[AES]

So yesterday while riding on the highway, I was cruising and noticed my speed slowly dropping. I fed it more gas and had no increase. All of a sudden I hear the engine tone drop and the speed starts dropping fast. I start to move over to the shoulder and then the tire locks up. I pulled in the clutch and managed to pull over.

The engine seems completely seized. The starter clicks but no engine turn. I have an extended warranty so I will update as soon as I hear back from the dealer.

 

[hazzardsky]

Well thats a huge bummer

Hopefully all goes smooth and easy with getting it back up and running

 

[Chris17z650]

Scarey, makes me want to check coolant and change oil NOW. Did you notice heat levels? Mine seems to run hot, until it recently got hot outside...

 

[AES]

I did not see any kind of overheating on the temp gauge. My bike runs hot but never reaches the top bar. Also I was traveling consistently on the highway which usually keeps it cool.

Worth noting that on Monday it was a heat wave. Air was humid and warm. That should not be enough to seize an engine though.

Because I have the yoshimura Alpha exhaust, they are telling me that if there is any link to the exhaust in the failure, they won't cover it under warranty. I am still waiting for a diagnostic and will update soon.

 

[czrlaker]

For info. I ride in 110°+ heat on the daily, I have riden in 118° heat and have never had a problem. Also I am running a Danmoto exhaust which from what I have heard will make the bike run hotter.

 

[Chris17z650]

Right where my temp gauge runs at as well. All I do is highway miles and we've had some HOT & HUMID days in MD this past couple weeks. Hope it all works out, Pretty sure Tremonte did a vid and said that same exhaust made his run cooler anyway. Doesn't matter, hope your ride gets fixed quick and under warranty!

 

[Tremonte]

They won't find a link between the exhaust and the engine failing unless it was installed wrong and the exhaust had a severe leak at the ports. You would have had issues with predetonation which would have been obvious. Bad hesitation, pinging sound from the front of the bike, and way higher temps. For the exhaust to screw the AFR up that much, you would need to see 17-18AFR at all times, and the Yoshimura doesn't even get near that lean at all.

 

[AES]

The exhaust did indeed help the bike run cooler, and I torqued everything down to specification. I had no issues with leaks or pre-detonation. It also certainly doesn't seem to run more lean than the stock.

My appointment was made on the 27th. I'll have to get back to you all then

 

[AES]

Quick update:

I am still waiting to hear back from Kawasaki to see if they are going to cover it under the extended warranty.

The damages cost around $8300 without any warranty coverage.

The damages include the engine and the oil pump.

From what I was told, the engine connector rod heated up and bent, causing it to break and go into the cylinder, significant damage was caused to the engine, and metal shavings (I believe) caused an issue with the oil pump.

Will let everyone know what Kawasaki decides. The bike is 2017 with less than 15000 kilometers. This kind of damage should not be happening.

 

[AES]

UPDATE:

With Kawasaki Protection Plus, not all of the damages are covered. For some reason I still need to pay ~800 out of pocket. Also at the extent of the damage and the labor and cost required, they still decided to do an engine rebuild and not a swap.

Apparently every part and its mother is back ordered, so I will let you guys know the verdict when I get the bike back in 2023 (not really.)

 

[Ziggs]

Cant believe that Kawasaki is expecting you to pay for any of the repairs, considering nothing you did directly led to the problem. And I don't know how it could possibly be cheaper to rebuild the engine rather than just swap it out. Way easier to source a new engine than individual components as well.

 

[AES]

Another update, it has been 2 months since the initial failure, and 1 month since I was told it would be covered.

I am just receiving word that was forwarded down by Kawasaki that I will still not be receiving more engine parts for at least 2 weeks.

Looks like my riding season is at an end for this year. Really sucks that there doesn't seem to be much care from Kawasaki, as for the last week I have been told that these parts where on the truck out for delivery to the dealership. Now the story has changed and time has pushed back even more.

 

[Tremonte]

Parts come from Thailand. They probably are on a truck in the US.... just held up by customs. It's always a crap shoot receiving shipments from outside the country. Sorry for the bad luck man... I'd still like to know what exactly caused the failure.

 

[AES]

Engine has been rebuilt. The dealership did a great job and it feels perfect, just need to baby it and break it back in.

 

[Christopher de Venecia]

Engine has been rebuilt. The dealership did a great job and it feels perfect, just need to baby it and break it back in.

That's good to hear!

 

[Jadar671]

Nice!

 

[oldfart]

Don't baby it too much!:wink2:

 

[Leo Reyes]

Nice man! I'm still waiting on mine... I called few days ago and a part was on back order, but Kawasaki said they requested it to be over-nighted. Did Kawasaki end up covering all of it?

 

[AES]

Nice man! I'm still waiting on mine... I called few days ago and a part was on back order, but Kawasaki said they requested it to be over-nighted. Did Kawasaki end up covering all of it?

It turned to be a $8300 CAD repair bill and they were adamant about me paying $800, they covered the rest.

 

[Chuck]

UPDATE:

With Kawasaki Protection Plus, not all of the damages are covered. For some reason I still need to pay ~800 out of pocket. Also at the extent of the damage and the labor and cost required, they still decided to do an engine rebuild and not a swap.

Apparently every part and its mother is back ordered, so I will let you guys know the verdict when I get the bike back in 2023 (not really.)

I just bought a new 2017 Z650 and was thinking about getting the extended warranty on the Kawasaki.com website. This is my 4th Kawasaki, I've never bought an extended warranty, and (knock on wood) I've had zero problems with them. But the dealer made me think about it after giving me a very convincing sales pitch. The fact that it's been a slow process to get it repaired sucks, but doesn't discourage me. The problem I have is Kawasaki making you pay $800 when they advertise NO DEDUCTIBLES. I read the entire thread and must have missed something... How do they justify the $800 ????