Saturday evening I was cruising up the road in the left lane, my son on the VFR in the right lane. Going 65-70 in 6th gear I gave it 3/4 throttle. About 1 second later... BOOM! Huge trail of smoke... pulled in clutch and hit the kill switch. Coasted to shoulder and called roadside assistance for a flatbed.

I had it dropped off at my house and I couldn't find a hole, but there is oil all over the front of the engine and the exhaust. I had just returned from a 1500 mile roundtrip to Vermont, so I'm glad it didn't happen way up there. There are only 3,600 miles on the bike and I've changed the oil 3 times.

I took it to the dealer last night, and the mechanic says that they probably won't even look at it until AUGUST!!! Apparently they prioritize tire changes and routine work above this. I'm calling the Service Manager today to discuss it. I don't expect to be put at the front of the line, but to be continually pushed to the back of the line is not acceptable.

Reading past posts, I found zx1441xz had this problem in December and Kawasaki sent a new engine... my dealer mechanic says he doubts I'll get a new engine as he has never heard of Kawasaki doing that. He says they will have to order the individual parts or assemblies and put it together. So there goes the whole summer...

WOW!Sorry to hear your loss there...real bummer for sure.

damn that sucks, there is no excuse for a dealer to do that to ya, what year is the bike? did you have many mods done to it? or was it all stock? very curious....

I would call corporate and tell them they better get a dealer that could get to it much sooner, or they will be talking to a lawyer, you could have been seriously hurt !! August is just plain BULLSPIT !!

Sounds like a crank, could be CCT, or bearing ? Keep us updated,

Most importantly, glad you are ok ....

Bike is a 2012, just bought new in April 2013. No performance mods. I installed a terminal strip for 12v power under the seat so I don't have to access the battery every time I want to hook up a charger or radar detector, etc. Also a Scottoiler for the chain. Everything else stock.

There are only 3,600 miles on the bike and I've changed the oil 3 times.

Not common but we heard at least 3 reports from members here of rod bearings breaking on the Gen1s. Usually that resulted in the engine busting out a hole and oil rapidly evacuating onto the rear tire. Most incidences happen under hard use but not necessarily what I would consider EXTREME--like max rpm. Sounds like your case.

Heard this happen with busas also. big torque might be a bit more than some parts can take. I'm sure there are those that pass inspection but still don't take the force they were designed to take.

I'm really sorry about this and I sincerely hope Kaw does something to not cause you to have a f--ked up summer without your bike.

what year is the bike?

Sounds like a crank, could be CCT, or bearing ?

Most importantly, glad you are ok ....

That's warranty months gone from the bike sitting so you want that pro rated you feel sorry the dealership is making money? That's a battery charge to the bike(s) that are waiting for a tire change? That's 90% down is the charge rate if you take 1% a charge a day times 3 for each month sitting = J-J-Aug we now look at it? Stale gas for 3 months too?

That's an engine that should not be torn down from the dealer and be sent back to the factory. That's a field failure like 3K I don't care it's within factory warranty. That bike lost a valve out the top cover or head? 6th gear roll on is not going fast at 70mph.

I'm putting my $$$ on punctured piston. One of my first posts here concerned "valve rattle" at highway speeds + heavy wrist action in high gear.

yeah, contact Kawasaki and don't go to that dealer anymore if you can afford it.
They will probably send you another engine asap. They don't want you to go "public" with something like that.
This is the third ZX-14R that I hear about. I guess the weak rod issue is still not fixed....

I had heard that hard braking (especially downhill) with a lot of G-Forces can starve the engine. Wheelies too but if you were cruising in 6th...

I would call corporate and tell them they better get a dealer that could get to it much sooner, or they will be talking to a lawyer, you could have been seriously hurt !! August is just plain BULLSPIT !!

^This!

Glad you kept it upright. But Carabuser is right, there's no reason Corporate should deny you a replacement. I would call them a raise a big stink. There's no excuse for a motor to grenade with only 3600 miles!

Good luck, keep us posted.

* Last updated by: Dave905 on 6/6/2013 @ 5:53 PM *

Hey Aegisranger
This Sounds Very Familiar to me as I had this happen to me back in Aug of 2010 on my 2007 at 11000 miles.
OK the part about not giving you a new engine and rebuilding the old engine is 100% correct, apparently kawi wont ship an engine for replacement just parts for repair. I had an extended warranty on my bike when the engine blew and initially the dealer called me a month after having my bike to inform me that Kawi would not cover the repair. So after chatting with Hub and some other fine gentlemen on the forum I called the dealer back and told him I had multiple forums that I belong to and that the cylinder #3 failure is well known and that I could produce multiple documents to my lawyer and open a case against Kawi and spread the word on the forums about how Kawi handled the situation. Well long story short dealer called me back by end of day to inform me that Kawi decided to cover my bike.
It took 4 months for the repair, Apparently Parts come on a slow boat from Japan when its warranty work.

