Stranded - clutch?

[Ponitail]

I think part of the problem might be that I didn't buy the bike from this dealer. The bike was purchased at another dealer which closed about 3 months after my brother and I bought our bikes. The closest dealer to me screwed over a friend of mine on his bike so I won't go there. I had called other dealers but this one sounded like they were actually interested in helping me however it doesn't seem like they are interested any more.

[ballbreaker]

It is unfortunate that the dealer doesn't look at it as an opportunity to earn respect and maybe new business from you and others by going the extra mile. We all know word of mouth from motorcycle owners goes a long way. I guess he doesn't realize that.

[Ponitail]

Received my certified mail response card from the post office yesterday afternoon, so I know they received my letter, the date, and who signed for it. Now we wait.

[ballbreaker]

Good news. Hoping something good comes out of it. Keep us in the loop. Thanks

[Ponitail]

Just a word to the wise, this is a looong post. I stated recently, I sent a letter to Ma Kaw. The first part of the post is a copy of said letter.


"Dear Kawasaki:

Last October 7, 2020 I was on my way home and started hearing some kind of grinding noise. I could accelerate slowly but the bike would stop pulling
and start making a grinding noise. My brother came over and we put it in his trailer and he took it to his house. October 24, 2020 we started taking things apart. We discovered that the spline on the output shaft of the transmission was completely stripped out, and so was the spline inside the belt pulley. There’s absolutely no way this should have happened. I’ve been working around machinery over 50 years. I’ve been working on automobiles since I was 8 years old, and motorcycles since the age of 12. I was also a welder / machinist for 18 years. I have never seen a failure of this type.



On October 28, 2020, I contacted Wizard of Wheels in Crete, IL and spoke with a man named Tom. I explained the whole situation to him regarding the shaft and pulley. He claimed that he had never heard of this happening. I also e-mailed him all of the information on the bike and included pictures of the shaft and pulley. He said he would contact the company and forward the pictures and information to them.


I have called back a few times since to check on the status of the situation. The last time I talked to him he maintained that he still had not received any type of response from the company. That was on February 19, 2021. The last two times I called the dealership I was told that he was with a customer. The person took my name and phone number and said he would call me back, but I have not received a single call. The dealership also claimed that they had had a lot of problems with Kawasaki since the beginning of covid-19. They told me they had bikes in their shop that had been waiting for parts to complete repairs for upwards of 5 months. For a dealership that claims to have been in business for 45 years, I would say that is piss poor customer service.


Since all of this happened I have been talking to people in the Kawasaki motorcycle clubs that I belong to, fellow riders if you will. According to what I have read from other owners of 1700 bikes, this problem is caused by the tab washer compressing and causing a loss of pre-load which results in the pulley coming loose and wobbling on the spline. According to one guy this has been an ongoing problem for 15 years or better involving 900, 1700, and 2000 model bikes. He said it happened to him in 2011 and was repaired under warranty. He also stated that since that time he has done annual maintenance to the effect of removing the pulley, cleaning and re-assembling with a new tab washer and re-torquing.



It seems to me that Kawasaki has been well aware of this problem for some time. Looks to me like information should have been sent to all Kawasaki dealerships apprising them of this situation, and the correct way to deal with it. This same information should have also been sent to owners of these models of bikes. To this day I can’t find any information regarding maintenance on this subject in the bikes owners manual or the service manual. In my opinion Kawasaki has failed their customers by a long shot.


This event happened on October 7, 2020; about 3-1/2 months after the warranty expired. However, if the company had done the responsible thing, and notified the dealers and customers of the potential problem, this very well could have been avoided. I feel that Kawasaki should own up and fix this bike.


I’ve missed out on every bit of 3,000 miles of riding since this incident happened and I’m not the least bit happy about it. If you’re not concerned about me as a customer then I guess it’s time for me to take my business elsewhere and buy another brand of motorcycle."


I may have been a bit harsh but I don't care. My apologies to Garry if I didn't get the details exactly correct, I didn't use anybodies names. Following is the response letter I got from corporate on Friday 6/4/21.




Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response. If this issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may reply to this email. Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.
Response By Email (Judy Marquez) (06/04/2021 02:06 PM)
James,

Thank you for contacting Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. We would be happy to review your concerns through a local authorized Kawasaki dealership. Wizard of Wheels has reached out to us and are aware of the problem and our willingness to review the request.

Judy Marquez
Customer Care Specialist
Customer & Technical Support

Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.
26972 Burbank, Foothill Ranch, CA 92610-2506
t 949.716.0451 | f 949.460.5629
www.kawasaki.com
I called this lady twice a day for 5 days. Not once did she answer her phone, and not once did she call me back. Some customer service.


