Sorry you got a bad one.. check on z1000 owners onfacebook and none so far have those issues and z1000forum.com more would comment on you there my 2015 is fine.. and wow thats terrible

 

Sounds like you have a crappy dealer more than a crappy bike.

 

What detail did we miss regarding the quick shift? Something had to make them think a quick shift was, or had been in place.

 

Do you have a lemon law where you're at? If you are that dissatisfied I'd start the wheels turning. Contact Kawasaki directly and level with them; don't be unhappy with a new bike man and don't wait any longer. Nobody is getting in line to have the driest clutch, that's total BS to the point of insult. They sound like crooks let Kawai know that!


Corporate Office Phone Number: (949) 770-0400 there may be an 800 but with cells what the difference.

 

I have over 5,000 miles on my 2014 Ninja 1000ABS and I am very impressed with the fit, finish and function. I have had various makes and models, especially over the last 10 years, and this Kawasaki ranks at the top. No issues at all, so far. I also use a PCV with a Quickshifter.
Mort

 

Horrible mirrors - mirrors can still be adjusted though, its like the mirrors you have in the vehicles push in or opposite sides to adjust.. some are even 6"4 6"5 they changed it to bar ends anyway

Rear brake light - Rattle? i know there's a play but it should not rattle, i was never bothered by it.. grinding or taking out the bushing should help, but was never bothered, do you hear it rattle really?

Blinker lights - condensation.. what? really? i have opened my blinkers to put leds in it and never had a problem.. i had the bike since winter and riding it -2C to +8C, then +27+35 got rained out, went to the wash etc..
condensation occurs when air temp inside is not same as outside and it has not able to breath out, its not even air tight.. the turn signals,
i know they are waterproof the wires to the sides have slack of play.. try opening it, wipe it down and then screw again..

Front brake wires - wires or the cable? my 2 old cbr 600 and fireblade, my friend's gixxer dont have a cap really, we lube cables for a reason too..

Transmission - why did he assume that you have a quick shifter? they wont really say that if you have not mentioned anything? or this is just wrong

and i agree with crappy dealer but most stuff you mentioned are most nit picking.. or is this brand new? a test model?

my z has been great since winter, changed exhaust, lever, lights mirrors etc.
hope you get this sorted out, everybody that bought a z that i know are very satisfied, most discussions are really more on aesthetics, exhaust, tires.. no complaints of anything
that you mentioned..

 

I work on the other side of service. Sometimes you can explain things 100% to a customer, and they hear something totally different. Its difficult as a service person because you understand the product, engine, whatever it is, and many times a customer does not.

They do the best they can to understand , but it often ends up as "I went to the dealer and they said they (Kawasaki) was trying to make the clutch drier and that's a normal noise and they all make it."..which makes no sense, because its nto 100% what was said..its more like 40%.

The dry clutch would have been explained as" Kawasaki did not do a very good job on this clutch. The oil does not flow well, and the clutch runs dry. We have followed a factory bulletin and repaired this....Customer hears "kawasaki wants a dry clutch"

I FEEL this going on in this story because..

A....We have a lot of members. No one else has complained of these issues. The clutch, yes, but turn signal moisture?

B...The quickshift. Where did this come from? If you went in with a quickshift mounted, but told them the issue was there before it was installed, they will laugh at you. Still, they fixed it under warranty. No tech will ever go to the quickshifter card without seeing evidence of a quickshifter.

 

Funniest part to me is how the OP thinks this bike was "an afterthought". It was a whole new design from the ground up in 2010... only a few things have changed on it since then.

 

Black Sheep, have you ever had your wife, or a friend say their car was no good, worn out, or needed replacement?

When you dig deeper, the reasons are things like a starter relay went out, three years ago, but was fixed. You already had to replace a battery. Tires are worn out, windshield needs replacement, theres a dent in a fender........it gets shortened into "the car needs to be replaced, or the car sucks.....".

 

No doubt rc. It would be very bizarre for a dealer to bring up a quickshifter if there wasn't solid evidence of there being one yet they still repaired it under warranty. Maybe the OP got a lemon in regards to the other issues, but I've never had an issue.

