[stikflote]

How are the Kawasaki for reliability compared to a Honda,
I have owned Honda, Yamaha Triumph and various other bikes mainly british.


Honda and Yamaha gave no problems at all,
did have problems with the brit bikes tho .
Reading post on here I do wonder as its my first Kawasaki

 

[Kiwi Rider]

How are the Kawasaki for reliability compared to a Honda,
I have owned Honda, Yamaha Triumph and various other bikes mainly british.


Honda and Yamaha gave no problems at all,
did have problems with the brit bikes tho .
Reading post on here I do wonder as its my first Kawasaki

I believe it is wrong to compare one manufacturer to another in a generalist way as they all make reliable models and some not as reliable within their marquees.

In general bikes seem to be more reliable these days. Not often you see one broken down on the side of the road.

I would sleep easy with regard to the N400.

 

[Mr Mike]

I believe it is wrong to compare one manufacturer to another in a generalist way as they all make reliable models and some not as reliable within their marquees.

I don't know man... Its been said that the Honda customer support guy who started when he was 18, just last week turned 62 ready to retire is still waiting on his first call.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

I don't know man... Its been said that the Honda customer support guy who started when he was 18, just last week turned 62 ready to retire is still waiting on his first call.

He must have been on leave for most of 2015 then when the CBR300's were getting their cranks replaced.
:devil:

 

[AZFox]

Consumer Reports did a survey a couple of years ago. All Japanese brands are very reliable. Both Yamaha (11%) and Kawasaki (13%) were reported to be more reliable than Honda (14%).

 

[Topaz]

He must have been on leave for most of 2015 then when the CBR300's were getting their cranks replaced.
:devil:

And in 2008/2009 when many CBR1000RR had ticking engines that consumed oil and needed a re haul. :devil:

But in general, I'd also say that japs are more reliable than Europeans.

 

[AZFox]

But in general, I'd also say that japs are more reliable than Europeans.

"There is a four times greater chance that a BMW will need repair than a Yamaha," said Consumer Reports' deputy editor Jeff Bartlett. "That's pretty significant, when you consider the cost of servicing a BMW is substantially higher. BMW makes great bikes, but the BMW owner has to have a few dollars set aside for repairs."
​

Source

 

[Mr Mike]

Consumer Reports did a survey a couple of years ago. All Japanese brands are very reliable. Both Yamaha (11%) and Kawasaki (13%) were reported to be more reliable than Honda (14%).

And in 2008/2009 when many CBR1000RR had ticking engines that consumed oil and needed a re haul. :devil:

But in general, I'd also say that japs are more reliable than Europeans.

Hi ya AZFox... Hello Topaz, Nice seeing you guys - been a while..! You all know I was having some fun there right.

 

[Kaosad]

He must have been on leave for most of 2015 then when the CBR300's were getting their cranks replaced.

Or when the 2016 Africa twins wheel spokes were "insta-rusting". In general, I agree with the previously stated fact that it is untrue to say that one brands bikes are all more reliable than another brand. This is even more true now that many companies have shifted factories to countries with cheaper labor costs. I have bought about 8 bikes in my lifetime from kawaskai, honda, husqvarna and bmw. I have yet to have any major reliability issues from any bikes I have brought.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Or when the 2016 Africa twins wheel spokes were "insta-rusting". In general, I agree with the previously stated fact that it is untrue to say that one brands bikes are all more reliable than another brand. This is even more true now that many companies have shifted factories to countries with cheaper labor costs. I have bought about 8 bikes in my lifetime from kawaskai, honda, husqvarna and bmw. I have yet to have any major reliability issues from any bikes I have brought.

Same, the worst thing I've had to deal with out of 16 bikes was having to get new cam chains and tensioners on a Honda VF750 back in the eighties. Only had 20,000km on the clock but unfortunately I was 2nd owner and it was out of warranty period.
Kawasaki motors in general seem to have a good name for reliability.

 

[Baxter]

It's my understanding that the 400s have a newly designed engine and transmission (that is, the big expensive things to repair), so we don't have much actual history to guide us in making reliability predictions. But my 2007 Ninja 650R had excellent reliability over the 11 years I owned it, and many people reported on a Ninja 650 forum that they were getting over 100,000 miles with only regular maintenance and the occasional stator needing replacement. So I believe that Kawi makes reliable products.

That said, it's been reported on this forum that some of the 2018 first-year 400s had issues with the transmissions needing time to wear in properly, but the thread seems to indicate that this was not universal and that it seemed to resolve itself for most people. My 2019 had no such issue.

 

[yarddog]

the only failure ive had on a bike out of 7 bikes, approx 90,000 miles and ten years was on my gsxr 600, 3 miles after i bought it. the infamous voltage regulator failure. i bought it with a dead battery, jumped it off and three miles later the regulator decided to stop undercharging and overcharged enough to fry the CDI box. cost me 700 bucks between the tow, diag time and replacement module. bought it from a friends dad who had co-signed on the bike loan for his son(a friend i had at work), who had acquired a cocaine addiction and stopped paying for the bike.



i did have to rebuild the bottom end on my drz-400 after i mistakenly ran it for five minutes without oil. still cannot believe i made a stupid mistake like that.

 

[airhead83]

i did have to rebuild the bottom end on my drz-400 after i mistakenly ran it for five minutes without oil. still cannot believe i made a stupid mistake like that.

Don't beat yourself up too bad over that. Engineers, mechanics, etc. are always thinking two steps ahead of their present tasks. That serves them well, but occasionally the obvious (to slower minded persons as myself) slips by in the process of thinking ahead. I owned/drove a truck for part of my life. I drove just shy of 2 million miles accident free. But it was a rare occasion when I could come home and mow the lawn without turning the **** mower over on it's side. :smile_big:.