Author Topic: Cracked frame at shock  (Read 26623 times)

Offline jimmymac

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #60 on: October 09, 2018, 04:49:58 AM »
I'm glad you guys enjoyed that post. Thanks for the hit, BTW. 8)
The grass isn't always greener.

Offline katata1100

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #61 on: October 09, 2018, 08:12:21 AM »
After it’s put together, will there be some parts leftover with no idea where they should go?

Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #62 on: October 09, 2018, 03:42:26 PM »
That's generally the way my projects work.
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Offline just gone

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #63 on: October 10, 2018, 10:57:37 AM »
C'mon.  Seriously?  That'll buff right out.
  :rotflmao:


Yep.  I generally pop into a post, offer some stupid opinion, and then disappear back into the cave. 

Such online honesty is quite rare these days, however personally I didn't think it was stupid, just wasn't the case this time.

Behind the scenes, the fact is that Kawasaki pays their dealers very little for labor. This is no doubt what makes changing out 'just' a frame attractive. ......

......I do not mean to sound negative toward Kawasaki; I have always though they made a terrific product and am really a big fan. But in the world of dealer- compensated repairs, it really is a badly stacked- deck against the dealers when Mama Kaw is buying.

Generally it takes longer as warranty work is used to fill in down time, the minute a tire change comes in, the tools on the warranty repair get dropped and the tire machine is fired up. Unless it is really going to be a closely supervised priority repair as some here suspect, I would be surprised if it only takes 3 weeks.

My gear replacement under warranty took several months (supposedly some of that time was waiting on the gear to be shipped from Japan?) however warranty work or not, to this day it seems it was expertly done. I was expecting to find strange vibrations or I don't know what after having it all torn apart and put back together again. I was so surprizingly pleased that a few weeks later I took the service manager and the mechanic some morning Kolaches/donuts and a small assortment of gift cards for near to the dealer lunch spot restaurants.

I hope Dreedo gets the same results, best wishes and let us know how it goes.


Offline Dreedo

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #64 on: November 14, 2018, 07:59:46 PM »
So Kawasaki made good on their promise to replace the frame at no expense to me. Bargers Allsport in Waco finished the work and road tested the bike. Back like new. I want to thank the Service department at Bargers for going the extra mile to help me get the repairs covered. I was shown the frame in its naked state and the cracks were more extreme than what could be seen. The service department employee told me has no idea what was holding it together. My response, the grace of God. Now we just need all the rain to slow down so I can enjoy it.

Offline MAN OF BLUES

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #65 on: November 14, 2018, 08:09:13 PM »
 :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :hail: :hail: :hail: :hail: :hail: :hail: :hail: :thumbs: :chugbeer:

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Offline route66tc

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #66 on: November 15, 2018, 05:21:25 AM »
So Kawasaki made good on their promise to replace the frame at no expense to me. Bargers Allsport in Waco finished the work and road tested the bike. Back like new. I want to thank the Service department at Bargers for going the extra mile to help me get the repairs covered. I was shown the frame in its naked state and the cracks were more extreme than what could be seen. The service department employee told me has no idea what was holding it together. My response, the grace of God. Now we just need all the rain to slow down so I can enjoy it.
Did you get pics of the naked frame?

Offline Dreedo

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #67 on: November 15, 2018, 05:28:40 AM »
Sorry no I didn't.

Offline maxtog

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #68 on: November 15, 2018, 05:39:35 AM »
Great news!
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Offline jimmymac

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #69 on: November 15, 2018, 06:09:52 PM »
Totally Awesome! While it's raining, keep checking things over.
The grass isn't always greener.

Offline katata1100

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #70 on: November 15, 2018, 07:15:57 PM »
Did they replace the manufacturer plate on the frame?

Offline Dreedo

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #71 on: November 16, 2018, 06:32:48 AM »
I went back and got photos of the frame. Cracks followed the welds around the swingarm connection. Cracks had actually separated and one piece had fallen out. I was able to take the bike out yesterday evening and all works great. Probably not a bad idea to inspect these areas on a regular basis. The new frame was stamped with the bike original vin number by the dealership.

Offline PH14

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #72 on: November 16, 2018, 11:13:41 AM »
Great to hear it is back together with a new frame. The damage is unbelievable. Glad you caught it when you did. Oh, and how do you like the seat? I have considered it myself.

Offline tweeter55

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #73 on: November 16, 2018, 11:59:08 AM »
That could have been so much worse than it already was. Now I'm going to be the one to ask the stupid question...
In the 2nd photo, when I enlarged it I still could not make out what the white "substance" is that's beside the weld. It looks like caulk to me.
Any explanation?
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Offline maxtog

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #74 on: November 16, 2018, 02:52:04 PM »
Wow, amazing photos.  You are so lucky there wasn't a catastrophic failure while riding!
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Offline route66tc

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #75 on: November 17, 2018, 04:23:44 AM »
Thanks very much for taking the time to go back and get pics of the frame for everyone to see.  Those pics are very valuable information for every C14 owner!

Offline maxtog

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #76 on: November 17, 2018, 06:09:48 AM »
Thanks very much for taking the time to go back and get pics of the frame for everyone to see.  Those pics are very valuable information for every C14 owner!

It is very interesting, for sure, but I am not sure it is "valuable for every owner".... that would imply this is something we need to look out for.  In defense of Kawasaski, I have been reading countless thousands of postings about the C14 for 9 years now, many by people who are pretty well connected and informed, and I have never seen a single posting about a cracked or damaged frame, ever (outside of major accident damage, and even that is rare).

What happened to him is so rare as to perhaps be singular.... and we still really don't know anything about what caused the problem.  Unfortunately, we probably never will know, either.  Just because Kawasaki stepped up and fixed it (and out of warranty at that) still doesn't mean it left the factory with any frame or weld flaws.
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Offline jwh20

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #77 on: November 17, 2018, 07:07:29 AM »
It seems to me to be an amazing amount of damage for a bike/frame that has not been in an accident.  I'd hope that Kawasaki's rational for fixing this out-of-warranty is a combination of goodwill as well as genuine interest in having the broken frame back for analysis.  As others have noted, this is a very rare happening even for a crashed bike.  I know if I was an engineer at Kawasaki I would want to know what happened here.  Was it bad materials, bad manufacturing, or something that happened to the bike after it left the factory.

Offline katata1100

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #78 on: November 17, 2018, 10:16:21 AM »
They’d want to know if there were more out there ; each one is an expensive potential lawsuit.

Offline PH14

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Re: Cracked frame at shock
« Reply #79 on: November 17, 2018, 10:52:41 AM »
That could have been so much worse than it already was. Now I'm going to be the one to ask the stupid question...
In the 2nd photo, when I enlarged it I still could not make out what the white "substance" is that's beside the weld. It looks like caulk to me.
Any explanation?

That is just the color of the alloy, "enhanced" some by the exposure.