Kawasaki

[cv01jw]

Complete newbie to bikes here, taking his CBT next Tuesday having never even sat on a motorbike. Looking forward to it with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Sad really, as I am 26.

Anyway, are Kawasakis as unreliable as some people make out? Whenever they are mentioned there seems to be a flippant comment about their reliability and as a noob I don't know if this is well founded sarcasm or just a friendly poke.

I ask because I have found this locally:

http://www.sjrbikes.co.uk/usedbikes.htm
(2nd one down)

and may look at it if it is still for sale when I (hopefully) pass my DAS course & test in a couple of months.

Many thanks

[gsfrontera]

Im on my third Kawasaki and have never had a problem with any. They are the same as any of the Japanese manufacturers, as long as you look after it you shouldnt have any problems. Anyone who has had a Yamaha or Suzuki break on them will tell you that they are unreliable.

Kawasaki get the thumbs up from me, but then what would I know, Ive only had Three...

[nellyleelephant]

I've had two, a 2001 ZX6R and my current 1995 ZXR750.

Whilst they may not have the best finish out of the japanese four, i've found my two to be very reliable, covering at least 30000 trouble free miles between them in 6 years.

I couldn't see the link so can't comment on the bike, but i wouldn't let reliability put you off.

[dern]

I've had three. An old zxr750, a gpz1100-e1 and a zx6r which I bought brand new. The older bikes were bullet proof and the 6r which was either a g2 or a j1 (probably the former) was unreliable. I kept it for a year and a few thousand miles but the camchain tensioner died almost immediately and the gearbox lunched itself. I wouldn't have another as it was a major pain in the arse for a new bike.

[Busamav]

cv01jw said:

Anyway, are Kawasakis as unreliable as some people make out?

Just dont ask that question to John Hopkins


Seriously though , they arent any worse than any other bikes around , like, lets say a Ducati

[Wyvern971]

I passed my DAS at 26, though I wish I'd done it sooner I don't think there is any shame in that!

I know quite a few folk with Kawasakis' and as long as they are looked after (as you would have to do with any bike) they will be as reliable as any other of the big 4 Japanese manufacturers.

[m3psm]

Any of the big 4 are reliable if looked after.

Honda will be reliable even if you throw them in the canal and fish them out a year later.

Kawasaki are good but always seem to have rattly sounding clutches, but the old GT550 and 750 were the preferred courier steed and there's no higher accolade.

Suzuki used to have junk electrics and a lesser finish.

Yamaha tend to have a poor finish.

I'd have any of the above, but for serious mileage wouldn't risk a Suzuki or Yam. That's just my opinion though.

[Hyperion]

m3psm said:

I'd have any of the above, but for serious mileage wouldn't risk a Suzuki or Yam. That's just my opinion though.

I own a Yamaha with 77'000 miles on the clock. It takes me to work and back every day (70 miles round trip) and has never missed a beat. I think some models of bike are more reliable than others though.
Mine is a big old unstressed 900cc air cooled lump though...an equivalent 900cc sports bike with a gazillion BHP @ 56'000rpm is obviously going to be more stressed and not last anywhere near as long.

[m3psm]

Hyperion said:

m3psm said:

I'd have any of the above, but for serious mileage wouldn't risk a Suzuki or Yam. That's just my opinion though.

I own a Yamaha with 77'000 miles on the clock. It takes me to work and back every day (70 miles round trip) and has never missed a beat. I think some models of bike are more reliable than others though.
Mine is a big old unstressed 900cc air cooled lump though...an equivalent 900cc sports bike with a gazillion BHP @ 56'000rpm is obviously going to be more stressed and not last anywhere near as long.

You're right. I got a Suzuki GSX550 up to over 100k couriering. It ate several sets of stators and reg/rect's and ate its 3rd gear at about 80k, but kept going and I know the next 3 owners after me still had it running. It was maintained meticulously though.

I suspect an equivalent Honda would have done the same milage with less maintenance though.

[cv01jw]

Thanks for all the replies - I will go look at the bike if it is still around once I get my licence (although if it hasn't sold in a few months it may indicate there is something wrong with it).

Another question then, what sort of costs should I be expected to service a bike like this, and how often? I have no idea of bike service intervals etc.

[dern]

cv01jw said:

Another question then, what sort of costs should I be expected to service a bike like this, and how often? I have no idea of bike service intervals etc.

They are generally every 6 months or every certain number of miles. I service my blade every spring and every autumn unless I've done mega-miles that year on the commute in which case I'll do an extra oil change. The service it gets includes oil/filter, air filter and a complete flush of brake fluid. Everything else such as tyres, chain, brake pads is as required.

If you take it to a dealer they'll be looking to change anything that will wear out before your next service is due. The cost will be dependant on how much effort is required to do the service (my blade requires all the fairings to come off for an oil change for example) and how expensive the oil and parts are. Fully synth oil is quite a bit more expensive than mineral. In addition a big service that requires the valve clearances to be checked will cost more but how much more depends on the number of valves, whether they need altering, whether they're bucket and shims or not, whether you need to strip the bike down to get to the valves... and so on. In short the cost will be bike dependant

[z1000 chick]

my z1000 has never let me down (and I managed to kill a 600 hornet!)