[Xeno]

My ninja 650(2012) had a slight leak from the front right fork, the seal had gone due to not using the bike for a while and dust had damaged the seal.

Take an appointment with Kawasaki SG highway (Ahmedabad) for replacement. I get a call from them when the part arrived and I gave the bike in for repair.

Evening I take delivery of the bike having seen the fork seal had been replaced to my satisfaction. Took a short ride around the SVC to see whether I could find any irregularities. After that I head out. After some 3 kms I'm ascending a flyover and the front brake completely lost pressure and a kat-kat-kat noise of something hitting the front wheel. I was doing about 60-70 kmph. Lack of traffic + engine braking and somewhat assistance from the rear brake I manage to halt a short distance where the flyover ended.

I inspect the bike and I see that the caliper is hanging loose. The bolts had fallen off the caliper mounts on the fork which was rebuilt.

Kawasaki so far has not responded to my email. Any assistance to escalate the matter will be helpful.

What this incident has left me with is a distrust for getting bikes done at authorised workshops since enthusiasm is rarely seen there for working on bikes. Yea stuff does go wrong or damaged but brake failure is something that can cause damages to the machine, the rider, others on the road severely.

[abhii176]

Originally Posted by Xeno

What this incident has left me with is a distrust for getting bikes done at authorised workshops since enthusiasm is rarely seen there for working on bikes. Yea stuff does go wrong or damaged but brake failure is something that can cause damages to the machine, the rider, others on the road severely.

That's a very scary scenario Xeno, one that I wish no biker ever has to face. Thank god you were able to bring the bike to a stop without any untoward incident.
What is even more scary is that this happened after you went to an authorised Kawasaki workshop if one can't even trust the workmanship of authorised workshops now, then where does one turn to!

[VijayAnand1]

I think this matter should be escalated to Kawasaki. How careless would a technician be especially when it comes to brake caliper mounts! Loose nitty gritty here and there are totally agreed, but something as prime as a brake caliper. Totally pathetic! I hope you're okay, and glad to see you're in one piece!

Cheers!
VJ

[arunphilip]

I wouldn't term this as 'failure' since we usually use that to refer to mechanical failures like something cracking due to age/wear & tear, etc. While not ideal, failure is accepted as part and parcel of owning mechanical device.

This is sheer negligence. This is purely due to the service centre not following every step of the service manual. Service manuals are written in a 'V' form, such that every step where you're asked to undo something has an equivalent step where you redo it.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Xeno

I inspect the bike and I see that the caliper is hanging loose. The bolts had fallen off the caliper mounts on the fork which was rebuilt.

Kawasaki so far has not responded to my email. Any assistance to escalate the matter will be helpful.

I agree with Arunphilip as to this is not a failure but a human error that has led to this!

I'd urge you to get the alloys and tyres checked too as they would have had some damage during the deceleration.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

I wouldn't term this as 'failure'

This is sheer negligence.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Xeno

What this incident has left me with is a distrust for getting bikes done at authorised workshops since enthusiasm is rarely seen there for working on bikes. Yea stuff does go wrong or damaged but brake failure is something that can cause damages to the machine, the rider, others on the road severely.

A similar thing happened to my colleague when he gave his bike for service, though not on a bike of your caliber. My colleague gave his Honda Unicorn (new one) for service at Marikar and the front axle nut was left un-tightened when they returned the bike to them. Since he rides very slow nothing happened and this only came to notice the next morning when he was dusting down the bike.

[stanjohn123]

Escalate the matter to Kawasaki immediately and have the technician who worked on your bike fired. This is actually a life threatening error which could have got you killed.

You will actually be saving another bikers life by not letting that guy work there.

[Octane_Power]

You're lucky because 1. You were 'ascending' the flyover 2. Less traffic 3. The Ninja 650 has good rear brake which enabled you to get the situation under control.

Had there been any changes in the first two points, it would have been even more disastrous. Its good to hear you're safe. Do take it up with Kawasaki. And also give the service personnel a good hearing! They just cannot be let off like that.

