Mildly long, forgive me.

I love this bike but noticed a few thins that were likely either dealer setup issues or QC issues from Mother Kawasaki...


1st item: windshield was a little buzzy at highway speeds so I started to investigate.

I noticed that one of the side decorative covers for the mid vent on windshield was mis-aligned so I delved further by removing the windshield.

One of the black screws was cross threaded and felt resistance while removing and hexs of the 2 larger middle 5mm bolts were very stripped; I almost could not get them out.

After getting them out I noticed that one of the pushpins at the top of the large triangular drive mechanism cover was very chewed up, so I removed it and saw that the bracket behind it had been drilled to the very edges of the tab, rendering the pushpin as useless. Said tab was also visibly JB welded to the inside fairing cover that covers the evap canister Kawasaki COVER,INNER,RH Part # 14092-0114)

I then removed that fairing cover and also observed that one of its other tabs was broken off as if forced into the bike.

There is a push pin that hold its to the passenger side mirror bracket, which surprise, was also DRILLED out with the drill bit having made contact with he bodywork and mirror's metal mount.

In addition, they also screwed up the negative lead of the battery cable because they did not understand how it was supposed to be routed, so they bent the bracket that attaches to the battery 180 degrees so it rested against the back  of the battery. The terminal; was also bent and showed signs that said bracket was possibly forcibly bent while still attached to the battery.

Question:

Would the dealer have had to remove the fairing cover over the eval canister or this more likely a setup issue and poor QC by Kawasaki?

The dealer has otherwise excellent reviews and came highly recommended by a close friend.

My options:

1: Put it back together and know that it'll be fine for the service life of the bike but annoy my OCD tendencies.

2: Contact dealer, drop it off with all of my complaints and know they will likely not put it back together correctly at which point I'll likely discover other stuff assembled incorrectly.

Any input from you guys?

A few pics...

Is this a new bike?

Brand new from dealer. 17 leftover that I got for about 3500 off MSRP which takes some of the sting out.

Mildly long, forgive me.

You are forgiven

I love this bike but noticed a few things that were likely either dealer setup issues or QC issues from Mother Kawasaki...


1st item: windshield was a little buzzy at highway speeds so I started to investigate.

I noticed that one of the side decorative covers for the mid vent on windshield was mis-aligned so I delved further by removing the windshield.

One of the black screws was cross threaded and felt resistance while removing and hexs of the 2 larger middle 5mm bolts were very stripped; I almost could not get them out.

After getting them out I noticed that one of the pushpins at the top of the large triangular drive mechanism cover was very chewed up, so I removed it and saw that the bracket behind it had been drilled to the very edges of the tab, rendering the pushpin as useless. Said tab was also visibly JB welded to the inside fairing cover that covers the evap canister Kawasaki COVER,INNER,RH Part # 14092-0114)

I then removed that fairing cover and also observed that one of its other tabs was broken off as if forced into the bike.

There is a push pin that hold its to the passenger side mirror bracket, which surprise, was also DRILLED out with the drill bit having made contact with he bodywork and mirror's metal mount.

I'm not aware of any push pin that holds the mirror bracket...I'm not sure I'm following you here. Perhaps you could find an online parts fiche to verify said part? Should be well nuts and threaded machine screws if I'm following your description correctly. Top cover over evap canister has (front to back) push pin under windshield, well nut and screw, well nut and screw, well nut and screw. Additionally there are a few very small tabs (2 I think, more like small plastic hooks) under the cover that fit into the fairing to hold it down.Was this model on display?..could be it was damaged in the show room and they "repaired" it.

In addition, they also screwed up the negative lead of the battery cable because they did not understand how it was supposed to be routed, so they bent the bracket that attaches to the battery 180 degrees so it rested against the back  of the battery. The terminal; was also bent and showed signs that said bracket was possibly forcibly bent while still attached to the battery.

Question:

Would the dealer have had to remove the fairing cover over the eval canister or this more likely a setup issue and poor QC by Kawasaki?

The dealer has otherwise excellent reviews and came highly recommended by a close friend.

My options:

1: Put it back together and know that it'll be fine for the service life of the bike but annoy my OCD tendencies.

2: Contact dealer, drop it off with all of my complaints and know they will likely not put it back together correctly at which point I'll likely discover other stuff assembled incorrectly.

Any input from you guys?

The battery hook up is definitely a dealer screw up and there are many stories of them having the battery in backwards. I cannot imagine Kawasaki QC allowing JB weld leaving the factory. They aren't Harbor Freight. I'd have to blame this all on dealer {poor} prep and possible showroom damage obscuration.

It's my understanding that if a bike is sold as used (regardless of mileage) then damage and repairs do not have to be revealed. (check your paper work to see if they checked the "used" box.) However if sold as new then they do. Regardless, if you decide to return it to the dealer then I'd do it fast, the longer you wait the more likely they are to blame you for all of that. The manager may not even know about it, the employees themselves could have hidden the damage and the shoddy repairs from him.

Yep, we have heard about the battery screwup by dealers over and over again (installed backwards, none of the connections tight, etc).  So that is not uncommon.  Just fix and move on (make absolutely sure all the connections and grounds are TIGHT, the C14 HATES poor battery connections, trust me).  They also tend to lose one of the Fobs (keys), over or under-inflate the tires (sometimes frightening so), not aim the headlights correctly.  We have a story of one dealer who had somehow forced the panniers on BACKWARDS (swapped sides).

