NHTSA Complaint #10628440 — 2009 KAWASAKI KLR650

THIS COMPLAINT DOES NOT REPRESENT AN INCIDENT WITH MY PERSONAL VEHICLE. THE KAWASAKI KLR650 SERIES, ALL MODELS SPANNING ALL MFG YEARS, SUFFER FROM A WEAK CHAIN TENSIONER ASSEMBLY FOR THE COUNTERBALANCE SHAFTS. THIS IS AN INTERNAL ENGINE COMPONENT. ON THE INTERNET, THIS ASSEMBLY IS REFERRED TO AS THE "DOOHICKEY." SEARCHING THE WEB FOR "KLR DOOHICKEY" WILL YIELD LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF RESULTS OF BOTH FIXES AND FAILURES. KAWASAKI HAS NEVER CORRECTED THE ISSUE, AND AN INDUSTRY HAS EVEN EMERGED WITH AFTERMARKET PARTS TO CORRECT THE DEFECT THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAS FAILED TO ADDRESS. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY DEFECT WITH THE VEHICLE, AS FAILURE OF THE ASSEMBLY HAS SENT METAL FRAGMENTS THROUGH THE ENGINE AND HAS POTENTIAL TO RAPIDLY SEIZE THE ENGINE. WHEN TRAVELING AT SPEED, THIS CAN CAUSE SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER, OR EVEN AN UNEXPECTED REAR WHEEL LOCKUP ON THE MOTORCYCLE, EITHER OF WHICH CAN BE DEADLY. THERE ARE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF THESE MOTORCYCLES ON THE ROAD, YET ONLY THE ENTHUSIAST COMMUNITY IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE, AND I FEAR THERE ARE MANY OWNERS WHO ARE UNAWARE OF THE RISKS. I WOULD LIKE NHTSA TO INVESTIGATE FOR POTENTIAL RECALL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. *TR