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Gen 5 Recall Post Work Results

Gen 5: 2016-20 
10K views 56 replies 30 participants last post by  dudewhrsmybike 
#1 ·
Lets keep a thread for your recall experience, and how the bike behaves after the work has been performed.

I'll start first.

Took my bike to the dealer, and picked it up today. The bike no longer shifts properly, or at all. Gears 1, and 2 appear to be fine. With the bike stopped, and in first gear, I was able to shift through neutral and into 2nd gear. This happened a couple times, and a couple times it successfully prevented it.

The bike now usually fails to shift into 3rd, 4th, and at least 5th gear (6th was not tested). The gear indicator goes up, however it does not catch, and behaves as if the bike is in neutral.

I took the bike immediately back to the dealer, and they test rode it, and confirmed the behavior.

So now the next step is to tear it apart again. This is fkn great!
 
#2 ·
Sorry to hear of your experience. But that's a failure on the part of the mechanic doing the work. The PNF (Positive Neutral Finder) is a set of ball-bearings in the output shaft that will restrain the gear pairs. Put grease on them during assembly and the unit will fail. Very common if the half-ass it. It also sounds like the shift shaft wasn't put in correctly either and that's what is causing the irregular shifting. Let them look into it for you, stay positive about it, but keep a close eye on them. :badteeth: It shouldn't be a symptom of the recall or replacement parts. FYI. :helmet:
 
#4 ·
I completely agree with you. This cassette transmission was designed to have the gears swapped in and out for different race tracks. It's definitely the mechanics fault, I have no doubt.

I went through the service manual before taking it to them, and was aware of the PNF and the ball-bearings. It was the very first thing I tested before leaving the dealers lot. When it failed to prevent me from shifting into 2nd, I just knew it... I foookn knew it, they failed to properly install something - or everything.

I have my test ride on video. Maybe I'll post it up on youtube.
 
#3 ·
Lets keep a thread for your recall experience, and how the bike behaves after the work has been performed.



I'll start first.



Took my bike to the dealer, and picked it up today. The bike no longer shifts properly, or at all. Gears 1, and 2 appear to be fine. With the bike stopped, and in first gear, I was able to shift through neutral and into 2nd gear. This happened a couple times, and a couple times it successfully prevented it.



The bike now usually fails to shift into 3rd, 4th, and at least 5th gear (6th was not tested). The gear indicator goes up, however it does not catch, and behaves as if the bike is in neutral.



I took the bike immediately back to the dealer, and they test rode it, and confirmed the behavior.



So now the next step is to tear it apart again. This is fkn great!


I’m waiting for my dealer to get the parts in...you are not helping my anxiety!

I’ll post the results after they complete my recall.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#11 ·
My advice for you and in fact everyone having this work performed is before leaving the lot, test the Positive Neutral Finder (PNF). With the bike stopped, engage the clutch (pull in lever). Shift bike into first gear (if it is not already), and try shifting into second gear. Give the shifter some toe up force, don't try to hit neutral, try to shift into 2nd. If you successfully shift into second try a couple more times, it is possible they botched part of your install. They either failed to properly install the PNF bearings, or they greased the bearings. Service Manual page 9-44 clearly states NOT to grease the bearings.

BTW, my bike is still at the dealer.
 
#15 ·
Unfortunately once a recall is activated, and the parts are ordered, you can't take bike to another dealer (I don't think) unless you want to pay out of pocket for repairs. Hopefully they eat the cost of repairs, do it right, and this poor guy isn't left with a can of worms and dealer who doesn't want to pay for their mistakes! A lot of dealers fail to recognize the customer comes first. I'd say most are pretty comfy losing customers only to gain more naive ones. :frown2:
 
#7 ·
In this day and age there are skill shortages, its sad but true, i also feel that something relatively simple like cassette transmission will be assigned to apprentices yes scarry really but i'm also sure most dealers don't want to waste time and money re working warranty work so it'll be a lesson learned. it could be worse pre 2011 the engine cases needing splitting to get the transmission out.
 
#8 ·
Just got mine back. Wont be back to Kawasaki out here. (takes deep breath) I took mine in at the very beginning of the recall.. They had it for 2 weeks. Called to tell me its done, but they picked up a nail and now must order a tire. so 1 extra week. Its kinda crazy how its a motorcycle service center but the area where you ride into is littered with gravel and nails? To rub it in, I can tell my bike was outside in the rain because of how dirty it is. Anytime I take my car in for maintenance they shine the tires, clean the windshield. Sometimes pressure wash it. Not this place. And not to mention I prob would have bought the bike from them if I didn't wander around their showroom twice for 30plus minutes with no acknowledgement.. Maybe I'm being critical.. If I am feel free to tell me to stfu.
 
