can someone please clue me in on gen 1 & gen 2. What are differences? year models etc

Gen1-2006-2011. minor updates happened in 2008. Mainly the flies open sooner. If you don't want to remove flies, 08-11 would be best otherwise I don't think it makes much difference.

Gen2- 2012-2014
More hp (~20hp??--someone will know the exact figure), a bit heavier, Traction Control, better suspension.

also the gen 1 has a 1352 cc motor making upper 150's / low 160's hp to the wheel and low 100 torque to the wheel stock.

then the gen 2 has a 1422 cc motor making low to mid 190 hp to the wheel and roughly 115 torque to the wheel stock.

You have more power with the gen 2 but also roughly 50 lbs of added weight. Also the seating position of the gen 2 is more aggressive, it pitches you towards the tank more.

If you want to maximize the potential of either the gen 1 or gen 2 definitely give Cblast a buzz for an ecu flash.

With the flash, the hp of the gen 1 can be brought up to the 180 mark and for the gen 2 you are looking at roughly 212 hp to the wheel.

* Last updated by: shift6 on 12/18/2014 @ 8:24 AM *

"then the gen 2 has a 1422 cc motor "....hmmmm....interesting.

correction, gen 2 has a 1441 cc motor..

Gen1:
Has for argument sake, 114lbs torque is the rating out of 1352cc.
Had a grandpa grip the first two years, where the subthrottles lagged up to certain point.
Had a clutch basket to crank gear change and a parts page would show those changes between gen years.
Had subtle updates so the engineers/designers could improve the product as the time and tech evolve.
Had for argument sake, factory adding 1hp gain on the 3rd year of production.
Had injector changes on that 3rd year, and that means an ECU change for that upgrade.
Had other subtle moves to the product, but basically all parts interchange sans the injectors/ECU of said changes to the gen1 series and engine family.

Gen2:
Has a bore size change to 1441cc and torque raised to 120lbs torque.
Has a chassis improvement.
Has a stroke [bore] size that makes this engine family stick with the same 'parts is parts.'
Has a number of chassis parts that are interchangeable between all years.
Has ABS as an option with later years.
Has a mode for power demands.
Has a narrower seat.

You forgot the front fairing stay bolts don't always 'stay' where they're put;)

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 12/18/2014 @ 11:03 AM *

I'd get the Gen2. It may be 50 lbs heavier but it's more what this bike was made to do plus most of the little bugs in the Gen1 (like rattley cam chain tensioner and lube issues to con rod bearings) seem to have been worked out. If you really want a lightweight bike, just go all out and get a 600-750. The 14 is not bad at all for track road racing but almost certainly going to be one of the slower bikes unless piloted by a highly skilled rider. It will run out of cornering clearance if you can lean it far enough. The smaller bikes slip out and lowside before they ever touch any hard parts and they just handle better with their smaller wheel base and lower weight. Now for massive acceleration from low speed and for high speed sprints, you can't beat a 14. The smaller bikes might have a little better acceleration over 100 mph. The 14 is a great street/sportbike. It will cover all the bases but shines it's brightest in a super quick launch and then again at 160-170+ mph with its exceptional high speed stability. I've gone that fast on fairly smooth but patched roads and never had a scary situation happen.

OH, exceptional brakes, too. Both Gens.

I think the 14R gained about 16 LBS, not 50.

Another thing I've noticed between the bikes is the 2nd gen keeps the heat off of you much better. My first two 14s used to cook my boots like crazy.
Also there is a vid of Rickey on his dyno showing the R having 30 more HP fresh out of the crate.

