RoadVitals

2008 Kawasaki Versys Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
6
Latest Oct 7, 2009
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jul 16, 2008

What this page shows

Our database holds 6 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2008 Kawasaki Versys. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–6 of 6

Visibility
Filed Oct 7, 2009

2008 KAWASAKI VERSYS MOTORCYCLE MIRRORS COME LOOSE AND SPIN WHILE UNDERWAY. OCCURS RANDOMLY AFTER RE-ALIGNMENT AND TIGHTENING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL NUTS. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN WHEN RIDING THIS MOTORCYCLE AND THE MANUFACTURER/DEALER SHOULD REPLACE THE EXISTING MIRRORS WITH ONES THAT DO NOT COME LOOSE. *TR

NHTSA ID
10286668
Incident
Jul 10, 2009
Mileage
10,000 mi
Visibility
Filed Oct 4, 2009

I HAVE A 2008 KAWASAKI VERSYS AND THE MIRRORS MOVE AROUND,THEY WILL NOT STAY AT A FIXED POINT. I THINK IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE ND WOULD LIKE KAWASAKI TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. *TR

NHTSA ID
10286235
Incident
Sep 28, 2009
Mileage
1,800 mi
Other / unspecified
Filed Aug 20, 2009

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 KAWASAKI VERSYS MOTORCYCLE. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE REAR TIRE BLEW OUT. HE WAS ABLE TO DRIVE TO THE EMERGENCY LANE. THE TIRE SHOP STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS CAUSED BY A DEFECTIVE TECH INTERNATIONAL VALVE STEM AND REPLACED THE TIRE. THERE WERE PREVIOUS TIRE FAILURES ON THE FRONT TIRES ON TWO OCCASIONS ALSO CAUSED BY THE VALVE STEMS. THE CONTACT OBSERVED CRACKS IN THE TIRES PRIOR TO THE FAILURE.

NHTSA ID
10281175
Incident
Jul 1, 2009
Visibility
Filed Jun 28, 2009

THE PROBLEM: LEFT MIRROR ON THE KAWASAKI VERSYS MOTORCYCLE WILL NOT HOLD ITS POSITION. FREQUENCY: THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM. IT EFFECTS MY MOTORCYCLE ABOUT EVERY 4 RIDES. FROM WHAT I HAVE READ THIS IS A NORMAL FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE. THIS ISSUE RENDERS THE MIRROR USELESS AND A MAJOR DISTRACTION. WHY: DUE TO THE LOCATION OF THE MIRROR ON THE BIKE AND THE VIBRATION OF THE MOTOR ON THE MOTORCYCLE (THE VIBRATION IS MINOR). THIS VIBRATION CAUSES THE MOUNT FOR THE MIRROR TO LOOSEN AND THEN THE WIND HITTING THE MIRROR CAUSES THE MIRROR TO ROTATE INWARD TOWARD THE RIDER. THIS ROTATION RENDERS THE MIRROR USELESS CAUSING A DANGEROUS SITUATION BY CAUSING THE MIRROR TO BE USELESS TO THE RIDER IMPAIRING THEIR AWARENESS OF THERE SURROUNDING AND A DIRECT DISTRACTION TO THE RIDER AS THEY TRY TO SOLVE THE SITUATION WHILE RIDING. SOLUTION: REVERSE THREAD THE MOUNT FOR THE MIRROR. THIS WILL CAUSE THE MIRROR TO TIGHTEN ITSELF DUE TO THE VIBRATION AND WIND. BESIDES GLUING THE PIECE IN PLACE THERE IS NO REAL SOLUTION THAT THE OWNER ON THE PRODUCT CAN DUE WITHOUT REPLACING WITH AND AFTER MARKET UNIT. *TR

NHTSA ID
10275145
Incident
Feb 15, 2009
Mileage
1,000 mi
Visibility
Filed Oct 24, 2008

THE MIRRORS ON MY 2008 KAWASAKI VERSYS MOTORCYCLE (BOUGHT IN SEPTEMBER, NOW WITH ABOUT 325 MILES ON IT) WILL NOT STAY AS SET: AS I DRIVE THEY LOOSEN AND FLOP AROUND SO THAT I HAVE NO REARWARD VISION, UNLESS I HOLD THE MIRROR WITH MY HAND, WHICH I DON'T BELIEVE IS SAFE. I REPORTED THIS TO MY DEALER, AND THEY APPLIED FOR A WARRANTY FIX, BUT TOLD ME THAT KAWASAKI HAS REFUSED A WARRANTY FIX. ON AN INTERNET FORUM FOR THE VERSYS MOTORCYCLE, MANY OTHERS HAVE REPORTED THE SAME PROBLEM, AND MANY HAVE BOUGHT OTHER MIRRORS TO FIX WHAT KAWASAKI WILL NOT! *TR

NHTSA ID
10246651
Incident
Sep 14, 2008
Mileage
20 mi
Electrical
Filed Jul 16, 2008

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 KAWASAKI VERSYS (NA) MOTORCYCLE. THE CONTACT DROPPED THE VEHICLE APPROXIMATELY FIVE TIMES WHILE IT WAS STATIONARY. THE IGNITION MODULE WAS SPINNING AND HE COULD NOT REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION. IN ADDITION, THE VEHICLE COULD NOT BE STARTED. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE CONTACT WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIRS BECAUSE THE DROPPING OF THE BIKE WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. CURRENTLY, THE IGNITION IS STUCK IN THE LOCK POSITION, THE KEY CANNOT BE REMOVED, AND THE LIGHTS WILL NOT ILLUMINATE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 2,200.

NHTSA ID
10234529
Incident
Jul 3, 2008
Mileage
2,200 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .