1997 Kawasaki KLR650

Routine

Owners filed 1 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the engine. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Engine1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Engine
Filed Dec 5, 201238,000 milesCA

I JUST WISHED TO REPORT SOMETHING I FOUND OUT BY CHANCE, UPON INSPECTING THE INSIDE OF MY ENGINE, AND WHICH COULD HAVE POTENTIALLY CAUSE MY ENGINE TO STOP FUNCTIONING/SEIZE AT SPEED, WHICH IN TURN WOULD HAVE LED ME TO CRASH. THE IDLER SHAFT LEVER & SPRING IN MY ENGINE WAS DEFECTIVE. UPON FINDING THE BROKEN PART I WENT "FISHING" FOR THE MISSING PIECES ON THE BOTTOM OF MY ENGINE USING A MAGNET, AND FOUND ANOTHER BROKEN SPRING! MY TAKE IS THAT THE DEALERSHIP HAD REPLACED THE BROKEN SPRING ONCE ALREADY.. WHICH IS WHY I BELIEVE THERE IS DEFECT ISSUE WITH THIS PART THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. NOTE THAT THE BROKEN PART MOVING FREELY INSIDE MY ENGINE COULD HAVE EASILY CAUSE DAMAGE GETTING TANGLED SOMEWHERE, FOR EXAMPLE IN MY TRANSMISSION GEARS.. THIS COULD EASILY HAVE BEEN A HORROR STORY. HERE ARE PICS I TOOK OF MY ACTUAL BROKEN PARTS AS THEY WERE IN THE ENGINE, AND AFTER REMOVAL (WITH THE ADDITIONAL BROKEN SPRING I FOUND..): PIC 1: HTTP://I97.PHOTOBUCKET.COM/ALBUMS/L229/KATONER/2012-12-05_14-31-39_774.JPG PIC 2: HTTP://I97.PHOTOBUCKET.COM/ALBUMS/L229/KATONER/2012-12-05_18-38-36_487.JPG THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND I HOPE THIS CAN HELP OTHERS. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2008
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20241000Routine
202316000Routine
20221000Routine
20171000Routine
20096000Routine
2008116110Routine
20073001Fatalities reported
20061000Routine
20051000Routine
20036000Routine
200211000Routine
200119000Routine
20008000Routine
19997000Routine
19986000Routine
1997 — this page1000Routine
19951000Routine
19932000Routine

Compare every KLR650 year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.