Motorcycle manufacturers

[jefft]

I wonder why motorcycle manufacturers are hesitant to respond to known problems on models that have been produced for many years? For instance the KLR 650, a very popular bike which has a huge following has had a problem for years know as the "Dohicky". Many KLR riders do the fix as soon as they acquire the bike. A failure of this part can, and from what I gather, has caused major engine damage. The Suzuki Savage has had a cam chain problem for years but hasn't been addressed by the manufacturer. In both instances some loyal follower of these bikes has come up with a fix for the problem while the manufacturer has ignored the problem. Does it just all come down to money?
jefft

 

[CDNTX650]

no kidding on the KLR front, i can vouch for it first hand. From 87 to 2013 so far....no fix. And it is a problem.

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[Grinder]

It probably is just money. If they fess up and admit to a problem, they would be expected to fix it for free.

 

[XSLeo]

+1 on what Grinder said. Much cheaper for you to fix the problem than if they fixed it.
Leo

 

[mrriggs]

I don't know anything about the "Dohicky" but speaking generally...

In most cases the manufacturers do a pretty good job of designing parts to hold up to the intended purpose. It's when guys start "modding" the bikes and push them beyond there limits that things start failing. In any mechanical contraption there is always a weakest link. So it stands to reason that you would have a part or two that appear to be the "known problems". Add to that the internet epidemic, where it's posted on a couple message boards and, before you know it, it's "common knowledge" for every owner of that bike.

Even when parts are designed to exceed expectations, failures will be common if the bike is not properly maintained. I'd say the majority of bikes I see on the road have dry, loose drive chains. If an owner doesn't take the time to do one of the simplest maintenance procedures then what are the chances that the oil has been changed, or valves adjusted?

In the case of the KLR... Even if the "Dohicky" is made of swiss cheese, it doesn't seem to matter. As I understand it those bikes sell like hotcakes. If people are stilll buying the bikes then it must not be THAT big of a problem.

 

[tonyc]

Mr. Riggs the doohickey is a big problem so much that Kawasaki said they improved it in 2007 but they did not. The doohickey is part of the cam chain adjuster. I used to ride KLR's and changed this out on both that I owned. You correct aboutsome owners, most are broken by over-tightning them. The adjusters are made of cast metal but aftermarket replacements are made from machined steel and will even survive a ham-fistted owner.

 

[CDNTX650]

the Doo-hickey is that big of a problem


type it into google.

You can open up new bikes with broken tensioner springs.

my 93'...bone stock, was fucked. no tension on the balancer chain at all becasue of a mangled lever and spring with zero tension.

the doohickey is not part of the cam chain, it's part of the balancer chain tensioner system

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[1974jh5]

I had a first year XR400R Honda. The airbox had a problem where the wire clamp for the air filter could pop off of its molded in hook when you honked on the gas hard. The air filter would then fall off its mount and dirty air would get sucked into the engine. DIRT BIKE magazine had that happen on their test bike and it happened to mine too. The local Honda dealer did the top end at no charge because it was smoking. Honda had updated the airbox for the 1997 nmodel to keep that from happening but they would not replace mine. Made no damn sense to rebuild the motor but not fix the root cause of the problem. So I modified the hook to keep the filter from coming off.

 

[tonyc]

You are correct CDNTX. My mis-post. Thanks for the correction.

 

[mrriggs]

the Doo-hickey is that big of a problem

I didn't mean it wasn't a problem as in they do not break. I was just trying to say that it is well known, and inexpensive/easy enough to fix that it hasn't deterred people from buying the bike. Sales did not plummet when the "Dohicky" problem was discovered. And if Kawasaki actually solved the problem today then sales would not double tomorrow.

The original question was, Why do manufacturers ignore stuff like this? If it hurt their bottom line then they would fix it. In the case of the KLR, it would actually hurt the bottom line to fix it since it would cost them more to make a bike that people are willing to buy anyway.

 

[highspeedhamish]

Try Honda's track record.

CBR 600 introduced 1987-1990
- Cam chain failure due to poor tensioner design.
CBR 600 F2 introduced 1991 -1994
- Cam chain failure due to poor tensioner design.
CBR 600 F3 introduced 1995-1998?
- Cam chain failure due to poor tensioner design.
CBR 600 F4 introduced 1999-2004
- Cam chain ok, cam shaft failures due to hardening
- Front forks prone to warping on certain years

Lets not even get started about the early 80s either.. so many lemons.

Were was the class action lawsuit?

My dealer just brushed it off as "its only a 2 hour job to fix it".

 

[jefft]

Then again maybe the Japanese could gain that cult like following that Harley has if they tried to address known problems. I have read lots about these KLR's and really always thought that might be my kind of bike but seat height was always a concern. I also thought I would wait a few years and they would address that Dohickey problem but I think that won't ever happen at this point. There was a lot of updating of the bike in 2008 which probably cost Kawasaki some money. I don't see why they couldn't have fixed the Dohickey thing too. I'm sure they have gotten plenty of feedback by now.
jefft

 

[highspeedhamish]

Then again maybe the Japanese could gain that cult like following that Harley has if they tried to address known problems. I have read lots about these KLR's and really always thought that might be my kind of bike but seat height was always a concern. I also thought I would wait a few years and they would address that Dohickey problem but I think that won't ever happen at this point. There was a lot of updating of the bike in 2008 which probably cost Kawasaki some money. I don't see why they couldn't have fixed the Dohickey thing too. I'm sure they have gotten plenty of feedback by now.
jefft

Ya they updated it by shipping it off to Thailand for manufacture... at least the Canadian models anyways.. not sure what year they started it but the frame is stamped MKH which M means Thailand... build quality on the engine seems ok but the plastics etc fade and look cheap after 1 year or so.

 

[jefft]

Harley owners paint their bikes every year anyway don't they? Don't mean to offend any Harley owners. I have owned one for 22 years myself.
jefft