2012 C14 blew water pump at 3k MILES

[santeejd]

   Always smelled coolant from day one. Took to stealership several times and they said it was normal. Bike always ran 3/4 scale with fans running. (my FJR fans in 55K miles only kicked on one time during a 110 degree stop and go) . notice drops of coolant under bike.  Water pump was green and raditor hose leaking at cooler. Sight glass showed condensation with a white topper and over filled. Couldn't get them to acknowledge sight glass issue. So told them to do a service.  Dealer said water pump was bad. Bike never over heated. They charged me 220 for labor oil  service, seals and oil. I question why a brand new bike under warranty I would have to pay labor to change the oil. Was told warranty only covers part. all oils and gaskets not cover. Still not sure why I had to pay labor when the oil would dump with the water pump change. Think I will wait and month for paperwork to hit kawasaki and talk to them on issue. Miss my FJR ,55K miles and never a issue. Just wish it had a sixth gear.
Question is does all C14 run 3/4 scale with fans on even in 60 degree weather? Expect coolant problems on my 400 HP V8 bike. but not a metric bike.
thx
JD

[IRULE]

I'm sorry, but I call B.S.!  I'm mad just thinking what you had to go through when you talking to the service advisor.  Talk to the service manager, owner, Kawasaki customer care.  Don't stop until you made Kawasaki pay for this repair.

To answer your question, in Washington State, my fan on the bike runs 50% of the time.

[Jeremy Mitchell]

Hopefully Kawasaki will make it right.  You definitely shouldn't have had to pay a dime. 

[jsa]

Water pump was green and raditor hose leaking at cooler. Sight glass showed condensation with a white topper and over filled. Couldn't get them to acknowledge sight glass issue.

Are you saying that you had coolant in the oil?  If so then you have a bigger problem than the water pump.

[santeejd]

Exactly! Normal my ...

[DenverC-14]

Are you saying that you had coolant in the oil?  If so then you have a bigger problem than the water pump.

+1 That's a much more serious issue.. blown head gasket perhaps.. something major at least. And my fans will kick on in cooler weather if I've been running a bit more spirited, and in the heat at slower speeds (08).

[maxtog]

  Always smelled coolant from day one. Took to stealership several times and they said it was normal. Bike always ran 3/4 scale with fans running. (my FJR fans in 55K miles only kicked on one time during a 110 degree stop and go) . notice drops of coolant under bike.  Water pump was green and raditor hose leaking at cooler. Sight glass showed condensation with a white topper and over filled. Couldn't get them to acknowledge sight glass issue. So told them to do a service.  Dealer said water pump was bad. Bike never over heated. They charged me 220 for labor oil  service, seals and oil. I question why a brand new bike under warranty I would have to pay labor to change the oil. Was told warranty only covers part. all oils and gaskets not cover. Still not sure why I had to pay labor when the oil would dump with the water pump change. Think I will wait and month for paperwork to hit kawasaki and talk to them on issue.

Your dealer is scamming you.  The warranty covers all the labor and parts to repair a defect such as you mentioned.  You DO have to pay for an oil change (parts and labor), if it needed ROUTINE changing, but not if had to be replaced due to some warranty issue.  If you had something wrong in there and the oil was fouled because of it, you certainly do NOT have to pay at all.

I will add that when I first got my Concours, it was leaking coolant slightly from two places, I took it in and they said it just wasn't tight, and I have not had an issue since (almost a year).

[VirginiaJim]

Question is does all C14 run 3/4 scale with fans on even in 60 degree weather? Expect coolant problems on my 400 HP V8 bike. but not a metric bike.
thx
JD

Mine doesn't when moving.  If stopped for any length of time it will.

[MAN OF BLUES]

  Always smelled coolant from day one.......
charged me 220 for labor oil  service, seals and oil. ....Think I will wait and month for paperwork to hit kawasaki and talk to them on issue. ........

DO NOT WAIT....
Contact them immediatly, and demand payment / refund of your money.
This is clearly a warranty issue, the failure caused the oil contamination, therefore all the fluids, the oil filter, and labor....and even the "harzardous disposal" fee for the drained fluids, is ALL covered by the Kawasaki factory warranty.

Do NOT allow them to get away with this, it is simply another knick in the integrety of the "dealer code of honesty".

They were completly re-imbursed from Kawasaki, for every penny that it cost to do that repair.

[southern_rocker_19]

Seems my 10 runs with about one bar for temp on the highway and little hotter in traffic, etc. 

Seems nature of the beast on how hot it runs in certain conditions.

Classic dealer scam, I've seen the same thing for cars where I had the head gasket changed. Really gets the dealers attention when one raises a fuss in the waiting room around other customers. 
 

[maxtog]

Mine doesn't when moving.  If stopped for any length of time it will.

I am not sure I would be able to hear/know if the electric fans were on while I was moving at any reasonable speed.  I assume they doesn't, because there should be no need for it.  Once the bike is moving (at more than something like 10MPH), I am sure it gets MUCH more airflow than the little fans could ever provide.

[KawiG]

Dealer's gotta top off the coolant! seems we heard this before!

[Makz58]

Think I smell a dirty rat??Sorry Kirby.