Doohickey Information

Hondo, I am, perhaps, the "new kid" on the block here at KLR World. I've read with a great deal of interest some of the posts regarding some of the repairs to the KLR. Not once have I seen the word "warranty" regarding repairs relating to the "Doohickey". Some repairs were made by users stating such low mileage that I just had to believe that their bikes were still within warranty boundaries. I've thought, "Why won't Kawasaki repair the bikes at their expense?"

What a foolish question. You see, I was once a Kawasaki Concours owner who experienced a problem with my Connie (severe cam lobe pitting). I found out from a similar forum that the problem was quite common. I took my Connie to two different dealers (one the selling dealer and another whose technician actually showed shock when shown a picture of the damage) to no avail. Kawasaki indicated that the problem was common, did not effect performance of the bike (no matter the chuchks of cam metal floating around inside the engine) and refused to warranty the work. I was not only shocked but also quite angry. At that juncture I determined that I would never buy another Kawasaki.

Well, I've cooled off a bit since then (having sold the Connie and ridden an FJR1300 for the last 1.5 years) and am considering, or should I say was, considering another Kawasaki (the 08' KLR). After reading the various comments about the "Doohickey" being replaced buy owners (not under warranty by the dealer) has once again caused a note of caution to rise to the surface.

Question! Has Kawasaki refused to do the "right thing" regarding some of these obviously "common" problems with the KLR? Have they abandoned their responsibility? Say it isn't so!