NHTSA Complaint #10640187 — 2008 KAWASAKI CONCOURS 14

REAR BRAKE CEASED TO FUNCTION. PEDAL TRAVEL TO FULL DEFLECTION BUT NO REAR BRAKE. DROPPED BIKE AT NAPLES KAWASAKI DEALERSHIP, AND A WEEK LATER THEY SAID IT WAS FIXED UNDER THE RECALL MC12-05 (BRAKE ROD END). I PICKED UP THE BIKE ONLY TO FIND THERE WAS STILL NO BRAKE. THIS RECALL DID NOT ADDRESS THE BRAKE FAILURE BUT PERTAINED TO PREVIOUS ISSUES. I THEN LEFT THE BIKE AT THE DEALER FOR CORRECTION OF THE BRAKE PROBLEM. THEY RAN TESTS AND COULD NOT FIND ANY ABS OR BRAKE RELATED READ OUTS IN THE INTERNAL DIAGNOSIS SYSTEM. I WAS TOLD THAT WHILE THEY DID NOT KNOW WHY THE BAKE BRAKE DID NOT WORK, THE ONLY "FIX" WAS TO REPLACE THE HYDRAULIC UNIT AND ALL RELATED LINES AT AN APPROXIMATE COST OF $2500.00 (EST). AFTER THE SERVICE MANAGER TALKED TO KAWASAKI SERVICE SUPPORT, KAWASAKI SAID A COMPLETE REBUILD OF MASTER CYLINDERS, BRAKE CALIPERS, AND ALL LINES AT A NEW ESTIMATE OF $4000.00. I CALLED KAWASAKI SUPPORT DIRECT AND THEY SAID THAT BECAUSE I COULD NOT PRODUCE DOCUMENTATION THAT BRAKE FLUID WAS CHANGED AT 20,000 MILES, THEY HAD NO RESPONSIBILITY. THE FAILURE OF THIS ABS UNIT LEFT ME WITH NO BRAKE AT ALL. SINCE THE ABS IS ACTIVE ONLY DURING A WHEEL SKID STOP, IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT TOTAL LOSS OF BRAKING SHOULD BE CONSIDERED "NORMAL" UNDER NON EMERGENCY STOPS. AGAIN, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THE DEALER COULD FIND NOTHING IN THE ABS SELF DIAGNOSIS COMPUTER GIVING ANY INDICATION OF A HYDRAULIC UNIT FAILURE. I HAVE COMPLETE FUNCTION OF THE FRONT BRAKE...THIS ONLY EFFECTED THE REAR BRAKE. *TR