Vibes??

[kwakatlast]

Hi guys
Just had 1st service carried out (£185.00 WTF! is that about btw?) I mentioned to the service guy about the vibes I'm feeling on the bike and he said he'd take it for a test ride and see if he could give me some feed back. Now I'm no expert on set up and feel of a bike but he agreed with everything I'd said. They've been in touch with Mr Kawasaki, and I am just waiting on their response (think i already know). Anyhow, shop has said they will act on any Kawasaki recommendations, and if non forth coming they will do what they can for me. Starting with a total undo and re-torquing of all engine and engine mountain bolts. Shall keep informed of how things progress.

[Darren33]

Spooky, mine has started to get more vibey over the last 3 weeks. I had mine in to J&S on Saturday for its first annual service check. I had already serviced and stripped the brakes, changed the shaft drive oil and even supplied the engine oil myself. It has only done 2800 miles so I asked him to just changed the oil, check the air filter and plugs and check the balance on the throttle bodies and stamp the book. he said they dont check the air filter or plugs or balance the throttle bodies at this service so I was charged £85 just to change the oil and I supplied it

I too mentioned about the vibrations and about the front end pulsing, bit like slighty warped disc feeling but dont think they are.

he did check the discs and said they were fine but did not test ride as he said he only had an hour to get mine done so did not have time.

he said he was going to ring Kawasaki Tech services and ask for advice on the vibration and pulsing.

I will keep positive and hope they contact me soon with any ideas and hopefully test ride the bike this time.

Daz

PS, I have just taken the rad cover off and will test ride tomorrow to see if that is part of the issue, I did notice it was pressing against a plastic guard under the headstock near the horn.  Worth a try at least but doubt that's the cause of the vibes.

[Bryn]

£85 to undo a sump plug, drain and refit/fill...

15 mins if you do it carefully..... 

[Lonewolf]

It really is worth doing these jobs yourself if you can. Even at £85 that seems a very high hourly rate.

Darren, if the front end is pulsing and the discs are fine are you sure the pad pins and back of the pads are adequately greased up, copper slip or something similar? 

[Alfor]

FFS - Since reading all these posts about vibes, I have now noticed my vibrates over 60 -70.

Discs fine and bobbin's are freely rotating as per one of the posts.

Is it much work re-torquing the engine mounts?

Cheers,
Allan

[kwakatlast]

   According to the mechanic It's a full fairing removal.

[BigAlan]

I had this and the bike went back to Kawasaki for three days and they said everything was fine but I knew in my mind here was something wrong, the dealer in the end undid all the engine bolts nd lifted the engine up and reseated it, then torqued the bolts back up, it made a hell of a difference to the vibes I was feeling.

I still get some around the 2500 - 4000rpm bit nothing like it was, now I can ride it all day, I also have adjusted my wrist and try to keep the right arm straight as I can.

Alan

[Alfor]

Not sure I fancy pulling the full fairing off, will just have to ride faster to distract from the vibes 

[Darren33]

After removing the Rad cover and test riding, I must say, the vibes are very slightly less but still there.  However, she still feels like she has lost a bit of pulling power and, This sounds daft but the fueling / Transmission seems a bit off too. Its hard to explain but when I ease off the throttle to change gear, the bikes front end dips under engine braking and then there is a Lag while the transmission takes up the slack in the shaft drive and then the jeky fuel injection kicks in and picks up the front again.

Not sure I am describing it very well but she rides like a rocking horse at speeds less that 50mph and I aint had this problem on any other bike.

The old 2009 GTR was a much better bike, should never have got rid

Daz   

[kwakatlast]

ok guys, quick update. After chasing up dealer for info from kawasaki, eventually got the response from them that these vibrations are perfectly normal for this engine  what bollox! dealer is taking bike in next week to do the engine bolts. Not been a bit impressed with dealer during this process but that's another discussion. The manager said would I take it to another garage for a second opinion  I said no, as his mechanic had already test rode my bike and agreed with me. I told the dealer they could keep my bike for up to two weeks to sort the problem, but didn't want the bike back until it was sorted. The response from the manager was he didn't like my tone  Iv'e agreed to drop it in for two days next week and meanwhile am waiting on a response from CAB to see where I stand. Both me and the Mrs love this bike and am really hoping something can be done.

[Darren33]

I ended up calling J&S back after not hearing anything for 2 weeks after reporting my own Vibe problems and eventually they said to take it in Sunday and leave it with them for a few days.

I sent J&S an email listing the various things I had / Was experiencing with the bike but the main thing is the vibe issue

1.   FI warning light came on 2 weeks ago just before service and went out again after less than a minute. Assumed this was the Traction control kicking in but I was only doing 50mph in a straight line.
2.   Vibes from front end which increase as speed and revs rise, especially past 4000 rpm up to 6000rpm, this causes the front end to feel unstable at speed. Have not taken it past 6000rpm as did not feel right.
3.   Engine also seems to have lost a little power and feels rougher
4.   Fuel injection feels snatchy either on or off and there seems to be  excessive transmission lag between crank and rear wheel
5.   Front feels like brake discs are slightly warped which is more noticeable at slow speeds
6.   The Bike has Michelin Pilot Road 3 tyres on fitted by J&S last year and have covered around 2200 miles, are not squared off and are at correct PSI. 41.


Good luck with your problems Kwackatlast, hope you get sorted out soon.


Daz