Urgent help needed!!

[Comanche]

Originally Posted by silverspurs

THE DEFECT IN THE WIRING HAS BEEN FOUND AND FIXED!! YAY!!

Thanks dolitsky and 1st One: for your posts... they were right on...

This is exactly what I found... once the tank was off, under good lighting (something I did not have while stranded in Canada) I found the BROWN wire (one of four wires coming out of the ignition housing) was frayed and had exposed wire that was shorting out on the fuel tank... this is the same thing that 1st One and dolitsky found on their 1700s...

in good light, it was very obvious and easy to fix with electrical tape, some heat shrink wrap and a plastic tube covering all four of the wires where they rub on the tank... Problem should be fixed now!! bike starts and runs, will be riding it around this afternoon to be sure all is OK!!

I will be starting another thread about this... EVERY 1700 OWNER NEEDS TO TAKE THEIR FUEL TANK OFF AND UNDER GOOD LIGHT, CHECK THESE WIRES THAT GO INTO THE IGNITION TOWER... ONE INSTANCE COULD BE BAD LUCK... TWO PEOPLE WITH THIS PROBLEM IS THE START OF A TREND... AND NOW THREE PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM THAT I KNOW OF.... THAT'S A WARRANTY/RECALL ISSUE IN MY BOOK. I'LL SAY IT AGAIN... EVERY 1700 OWNER ALL MODEL YEARS NEED TO CHECK THIS... IT COULD SAVE YOU A TON OF TROUBLE FAR FROM HOME!!... LET US KNOW WHAT YOU FIND!!

My bike had 23000 miles on it when this occured...

Silver, funny how things turn out. I was wondering about what happened recently with your situation because of you being stuck out in the boonies and having to get back in a different manner.

I have never trusted manufacturers or builders. I usually just get familiar with any vehicle or bike I own and look for problem areas (rubbing, shorting, fraying, clearance issues, etc.) based on past experiences. So I doubt Mr. Kawasaki is going to consider bad placement of wiring a recall issue covered by warranty. This happens in anything driven or flown so we just have to remain diligent. I am glad it worked out favorably for you.

[silverspurs]

Originally Posted by Comanche

Silver, funny how things turn out. I was wondering about what happened recently with your situation because of you being stuck out in the boonies and having to get back in a different manner.

I have never trusted manufacturers or builders. I usually just get familiar with any vehicle or bike I own and look for problem areas (rubbing, shorting, fraying, clearance issues, etc.) based on past experiences. So I doubt Mr. Kawasaki is going to consider bad placement of wiring a recall issue covered by warranty. This happens in anything driven or flown so we just have to remain diligent. I am glad it worked out favorably for you.

I agree, that folks should be checking periodically for wear, chaffing etc as a normal course of maintenance... stuff does wear out...

the reason this needs to be addressed by Kawi in my opinion, is that they ran a protective sleeve over these wires where they exit the ignition, this sleeve protects these wires... if they had extended that protective sleeve just a couple inches longer, this would not be happening... I believe that as people start accumulating mileage on their bikes, we are going to hear a lot more about this and I believe it is bad design on Kawi's part that could have been prevented with appropriate protection in what is an obvious wear area on this bike...

that's why I hope owners will post up their inspection results... if this is common on bikes with over 20000 miles, I believe Kawi needs to fix it with a retrofit...

[Comanche]

Originally Posted by silverspurs

I agree, that folks should be checking periodically for wear, chaffing etc as a normal course of maintenance... stuff does wear out...

the reason this needs to be addressed by Kawi in my opinion, is that they ran a protective sleeve over these wires where they exit the ignition, this sleeve protects these wires... if they had extended that protective sleeve just a couple inches longer, this would not be happening... I believe that as people start accumulating mileage on their bikes, we are going to hear a lot more about this and I believe it is bad design on Kawi's part that could have been prevented with appropriate protection in what is an obvious wear area on this bike...

that's why I hope owners will post up their inspection results... if this is common on bikes with over 20000 miles, I believe Kawi needs to fix it with a retrofit...

Roger that, Silver! Hope you can successfully stick it to the MAN because I am tired of the little guys always getting the bad end of the deal.

[TX1677095]

Originally Posted by Comanche

Roger that, Silver! Hope you can successfully stick it to the MAN because I am tired of the little guys always getting the bad end of the deal.

Yeah, I'm sure those evil Ma Kaw engineers intentionally designed this into the VN1700 line and then shared their evil intentions with the Ma Kaw bean counters, all in an attempt to "stick it to" their customers.

[silverspurs]

Originally Posted by TX1677095

Yeah, I'm sure those evil Ma Kaw engineers intentionally designed this into the VN1700 line and then shared their evil intentions with the Ma Kaw bean counters, all in an attempt to "stick it to" their customers.

"sticking it to the man and stick it to their customers"... not my words, but if lots of bikes are having this issue, Kawi needs to provide a fix/retrofit for it... that's all I'm after... actually, I'm not even after that, I sold mine today...
did you check yours?? hope it's ok...

if this happens to you, it will stop you dead... you go nowhere until it's fixed, no matter how far from home you may be...