As for the windscreen issue- that is something new. I expect the dealer does have to put on the windscreen, and could have cross threaded those bolts.

Like Marty, I can't believe that would leave the factory that way [the drive stuff]- Kawasaki has very good quality control.  If this was sold as new, I would get the dealer to fix it properly.  Perhaps they somehow damaged it or it was damaged in shipping or dealer assembly and they performed poor quality service to get it back together.   That assembly is going to cost them a pretty penny...

Thanks for the replies, I'm going to give them a call tomorrow and see how they initially want to proceed. As it is, even when re-installed the windshield still vibes a little.

The bike was sold as new.

I think I solved the initial issue of vibrating windshield, 4 of the dampers (92161A) are missing.

OK, now that the serious stuff is temporarily over, I have a question.

Why does your bike have a mirror at the rear of the bike? 

There is a push pin that holds it to the passenger side mirror bracket....

Hmmm...crickets....


Well  I  thought it was amusing....

There is a flat tip enabled push pin that you can see while seated. It goes through the inner fender piece and into the rear view mirror. I attached a photo in my initial reply.

Additionally there is a small punch style push pin under the windshield facing forward. This one goes into the tab that was broken and jb welded.

Additionally there is a small punch style push pin under the windshield facing forward. This one goes into the tab that was broken and jb welded.

I know that plastic rivet well... it is a pain and must be removed to take off the side trim.  I have a special angled tool (like a pick) that I use to get to it so I don't have to remove the windscreen.

They had no business going in there, unless it was damaged somehow.  Like mentioned before, I bet there was floor-room damage of some sort... like it fell over maybe.

Given that it was damaged and the damage was concealed what is my best scenario?

Is a buy back out of the question?

Do I trust them to make it right after having concealed the damage?

Do I just pony up the $100 in parts and know that the damage has no bearing on my use of the bike and accept it as a lesson in OCD management? :)

Those are tough questions with no easy/best/obvious answer.

I don't have a warm-N-fuzzy feeling about your NEW bike and I haven't even laid eyes on it.  I suggest you perform a very careful, time consuming, and meticulous inspection.  If you find nothing else amiss, then you will have some semblance of peace of mind.  It is quite possible that someone with limited experience performed the un-boxing and assembly, not a certified mechanic.  I doubt dealers will have a $100+/HR mechanic do that sort of work.

If you find other items that cause you concern then it just might be worth the hassle to take it back and have them make it right.  At this point you will have a mechanic looking at it vs. some part-time/temporary wrench turner/assembler.

IMHO of course.

...just take it to the dealer... I convinced that bike was dropped at the dealership. Probably time to get a lawyer... you bought a new bike regardless of the discount.

There is a flat tip enabled push pin that you can see while seated. It goes through the inner fender piece and into the rear view mirror. I attached a photo in my initial reply.

The picture you show of the hole they drilled, originally had a well nut and screw. Which they could have repaired and still had a well nut and screw, however it appears they repaired it and then drilled it out for a push rivet instead. Thus my confusion, plus I forgot that the well nuts were in the plastic mirror bracket cover, I was thinking they were in the cowling plastic. Clearly from your photo and some of mine I checked, they are in the mirror bracket plastic. There should only be one push rivet total (the one under the windshield) holding the top cover over the Evap canister, the rest should all be well nuts and machine screws.

 Yes, a talk to the manager is in order, something happened to that bike before you got it. If he doesn't respond well to you, maybe a call to Kawasaki is in order. Again, the manager/owner may not have even known about this damage/repair, could be employees trying to protect their jobs and not being very good at it. If they don't respond well to you, please be sure to leave the dealership name here so we'll know to stay away.

Thank you for replying. That makes sense that it used to be a bolt and further drives home the fact that they concealed actual damage.

The picture you show of the hole they drilled, originally had a well nut and screw. Which they could have repaired and still had a well nut and screw, however it appears they repaired it and then drilled it out for a push rivet instead. Thus my confusion, plus I forgot that the well nuts were in the plastic mirror bracket cover, I was thinking they were in the cowling plastic. Clearly from your photo and some of mine I checked, they are in the mirror bracket plastic. There should only be one push rivet total (the one under the windshield) holding the top cover over the Evap canister, the rest should all be well nuts and machine screws.

 Yes, a talk to the manager is in order, something happened to that bike before you got it. If he doesn't respond well to you, maybe a call to Kawasaki is in order. Again, the manager/owner may not have even known about this damage/repair, could be employees trying to protect their jobs and not being very good at it. If they don't respond well to you, please be sure to leave the dealership name here so we'll know to stay away.

Spoke with salesman and service manager who were shocked and asked me to bring in for photographs. We will see.

Spoke with salesman and service manager who were shocked and asked me to bring in for photographs. We will see.

Hopefully, they will take responsibility for it and make it right.  How they would do that, I’m not sure...

Replace parts or make better repairs?  We’re talking about major body panels, are we not?

Hopefully, they will take responsibility for it and make it right.  How they would do that, I’m not sure...

Replace parts or make better repairs?  We’re talking about major body panels, are we not?

From what I can see, they would have to replace a body panel and probably also the entire windscreen mechanism (if the bolt holes were stripped).  And it wouldn't fall under warranty- the dealer would have to pay Kawasaki for those parts AND supply their own labor, unless they lie to Kawasaki somehow....