Kahuna powersports - never again. | GTAMotorcycle.com

Kahuna powersports - never again.

Draco'sWrath

Draco'sWrath

Well-known member
Bought a new ninja from them a month ago. Planning on buying 2 other bikes by summer (a 600 and a cruiser) for me and the wifey. Was planning on going back to Kahuna for those purchases...not anymore. They totally lost my respect/business after how they handled a situation with my bike.

Long story short, they lowered the 250 so my wife could also ride it (she's short). By lowering it, every time I went over a bump, the rear wheel would contact the fender. The fender broke, the wires housed under the seat got chewed up/fell off. I got stranded while riding and that's when I realized what was happening.

Brought the bike into Kahuna, they're not taking ANY responsibility for it and charging me what will work out to $450 to raise the bike back up. In other words, I'm paying $450 to get a bike I SHOULD have got a month ago when I bought it, IF they didn't lower it.

When they lowered it, NOBODY told me this could happen. Everybody said "yeah no problem".

I'm a new rider, I don't know anything. They're the pros, they should know what can do what.

THEY lowered it, it damaged my bike, and now they won't eat ANY of the cost for fixing it.

They told me they'll charge me $135 to raise it since they already had the original parts from my bike + $80 for a new fender. I argued, saying I'll pay the $80 for new fender but I shouldn't have to pay to reraise the bike since I'm already out $280 for this incident.

They came back with, "Fine, we'll pay for the reraising, you pay $80 for new fender and $135 to install fender"?:confused:

So, you pay $215. I argue. Fine, you pay $215.

Great, thanks a lot.

After taxes, now I'm out $450 for THEIR mistake. + breaking down in the street + week of not having a bike + other inconveniences.

"We just do what you ask us to do"

So if I ask you to make my bike unsafe does that mean you should?

We look to them as the pros to tell us what's what, and what could happen if we do this or that. They do work on my bike, my bike gets damaged as a result under normal riding conditions and they don't want to accept any liability. Nice.

$450...goodbye.

"Yeah, go ahead, lower it, no problem because when it damages your bike we'll just charge you more to fix it".

Nice business model ;)
 
I don't understand what exactly did they do to lower the bike?

The new 250r' s have 5 preload settings that you can adjust it to. It's built into the original rear suspension settings from the factory. If all they did was adjust the preload, then you should get it repaired under warranty.

If that doesnt work then I would contact Kawasaki customer services and let them know what happened...

Good luck....
 
if my understanding is correct, the dealership installed lowering links to lower the overall height of the back of the bike without properly compensating for the decreased suspension travel with a stiffer spring, or advising the OP that such a mod would be necessary to prevent bottoming out.

bike bottomed out repeatedly damaging the bike. OP did not know any better as he is new to riding and the dealership said that the bike could be lowered "no problem".

sounds like a problem.
 
Ignorance does not excuse you from being responsible for the damage that was done to the bike. If you had asked to have the bike lowered, that in my opinion shows that you had some information given to you or did some research beforehand. You should have also known of the ramifications of lowering a suspension and the effects it will have on the bike (or at least had the foresight to ask). If they had suggested it to you, that might be a different story. But I still think you should have asked them how that would affect the ride.
I have no bias towards Kahuna, and for the most part dealerships do rob you. But I'm sorry, in this scenario I think you are in the wrong. Although, it would have been nice if they didn't charge you to re-raise the bike as a courtesy, not as your right.
 
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Also you say the bike was lowered for your wife, what is the weight difference between you and your wife? and how many of the miles did you ride the bike vs your wife? That could well account for the rear shock being set up for her weight and then with you riding the bike and your additional weight causing the problems, given that the bike broke down when you were riding it.

Unfortunately everything has to work together and if the bike was set up for say a 100lbs rider and was actually used by a 160lbs rider things will go wrong with the geometry of the bikes suspension.
 
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They knew we would "share" the bike (Me and wife). I'm about 225 she's about 130.

They had a lowered 250 model in the showroom. We asked if we could lower it to match that lowered model.

