OK dealer experience

[kdm]

Put a few miles on my new ( to me ) 2008 ,and the brake pulsation at the lever was more than was willing to tolerate -so... decided to try out the extended warranty at my local dealer service dept. The kid who wrote me up didn't seem to know about the issue ,and quoted me 1 hour diag time to check it out .
  Took a deep breath ,said do it ,left it in their hands .  That afternoon he called me and stated that there was a recall
on the rotors ,and even though the rotors were within tolerance , Kawasaki would replace them for free ,with 2011 rotors !
  Picked it up the next day ,and was told "no charge , Ma Kaw paid for it all " , so no diag charge ,either.
  The only small glitch was when he called me while they were changing the rotors and tried to sell me new pads ,even though it has nearly new oem pads on it ,When I asked him why ,he couldn't really explain . He needs to work on his upsell pitch !
  I politely declined ,he said ok fine , and now it stops great.
  Guess I found a pretty honest dealer- will definitely use them again for warranty issues -maybe more.

[martin_14]

glad for you. I had a similar experience with a dealer while chasing handlebar vibrations. Now I use them for all my work on the bike and am happy with them. Front brakes started pulsating some 2 months ago and when they checked, they ordered the discs and told me "it's on Kawa". They got me the pads as well, though, included with the discs. I didn't ask why, just in case... 

[Big Iron]

My 2008 C14 also had the front brake pulsation, and after reading this post, I took my bike to the Kawi dealer. Told them there was a "recall" or a "known issue". They argued with me that they kept up with all recalls and they had never heard of any such thing on the Concours. They asked me where I had gotten my info from and when I told them on the Connie forum, they gave me the old 'eye-roll' and said they would check it out.
They called me the next day and said they got the okay from Kawasaki to replace the rotors but not the pads. My question, kdm, is how do you know they replaced yours with 2011 rotors? It seems that rotors for 2008 and 2011 DO have different part numbers.
When I asked my dealer if he was replacing them with the 2011 models, he said "oh no, we can't go changing parts from different years - that'll void your warranty".
So, if he put the same rotors from the "problem" years, am I to expect the same problems in the near future?
Anybody who has had experience with these issues, please chime in...

[redbarber]

Just got mine home tonight, with my new 2011 rotors.  That is what Kawasaki told my dealer to put on it, as the fix for this known problem.  (not a recall, but recognized as a potential issue when presented).  If your dealer put 2008 or 2009 rotors on again, I suspect that you will eventually have the problem again.  According to my other thread, warped rotors are the second highest warranty issue, after the TPM sensors.   

In my case, the well-worn original pads are not working too well with the new rotors.  To look at the markings the pads must be grooved to match my old rotors and are only hitting in certain areas.  I'll just have to wait for the EBC pads I ordered online to arrive.  Complete axle set for $84 delivered was the best deal I could find, and beat my local shops by $30. 

[VirginiaJim]

Based on my experience, if you get the pulsing, then you need to change the pads as well.

[kdm]

Hey Big
I only have the dealers word ,but he did tell me that the fix Kawi authorized was to install 2011 rotors-don't know why they would make that up !

As for the pads ,the previous owner installed new Kawasaki pads right before I bought the bike ,and so far the braking is excellent with the 2011 rotors and these pads.

[Rawman]

In 2010 Kawasaki changed the pad material to try to prevent the "warped" rotors by transfering less pad material to the rotor.  Apparently it did not work and they beefed up the carrier in 2011 (in an effort to wick away more heat from the rotor itself).  I have a 2009 with original rotors but when it came time to replace the pads, I asked for the (2010 and up) new pads.  It stops great.  OEM 2008-2009 and 2010-2012 are all HH Scintered, really good oem pads!

[Jeremy Mitchell]

My 2008 C14 also had the front brake pulsation, and after reading this post, I took my bike to the Kawi dealer. Told them there was a "recall" or a "known issue". They argued with me that they kept up with all recalls and they had never heard of any such thing on the Concours. They asked me where I had gotten my info from and when I told them on the Connie forum, they gave me the old 'eye-roll' and said they would check it out.
They called me the next day and said they got the okay from Kawasaki to replace the rotors but not the pads. My question, kdm, is how do you know they replaced yours with 2011 rotors? It seems that rotors for 2008 and 2011 DO have different part numbers.
When I asked my dealer if he was replacing them with the 2011 models, he said "oh no, we can't go changing parts from different years - that'll void your warranty".
So, if he put the same rotors from the "problem" years, am I to expect the same problems in the near future?
Anybody who has had experience with these issues, please chime in...

My dealer put on 2011 rotors on my 2008.  I asked them if they could order rotors for a 2011 and the service manager said that Kawi told them to put the 2011's on.

[sycamoredave]

I had the same issue with warped rotors on my '08.  The dealer said nothing was wrong, no recalls, nature of the beast.   My independent bike tech confirmed the warped rotors, and I paid to have EBC rotors with new pads put on.  Problem solved, $$$ spent (so much for getting cruise control this year), and the dealer will not be seeing my bike again if I can help it.

Ride safe...
Dave

[redbarber]

Sycamoredave,
I suggest that if you have any other issues with your 08, you do some research on this board and on the COG site before you go to your stealer.  Brake rotor issue has been common and pretty well discussed here.  At least 5 or 6 members have had this repair under the warranty, and the stories are pretty similar.  Your stealer was way off the mark on this, and cost you some serious coin.  I'd also suggest you contact Kawasaki directly, report the situation, and demand restitution.  Of course, you'll get nothing from them, but the phone call is free.
Other warranty-covered issues you might see on that bike include:  TPM sensor failure, rusting of the gas tank at the spot welds, sun fading or melting of plastic covers or guage needles, leaking of the final drive seals.  Search for "warranty", or for the specific component you have a problem with. 
As for the rotors, Kawasaki has been pretty flexible with warranty coverage overall.  Even if the rotors are not warped enough to meet their criteria, they have been known to approve the claim anyway, because they know that they are only going to get worse.  Normally they replace them with 2011 rotors, which are made from a different steel alloy.   Welcome to the forum!