2002 ZX9 - 12000 kms out of a clutch?

Hi all,
I went for a long ride on sunday and noticed that when accelerating from say 180-200km/h that my clutch would slip. Being the smart person that i am i backed of and treated her nicely. Took it in for her 12000km service yesterday and asked them to adjust/inspect the clutch as it was slipping. The took the clutch apart and found that it was badly worn and would be needed to be replaced within the next 2-6000 kms.
Now i would expect alot more kms out of a clutch for a brand new bike. I have ridden this bike fairly reserved however have been to 1 track day, and a handful of ride days.. however this should not warrant a new clutch being needed.
Those of you with zx9, have you had this problem? have you heard of this problem or have you heard of a recall from kawasaki at all?
Even though im no stranger to the mechanical world im a bit baffled to why a wet clutch that is immersed in oil, serviced regularly as per schedule and not a boy racer could have the clutches extremely worn.
So i will be writing to kawasaki australia to ask for some insight into this disappointment.
Cheers

12,000km for a clutch that has been looked after seems a bit dodgy to me.

My old 9 had 50,000km on the clock, and I'd done 30,000 of those, so I thought my clutch would be starting to look pretty average by the time we had it pulled out for the gearbox rebuild. It still looked new! The only thing it needed was smoothing out the grooves that had worn into the clutch basket, which made a huge difference in how it felt. It was much easier and smoother to pull and release the lever and it seemed to engage better too.

thanks mick, i would expect 50000kms and would be happy with that... as you can see 12000km is a bit steep. I have however tried to find where i can write a letter to being kwakka oz but there is no "contact us" at all. Only find a dealer. Any suggestions would be greatful.

Mate, I'm only on a 7r. But I've done 40,000k now of clutch up wheelies, the odd burnout and about 10 trackdays.
Your 9r is a heap lighter than a 7, so yes sounds very dodge to me.

Are you sure the the K's on the clock are legitimate?
If so, talk to your dealer about the warrenty etc....
A mechanic who knows what they're looking at will be able to tell if the clutch has been 'abused' or not.

sounds like dodge city, I would contact Kawasak Australia.

Just found this in the Yellow Pages Online


Kawasaki (Australia ) Pty Limited
Lvl 8, Exchange House 10 Bridge St Sydney NSW 2000
ph: (02) 9233 3211 Shipping Companies & Agents

My 01 ZX9R has done ~77,000 kms no problems.

dodgy clutch alright...

my 02 9r's got a shade over 40,000 on the clock now - 32,500 of those being mine.. not a single clutch hiccup and i dont ride slow either...

12k is too early for your clutch to fry itself. dodgy.

i think phil's 98 model 9 still has the original clutch after 85k odd kms?

yep, totally agree guys. The kms are legit cause i pick the bike i wanted from the showroom. I have emailed parra kwakka and stated my case but im sure it will be a wait and see case. I mentioned yuo guys in my email saying ppl have ALOT more kms and not a problem. Sounds to me like they have put the wrong oil, incorrectly adjusted and fugged it or a material breakdown.
Hopefully they come to the party otherwise im sure that i will be the most anti parra person here and will post my dislikes to most people. Matter of fact i will join every sports bike club just to make my point
But will wait n see before i lower myself to the honda club

Tiggr has 24k & not a clutch hiccup so far(only adjusted the cable twice. He still hits the odd false neutral between 3rd n 4th though but thats another story altogether eh.
The warranty is 2 years regardless of ks isnt it or do i ahve that wrong ?.
Cheers Brett

yeah the warranty is for 2 years unlimited kms BUT not on wear and tear items. Now a clutch being a wear and tear item but i wouldnt think so for 12000kms.

If anyone is interested this is what was written to the dealer regarding this issue. You will have to forgive the creative writing. Sorry its a bit long.

"To The Store Manager,
I purchased my 2002 ZX9 from your showroom on the 15/07/2003 and have currently just completed just over 12000 kilometres. I have had my bike service by your mechanics at the scheduled maintenance period (1000, 6000, 12000)and have been pleased with their work. I however have had a problem with the clutch slipping when accelerating. This had only become evident on a ride that I was on two days before it was scheduled into your workshop for the 12000km service. I brought this up with I believe his name was Michael when booking my bike in and they removed and inspected the clutch plates.
They reported back to me that the clutch was almost worn out and was "just within specifications". This was going to be required to be replaced as soon as possible.

