filler neck, and fill until there's no air there. Then you're good. Still, this is a fantastic video and I appreciate the time and effort you put into it.
Also also, next time you change the oil make sure you didn't throw away the flat washer the goes between the filter and the spring. This is a part that is commonly missed by people and inadvertently thrown away because it tends to stick to the bottom of the filter. If you did, you can order it from any parts house online. Regarding oil, in my own Concours I have always used 20W-50.
Also also also, you went through WAY too much trouble to get that rear tire off. The mufflers come off so easy, so much easier than taking the entire pumpkin off with the tire. Honestly, one bolt and one screw, and the muffler will come right off. The rest of the exhaust stays on the bike. Do yourself a favor and get the Clymer manual if you don't have it. It will save you tons of work that you do not need to do.
This guy is tenacious! Appreciate this video. I have an 05 Connie with 30,000 + miles. Can cruise around all day between 3000-4500 rpm, but this bike doesn’t redline until 10,500 rpm. Kind of a sleeper bike.
Thanks so much! Which one was the gpz500? You mean the ninja / ex-500 that I did? If you want another series, check out my nighthawk one. I just finally got it running
@@N0Fumar Yeah, I was talking about the ex-500. I was searching for some infos about the Kawa ER5 engine (which is similar to ex500) and found the videos. I'll check the nighthawk too. Keep up the good work!
Great Video Man.... I own a newer version of this ( 2004 ) but you actually taught me something here. Wish you would post an update on that Sweet ride. Enjoy!
I still have and ride it! My only complaint is how hot your legs get while riding. Otherwise, fantastic bike. What would you want to see in an update video?
@@N0Fumar really just line connections fuel and Vac, I will google it again. I have a 99' it runs, but the lines are like a rubix cube. it looks like only 1 fuel line to a carb when I thought there was suppose to be a T?? Thanks much!
@@GPz84 Yes. Steve in sunny florida. His business is called Shoodaben Engineering. He has my carbs right now and is completely overhauling them. Waiting to get them back so I can put my bike back together. Check out my latest video on my youtube channel.
That is generally what you'll need to do to all motorcycles you pick up used.... ? And you'll need to do all those things again about every 5 years... ? He also left out doing the fork fluids....
I have a 2001 Connie and when I got my bike I went thru with all of the work that you just did. If the guy that quoted you the price for changing the tires was including the dismounting and re-mounting of the wheels I have to tell you that the quote was a very reasonable price. My bike had 13K on it when I bought it and I paid $2,500 cash for it. It now still only has 20K on it. I get about 60-55 mpg on it running it like a sports bike. I think that is pretty good mileage. Even though it might seem like the bike is hard to work on once you start working on it you realize it gets easier as you learn the bike. I put new Michelin radials on it and man it rides like a much lighter bike. I am so glad I ran up on this cherry and I probably don't need to have another touring bike, it is probably one of the most comfortable bikes I have ever ridden and the power to weight feels just right. I was really surprised at just how fast this old bike actually is. The engine seems to respond almost like the old Ninja 1000 would run but it's much more easy to run through the gears and not as harsh as far as raw power and harsh acceleration. It accelerates really hard when you want it to but it's much more controllable. Mine is blue and all of the plastic on it is in really good shape as well as the paint. If you have an old windshield you can use the big windshield as a template to cut down the old one and make a shorty windscreen for the summer and it is so much cooler to ride when it's hot outside.
The guy who quoted me the price for the tires was if I brought them unmounted already and had the new tires ready to go. I will agree the bike is quite comfortable to ride, but right now I'm dealing with the bike being seriously hot when riding, to the point of it not being comfortable
@@N0Fumar I don't know if you have the air scoops that direct airflow back over the heads or not but they help. The biggest thing I found for riding it in the summer was to install a shorty windscreen. I had an old windscreen and cut down using my dremel tool with a plastics cutter. Much cooler and greater wind flow is way better for riding it on hot days.
Just how big are the gallons where you live? My first Connie ('88) got about 42 MPG MAX and my "new" '06 gets 38 because of the crappy E10 gas having less energy. All other Connie riders I've asked about it agree that my mileage is very average.
