2001 Kawasaki Concours

This is my second motorcycle; with my first being a 1978 Kawasaki KZ650 that I sold just prior to getting married

Go HERE for photos/descriptions of rides/events, some with the TWT group, some without.

This page will take you to current photos of my bike.

I am a member of

I am member 6654 of COG, the Concours Owners Group  (See the cartoon near the bottom of this page)

I am member 215951 of the organization that helps to keep all of us riding...

If you are a new rider, or even if you are just now getting back into the sport after taking a few years off, you need some proper training. Don't try to convince yourself that just because you "used" to ride that you can pick it right up again. Do us all a favor and attend the Motorcycle Safety Foundation "Basic Rider" class. The people I used are from A Plus Rider, the premier training company in Texas. It is a two-day class with about 20% classroom and 80% hands-on instruction on the riding course. My class was held in Magnolia and my instructor was Sonny... a great guy and a great instructor. If you have been riding for a while, go ahead and take the Advanced Course; it will challenge you to do things you probably hadn't thought about for a while. But even after taking these classes you have to put it to work, so practice!

No Squids!

Another training tool I recommend is the "Ride Like A Pro" DVD by Jerry "Motorman" Palladino. This DVD is about an hour long and focuses mainly on slow speed handling since this is when most bikers tend to drop their bikes. It is an excellent training tool for the new or experienced rider.

If you think you don't need any training or you think you have good judgement and won't ride beyond your capabilities, take a look at a few folks who did. No amount of training will eliminate the "stupid" factor, but it will help you to recognize when you're in over your head and give you some ways to minimize your risk.

My mom and dad rode until the late 1950's. Here's a shot of my dad on his Harley-Davidson in 1951...

I'll try to get this re-scanned so that I can get a larger image posted.

And this is me going on my first motorcycle ride

Me on a friend's Sportster around 2001

Click here for my Concours farkles             What is a farkle?

Some of the gear that I use

Here's a review of the 2001 model done by Motorsports-Network.com

Here are 30+ reviews of the 2001 model from PowerSports Network

The following photos of my bike are thumbnails and will increase in size when you click on them. These are the photos that the seller sent to me prior to the purchase. The seller informed me that the bike had been dropped on the left side and that there was a hole in the mirror housing. That is clear in the photo below. What the seller did not disclose is that the bike had also been dropped on the right side too. Damage noted so far are: bent clutch lever, bent brake lever, hole in left mirror housing, broken left foot peg bracket, broken right foot peg. There are some scuffs on the edge of the fairing and the saddle bags but nothing to really be concerned about.

            Hole in mirror housing from 0 mph drop

The bike was originally purchased in September of 2001 and during the three years and five months that he owned it the previous owner managed to put 5484 miles on it. The bike actually had 5503 miles on it when it came off the trailer at my house (03/11/05), and two months and two weeks later (05/28/05) the odometer rolled over to 11006 miles; exactly double what it had when it arrived.

 At purchase                       May 28, 2005

Arrival...

    The bike shows up (FINALLY) on 03/11/05, brought to me by Haul Bikes (Daily Direct)

    It is one of many on this load

    As it reaches the light of day (darkness actually since it got here about 7 pm). The bike had 5503 miles on it as of the day of delivery. I put 163 miles on it the next day. 80 degree temps, but 30 kts of wind. Not fun dealing with the crosswinds.

Here's what it looked like after its first bath...

Here is a link to another page with photos of bikes that belong to other people.

The following tiny photos for avatar purposes:

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