I've owned Yammy, Honda (2), and 5 kawasaki's and the Kaw's have been the best to me. My yammy's tranny went after about 5 years and a lot of miles, but I still think that was poor quality.

 

I spent close to 20 yrs as the guy who went to look at "lemon machines" 99 times out of a hundred it was owner/user/technician issues

 

Yeah, that quick shifter comment from the tech is weird.....

 

Yes my suggestion of the bike being a lemon was for effect and an offer of an arbitrary place to start expressing your level of upset to Kawasaki. Here in FL we also have a three day period to back out of a deal. I don't know but suspect Jackel is past that period. Real lemon vehicles far surpass what has been espoused about the bike but there are clearly issues with the bike and the shop. If they really did say that about the clutch then wow that's one crazy-*** salesman. The quick shifter comment is in the same ballpark and a broken fork is also discouraging when you buy a new bike. We'll know more when Jackel returns but I think there are some good thoughts from each poster to ponder. Meanwhile, if you return, Jackel, here's some more link-fire that you may have missed while not surfing this forum.
Transmission Rattle noise at start up -FIX - Kawasaki Z1000 Forum: Kawasaki Z1000 Motorcycle Forums
I have had my own excursion into stupidity concerning the ABS system but I digress; I do really like this bike, it's exactly what I was looking for.

 

Blinker lights - I was caught in the rain one ride and all 4 blinker housings were full of condensation. Stopped at the dealer as it's still under warranty and they told me the housings do not have a rubber o-ring or any seal. Very poor design. I might use a very small amount of clear silicon to seal it or change the blinker housing all together.

I have a 2014 ZX1000 and I had the same issues with the rear turn signals. After a ride in the rain in the High Sierra Nevada mountains, I noticed the condensation.

 

Hey Folks, Thanks for all the support. I'll try and answer all the questions here and then I'll tell you what I finally did the day after this post.

Front brake (WIRES) FOR THE LIGHT, NOT THE CABLE! I have been turning wrenches for over 30 years so I am not confused. The pot metal bushings are where the rear light bolts down under the seat. The broken shift fork issue stemmed from the idiot parts guy. I had told him after the warranty was out, I would buy it from them and install it, he in turned with his half of brain, told the mechanic. I explained to the mechanic that guy is retarded and he said he agreed and they needed to put him on a broom sweeping the shop. I am happy the mechanic was like a 5 star Kawasaki guy, he's 34 and got his Kawasaki certs started when he was 18 or 19, can't remember but it's been a while. He had my bike ready in 1 work day. It was there for 3 waiting for parts and did a great job. I twisted that throttle almost twice around trying to get the transmission to break under normal HARD acceleration and it worked perfect.

The blinker housing doesn't have any type of custom o-ring, it's just 2 pieces of plastic closed together and they printed what I already had from Kawasaki web site but I was hoping they had something different, not...

So here's what I did after I got the bike back repaired, (Transmission anyway). One of my riding buddies in Houston Texas called to see if I had time to come ride for a few days. I told him I had 2, I could spare which really is a waste of time. It takes 12 hours to drive my truck from New Mexico to Houston. Rode for 5 hours after that and went to his place. Slept for a few hours and when I woke up, he had $8,900 on the coffee table and told me he wanted my bike after he rode it for an hour. I said SOLD! Took his money and will mail him the title tomorrow.

I am sure these are fantastic bikes if you don't have the headaches I encountered with mine. I already have a 2 year old Harley, 1 extremely old school Suzuki TM 400 I bought brand new when I was 19, yea, I still have it. However, been through 3 jugs and 4 heads, a dozen chains and tires and all that good stuff. I don't even think they sell 2 stroke bikes anymore. None of the dealers sell 2 stroke Bel-Ray racing oil anymore so I have to order it online by the case and stock up. I hate running out of stuff!

I guess I'm done folks and really thank everyone for the rapid response to my concerns. Maybe next year, I'll give that "Z" another chance. For now, I have a very sour taste in my mouth and it'll take a while to brush it all away. I am really a lover of bikes and really wish this one was a keeper. Maybe next time. Be careful riding folks and keep at least one wheel on the ground at all times!