Thanks for the info, I'm slowly learning. Hey Rook, you have taken the time to answer my rookie/newbie questions every time. Thank you. U da man. Too bad you are a Packer fan. I just came across your "how to" posts. You cover most everything, way cool. Now I wonder if I can get a refund on the service manual I just bought.
Per reply from shift6, I got 2 more rookie questions:
1. What are or explain "flies out"
2. I have Gen 1 (2009) and YES! I do want to maximize potential. Can anyone explain "ecu flash" and who/what/where is CBLAST, and how do I contact CBLAST?
THANX
TIB

Flies out- There are two sets of flapper plates (or flies) that let air into the engine. The primary plates are controlled by the throttle grip. You twist more, plates open wider. More are air, faster burn, more power. The other set of plates is are the secondary plates and they are controlled by the ECU. The ECU keeps the secondaries closed (more or less) at low rpm in the lower gears. If you twist the throttle below 2.5-3k in first and second gears the primaries open up but the secondaries will prevent the free flow of air. In effect, wide throttle openings are overridden by the secondaries. This is supposed to keep you safe.

Personally, I think ripping the throttle wide open without some clutch at really low rpm is not a good thing to do. I feel my engine lugs at that low of an rpm if I am really aggressive on the throttle. 3k rpm is right where the engine can start to respond to heavy throttle so I suppose that is one reason Kaw decided to make the flies open at that engine speed on the 08-11 bikes. With the 06-07 bikes, the flies didn't open until 6k rpm. The engine has plenty of momentum to handle the load of full throttle at that speed. That is why pulling flies is a must do on 06-07s. All that lowend power is cut back at low rpm and then it feels like it's going to kill you when it finally hits.

IMO, your 09 is not going to have much more power if you pull the flies. The flies are open by the time you hit the powerband anyway. Removing flies on an 08-11 will make the lowend power feel more linear, however. If you pay attention, you will feel a sudden rise of power at about 3k rpm in first gear and second. That's the flies opening. It can be dangerous taking off sort of quick into a turn from a light. Also, maybe cornering at lower rpm if you get that sudden rise in power while in a hard lean. If you want to smooth out the hit of power at 3k rpm, you need to take out the secondary flies BUT you also MUST have your fueling tuned for flies out. If you get more air in on the 08-11, you also need the fueling adjusted to compensate. Otherwise, you're still going to have that subtle yet oh so annoying and possibly dangerous power spike when the flies open fueling comes on....even though the flies are out.

This is flies IN. See the round plates? They are each held by 2 screws.

This is flies OUT. Now all you have is the actuator bar crossing the throttle bodies bores. Those are the primaries below. They look the same as the secondaries.

Flashing is changing the settings in your bikes ECU. Rev limiter can be increased, fueling and timing can be adjusted, flies can be reprogrammed to open for optimum power in all gears (so you would not need to remove them), there's probably more stuff than that but you'd need to contact your tuner. Which tuner is best? That has been discussed at great length. Cblast gets a lot of votes. I like the idea of retaining a PC even with a flash but opinions vary on that. You'd save a lot of money with a flash rather than going with a bunch of modules and you would also get some enhancements that are not available with any module on the market.

* Last updated by: Rook on 12/18/2014 @ 10:25 PM *

I'd like to ride a Gen 1 (and a lot of bikes for that matter) just to have a chance to see the differences. There's no doubt Gen 1 or 2 it doesn't matter you will have a blast. If it comes down to details, there's no reason not to get a Gen 2.

The 16 lb difference is more accurate than 50 lbs. There are to two different weights for Gen 2's as well, one is 591 lbs and one is 584 lbs. My 2013 owner's manual covers two models, ED and FD. It's not clear in how the models are distinguished in terms of equipment, I believe the difference is ABS and 7 lbs sounds about right. The only clear difference is the FD comes with Bridgestone Hypersports, and the ED comes with Metz M5s.

If someone looked at Wiki for Gen 1 weight, it's listed as 531 sans fuel. I can see where a quick glance could result in 50lbs given this. 5.8 gallons @ ~8lbs is about 46 lbs, so that gets Gen 1 right up to ~574 full fueled IIRC. And that's 16 lbs for the F model, and 11 lbs heavier for the E model.