Kawasaki VN1500

Owners filed 12 complaints across 7 model years of the Kawasaki VN1500. The 2001 drew the most (3).

Model years7
Complaints12
Recalls4
Fires0
Deaths0

Which Kawasaki VN1500 years should you avoid?

Not enough of the record to single a year out. Fewer than 4 Kawasaki VN1500 model years have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to judge, so any ranking would be noise. The table below has every year as filed.

How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →

Every Kawasaki VN1500 model year compared

Complaints per year
YearComplaintsRelative volumeRecallsFiresCrashesMost reportedStatus
20021
0——Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › GasolineRoutine
20013
0——Power Train › Manual TransmissionRoutine
20002
0——Tires › Tread/BeltRoutine
19992
1—1Unknown or OtherRoutine
19981
0——Power Train › Clutch AssemblyRoutine
19972
2——TiresRoutine
19961
1——Visibility › Rearview Mirrors/DevicesRoutine

Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.