Possible recall of bikes

[ohlinsr1]

I would think that since its a common problem then Kawasaki would be ok , needs to go through the dealer though most are very good but some are not , I have had goodwill claims for other bikes due to the dealer pushing it for me , no harm in asking , I think the adjuster is compressing Gas  or oil to put pressure on the spring  so therefore resivoir may be under pressure , if its oil the cant understand them all seizing as the guts of it are in oil , it may be dirt getting into the nut in which case WD40 or any other sprays may be usless , I have been playing about with the settings on mine and have now got it to where it appears compliant enough without being too soft ( I weigh 13 stone )I have been spoiled though as the R1 runs Ohlins back and KTech forks..... crazy amount of money but worth every penny , the shock can be rebuilt apparently or Nitron do one for £380 not hydraulic preload or  £150 extra gets you one , built to your spec , trouble is once you do the back the front feels all wrong ..............

[mattye]

The pre-load on my 60 reg GTR has now ceased up so will need to visit my local dealer. Deffo seems to be a common problem. maybe the big K will issue a recall if enough problems are reported.
I was thinking about just putting a big pair of mole grips on a twisting the adjuster but thought better of it. Just being impatient.

[O.C.]

I would think that since its a common problem then Kawasaki would be ok , needs to go through the dealer though most are very good but some are not , I have had goodwill claims for other bikes due to the dealer pushing it for me , no harm in asking , I think the adjuster is compressing Gas  or oil to put pressure on the spring  so therefore resivoir may be under pressure , if its oil the cant understand them all seizing as the guts of it are in oil , it may be dirt getting into the nut in which case WD40 or any other sprays may be usless , I have been playing about with the settings on mine and have now got it to where it appears compliant enough without being too soft ( I weigh 13 stone )I have been spoiled though as the R1 runs Ohlins back and KTech forks..... crazy amount of money but worth every penny , the shock can be rebuilt apparently or Nitron do one for £380 not hydraulic preload or  £150 extra gets you one , built to your spec , trouble is once you do the back the front feels all wrong ..............

ahhhh, a man who likes and realises the benefits of super suspension I wish I understood more about the subject

Ohlins is great stuff, I had this Ohlins set up (mono rear and front internals) on this Triple 'Special' that I used to own

[pistole]

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- yeah , got a call for mine. Parts will be sent to a local service center and then they'll rope her in.

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[tommytool]

ohlinsR1: Thanks for the advice. As you can tell from my profile picture my R1 was pretyy heavily "harissed" and "ohlinned".The rear shock went soft at about 28K so the ohlins went on and what a difference! Trouble was the front end needed similar and couldnt quite stretch to road and track forks so went for progressive fork springs. My mediocre ability couldnt tell the difference though. I spent £50 with Peak Performance in Exeter and got it set up properly. Regarding the GTR. I'll persevere with AC50 /WD40 and if I dont revitalise the clicks will contact Bournemouth Kawasaki. I reckon theyll do well from me in the long term. If this is an issue I'll and it to the "common faults" thread.

Incidentally a Remus Hexacone is on e-bay at present - if it was the titanium one I'd be interested but its out there for those that are.

[ohlinsr1]

At the very real risk of being called a smart arse , I have cut a section of pushbike inner tube about 3 inches long and fitted it over the hyd adjuster to stop water and dirt getting in , a but of insulating tape round the bottom of the plastic nut was the first attempt , looking at a Nitron with remote Hyd preload for it but will see how this works first.

[tommytool]

Good news. Perseverance paid off. Removed the adjuster from frame. Inverted it and squirted wd40 around the black plastic nut. Then wait an hour and repeat. Then refit to frame and leave overnight. This morning it's a lot easier and I'm discovering clicks again. I did ring Kawasaki yesterday and they were pretty good. As they are aware of the issue they would -subject to dealer inspection replace the shock at a discounted price. Can't say whether that would be labour free though. Looks like I won't be needing it hopefully. I'll try an adjuster on a new bike to compare the force needed and if the same consider it sorted. I could always go for an ohlins replacement on eBay- a snip at £1018.00!!!!!!!!

[O.C.]

An alternative might be this

http://www.calsport.co.uk/KAWASAKI/7415-2011-GTR_1400/129-Suspension__Handling/Hyperpro_Suspension__Steering_Dampers

[Lonewolf]

Tommytool, is your bike still under warranty? If it is there will be absolutely no problem with an exchange under warranty. I had mine done a few weeks ago under warranty. Outside warranty the complete unit is £600.
Even the new unit is stiff but I gather this is intentional. 

[tommytool]

The 2year warranty expired on June 16th I believe. I did try to get previous owner to get the  additional 2years sorted but it was too late before I bought. No problem with adjuster now. The WD40 worked a treat. Wake up call for us all to check them frequently. Am half way through installing the Zumo and Autocom. Tool tray sorted, power to the rear accessory wires done. Just need to route cabling to the front and return PTT switch wiring to the rear. Then it's screen and exhaust.

Cheers for the advice.

[Debs]

Any chance of someone posting pics of what to do to the adjuster.. :)

[tommytool]

Hi Debs.
Its really easy - it just needs time for the WD40 to permeate. I'm using this as an exercise how to add pics. Im rubbish at it but here goes.

1. Undo the 2x 6mm allen bolts securing the LH pillion bracket and remove.


2 Undo the 2x 5mm allen bolts securing the adjuster. Let the adjuster hang down inverted - i supported as it needs to stay inverted overnight.


3. Squirt WD40 into the gap between black adjuster and body - leave 2 hours to allow it to pool on the inside of the assembly. Then rebolt to the frame and leave overnight. Amazingly I returned the next morning and the adjuster gradually got its mojo back!

Thats all there is to it!

Just a couple of extra pics showing my autocom wiring (uber-tidy) and the point on LH mid fairing I cant get detached.







Wiring the autocom power to the rear accessory point behind the ECU.
I will get the pictures reduced in size in future - just dont know how at present!

[viper]

thanks for posting that , didnt know it was that easy to lube the adjuster, btw, if you want your pics to be even slicker get the sizing down to about 800 x 600 which is the best size for forums, you are currently sized at 1000 x 800

thanks

[tommytool]

I heard 680x640 but on an iPhone don't know how to reduce yet. (I'm very technical as you can see)!

[Debs]

Thank you very much for the pics.. Looks really easy to do.. I will get on with that tmrw..

Can I ask what is so special about the Autocom? It just seems like a fancy piece of intercom for chatting to the pilly. Am I wrong?