#9 ·
i feel you bro and I have had my own bad experiences at stealerships both motorcycle and my cager vehicles. Hard to find good places to work on your shit. This is why i do my own work on everything i own... but with recall work you have no choice and it sucks there is not more places that have good mechanics and actually care about your shit when they work on it.
 
#13 ·
My bike was great this weekend, raced all weekend, zero issues. Shifted great, ran like a top.
 
#14 ·
Just dropped off the K10r this morning to get the tranny recall done at Northeast Ga Motorsports. About 3 or 4 dealerships closer to me, but I trust the NGM guys a bit more.

Took a look at the replacement parts saw that the job is closer to a rebuild of the output shaft vs swapping the factory built output setups. Requires a little more focus imo.

Friend in Macon will be giving me his 10r to drop off at NGM next week. He refuses to use his local dealers. Sad that so many bike dealerships across the country aren’t worth going to given the state of the industry.

Will post results today or tomorrow. Glad to see some in this thread are satisfied with the results.
 
#16 ·
Picked up the finished recall work today, just one night in their shop.

Everything looked fine. Ran it thru gears at low rpm down the street. Shifted fine with basically no load.

However, I’m wondering if some grease may have been used to hold the neutral bearings in place during install. After putting bike on stand, engine not run for more than a minute, I tested neutral with engine off.

Anxiety chills took over as I was able to shift from 1st to 6th... three times. Nothing stopped the shift at neutral.

After freaking out, I tested both zx6’s to see if I could duplicate the weird shifting... nope.

Ran the K10r again for a minute, shut it off. Tested again and CND(could not duplicate). Shifted to first and would not budge past neutral. Either I was in bizarro world for a moment or else the cold temp and a little grease on those neutral balls through me for a loop until the motor heated up.

Will find out more at the track this weekend.
 
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#17 ·
Picked up my bike from the shop today.

To recap my experience. First trip for the work last Wednesday resulted in a failure by the mechanic, so I left the bike at the shop for them to tear it about again. Once torn down, I was told the mechanic failed to install one of the 3 PNF ball bearings, and that was the reason the bike was failing to shift - or rather would get false neutrals in 3rd, 4th, 5th gears (at least).

After hearing the mechanics diagnosis, I called Kawasaki and they had a technician in California call me back. I explained to him what the mechanic told me, and he said that a missing PNF ball bearing would not cause the bike to get false neutrals. He stated the only impact that would have is that the PNF would no longer work. He said he would call the dealer. This took place this past Friday.

Well it's now Wednesday, and the dealer called to say the bike is fixed, so I went there to pick it up. The mechanic came out to apologize, and explain the issue about the missing PNF bearing. I explained that I talked to a technician from Kawasaki, and how the K-Tech had said the missing bearing would not cause false neutral. I wasn't going to debate or argue about it, I was just happy the bike may actually be fixed now. I then set off to go on a test ride.

First thing I tested was the PNF, and it worked perfectly. I tested this multiple times, and every time it worked. I then began to leave the dealers parking lot. There were some bumps in the lot, and as my bike went over the bumps I heard a rattle, and saw my front fairing bounce up and down a little. I thought to myself that is not right, so I jostled the front fairing a little with my hand as I continued riding through the dealers lot. The front fairing appeared to be a little lose. I didn't think too much of it, and I would check it when I got home.

So I'm now test riding the bike, and all the gears appear to shift fine, the quick shifter appears to be working as well, although it seems to require a little more toe up force than what I recall (might be normal, just something I'm noting in the back of my mind). So I'm now turning around in a little shopping center to go back to the dealer to report my test ride, when I notice my right mirror is about to fall off. One of the bolts that holds the mirror is missing, and the other bolt is backing out.

I am now slowly limping the bike back to the dealer, and well - I'm pissed. These bolts were tight before I went to the dealer, I check them after every couple rides because when I first bought the bike and got it home, they were loose on the right mirror. When I get back to the dealer, my frustration is evident and they grab another bolt from a new zx10r they have, install it and check/tighten all the mirror bolts.

So there we go. My bike (at least for the short ride that I've taken it on) appears to be good. Still a little frustrated, but happy they put the effort in to make the bike right. There was a total of 18 miles put on the bike while at the dealer, for which about 1 or 2 was from their first attempt at the work, and 16 or so was from their second attempt.