So I called the dealership again on Friday 6/11. Spoke with the illustrious Tom. Once again he said they have had continuing problems with Kawasaki since the beginning of covid-19. He says all of the people of corporate are still working from home, which he says has created the biggest part of communication problems with the company. He says what would have to be done is that I have to physically bring the bike to him. They will evaluate the condition of the bike and send a report to Kawasaki. Then the company will decide how they are going to handle the situation. They may pay for all of it, part of it, or none of it. If they choose not to pay for anything, I will have to reimburse the dealer for their time in evaluating and submitting the report to Ma Kaw. He then stated that due to the current work load he would not be able to look at the bike until late October or possibly November. I also explained to him about this situation going on for several years. He stated that the company had some sort of threshold on complaints. In other words, they would have to receive a substantial amount of complaints before they would take action in the form of a recall etc. He said he wasn't aware of the magic number for the threshold, but that they would deal with said complaints individually.




I don't know about you people but I think this is a load of crap! So this bike is supposed to set for a year before anyone looks at it? Why didn't he have me bring it in last October? I told the guy he's done absolutely nothing but waste my time and I wasn't interested in having him do anything for me. I'm done with Kawasaki. I currently have another one that I'm rebuilding and when I'm done with it, it's gone.


So, to end this escapade, In the very near future I will be selling the Voyager as is. My brother and I have the ability to repair it, but neither one of us are interested in doing the work. There are a lot of you out there that not only have the ability, but the proper tools and the place to do this kind of work. The parts would run about a grand, if you can actually get them. I took really good care of this bike and invested over 6K into customizing it, someone could actually get a hell of a bike if they want to fix it.


Thanks for letting me into this group. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I've learned a lot about my bike and still enjoy seeing what others are doing to theirs. I'd like to stick around if you all don't mind. Happy riding and keep the rubber side down!!

[ballbreaker]

I can't imagine the pain you are feeling. Kawasaki doesn't seem to want to provide any support until they receive mega complaints and then they might help you or may not and if not the bill goes to you, never mind not being able to ride for the year. Lets face it they just don't care. SUCKS

[ldhthept]

Keep the rubber side up???

[Ponitail]

Sorry for the screw up, it was a long damn post. Problem corrected.

[gv550]

I am sorry to hear of your troubles in dealing with Kawasaki regarding this failure, and I understand your frustration and decision to throw in the towel.

[mbarr10]

Originally Posted by Ponitail

Sorry for the screw up, it was a long damn post. Problem corrected.

Not a screw up,Just Venting. I feel your pain Brother.

[Lumberjack]

Is this this washer the part Ponitail is referring to which sits in between the nut and spline on the end of the shaft??

See attached picture with arrow

92200BWASHER,31X50X1
92200-0505
$2.64

https://www.cheapcycleparts.com/oemp...e/transmission

Originally Posted by Ponitail

Just a word to the wise, this is a looong post. I stated recently, I sent a letter to Ma Kaw. The first part of the post is a copy of said letter.


"Dear Kawasaki:

Last October 7, 2020 I was on my way home and started hearing some kind of grinding noise. I could accelerate slowly but the bike would stop pulling
and start making a grinding noise...


Since all of this happened I have been talking to people in the Kawasaki motorcycle clubs that I belong to, fellow riders if you will. According to what I have read from other owners of 1700 bikes, this problem is caused by the tab washer compressing and causing a loss of pre-load which results in the pulley coming loose and wobbling on the spline. According to one guy this has been an ongoing problem for 15 years or better involving 900, 1700, and 2000 model bikes. He said it happened to him in 2011 and was repaired under warranty. He also stated that since that time he has done annual maintenance to the effect of removing the pulley, cleaning and re-assembling with a new tab washer and re-torquing...

[Peg]

That's the one... I make sure I always have a spare one in my toolbox, and it's probably time I went back in there and replaced the one on the bike.

On the other hand, I reassure myself that Garry probably did more miles on his Voyager in one year than I'll manage in ten, so I probably have a year or two left?

[redjay]

I think Garry's bike had over 600,000kms on it when he traded it in and now it has over 800,000 on it.

[Ponitail]

In 18 plus years as a machinist, I was always taught that the pulley, gear, or bearing was supposed to be a .002" - .004" shrink fit onto the shaft. The item would be warmed up on a bearing heater, then installed onto the shaft. When it cooled off, the only way to get it off after that would be with a puller. Where I come from, the washer and bolt is just insurance. The pulley should never come loose or wobble.


In my opinion it's piss poor engineering for a $3.00 washer to cause a problem that will take at least $1,000 worth of parts to repair, plus the cost of labor.

[Peg]

Originally Posted by Ponitail

In 18 plus years as a machinist, I was always taught that the pulley, gear, or bearing was supposed to be a .002" - .004" shrink fit onto the shaft. The item would be warmed up on a bearing heater, then installed onto the shaft. When it cooled off, the only way to get it off after that would be with a puller. Where I come from, the washer and bolt is just insurance. The pulley should never come loose or wobble.


In my opinion it's piss poor engineering for a $3.00 washer to cause a problem that will take at least $1,000 worth of parts to repair, plus the cost of labor.

I agree entirely. Long ago in a past life I worked on skifields doing lift maintenance. Even the smallest lift gearbox needed the shaft in a freezer overnight & the bearings in a hot oil bath, to get them anywhere near in place.