ANSWER:
-Yep, no problem. We can go max 2".

QUESTION
-How much is this model lowered?

ANSWER:
-2"

QUESTION:
-Any difference if we lower it? Suspension feel different, etc?

ANSWER:
-No, nothing noticeable. The kickstand would cause the bike to not lean as much, but so long as we stay at or under 2", no problem.

I did 99% of the riding so far, but that's irrelevant.
I quoted you Bob and stole your line because you hit it on the head.

This attitude of "You ask, we do, don't ask questions, don't advise" doesn't fly.

I asked "Could we", They said "Yes". I asked will it be ok, they said "Yes". I got them to do it. It's not ok now, and I have to pay for it.

This attitude of "you should have known" is not cool/unprofessional.

I'm a business owner, whenever my clients ask me "could we, should we" I make sure I advise them on ALL the repercussions/consequences so they can make an informed decision. I don't say yeah sure to whatever will profit me. And if I screw up, I eat the cost. I can't remember how many times I've taken no profit/loss on a job because me/one of my guys screwed up and even in some cases I took no profit/loss on a job JUST BECAUSE the client thought I should do something just to keep them pleased.

That to me is being a professional, I live by it, I do business with people that live by it as well.
 
sorry double post..
 
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forexman said:
Also you say the bike was lowered for your wife, what is the weight difference between you and your wife? and how many of the miles did you ride the bike vs your wife? That could well account for the rear shock being set up for her weight and then with you riding the bike and your additional weight causing the problems, given that the bike broke down when you were riding it.

Unfortunately everything has to work together and if the bike was set up for say a 100lbs rider and was actually used by a 160lbs rider things will go wrong with the geometry of the bikes suspension.
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exactly what i was thinking..
 
these are all things that should have been discussed with the purchaser before saying "no problem" and going ahead with a mod that was going to damage the motorcycle.

i say the professionals should have known better.
 
BusaBob said:
these are all things that should have been discussed with the purchaser before saying "no problem" and going ahead with a mod that was going to damage the motorcycle.

i say the professionals should have known better.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more... They should have known this would have happened and prevented it. They should pay for everything and some for your troubles.
 
damm this is going out to the stupid direction. Folks, he's complaining how about he was treated and what their customer service amounted to. Why he wanted it lowered and who rides the bike is irrelevant. He asked if they could lower it, they said yes. Even then if there were any possible damages that could happen they should've informed him. They have a duty to inform the customer of the possible ramifications of what they want could do to the bike.

If what he said is true (there are always two sides), then Kahuna wronged him. They should set it right or Kawasaki Canada should step in. Otherwise, they'll lose customers.

btw, this is not the first time I've heard this kind of thing about Kahuna. Have heard others say in person that their service dept is a bit fishy. Nothing like Envy though.

Edit: fyi, no matter how much research you do, a person who isn't familiar with the technical aspects of the activity (especially when it comes to machinery) will not know how things will result. He/She can only go off of what they see on the interwebz which isn't much.
 
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I'm partial to both sides, anyone knows your suspension is crap when you lower anything--car, truck or bike...common sense?

However, customer service is nice even to save face and keep a customer an on-going customer. A "unfortunately these things can happen--there was clearly some form of miscommunication and let's get the bike raised for you and meet on common ground for the cost of the fender" would have been much more appropriate...and in the end it sounds like they did that. It took some pull for the OP to get it but it was done.

And sorry but how the heck do you not notice your fender hitting the wheel before all that damage was done? New rider or not that's something you would notice is not right...you should deffinately be covering the cost of the fender.
 
~Dirt_Diva~ said:
I'm partial to both sides, anyone knows your suspension is crap when you lower anything--car, truck or bike...common sense?.
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Suspension does not have to be crap on a car/truck/bike when done properly. Also, common sense to one person is not as 'common' to the next.

It was up to the professionals at Kahuna to advise you properly and they didn't. This is bad customer service.
 
Katapult said:
Suspension does not have to be crap on a car/truck/bike when done properly. Also, common sense to one person is not as 'common' to the next.