-Bhargav

[pratap.pratu]

@XENO and fellow riders - One suggestion : Can all the Kawasaki owners (in this scenario since its Kawa) unanimously sign a written vote against the disturbing service issues observed generally @ authorized centers ? I think the voters (who are owners) can identify themselves with VIN # of their bikes so that the vote can considered a genuine concern. The pledge/vote can then be shot across to Kawasaki india and global hopefully to bring to their notice.
Either Kawasaki owners from cities can group or kawasaki owners across India can collectively pass voice out their opinion to resolve the negligence on shown. But I only hope that every owner understands the seriousness of the issue since it could happen to them as well. But a collective response from kawasaki owners in one voice hopefully should improve the situation.

[sagarpadaki]

Same thing happened to me also albeit on my humble pulsar. Mine was not as drastic as yours. On the way to office I used to get a kat sound whenever the front was applied. And I was doing decent speeds. While coming back the kat kat sound was more pronounced and I felt something on the fork vibrating. So rode home using the back brake alone and check what's the problem with the front. I was not suspecting the brakes but the cone set. And when I inspected I saw that one of the bolts of the caliper was missing and the other was almost out.
Thanked my stars that it does not come out during high speed and bought two new bolts and tightened it back

[Sojogator]

Originally Posted by pratap.pratu

@XENO and fellow riders - One suggestion : Can all the Kawasaki owners (in this scenario since its Kawa) unanimously sign a written vote against the disturbing service issues observed generally @ authorized centers ? I think the voters (who are owners) can identify themselves with VIN # of their bikes so that the vote can considered a genuine concern.... But a collective response from kawasaki owners in one voice hopefully should improve the situation.

I'm in. I would suggest kawa owners throughout the country as the count would be more effective.

After having been to the ss a couple of times , I am utterly dissappointed at the quality they offer, the shrugged shoulder approach and the products they use.

This incident is as scary as anything can be. Clearly shows they don't follow basic procedures. I wish we could sue them with ease but alas that is very difficult in our country.

Also those guys up there in kawa do not bother to respond to emails. Also are probably the only brand to not have a twitter handle where people can make themselves heard.

[r.joshi]

Not sure about other cities but Kawasaki Delhi has a Facebook profile, page and also an unofficial Whatsapp group with some employees. The sales and well as service staff are quite helpful.
I'd suggest you to contact any of the profile/pages to get email addresses that actually revert back.

[n_aditya]

That's one lucky break for you, Xeno. I am glad nothing untoward happened here.

Over the past couple of years, the quality of service from the authorized Kawasaki outlets has consistently and significantly gone down the toilet.

Last year, I ordered for a rubber tube to plug a small leak on my radiator coolant reservoir. It's been more than 6 months and no sign of it. The owner of the service outlet was helpful enough to swap the tube with another one (maybe the battery breather or the fuel overflow tube).

My friend got his bike serviced at Khivraj Indiranagar and they did not even wash the bike properly. It had to be sent to the wash area for the second time. Not just the wash, the bike was not serviced properly too and they were giving lame excuses such as the main mechanic had quit and joined elsewhere and they are learning.

I had the same issue with my bike too (wash quality) and when I pointed it out to them, someone took pics saying they will escalate but looks like they just don't care. My complaints on the Kawasaki fb page also have no effect.

Khivraj Indranagar is possibly the worst place to take your bike for service. So many of my friends have had bad experiences there.

I have heard that the Z800 owners in Blore too are unhappy with the quality of service.

The success of KTM seems to have gone to their heads. If Bajaj was only interested in numbers why did they get these bikes here?

I for one will not buy another Kawasaki in India until they fix their dealers and service staff.

Please do tweet your ordeal to Mr. Bajaj. That's the only way he will take notice and maybe do something.

All the best.

[Sheel]

OT :- Been hearing good things about Venkat Shyam Sir. Don't know where he is based at in Bangalore, maybe he can help?

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by Sheel

OT :- Been hearing good things about Venkat Shyam Sir. Don't know where he is based at in Bangalore, maybe he can help?

Venkat Shyam owns Auto Service and the quality of work there is decent. But Xeno is not based out of Bangalore and hence I suggested tweeting this directly to Mr. Bajaj.