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Oofff...
Kawi is a plain bearing crank. Honda is a roller bearing. KTM uses plain bearing and would be a better reference. I don’t know the tolerance but should be available in the shop manual.
When you say plain bearing, do you mean ball bearing or an actual plain bearing with no rolling parts in it?
Actual plain bearing, like conrods in a car engine. KTM uses plain bearing with no thrust washers, same as that KX crank.
Plain bearings, of course, rely solely on oil pressure and the oil film on the bearing. It appears Brent's bike lost all oil pressure when the pump gear broke so the conrod bearing quickly overheated and seized.
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That has kind of been the consensus of people that I have asked about this problem, the oil pump failure started a cascade of problems that resulted in the crank failure.
I’ll say it again, this motor had less than 10 hours and had never been opened, and had three oil and filter changes before it failed….
Any word from kawy?
No response.
e mailed twice, called once on the main tech support line, nothing so far, but this just happened Sunday so it may be too soon.
if anyone from Kawi In Irvine reads this, any contact information would be helpful??
Thanks
You need to go through a dealer. They have service reps that can approve repairs. The dealer will work to get it approved, because they make money on the repair parts/work.
I can confirm there was a recall sent to the dealers this morning on the main frame… more details to come.
On the main frame of the bike, or on the dealers mainframe computer?
Hope this is not a serious question.
It's not
Did you do any clutch work or basket work to the bike?
Yea I did call the dealer Monday and told them the issue, their employee said they would get back to me.
Problem is I have a guy from NL here now to train for racing, and waiting for a response or action from Kawi will take weeks if not months, so I just have to get a new motor now and deal with it later. I need to get this kid back on the track ASAP.
I was told that Mitch Payton is now going to look into this, as they are helping out with my rider's program...
Still, no one can explain for sure why this happened to a new bike - If you 24 KX450 owners start to sense a loss of power or hear a strange noise, stop riding it and get it checked out. It only took 1/3 of a lap for our motor to go from perfect to destroyed...
no.
At 9.5 hours the clutch was not even opened yet, just did two oil changes using Maxima Full synthetic oil and OEM filters. Checked the old filters and transmission filter cage for debris each time, no copper shavings or metal debris found prior to the problem.
Not sure what the Vin # range is but the issue is near the shock tower. If it's cracked Kawasaki replaces the frame , if it isn't cracked they epoxy the frame!!!! Hard to believe but true!
Hopefully it’s a long going kind of deal. Being in Minnesota we haven’t been getting many hours on our bikes other than an indoor that doesn’t abuse them too bad.
Pit Row
I got the notification today. I plan to inspect the frame myself then drop the bike off at the dealer Friday for them to inspect. They don't have the epoxy kit so they'll have to order it from kawi after the inspection
I just don’t see how this “epoxy” mix is a remedy for a potential cracked frame. Like I said before, hopefully this warranty issue carries over into the warmer months.
Was going to snag a ‘24 this week, happened to check this thread and see Brent’s engine issue. Now seeing they’re going to epoxy the frame as a fix?! I’m gonna wait and see how this plays out lol.
This is the area to inspect.
Man I hope they fix that engine. Manufacturers keep proving that being the first with a new model is usually not worth the risk. The Snowmobile industry is notorious for it. Bummer to see bikes heading the same way.
probably not a bad idea to wait a bit to see what happens.
This bike is so new, it is just getting out in larger numbers to consumers, who are the ultimate durability testers.
Epoxy to fix a frame defect? That sounds about as silly as using an undersized, slide out air filter housed in a tiny airbox...
..oh wait...
Did you receive something in the mail?
Checked VIN on Kawasaki recall page, nada, and passed eyeball test.
Where is the documentation of this problem?
“Eligible units”… be cool if there was a VIN range, but no letter and nothing when punch VIN into recall page.
VIN on mine ends in 1236
Mine is in 827 and it did come up.
Mine is 802. No recalls on the recall site. But per the image of the frame my frame sections are stamped WD not V5. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or not?
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