I am a mechanical service engineer and completed my trade at Qantas and have been in engineering for just over 8 years so I have a fair idea that although clutch plates being a "wear and tear" item should not wear out in 12000km. I am also a member of the Kawasaki sports riders club and posted a question to see what sought of service life people were getting out of their clutches being the same model, same year of bike. The answer was that people were on to the 14000-70000 km mark and had not replaced the clutch. With one of these members (36000kms) admitting that he was very prone to wheelies and burnouts with a total of 32 track days at eastern creek. Now for this sought of wear and tear that these clutches has received from various members it was a general consensus that for my clutch to be worn out at 12000km there was either a problem with the clutch (i.e. material) or that either the wrong oil had been used in the servicing or that it was not correctly adjusted. Now I tend to think that with your skilled mechanics that the wrong oil or incorrect adjustment would not of occurred.
I have however checked my invoices supplied at the end of the services and noticed that at the 6000km service that two lots of oil were used (qty 3.1 and also 3.3 of Motul:4T 5100 15W50) and at the 12000km service only 3.3 Motul 4T 3100 15w50 was used. Is there a difference in the oils used? (i.e.
Motul:4T 5100 15w50 - Motul:4T 3100 15w50) And why the 2nd charge of oil on the 6000km service?. I have the invoices for further clarification if required.

I upgraded my bike from a zzr250 to the zx9 and as you can imagine the power increase was quiet significant. It has taken me some time to get used to the power available of the bike and have been very reserved in using the throttle heavy handedly. I have been to 1 track day at eastern creek which was in "C" grade and have been on a handful of ride days. A majority of my time spent on the bike is whilst travelling to work which by no means can the bike be raced, wheelies or burnouts. I replaced the rear tyre at 11500kms after the middle section was flattened from the highway riding and not enough cornering. Most people on the Kawasaki site had a maximum tyre life of 8000kms out of the rear tyre. I am still running the original front tyre which still has more than enough life left in it for another 6000kms.
This suggests that the bike has not been "boy raced" and abused.

I find this disturbing that a major item could be worn out in 12000kms. It disturbs me even more to think what could wear out in 30000kms. I purchased this bike in good faith knowing that the Kawasaki zx9 has a great name and not many people can fault the zx9 for what it is. I purchased it thinking that i would have many years of faultless riding as long as regularly maintained and serviced. I ask that this matter be investigated and rectified as my bike is my mode of transport and don't feel that this is a normal wear and tear but more like a warranty issue. My bike will not be ridden anymore until it is required to be brought into the workshop.

I can bring the bike in anytime when most convenient for you to be fixed, contact me with time and date. Below I have included my details as per your invoices. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you require any additional information. I look forward to working this out.


So i will wait n see what they come up with.

you may/may not have just caused yourself trouble there mate...
I know when i bought my car it said that if the vehicle was used for racing the warranty was invalid (fine print but it was there). And since you've admitted to doing a track day they might use that against you.. I bloody hope not though

my 02 9r's got a shade over 40,000 on the clock now - 32,500 of those being mine.. not a single clutch hiccup and i dont ride slow either...

I will vouch for that

..snip..

i think phil's 98 model 9 still has the original clutch after 85k odd kms?

and my 750 has 70,000 on the original clutch
(not many wheelies but plenty of track days)
and a lot of k's with a pillion...lots of clutch slip to get going
with a passenger

I agree with Dave..very dodgy clutch
or not adjusted proper (I take it the 9r has a cable, not hydraulic set up)

cheers

Yeah tanya i thought about that with the track day but... in the print it says racing... now at the track it was not racing as it was my first time there and you dont race but merely get used to the track. But even if i was riding like rossi for that time at E.C the clutch would not go in 12000 kms. But i will leave that to the judgement of kawasaki.
The clutch is cable and the adjustment has changed totally since they removed the clutch to inspect. So maybe they havent adjusted the clutch properly and caused it to wear.