| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 001081513 | Incident Date: Aug, 18 2001 |
| Consumer's City: SAN MATEO | Consumer's State: CA |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: | Manufacturers Name: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. |
| Model Name: KAWASAKI | Model Year: 2000 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Steering: steering wheel/handle bar |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: JKAEJEA12YA | Date added to File: May, 25 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Oct, 03 2001 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: Aug, 31 2000 |
| Was Original Owner: Yes | Anti-lock Brakes: No |
| Number of Cylinders: 0 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: This motorcycle develops a violent side-to-side threshing of the front wheel and handlebars beginning at 75 mph and getting worse at 80 mph and over. since this is the normal speed of traffic on most western and midwestern highways, this makes the bike not only terrifying to ride, but highly dangerous at normal interstate highway speeds. this threshing motion is often referred to as a "tank-slapper". i took the machine to a local kawasaki dealer, while it was still under warranty. he performed a servicing sequence that supposedly aligned everything , balanced the front wheel, and test rode it. he says he ran it up to 90mph with no steering difficulties. the prime factor in this problem is load weight. the service manager weighs 215 lbs; i weigh 280. although the bike is stable for him at his weight, it is not stable for me at my weight. the owner's manual states that the load capacity for this machine is 404 lbs, at which it should ostensibly be stable at highway speeds. the service manager reported to kawasaki that the machine worked properly, so kawasaki refuses to honor their manufacturer's warranty, stating that the machine was not designed to be stable at "racing speeds". normal interstate highway speeds are not "racing speeds" and i could easily be killed or seriously injured due to this defect in this machine. the dealer refuses to load the bike with 280 lbs of weight and test it. all 2000 w650 models have this problem, and i believe that kawasaki is trying to avoid admitting to it, though they performed major changes in the frame and steering geometry and components to their 2001 w650s to correct this problem. on it |
