I Really appreciate my airhead when...

[nhmaf]

.. it comes time to perform routine maintenance on my Kawasaki Concours..  to change the coolant, I have to spend 1-2 hours dismantling the lower, mid, and upper interior
fairing pieces, fuel tank, side covers, heatshields and cooling ductwork, etc. just to get at the radiator. and drain plugs.  To adjust the valves, I've gotta spend another hour or two removing even more stuff: crankcase gas ventilation systems, coils, spark plugs and harnesses, ignition trigger cover and some more fairing pieces so I can squeak the cam cover off the top , to face all 16 valves.... at least they use screw/locknut type adjusting system.  Even just getting to the plugs requires removal of the tank, coils and crankcase gas plumbing.   Now, don't get me wrong, I do love how the KAwasaki performs, even though it is an "old school" superbike design - it is a great sport tourer.  Riding with my cousin, on his K100RS, my Kawi is more comfortable, has better fairing/weather protection, get better gas mileage and has almost 2 more gallons of gas for usable fuel range, and it cost 50% of what the K100 did when new.  His K-bike is still a nice bike, but for being of the same general vintage/design standpoint, I think the Kawi is a heck of a bargain.

Of course this year, big-K has completely redesigned the concours for 2007, but it has been campaigning on as the same basic design for 22 years with only necessary refinements occuring during that period - almost as long as the BMW /5 through to the end of the airhead line.  

There is alot to be said for 2 simple carbs, cylinders, with heads/valves completely open/available for user access.   Even the oil filter changing is easier !   so what if it requires more frequent maintenance, - it still takes less time overall, I think !

So, I ask the general public here at this forum, when do you REALLY appreciate your airhead ?!?!?
 

[Bob_Roller]

I drive by a fuel station, and see the ever increasing fuel prices.

People that I worked with 26 years ago call me and it always is asked, that if I still have that turquoise BMW motorcycle that I had back in the early '80's.

They are shocked to hear that I still have it , let alone ride it frequently ( well not too much in the last year).

[msbuck]

Whenever I work on my Italian beauty, the Laverda.  I started my valve adjustment in February and I'm still trying to get it put back together...  Between getting parts and learning how to adjust shim UNDER bucket valves, let alone just getting to them...ALOT like your concours.  I also replaced the fuel filter while I was that close to it - which is inside the tank.  Now the tank is not like our BMW airheads either, it is located under the seat.  I had to remove the rear subframe to remove the tank to remove the fuel pump to remove the fuel filter, whew!  (Which was after removing the body panels, seat, airbox, throttle bodies, coils,... you get the picture...)
 

Whenever I work on it, I tell my husband, "No more! I'm selling this thing...DON'T LET ME RIDE IT AGAIN!"  Never fails, once I ride it I just CAN't get rid of it.    "It's like a bad marriage with great sex."  

[MrRiden]

So, I ask the general public here at this forum, when do you REALLY appreciate your airhead ?!?!?
 

Whenever I have to work on / find parts for my Triumphs. everything about the R65 seems simpler.
rich

[thrang]

What I like is the combination of simplicity and reliablity of my airhead.

Then there is the way that it's build quality inspires confidence. You're at a winter rally it's sunday morning, freezing cold outside and your heads a little thick from the night before. As you're lay in your tent with the rain beating down on the flysheet its nice knowing that the beemer is going to start when you hear other rally goers trying to get their piss wet through bikes going... That for me has to be one of the best things about running an airhead.

[fastcataz]

Gotta be the simplicity. My ZX10 was a giant pain to service, and it ate tires, chains ( do NOT miss chains...), and brakes at an alarming rate. Not to mention the 30 MPG when ridden "gently". The Goldwing I sold to buy the R65 was better from a service point of view, but I always felt like I was driving ( and pushing) a Accord around. Just did 300 miles yesterday, got 50 MPG and had a great time. No hernias or speeding tickets. The charming, relaxing beat of the flat twin seems to suit me perfecly. That and pushing the front tire all day...

[thrang]

Oh and when frustration hits with a semi stripped tiny wee fastener on the wifes Zephyr.. or trying to make a pattern part fit... Then I really appreciate my airhead!

