C-14 rear failure

[alanforn]

Lifted from Concours site--I really hope this doesn't become a trend....

"Looks like that rear end noise ended up being the rear end going south. Was in Dahlonega GA coming home Sunday and the rear end let go. I guess I should have taken pictures but the rear pivot bearing looks to have disinagrated. The rear of the bike then hit the pavement and the rear wheel the canted to one side thus throwing me to the ground. This happening at 1430 miles. I got a room and called Georgia South Kawasaki that Monday morning. They were nice enough to come get the bike and take me to the airport to come home. They seem to think it was a flaw from the factory in the set-up of the rear end. Thank god I was not going fast at the time. They estimate 2-3 weeks repair time. I have owned many Kawasakis before and never had these kind of problems. Will let you know what they say. My camera was broken or I would have taken pics. You guys would not believe the damage to the the rear."

[motorman587]

That suck to be throw from the bike. That is a problem. At least the beemers give some warning??? Right??

[rmg08057]

From my experience (2 times) you get plenty of very obvious warning!

[dwsdad]

LOL. I know, this really isn't funny, but after all the flack BMW takes for bad final drives............especially from the Connie crowd.

[Matt]

Since the new Connie's haven't been out on the market very long I would think that this shows a failure rate of 5%. I'm sooooooooo worried about buying one now. (And it's a double sided swing arm) :p

[hoog62]

I think there was an FJR drive failure a few years ago, but it may just be an urban legend...

[messenger13]

Lifted from Concours site--I really hope this doesn't become a trend....

"Looks like that rear end noise ended up being the rear end going south. Was in Dahlonega GA coming home Sunday and the rear end let go. I guess I should have taken pictures but the rear pivot bearing looks to have disinagrated. The rear of the bike then hit the pavement and the rear wheel the canted to one side thus throwing me to the ground. This happening at 1430 miles. I got a room and called Georgia South Kawasaki that Monday morning. They were nice enough to come get the bike and take me to the airport to come home. They seem to think it was a flaw from the factory in the set-up of the rear end. Thank god I was not going fast at the time. They estimate 2-3 weeks repair time. I have owned many Kawasakis before and never had these kind of problems. Will let you know what they say. My camera was broken or I would have taken pics. You guys would not believe the damage to the the rear."
*messenger13 grins . . . and quietly moves on. ;)

[cccpastorjack]

I think there was an FJR drive failure a few years ago, but it may just be an urban legend...


No...haven't heard of any FJR's having rear drive issues. But look at the pic of the REAL problem FJR riders are experiencing. :p

[dwsdad]

Supposedly, they fixed that in '06. Now they have a sticking throttle issue.

[cccpastorjack]

That's because they didn't use enough "pam" during assembly! :histerica

[jwd98056]

No...haven't heard of any FJR's having rear drive issues. But look at the pic of the REAL problem FJR riders are experiencing. :p

You got me good on this one Jack. I came close to spitting hot coffee all over my monitor. :D

[mjac]

Caution: reading comprehension is required.

[dwsdad]

That's because they didn't use enough "pam" during assembly! :histerica

Original or Butter?

[hoog62]

No...haven't heard of any FJR's having rear drive issues. But look at the pic of the REAL problem FJR riders are experiencing. :p

But their legs cool off....in their own living rooms! :eek:

[messenger13]

C'mon Guys. Stop making fun of the Feejers...it's simply futile. Dave's right. He's always right. He has the best bikes . . . just ask him. ;)

[MotoGirl]

If you say so.

[CalLT]

All bikes suffer developmental difficulties and design flaws. The key to success is what happens during the model run.

Both Honda and Yamaha had problems with excessive engine heat. Shortly after the problem surfaced, both the ST1300 and the FJ got redesigned fairings and thermal heat shielding. Problem solved.

[cccpastorjack]

If you say so.


Now, see...that's what I'm talking about...even his WIFE says he's right all the time! ;)

[messenger13]

O Dag! Now we got Dave's other half gonna set us straight. Bwahahahehehah :histerica

(Geez Gail . . . don't you have dishes or laundry to do, or something?!) :rotf:

[tmgs]

Lifted from Concours site--I really hope this doesn't become a trend....