Finally, I placed an order for 5 large pizza hut pizzas (2 deluxe, 3 sausage and pepperoni), and a 2 liter of Mountain Dew, and Pepsi to be delivered to the dealer at noon tomorrow. No hard feelings right? Right.
 
#19 ·
Stupid dirt bikes (that's how I broke my leg that ended up ruining an entire race season for me)....
 
#24 ·
I had mine done at Castle Motorsports in Hendersonville Tn and it shifts fine. The qickshifter works just as well as before. The clutch even feels better as it was a little tight before even though the cable was in spec. Sorry you had trouble with yours.
 
#28 ·
Want to add that I've put about a total of 75 miles since the work has been completed (the second time), and no issues at all.

The only final complaint I have is that they replaced my clutch cover and never told me. I know they replaced it because I scratched mine on the left side when pulling the exhaust valve cables out, and the new clutch cover no longer has those scratches. Instead there are scratches at the top where the clutch cable connects. :(

Kinda sucks because where the scratches were before could have been covered with a half clutch cover, and now I'd need to put on a full clutch cover/protector - thus potentially increasing heat.
 
#29 ·
About 300 track miles since the recall repair. Shifting is tighter - need to be a little more positive with the lever. But that's a good thing, imo.

Almost never try to find neutral with the engine running, so really can't say much about that. If it turns into a problem, I'll fix it when I eventually get around to installing the aftermarket shift star from the Gen4.

No complaints here. But I really like my dealership. Small and kinda old-school. 1 owner, 1 sales rep, 1 technician. All with lots of experience. It's nice to be able to talk directly with the tech, instead of a service advisor.
 
#30 ·
Had mine done last week just so they'll stop contacting me about it. Have almost 200 miles on it since the work was done. Shifting is no different than before IMO. Not noticeably better and no worse. Works the same as it always has. :wink: So onward and upward at this stage!
 
#32 ·
Just rode her home. Seems pretty much the same as before. Maybe a tad bit notchy...? Overall it seems fine though. The techs managed to scrape up the top of my clutch cover when they reassembled. Also, my side fairing has a rub on it, but it's in the non painted, flat plastic. Can't even see it, so I'm gonna let it go I guess.
 
#33 ·
You've just experienced the reason I don't ever take my bike to the dealer with the plastics on it! I can't stand scratches and don't trust them for that crap! Mine when in the bed of the truck with the plastics safe in my garage. Makes it easier on the techs since they don't have to work on a hot engine or worry about putting the fairing parts on a shelf.

See how you feel about the shifting after you ride is a bit more. :ayyy:
 
#35 ·
PNF feels lighter than it was originally. It's not easier to find, not harder to find... but there's less of a detente...? No complaints really.

The clutch cover... I seriously thought about calling up there and complaining. I'm not sure it's worth it. It's not gouged, but clearly the tech didn't give a shit when removing/ installing the cover and scratched it pretty good. I'm sure they'd warranty it. But do I want then touching my bike again? Not really! lol.

Anyway, I ripped her yesterday afternoon for about 45 mins. Had one issue where hard launch shifting into 2nd, it fell into neutral. But, I have new boots and I'm pretty sure that was my big ass feet causing it. No other issues to report. *New set of Michelin Pilot RS's installed a while back. They are damn fine tires. Ran some clovers for a few minutes and man, I miss dragging knee. Time to get to the track again.
 
#40 ·
Got my trans back...

Well since i had to get the recall done, I got the parts from the dealership that I had worked at for 10 yrs and pulled my transmission myself. Since it was out and I was about to take it apart I decided to send it to EDR Performance for a micro polish and have it race shimmed as well. Now it spins super smooth and effortless. Just got it back and just waiting on some free time to get it back together. Have a few other loose ends to tie up on the bike before it heads back to the track.
 

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#46 · (Edited)
Well since i had to get the recall done, I got the parts from the dealership that I had worked at for 10 yrs and pulled my transmission myself. Since it was out and I was about to take it apart I decided to send it to EDR Performance for a micro polish and have it race shimmed as well. Now it spins super smooth and effortless. Just got it back and just waiting on some free time to get it back together. Have a few other loose ends to tie up on the bike before it heads back to the track.
Man I wish I had that option! I was considering doing something similar with the micropolishing and possibly undercutting. Did you notice much of a difference after the work was done? I'm sure the shimming helped for sure, but did you notice any difference with the micro polish?
 
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