The Number I Used to contact Kawi Corporate is (949)-460-5688

If they try to deny U just raise a fuss and talk LAWYER and watch the attitude change!

Good Luck
Snuffy

AUgust?? Geez.............

Sorry to hear about that, and hope you get it back, rebuilt and better than ever.

OMG, I hope it's not color related!

OK, just a little levity then, sorry 'bout that...

So, +1 on you being OK, there's no telling what an oiled up tire will do, so so glad you're unhurt.

A few questions, if I may please.

I take it you bougt it new, right? So, a "leftover" 2012 purchased in 2013. Was this a dealer demo cycle?

How many miles on it when bought?

Did you do any / all the maintenance, or the dealer?

If you did any of it, can you prove all that you did, with reciepts?

I wish you well, really I do, but these are reasonable questions that the dealer will likely ask (or know the answers) before granting a warranty replacement.

Just curious, What kind of oil were you running? Conventional or Syn? Just wondering if theres any possible correlation.

Thanks

Friggin call corporate my bro, I feel really bad for you. Shit!

This is a leftover '12, bought begining of April 2013. I changed oil and filter a 55 miles, 550 miles and 2400 miles (just before my trip to Vermont). Conventional dino oil and Kawi filters. My plan was to switch to synthetic at 5000 miles. I did all the maintenance, but have the receipts from the dealer for the filters and crush washers.

I'm prety sure that this was caused by the bad oil pump cover issue, so the pump leaked oil pressure and a rod bearing failed. This seems to be a common thing. Muzzy makes a stronger oil pump cover, and even it needs to be sealed to work right.

The dealer has confirmed that there is a hole in the front of my engine and were calling Kawisaki on Friday. I'll find out tomorrow what they said. If they don't plan on sending an engine, I'll get on the phone with Kawi and raise hell...

"the bad oil pump cover issue"...I'm really glad you didn't crash...and I'm glad you have some plans and that Kawi is going to replace it.Real bummer for sure.Disappointing.

I don't really see how a series of assemblyline motorcycles with assemblyline identical parts..could allow for a 'bad' part to somehow get installed.But I guess it COULD happen.Those factory assemblers are pretty darn sharp...and these things are continuosly monitored throughout the build process...how would one pump part get in there?IDK...
but I have heard this mentioned a few times...I would think a bunch of bikes assembled at the same run would be having this deal?

This motor does NOT like being lugged or having detonation.It could occur without the driver being aware of it.Not sayin you did that...but she can be lugged without the motor stalling.I wouldn't burn anything below 90 octane either...unless I HAD to...

There's so many variables with these bikes...hard to say exactly WHAT happened.Like for instance...WHY would they say.."first oil change at 600 miles"...I mean...does anyone actually follow that?I'm wondering here IF certain things 'we' determine as 'not so good'...is in reality the better choice...like allowing the oil to stay in there for those miles...IDK...the manual mentions "Use only Kawasaki oil which is 'specially formulated' for (your)(my) Kawasaki motorcycle"...there may be something to that.It MAY be specially formulated for just this application....possible?

Please don't misunderstand...I'm not saying you caused this...no...I'm not.Hell,I changed mine at 200 miles as well.Things break...unfortunate...but sometimes they just do.Sorry again about you baby...I think Kawi will replace that motor for ya...chin up.Still a fine bike.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 6/9/2013 @ 2:47 PM *

Feel bad about this, man it just plain sucks!!!!

Feel bad about this, man it just plain sucks!!!!

I've posted the following on other forums today. Although I've already posted much of this info in this thread, from here on I'll be adding info to this timeline on all the forums this is on...
___________________________________________________
This thread will chronicle the events concerning my blown ZX14R engine, and what Kawasaki and the dealer do about it. Good or bad, I’ll let you all know how it goes. I have owned 16 bikes before this one, and I’ve ridden hundreds of thousands of miles, and never had a blown engine.
____________________________________________________
I purchased my new ’12 ZX14R the end of March, 2013. I got a good deal on it as a leftover a few states away. I picked it up April 13th and made the 540 mile ride home. I stopped along the way to do my first oil change at 55 miles. New filter, oil, and crush washer. I was amazed at the junk that came out of the engine with the oil. My next oil change was at 550 miles, new filter and oil. Third oil change was at 2,400 miles, just before a long trip to Vermont.

I returned from Vermont on May 31 having put on another 1,100 trouble free miles. The Scottoiler kept the chain nicely lubed… really nice. The next day, June 1, I was riding with my son. He was on my VFR, and we were cruising up the highway at 70 MPH. I was in 6th gear and moved the throttle to ¾ for some extra speed. The engine had a strange feel, like it was missing on one cylinder and before I could say “What the F” BOOM! Huge cloud of smoke and oil trailing from the bike.