[trolle]

when I as a complete idiot bought my r65 unseen and untested, and discovered that the machine delivered was dirty, rusty and only able to drive two miles before the engine stalled and was impervious to any attempts of reviving.

Then I really appreciated the simple technology, the quality of workmanship and materials that allowed a novice in the mechanical field to take the machine apart and reassemble it and make it run again.

That was fun!

Now I am dabbling in finetuning the engine and have just bought a Twinmax carb. synchronizer as I prefer to pay a lot for the things you guys can produce at less the 10 bucks.

greetings from a sunny north with excellent riding conditions

[Yikes]

I park my bike at work and there are four other bikes (Harleys and a Triumph) lined up and my humble R65 has more years running and mileage than all the other bikes combined!

[nhmaf]

I gotta add that my little R65, with its very imperfect original paint, often gets more positive attention
and comments than any other bike I've owned, and often times more than the shiny Dyna-Super-Wide-Ultra-Fat-Glides
that are generally parked in the store parking lots around these parts...

Just the other evening, I had pulled in to our local general store to pick up some things for dinner, and a big ol can of Foster's,
on my R65.   While I was in the store, (5) fairly new Harleys rolled up to the gas pump outside the store.   I paid for my stuff
and headed out to stuff the things in my saddlebags, when I heard a guy behind me say, "Hey, that's a Bimmah!"   (You have to
say this with a traditional new england accent).   The voice came from a guy driving a big american pickup truck, but he strolled
right through the crowd of do-ragged, leather frilled posers and their ladies to come over and look at my little airhead.
"I used to have one long ago," he said.   "Best bike I ever owned - I'm still sad that I sold it.... going on 15 years ago !"

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Do the tough Harley bikers talk with that Kennedy accent, too?  

[nhmaf]

Rob, it may seem hard to believe, but folks from Mass tend to have their own accent as a unique dialect variation of our new england
"twang" - they never say "r", whether in the middle or end of a word.   The rest of us always say "r" when it is in the middle of the word, but
often use "ah" at the end of a word that ends with "er".    We're also fond of saying "Ay-uh, ya can't get thah from heyah"
The folks from Downeast (which is along the upper coast of Maine, so it isn't "Down" from anywhere in New England except for the rest
of Maine, but that's what it is called and they are sticking to it) are possibly the least understood of our new england dialects..
 

There are ALOT of H-D riders from MA that come up here to NH where we have better roads, fewer cops, and less chances of getting run over
by a large truck, so I guess, yes, we do have alot of H-D riders here that sound like they are escapees from the Kennedy compound !
 

We do also have in NH and in Maine, some local chapters of the Hell's Angels and one or two of their rival gangs.   The town next to me (Alton Bay)
was the scene of an interesting gang battle a few years ago, during Laconia bike week (which is coming up next week).   Ay-uh,,, gonna get a might interestin
around heyah.....

[Ed Miller]

We do also have in NH and in Maine, some local chapters of the Hell's Angels and one or two of their rival gangs.   The town next to me (Alton Bay)
was the scene of an interesting gang battle a few years ago, during Laconia bike week (which is coming up next week).  

I bet they were arguing over the best oil or tires for their bikes.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Rob, it may seem hard to believe, but folks from Mass tend to have their own accent as a unique dialect variation of our new england
"twang" - they never say "r", whether in the middle or end of a word.   The rest of us always say "r" when it is in the middle of the word, but
often use "ah" at the end of a word that ends with "er".

I had never heard "hamburger" called "hamburg" (as in "I'm going to the store for some hamburg.") until I visited NE Pennsylvania.

Thanks nhmaf!

[Justin B.]

I appreciate mine every time I fill up as 40+ mpg makes it where I can afford to go to work.  I really feel like I'm being shafted when the weather forces me to drive the Brick (Volvo 240) to work...

Come to think of it I also appreciate it whenever I adjust the valves, do an oil-change, remove a rear tire, order a new part for a 27 year old machine, remind myself it's paid for, etc.  I could go on and on...