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Old 19th April 2017, 00:23   #76
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Khivraj and RideVenture or whatever that's being called is gonna have same people and is gonna be same management as Khivraj is what I understand and the response is pathetic, when I spoke to Ashwith Shetty from IKM he said a clutch assembly is critical part and should not be opened again and again. But now my bike is laying in the service center for the last 6 days with an opened clutch assembly. It lay in Delhi SVC too the same way for about 15 days.

This is photo that I took today. I had left my bike last Thursday there. So do we have to discuss how respectfully Kawasaki handles our machines?

Also response of BhanuPrakash was "your riding style has an issue" so I said why don't I ride another bike for about 50 odd kms and you can have it recorded so that you can teach me how to ride for which he didn't have an answer.

These guys are handling the issues like quacks and not like specialist technicians. Anyhow since the Kawasaki guys are now pushing blame on KTM Indiranagar,(which is again under Khivraj), have asked Bhanu Prakash to fix an appointment with the Khivraj Head. Hope he obliges.
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Old 19th April 2017, 13:30   #77
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Re: Versys 650: Horrible experience with Kawasaki & its dealers

Its really painful to read about your continuing ordeal with the Service center. I also saw your video on the FB Group and can imagine the frustration to live with a bike that you love but you cant trust.

While I would also second your opinion about giving them one last deadline and let them know your next step is the Consumer Court. In the meanwhile I would suggest you have a word with 2-3 good private superbike mechanics in Bangalore like Sriharsha, Anand Dharmaraj, Joe etc about the nature/symptoms and history of the problem and get their opinion on what could be the things that need to be looked into, then you could suggest these to the Service center. These above mechs are all passionate bikers/racers and I would guess they wouldn't mind sharing their opinion with you as you can tell them its still under warranty and its Kawasaki's responsibility to bear the parts & labor hence you have to do the work there till the warranty expires.

From my personal experience in India from Washing Machines to Aquaguard to vehicles, when a sale is to be done, the company will work overtime with over enthusiasm, over sweetness to make the sale to you. And after that (although some exceptions are there) its like you made us dance to your tunes to sell, now dance to our tune when there is a problem with the product. And they get away with that cos most affected customers will make some noise and worst case will go to Consumer Court and then the company may be asked to set right things/compensate etc. But if huge fines & other penalties are imposed, these companies will take their work more seriously. Ofcourse, with high attrition rates in the service sector, sometimes the companies are also forced to employ raw hands on the job and we pay dearly for that!

Therefore, as things stand for all superbikers in India, till the warranty lasts, you are married to the Service Center. If you are happy with the services, continue, if not BE PREPARED to identify a good private superbike mechanic in your city (most big cities will have atleast 1-2 good superbike mechanics) and get your bike taken care by him while parts can be procured from the dealer or endless sources across the globe on the internet for new & used parts. Yes, its not such a convenient arrangement, but we have to do it for the sake of our hobby or passion.

Last edited by Haroon : 19th April 2017 at 13:32.
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Old 19th April 2017, 14:05   #78
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Here I would like to finally share the video I made in Goa with frustration after a long ride from Bangalore!! Luckily I thought of getting the bike checked before I went in on that trip else guess I would have been writing this post from a Hospital or maybe some of my friends here would be updating posts on this page!! Here is a link to the video



Also I visited the Khivraj/RideVentur (Both are same) Kasturba Service center and to my utter dismay the response of BhanuPrakash wasn't any better I asked him if they have finally found the root cause of the problem and his exact words are "We think the springs which hold the clutch assembly are an issue" I asked him if it's technically found or you think and he says he thinks! Should we trust these guys when they answer like Quacks and not like technically sound professionals?

Anyways the bike is laying even now with an open clutch assembly and I was told by Ashwith Shetty of IKM that clutch assembly is something which shouldn't be opened again and again and when I asked him without opening, should we detect the problem after having an accident everytime, he had no answer.

Below is a video of the bike laying with open clutch assembly for about 6 days.

.
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Old 20th June 2017, 18:40   #79
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Hi Friends it's been quite sometime I have been communicating with IKM directly but the end result has not been positive, so finally I have decided to go to the consumer court and take IKM and their dealers head on. Here I would like to share a few mail interactions which was shot to everyone right from the dealers to personnel at KTM right upto Mr. Yutaka Yamashita who is the CEO of IKM but sadly never heard from any of them.

