At first it seems like a small thing but hey, there are over $500 worth of sensors on a bike and considerably more than that if labor is included
Indeed. It is an incredible expense and inconvenience to deal with what really amounts to a planned failure of a simple, $2 battery. They should have used a rechargeable battery with contacts from the valve stem, or perhaps an external sensor. At a minimum, they could have had a sensor with two or three times the battery for $1 more and have it last a full decade or longer. I suppose they had to pick a technology which was "out there" and available. And this "inside the tire" without charging concept is certainly not new or unusual... it is the way it is done in just about all vehicles. But I think it is crazy, especially for motorcycles (which have a MUCH higher tire dismount/mount cost), that something better was not picked.
So it is hard for me to feel much sympathy for Kawasaki on it costing them a lot under warranty. Hell, I tell people Kawasaki's Concours factory extended warranty deal is the best out there and not buying it is INSANE... a single round of sensor replacements just paid for the entire thing! I will be sad when my 9 year warranty is over in 4/2020.
My 2 original sensors in my 2011 C14 only lasted 3 years!
The 4 sensors in my 2009 Infiniti G37S are now 8.5 years old and still working fine.