I hit the kill switch and pulled in the clutch. I was able to control the bike in spite of the oil everywhere and moved to the shoulder. I found oil covering the front of the engine and exhaust. Oil plug and filter were perfectly intact. I didn’t have a flashlight, but suspected a hole in the engine. Flatbed came and took my baby home.

At this point I have had the bike for 49 days… 3,600 miles… one payment. I called Kawasaki and they told me to take it to the local dealer and it would be evaluated and repaired. I was confident that everything would be OK.

June 5 I took the ZX to my local dealer in the back of the F150. After helping me unload it, the mechanic informed me that they were not planning to even look at the bike until August. They would be prioritizing tire changes, battery replacements, inspections, etc. in front of me. I objected, but he said I’d have to talk to the service manager the next day. They would have to tear the engine apart and order the parts and then put it all back together, so I’d probably get my bike back in October – 5 months away.

I talked to the service manager and told him that although I didn’t expect to be moved to the front of the line, I didn’t want to be continually pushed to the back. They did look at the bike the next day, and verified a hole in the upper front of the engine. He confirmed that Kawasaki would probably want them to rebuild the engine, and he didn’t know when that might happen.

I started doing research on the forums and found that this catastrophic engine failure isn’t uncommon. I read about multiple failures that seem just like mine. Apparently, the oil pump cover inside the engine leaks badly causing oil starvation to the bearings due to low oil pressure. The problem is so well know that Muzzy now sells a billet oil pump cover to correct the problem. From what I read, even that cover can leak. The problem is bad design of the pump housing, and the inability to seal it without RTV or an anaerobic sealer. Performance subject-matter experts on the ZX14 have written that oiling is the weak point of the ZX14 engine.

I found a forum member who’s engine had failed this way in Georgia. Kawasaki sent the dealer a new engine. I called the dealer and confirmed this. From failure to being back on the road was a few weeks. That is what I want… a fast and effective response from Kawasaki.

So I called Kawasaki again yesterday (June 11), explaining that I had discovered the fact that there is a well known design flaw and that I have 26 pages of information about it. The rep denied knowing anything about ZX14 engine failures, or Kawasaki ever sending out a replacement engine. He did listen well, and expressed that he was sorry for what happened. He took my phone number and said he’d escalate the issue and have someone call me.

So that is where I am today, waiting for a call from Kawasaki. I have confidence in Kawasaki and their ability to do the right thing. I love my Ninja and want it back ASAP. Luckily, I have other bikes to ride. I’ll be posting updates to this as things develop.

I'm not far from the headquarters in Irvine, if they dont do whats right, I am sure I could get some riders toghether from socalsportbikes.org to protest out in front of the headquarters .....

Keep us updated, and if they dont do right by you, let me know,

Best of luck to you

Carabuser,

You sir, are RIGHTEOUS and KICK-ASS!

I'm glad folks like you people the earth.

Gotta look out for my fellow riders ! There seems like there might be a problem here, I said might be, but if there is, and they are trying to sweep it under the rug, then I will do everything possible to help fix it, someone could get seriously hurt or killed from things like this, the busa had a recall or two, but they seemed to own up to it, one was the fuel pump (they went external, instead of inside the tank, why I dont know) and the second was a CCT, they had a rachet type instead of a hydraulic, which they later added, this was first Gen...

* Last updated by: carabuser on 6/13/2013 @ 11:07 AM *

I wish Kawasaki was closer to Ohio, I would really for something like this if they don't make good. I am with you tho and hope that they do for you.

Latest news is this - Kawasaki says that they don't have any new engines. BS! What are they putting into the new bikes??? Even if they don't have one in their USA stock, get one here from Japan. I'm in the process of drafting a complaint to the NTSB about the safety issue of an engine exploding and dumping all it's oil right in front of the rear tire on a motorcycle and how they should investigate Kawasaki and Kawasaki's response to my issue. I could have been killed when this happened. I'm also sending a complaint to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office about Kawasaki and the dealer.

I have a friend who is an attorney that is giving me some good advice, at a minimum I may have to pull Kawasaki into small claims court... if they continue to piss me off I'll go the whole route of paying a Lawyer and suing in real court. It's a matter of principle now. I'm about to go balistic on the internet, social media, and in person. I'll join all the Hayabusa forums and post my ZX14 issue there, should keep some Suzuki owners from jumping ship and buying a $15,000 Kawasaki.

We have a big motorcycle rally called Thunder in the Valley next week, and I'm sure Kawi will be there. We have almost 200,000 people that attend and I'll protest in front of the Kawasaki area... maybe get in the local paper. It sucks that Kawasaki is making me do this.

I love my ZX14 and I just want it back. I want Kawasaki to stand behind their product and replace my defective engine in a timely manner. Is that too much to ask???

Carabuser... a protest in front of Kawasaki corportate would make a great picture :)