The past few years have been good to Kawasaki. The company has recently dished up some innovative and tasty offerings in the KX250F and KX450F four-stroke motocrossers, the latter having carried the company’s star, James “Bubba” Stewart, to frequent podium finishes recently. And let’s not forget the hottest of the hot Ninja 600, the middleweight 2006 bike-of-the-year Ninja 650, and the great 2000 and 900 Vulcan cruisers. Make no mistake, Team Green is cookin’! For the 2006 model year, Kawasaki brought out the long-rumored ZX-14 Ninja, a true out-of-the box 9-second asphalt-eater whose surprisingly-refined manners have not only made it the new heavyweight grudge-night contender, but also the all-around sweetheart in its class. The mega-Ninja returns for 2007 of course but the star of Kawasaki’s current lineup is the early-release 2008 Concours, a close relative to the Ninja and a machine that breathtakingly breaks free of many of the boundaries the company has until now set for itself.

The long-anticipated replacement for Kawasaki’s venerable ZG1000, the ZG1400 Concours showcases a number of technological treats that profoundly demonstrate Kawasaki’s desire to mold value into its products in new ways. Variable valve timing, an electronic key system, on-board tire pressure monitoring, and an articulated shaft final drive are just a few of the shining jewels in the Concours’ technological crown.

The Powerplant
With an engine taken straight from the Ninja 1400, one would expect this new sport tourer to have no lack of power. But while the ZX is designed to suit a broad range of riders, the ZG has been reshaped for the long haul. To that end, Kawasaki’s engineers re-tuned the ZX’s 200-hp prime mover to a more manageable 155-hp for more civilized manners, largely by a 6mm shrinkage of its throttle bodies. In addition to the requisite recalibration of ignition and fuel injection to suit the Clark Kent-ish motor, the Concours engine differs from the Ninja also by having a revised version of the back torque limiting clutch found on the company’s 600 sporter. Other than these changes, the engine is largely the same as that in the big Zed-X.

Variable Valve Timing
Well, almost. The big difference between the two engines is the Concours’ Variable Valve Timing system, or VVT. With 45 fewer ponies than its sibling, the ZG’s engine might be expected to lose some of the ZX’s thrilling midrange urge as well, but in fact it doesn’t, thanks to Kawasaki’s VVT, and that is a neat thing. Here’s how that comes about. The most important single event in any four-stroke engine is the intake valve’s closing point. This is because the air column racing down the intake tract into the cylinder has mass, and therefore weight, inertia, and most importantly, momentum. Momentum’s energy is spent as the air column travels down the manifold, slowing as it nears the open intake valve. Engine designers time the intake valve’s closing to coincide with the air’s eventual slowing and stopping, thus taking maximum advantage of the power potential. The problem is, with changes in rpm come other changes that make the ideal intake valve closing point vary. Kawasaki’s VVT moves the intake valve’s closing point forward and backward to ride or “surf” this ever-changing best closing time, thereby maximizing cylinder filling efficiency at a wider range of rpm.

The Concours’ intake camshaft is driven by a hydraulic drum that is itself rotated by the cam chain. This drum is fed two lines of oil pressure that have first passed through a computer-operated shuttle valve. The shuttle valve’s position, determined by the bike’s ECU (through information from mostly the throttle position sensor), at any given moment favors one of these two lines over the other, resulting in camshaft orientation either ahead of (advanced) or behind (retarded) its central position at idle. The bottom line is that instead of the new Concours having the less midrange commensurate with its reduced top end, it is blessed with nearly the same midrange as its more muscular brother, offering much the same riding experience as the ZX but in a package better suited to long-distance use.

KI-PASS
For a few years now, Kawasaki has sold streetbikes in Europe that have factory-installed anti-theft systems known as Immobilizers. In these systems, the head of the ignition key communicates via radio waves with the bike’s ECU. If the two fail to communicate, the ignition switch will not turn. The 2008 Concours has this system also, but extends it way beyond just an Immobilizer. Instead of just one ECU there are three (the second is for the key transponder and the third for the ignition switch), and instead of the key’s head being the transponder, it’s the keychain’s battery-powered fob that does the work. The KI-PASS (Kawasaki Intelligent Proximity Activation Start System) system does not allow the ignition switch to rotate unless the owner’s key fob is within 5 feet of the vehicle. The keyfob ECU communicates with the fob, then the ignition switch ECU, and finally the engine ECU, each time the vehicle is started. If the key fob is lost while riding, the instrument display notifies the rider and then tracks the miles traveled since going out of range. Developed with collaboration from electronics giant Mitsubishi and similar to systems available on many high-end cars, the KI-PASS system offers vastly increased ignition key security by multiplying the possible key codes from what would otherwise be merely thousands into the millions.

TPMS
Another increasingly common automotive electronic feature, Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) makes its motorcycle debut on the ZG1400. Much simpler than KI-PASS, TPMS boasts transponders inside each wheel that radio tire pressure information to the bike’s central (“Smart”) ECU, which then translates the signal for display on the vehicle’s instrumentation. The transponders are unitized with the wheel’s air-filling valves, and contain sealed-in batteries rated for a five-year life.

Tetra-Lever
In the Concours' Tetra-Lever system, Kawasaki has done their homework and offered a system having an unusual four-link parallelogram (“Tetra” means four) that supports a driveshaft system having two universal joints. This articulated driveshaft, supported by the four links, feeds the engine’s torque forces into the frame instead of the suspension, resulting in reduced chassis rise on acceleration, the bane of typical driveshaft systems. What makes this system different from competitors’ versions however is that with the four-link arrangement, Kawasaki engineers were free to not only design out rise, but actually design in squat, for a driveline experience comparable to a chain-driven bike. Further complementing the Tetra-Lever’s smooth action is a new back torque limiting clutch whose on and off ramps are cushioned with springs. This design effectively masks over the driveshaft’s inherent increased snatchiness, for the ultimate in seamless chain-drive-like power delivery whether on or off the throttle.

Add in optional ABS (back in Kawasaki’s U.S. lineup after a twelve-year absence); push-button windscreen height adjustment; a 10-amp fairing-mounted accessory jack; an easy shock preload adjustment knob; possibly the slickest quick-release saddlebags in the industry; the unmistakable and quite intentional big Ninja’s geometry, ergos, and persona; the not inconsiderable 18-month new bike life-cycle; and the famous Concours three-year warranty; and you have a machine that should give many new bike buyers another sport-touring option, if not the only one. While technically a 2008 model, look for this new ride at your nearby Kawasaki dealership sometime this summer. And let the good times roll!