Later

 

One of my riding buddies in Houston Texas called to see if I had time to come ride for a few days. I told him I had 2, I could spare which really is a waste of time. It takes 12 hours to drive my truck from New Mexico to Houston. Rode for 5 hours after that and went to his place. Slept for a few hours and when I woke up, he had $8,900 on the coffee table and told me he wanted my bike after he rode it for an hour. I said SOLD! Took his money and will mail him the title tomorrow.



Later

Kind of you to sell a bike with issue to a buddy.

 

I fortunately have always had an opportunity to buy only brand new bikes, trucks and such. No demos either. Look under your handlebar and you will see the 2 wires with no cover or rubber boot on the tiny connectors.

 

Well, see ya?

If a tm 400 is good, and a z 1000 is bad, then selling this was the right move.

For those who dont know, a tm 400 is still in the list of top ten bad dirt bikes ever made. Its on Jody's list, and any other bad dirtbike list ever created. I'd love to have one, they were cool, but incredibly bad.

Motocross Action Magazine | ?THE WORST BIKES I EVER RACED? BY JODY WEISEL

The brake switch puzzles me. I mean, what did you want it to do besides turn a light on?

Not covering things that dont need to be covered is some of the reason why a modern ninja 1000 weighs 500lbs and a old zzr1200 weighs 600.

As a mechanic, that switch should be obvious. If you cant make a watertight cover ($$), it needs to stay open so water will not stay around it and short out. It, by itself, means nothing, but adding useless covers, guards, and beauty pieces is for the cruiser world.

 

this whole thing is weird.....but best of luck to ya. sorry you had so many issues.

 

Unintentionally posted this in another thread. Probably read this thread and later decided to post this comment after considering the situation of the OP. You guys may have already read it by now and wondering what I was doing. :laugh:

High RPM speed-shifting to second and jamming the shifter to ensure neutral is passed and second engaged could have been the culprit - don't know for sure. I can add that the clutch on my 2K8Z1K rattled while setting in neutral. Pull the clutch lever and the noise went away. My C14 is the same way. One is cable actuated, the other is hydraulic. I've accepted the rattle as normal operating noise from beasty engines.


I can recall the Suzuki TM's from back in the day. Everyone was excited when the RM series (125, 250, 370) debuted. :2cents:

 

As bad as the tm was, the rm's were that much on the good side.

Did you knwo anyone under 25 years old who would not have given their right arm for a rm125b?

 

You were doing ok.....

I had th e76 kx 125...so, not so great...but..

Remember seeing the suspension on our bikes, then seeing the rm's? Your Honda was better, but I knew my kx was on life support.

 

Ha! Yeah, the lay-down shocks and long travel were impressive on those RM's.

 

Jackel, that's one incredible story.

 

I found the overall fit/finish/quality of the '15 leaps and bounds better than my '03. My first gen Z never had any mechanical problems, but it did have it's share of buzzy body panels, parts that could have fit a little tighter, and parts-bin components like the blinkers, mirrors, ect. Couple gaskets started seeping, hose clamp vibrated loose. Nothing major.

I did notice the taillight has an odd amount of play in it, though I never heard it rattling. No issues with water or condensation in the blinkers. Lots of nice touches- the bespoke key, the seat cover motif, clear brake fluid cylinder, color matched shock spring, eccentric adjusters, auto-dimming dash, ect. Stuff that clearly cost extra to make and wasn't just yanked from the parts bin. The seat clicks down firmly, none of the panels rattle or buzz. Wiring and hoses are tucked away neatly in sleeves and jackets. Connectors are sealed and feel a lot nicer and automotive grade than on the 03. Everything generally comes apart- and goes back together easily.

 

I did notice the taillight has an odd amount of play in it,...

I remember having to use a spacer in the taillight assembly because something was missing or broken from me taking it apart switching from short to long tail, sorry don't remember, but the spacer worked, I think I used one of those thick rubber washers as it was all I had. You'll see if you investigate a little. Now it's tight where I couldn't understand why it was loose before.

>I switched tails a couple times (have short now incorporating the OEM as before) which is when it must have happened why a 2015 would be that way is puzzling.

I believe it was in this area and maybe 92161.