Lots of great information in this thread. As promised, I yanked my Water Pump this week and replaced the offending seal. Thanks for posting that part# as I'm sure big Kaw wouldn't let me at it. I used an upside-down large 1/2" drive socket to drive the seal in, then painted the edge with red loctite (just enough to "seal" the groove between it and the pump body. ....
good job!!
for everyone out there with this fix, keep in mind there is still a small amount of oil trapped in the bearing area behind the seal, even after you replace it, you MAY experience a periodic drip on the exhaust until the trapped oil is depleted....this is no cause for alarm, I have repeatedly reassured people here it will stop after a hundred miles or so, and in almost every case the panicked rider reports this occured. So don't panic.
also, completely coating the mating surface of the new seal, and super cleaned recess in the pump (I use Brake-Kleen to remove the oil) and then installing the seal, and allowing it to set up overnight assists in the process before installing the pump. I go one step further in this process by "expanding" the new seal, by placing it face down on a hard surface, and inserting an appropriatly sized socket into the "cup" side of the seal, and tap it judiciously with a hammer, which expands the steel cup slightly. this affords a tighter fit of a marginal seal. Remember the "cup" side faces outwards on the pump, and faces the engine side, and the flat side of the seal is actually facing the inside of the pump....