Here are also links to a few call recordings I had with Works Manager of a Kawasaki dealer as well as Ashwith Shetty from IKM. Will soon be uploading more mails and call recordings.







Also attaching an article where Mr. Yamashita Yutaka says that taking care of their customers is their main priority. And here we see irony stabbing itself in it's eyes!!
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Old 20th June 2017, 18:48   #80
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Re: Versys 650: Horrible experience with Kawasaki & its dealers

Quote:
Originally Posted by bikerzindia View Post
Hi Friends it's been quite sometime I have been communicating with IKM directly but the end result has not been positive, so finally I have decided to go to the consumer court and take IKM and their dealers head on.
Sad to see this, so where is the bike? is it still at workshop or they repaired it and you have taken delivery?
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Old 20th June 2017, 20:06   #81
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I have left the bike in the Kawasaki service center and I no longer intend to touch it or for that matter own/buy any Kawasaki machine mainly due to the Pathetic response and customer service intent.

Also in the past there have been instances in Malaysia where Versys and like parallel twin 650 engines had issues, those were older generation ones but recalls were done, issues fixed and an extra 20,000 kms or 2 years warranty was given, link
http://motokuning650.blogspot.in/201...ssues.html?m=1 .

I don't know if whatever options I gave to IKM was unjustified after facing so many issues and the bike being in the service center for more than 70% of the time since purchase.
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Old 20th June 2017, 20:34   #82
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Re: Versys 650: Horrible experience with Kawasaki & its dealers

In my humble opinion and since they are offering a full replacement of clutch assembly, you should give them one more chance with 6 months warranty added in. Clutch assembly in bikes are not so complicated to fix, so if they are confident you should go ahead. Atleast the intent to help is there from Kawasaki's side.
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Old 20th June 2017, 21:15   #83
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaggu View Post
In my humble opinion and since they are offering a full replacement of clutch assembly, you should give them one more chance with 6 months warranty added in.
The same has been replaced thrice already in matter of 6000 kms also I have had an accident on it due to mechanical failure. So I don't agree to sit on that ticking bomb again. Also these guys can not in anyway assure me that they have found the root cause and that they can fix the issue. All they are doing is blaming me saying that my riding is an issue. I even offered him saying I would record the next 3,000 kms and give them the recording so that if indeed I don't know to ride then they can have records to prove it. But they flatly refused.

Now I am hell bent on getting all mails and records as to why my bike was fixed twice under warranty even after I told them that I would pay if they prove that it has happened due to my mistake.
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Old 21st June 2017, 14:13   #84
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Re: Versys 650: Horrible experience with Kawasaki & its dealers

Like Jaggu said i feel if they are planning to go all in with engine and clutch, complete rebuild, i would give them a chance. Secondly their 6 month warranty is a time frame in which you would have already completed over 6000kms based on your ride coverage (which made you miss the second scheduled service)

This time frame will also help you figure out if the problem is rectified.

Quote:
So I don't agree to sit on that ticking bomb again
Based on the options you provided you are ready to take the bike if they give extended warranty and you are not comfortable taking the bike with 6 month warranty. This has nothing to do with this bike being a ticking bomb as you are interested in extended warranty. This is where i feel you can hit a compromise and say make them extend this to 1 year and close the deal with complete rebuild. Again this is my personal opinion and how i would take this problem to a closure as I am ok with better warranty coverage.
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Old 21st June 2017, 14:32   #85
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Re: Versys 650: Horrible experience with Kawasaki & its dealers

Bad experience to the fellow rider with V650. This thread has definitely made many think twice before they buy this beauty. Will be interesting to know the root cause of the multiple failures as this seems to be the only bike both here in India and international forums with this kind of an issue.

Searched through many forums to understand the issue but could not chance upon anything there. Suggest the owner to check if any one else across the globe has faced similar issue and that way it gets easier to prove the mechanical failure.

Hope this gets sorted soon so we all get to hear the root cause and the fix in case if few of us need to apply that extra care in our riding style or maintenance.
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Old 21st June 2017, 14:46   #86
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VW2010 View Post

Based on the options you provided you are ready to take the bike if they give extended warranty and you are not comfortable taking the bike with 6 month warranty. This has nothing to do with this bike being a ticking bomb as you are interested in extended warranty. This is where i feel you can hit a compromise and say make them extend this to 1 year and close the deal with complete rebuild.
Having given them 3 chances my patience has run out. Moreover I asked them the what if question 'What if even after you give me the bike back after taking it to Pune, 3-4k kms it screws up again' for which they do not have an answer and started accusing me of bad riding even after I told them that the next 3-4k kms would be recorded by me km by km. So I said now that they accuse me I better give them a chance to prove it or accept their fault.

