NHTSA Complaint #10174670 — 2006 KAWASAKI VN900D6F

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I BOUGHT A NEW 2006 KAWASAKI VULCAN 900 CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE (MODEL: VN900B6F) ON NOV 8, 2006 FROM A LOCAL DEALER AND HAVE EXPERIENCED 4 ENGINE STALL EVENTS TO THIS POINT. THE FIRST 2 EVENTS OCCURRED ON SEPARATE DAYS AFTER THE ENGINE WAS STARTED FROM A COLD STATE (AFTER SITTING OVERNIGHT) AND RIDDEN ABOUT 2 BLOCKS. WHEN STOPPING AT A STOP SIGN, THE ENGINE DID NOT RETURN TO IDLE, BUT INSTEAD STALLED. AT THAT POINT IN TIME, THE MOTORCYCLE HAD ABOUT 200-300 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. THE THIRD STALL EVENT OCCURRED AFTER THE ENGINE HAD BEEN RUNNING FOR AT LEAST 1 HOUR (FULLY WARM). ON A FREEWAY EXIT, I PULLED IN THE CLUTCH AT ABOUT 50 MPH IN ORDER TO DOWNSHIFT. THE ENGINE DID NOT RETURN TO IDLE, BUT IMMEDIATELY STALLED AT THAT SPEED. THE ODOMETER HAD APPROXIMATELY 500 MILES AT THIS TIME. THE FOURTH TIME WAS NOV 28, 2006. AS I EXITED A FREEWAY, I APPROACHED A STOP SIGN, ABOUT 1 MILE FROM THE EXIT. AS I PULLED IN THE CLUTCH TO DOWNSHIFT TO 2ND GEAR NEAR THE STOP SIGN, THE ENGINE STALLED. THE ODOMETER HAD ABOUT 930 MILES WHEN THIS OCCURRED. I AM FILING THIS REPORT BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT IT IS NOT JUST A COMPONENT DEFECT WITH MY MOTORCYCLE ONLY. I HAVE CHECKED INTERNET SITES PERTAINING TO THE VULCAN 900 AND FOUND THAT OTHER OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME OR SIMILAR STALLING PROBLEM WITH THEIR MOTORCYCLES. THIS MOTORCYCLE MODEL ALSO CONTAINS A NEW ENGINE AND FUEL INJECTION DESIGN, JUST INTRODUCED AS OF THE 2006 MODEL YEAR. THEREFORE, I BELIEVE IT MAY BE A FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM DESIGN DEFECT OR OTHER SOFTWARE/HARDWARE DESIGN DEFECT IN THE ELECTRONIC ENGINE CONTROL SYSTEM, RATHER THAN JUST AN ISOLATED COMPONENT FAILURE IN NEED OF REPAIR. OF COURSE IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT THIS STALLING IS A RESULT OF A DEFECTIVE SERIES OF COMPONENTS THAT HAVE BEEN ASSEMBLED INTO A LIMITED NUMBER OF MOTORCYCLES. I HAVE NOT YET ALLOWED MY LOCAL KAWASAKI DEALER (OR ANY OTHER KAWASAKI REPRESENTATIVE) TO ATTEMPT A DIAGNOSIS OR REPAIR. *NM