"Looks like that rear end noise ended up being the rear end going south. Was in Dahlonega GA coming home Sunday and the rear end let go. I guess I should have taken pictures but the rear pivot bearing looks to have disinagrated. The rear of the bike then hit the pavement and the rear wheel the canted to one side thus throwing me to the ground. This happening at 1430 miles. I got a room and called Georgia South Kawasaki that Monday morning. They were nice enough to come get the bike and take me to the airport to come home. They seem to think it was a flaw from the factory in the set-up of the rear end. Thank god I was not going fast at the time. They estimate 2-3 weeks repair time. I have owned many Kawasakis before and never had these kind of problems. Will let you know what they say. My camera was broken or I would have taken pics. You guys would not believe the damage to the the rear."

Never mind I found it!



I've searched the concourse site and cant find this,

I sent it to a friend here and they said they have not seen one fai and no one has brought one in locallly,
no one here has heard or seen of this failure, (I live in Dahlonega)

and where is Georgia south Kawsaki at? cause I can't find that either, the closest Kawi Dealer here is powersports in G-ville

can you send me a link to the cog site with this posting?
thanks


BTW the ones I speak of that have not heard a word are Kawasaki employees and ask me to send the link to them

Tom

http://www.kawasaki.com/DefaultFrame.aspx?strContentUrl=/SITE/DLDEALERLOCATOR/DLDealerLocator.asp

[dwsdad]

It's buried on http://www.concours.org in the Forums area. I'll see if I can find the post.

EDIT: found it: http://concours.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35075

[tmgs]

It's buried on http://www.concours.org in the Forums area. I'll see if I can find the post.

EDIT: found it: http://concours.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35075


Thanks, I talked to my Friend here he said the kawasaki rep did not know about this failure yet.

No one knows anything about it sounds fishy to me?

[dwsdad]

It certainly has them all stirred up on that Forum. Did you read the part where someone said to report it to the NHTSA?

I think I read where that same guy reported a fried ECU and bad LCD screen. I have seen a few posts on there that the LCD goes blank when left in direct sunlight, but I think any LCD will do that.

[tmgs]

It certainly has them all stirred up on that Forum. Did you read the part where someone said to report it to the NHTSA?

I think I read where that same guy reported a fried ECU and bad LCD screen. I have seen a few posts on there that the LCD goes blank when left in direct sunlight, but I think any LCD will do that.

yup, what caught my interest is a friend called me about it, so I called Dave, who called his rep friend at Kawasaki

Kawasaki would like to know about this drive failure, in fact there is no dealer anywhere remotly named like that,

which caught my attention, becuase I live here.

I call BS on the whole deal until it is known to be true for sure, probably some pissed off BMW rider


<grin>
Tom

[tmgs]

That suck to be throw from the bike. That is a problem. At least the beemers give some warning??? Right??

No one knows of the crash here yet

[bmwhd]

Supposedly, they fixed that in '06. Now they have a sticking throttle issue.

Bashing allowed but get your facts right - There is no "sticking throttle issue". There is a bone of contention between some Gen II ('06+) FJR owners and mother Yamaha and that is the redesign of the throttle pulley to be "progressive". A small minority feel this made the bike harder to control in corners. An easy fix is available for those that don't like it (G2 throttle tube).

You may also read about some '07 FJRs having an altitude surging problem. This has been acknowledged (look it up BMW) by Yamaha and a new ECU map is forthcoming later this year for '07 owners.

FWIW, Yamaha has redesigned the pulley yet again for '08...

[dwsdad]

You may also read about some '07 FJRs having an altitude surging problem. This has been acknowledged (look it up BMW) by Yamaha and a new ECU map is forthcoming later this year for '07 owners.

FWIW, Yamaha has redesigned the pulley yet again for '08...

Maybe that's what i was thinking about. Sorry 'bout that! :o

[bmwhd]

Maybe that's what i was thinking about. Sorry 'bout that! :o

No worries mate, just horsin' with ya.

BTW, I had a funny (to me) moment sitting in the garage yesterday. I started noticing that the rear drive on my FJR is very similar (except for being a mirror image) to that on my R80. Same vent cap, same fill plug, same drain plug, same axel nut, same spacer, etc... Funny how the really good designs live on 30 years hence. Perhaps BMW should reconsider the old dual shock design...

[rmg08057]

One swallow does not a summer make.....