With respect to the warranty I told them months to me doesn't matter it's kms that matters. Had the bike run faultless, it would have been out of warranty in 6-7 months. Then it would have been my headache but not now. I accept that giving a try again is the easiest way out but not for me who has already had an accident once and got saved from a couple because of taking it to the SVC proactively.

Forgot to mention after the final check in Bangalore, the parts change he mentioned are 1 clutch plate, the clutch hub and the clutch cable. And he said 'You give it another try'. I surely do not want to be a guinea pig for the fourth time. I doubt they have found the root cause of the repetitive issue and are just doing quick fixes for which I don't want to risk my life. I die, let it be natural or by my mistake not by a mechanical fault or because of irresponsible company. Hence for me it indeed is a ticking time bomb

Last edited by bikerzindia : 21st June 2017 at 14:48.
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Old 21st June 2017, 16:30   #87
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Sorry guys just realized that I have not shared the inspection report shared by IKM. Please find the same attached.

Please check the column Counter Measure.
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Old 21st June 2017, 17:25   #88
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Re: Versys 650: Horrible experience with Kawasaki & its dealers

I agree to the guinea pig part ^^, 3 times is too many times and accident seriously worrisome. Having said that company seems to be responding which is a big thing in our Indian context, hence advised to give a chance. On the other hand consumer courts also have been quiet responsive with such issues in the recent past, if you have a good lawyer some amount of compensation should come through. But don't go in expecting a new vehicle or refund, even if your lawyer says so

What baffles me is... instead of doing this part by part replacement, why cant they just replace the whole assembly for once and for all?

- Report itself indicates the clutch springs reading is closer to the service limit, this can easily result in early wear of clutch plates.
- Since they have replaced the clutch plates (uneven wear) why do they want to take chance with the steel plate? Won't cost much.
- Hub is replaced so why not the housing also? Since this would pretty much mean new clutch assembly.

A 50-100 kms test ride after this would confirm if things are ok or not.

@bikerzindia - what is the alternative you have in mind? Whole engine assembly?
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Old 21st June 2017, 17:48   #89
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Re: Versys 650: Horrible experience with Kawasaki & its dealers

Quote:
What baffles me is... instead of doing this part by part replacement, why cant they just replace the whole assembly for once and for all?
I think they finally want to do this now and it shows the experience level of these mechanics and service center owners. Like in Merc its usually the other way around where every part associated with that problem is changed so there is no chance for doubts to raise.

The mechanics with their limited experience with say a 100 cc bike earlier, would have felt changing plates should be fine, then springs etc etc. Now they realize they can deal this as a simple 100cc bike. Thats my theory.
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Old 21st June 2017, 17:51   #90
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Re: Versys 650: Horrible experience with Kawasaki & its dealers

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Originally Posted by Jaggu View Post
What baffles me is... instead of doing this part by part replacement, why cant they just replace the whole assembly for once and for all?

- Report itself indicates the clutch springs reading is closer to the service limit, this can easily result in early wear of clutch plates.
- Since they have replaced the clutch plates (uneven wear) why do they want to take chance with the steel plate? Won't cost much.
- Hub is replaced so why not the housing also? Since this would pretty much mean new clutch assembly.

A 50-100 kms test ride after this would confirm if things are ok or not.

@bikerzindia - what is the alternative you have in mind? Whole engine assembly?
Will soon share links to more conversations I've had with dealer & IKM personnel which shows what the true intent is. As I said the intent is just to do quick fixes rather than getting to the bottom of the existing problem and solving it.

Worst being

1)when I ask them to share report of findings I was told "As long as we are fixing it for free be thankful and don't ask questions."
2) And when I asked what if I meet with an accident because of technical failure, I was told "Bring your bike again and we shall fix it for free."
And
3) when I asked what if I lose my limbs or die for which he said "Accidents happen daily, you would not have anything to prove that the accident happened because of mechanical failure."

I would not take this crap even if I bought a 40K bike, here I have invested over 10 Lakhs in total.

I had asked them for a complete engine change which they rejected. Now I no longer want to have anything to do with Kawasaki.
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