Wilsons Sandbox

Thought I'd post my latest dealer interaction concerning warrantied turn signals on my KLR. I bought this 08' almost a year ago. I don't ride it much and the odometer reflects that. Maybe 5 K miles on this bike. I say maybe as the odometer was replaced under warranty last May and I think there was 3 or 4 K miles on the bike then. Now it says 1500 or so. I have other stuff to ride, eh! Some may recall the first problem I had was the rubber stalk on one of my turn signals broke and I bought one from a guy on this list that replaced his OE signals with aftermarket Not much later another turn signal stalk broke and by that time I heard this problem was epidemic with the 08' model year and the dealer said to bring it in and they'd replace the 2 broken stalks I had yet when I asked them to replace the fourth that did not break at that point, they wouldn't do it, citing 'it had to be broken for pro bono replacement' Well, that day finally came a few weeks ago so I called the service dept and they said they'd order the part and would call when they had it, and for me to bring it in then When I dropped it off, I was told that they would be replacing all 4 turn signals, that the initial replacement stalks/kits, were deemed not satisfactory? Who am I to argue, so they replaced all four signals, 3 of the four a second time When I went to pick it up, I told the service writer that I have heard (online KLR lists) that the rear shock adjustment bolt would break easily and that I have never attempted to pre-load this shock but wanted to. I further explained that I have heard that when some owners have adjusted this shock and the adjustment bolt broke (it stops adjusting and starts spinning), some dealers would not warranty the shock yet other dealers would, so I asked them to adjust it for me so if it broke, it would be on them, no questions asked about replacing/warranting. So the write up guy said 'sure, no problem, we'll adjust it for you' Guess what happened when the tech turned the adjustor? The bolt stripped. Needless to say, the write up/service guy said he'd call Kawasaki USA and get back with me What has other 08' KLR owners experience been with the OE shock? I'm curious. If your shock adjustor bolt broke, what did the dealer you took it to do for you? Did you get a completely different shock as a replacement or what? All in all I'm pretty happy with this bike. It doesn't see much off road riding but when it does, it satisfies me. Most of my riding is on pavement. When I rode it up to Birmingham last May to check out Barber's museum, I rode a lot of slab. I had a heavy duffel on the pillion which made the front light enough, sometimes when rolling at an indicated 80 MPH and above, I had to shift my weight as far forward as I could so the front end wouldn't shake. I had a good idea if I pre-loaded the rear shock fully, that would jack the back end up putting more weight on the front tire so it would steer better, and not that I didn't posses the wherewithall to pre-load the shock while on the road, I had a feeling if I did, the adjustment bolt would do nothing so I left it alone I should mention that prior to that trip, I never had to add oil to the motor but after 800 miles of high speed riding, it took better than a pint of oil to top it off. No surprises to me. It is a single cylinder and not really built for constant slab work In about 2 or 3 weeks, my original factory warranty will be gone (expired). I'm not planning on buying an extended warranty but I have to wonder what Kawi will do about the next time the turn signal stalks break, and you know they wil, after the warranty period... FWIW, some weeks ago I got spammed (snail mail) from Kawi to buy an extended warranty. It was $350 for 1 year, $400 for two years, and there was a 3 and a 4 year package as well ($500, $625) I'm not one to buy extended warranties, especially considering the KLR, with it's long track record of overall satisfactory longevity, and condsidering my lack of putting any real mileage on it, buying an extended warranty doesn't make sense to me. At least in my situation. I realize too the price for the warranty is negoitable but again, I just don't see a need for it All I've done maintaining this bike is lubrication, motor oil and oil filters, clean and lube the chain (checking chain tension) The air filter is still spotless. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have a look see at valve clearance. I've replaced the rear tire once. If I had my druthers, I'd have more time and money so I could ride this thing across state lines and time zones. Mebbe next year? Only short term destination I'm planning is the stagecoach RTE between X-Mass and new years in Stockton AL. And I'll probabbly ride with the KLRistas south of Tallahassee this coming Jan (TdA4) Jake Reddick Fla.