It was up to the professionals at Kahuna to advise you properly and they didn't. This is bad customer service.
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Disagree, any manipulation to a suspension is going to change the way any vehicle handles and how smooth or unsmooth the ride is. The customer needs to take some responsibilty for the situation as well. You can't rely and expect everyone to inform you of every detail-you need to educate yourself for your own safety.
 
~Dirt_Diva~ said:
Disagree, any manipulation to a suspension is going to change the way any vehicle handles and how smooth or unsmooth the ride is. The customer needs to take some responsibilty for the situation as well. You can't rely and expect everyone to inform you of every detail-you need to educate yourself for your own safety.
Click to expand...

I did not know that. Not everyone is mechanical savvy as the other person. From what the OP said he clearly asked if it would affect the way the bike rides and they said no. It is the ethical responsibility of the mechanic/shop to inform what the ramifications can be. Clearly the OP did try to find out from Kahuna what would happen if they lowered the bike.

A shop is liable for what they say, work performed and pretty much anything they do. If they gave bad advice causing damage they are liable.
 
Draco'sWrath said:
When they lowered it, NOBODY told me this could happen. Everybody said "yeah no problem".

I'm a new rider, I don't know anything. They're the pros, they should know what can do what.
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LiNK666 said:
I did not know that. Not everyone is mechanical savvy as the other person. From what the OP said he clearly asked if it would affect the way the bike rides and they said no. It is the ethical responsibility of the mechanic/shop to inform what the ramifications can be. Clearly the OP did try to find out from Kahuna what would happen if they lowered the bike.

A shop is liable for what they say, work performed and pretty much anything they do. If they gave bad advice causing damage they are liable.
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Actually he assumed they would tell him....by his statement he didn't ask a single question. For someone who is a new rider who knows nothing as claimed would you not be concerned why your bike is hitting so hard when you hit a bump?
 
~Dirt_Diva~ said:
Disagree, any manipulation to a suspension is going to change the way any vehicle handles and how smooth or unsmooth the ride is. The customer needs to take some responsibilty for the situation as well. You can't rely and expect everyone to inform you of every detail-you need to educate yourself for your own safety.
Click to expand...


Uh no. First you said when you change the change the suspension to any vehicle it turns to crap, which isn't true. Cars routienly change their suspension and it supposed to enhance the performance of the vehicle (if the shop does it well).

Secondly its entirely the shops responsebility to inform the customer of any and all repricussions. They are the experts in this equation, the custome is coming to them for their expertise. If after the repercussions are explained and the customer insists on the change then it falls on the customer.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Draco'sWrath said:
They knew we would "share" the bike (Me and wife). I'm about 225 she's about 130.

They had a lowered 250 model in the showroom. We asked if we could lower it to match that lowered model.

ANSWER:
-Yep, no problem. We can go max 2".

QUESTION
-How much is this model lowered?

ANSWER:
-2"

QUESTION:
-Any difference if we lower it? Suspension feel different, etc?

ANSWER:
-No, nothing noticeable. The kickstand would cause the bike to not lean as much, but so long as we stay at or under 2", no problem.

I did 99% of the riding so far, but that's irrelevant.
I quoted you Bob and stole your line because you hit it on the head.

This attitude of "You ask, we do, don't ask questions, don't advise" doesn't fly.

I asked "Could we", They said "Yes". I asked will it be ok, they said "Yes". I got them to do it. It's not ok now, and I have to pay for it.

This attitude of "you should have known" is not cool/unprofessional.

I'm a business owner, whenever my clients ask me "could we, should we" I make sure I advise them on ALL the repercussions/consequences so they can make an informed decision. I don't say yeah sure to whatever will profit me. And if I screw up, I eat the cost. I can't remember how many times I've taken no profit/loss on a job because me/one of my guys screwed up and even in some cases I took no profit/loss on a job JUST BECAUSE the client thought I should do something just to keep them pleased.

That to me is being a professional, I live by it, I do business with people that live by it as well.
Click to expand...


lol
i cant respond with what i truly want cause my infractions are really adding up. but ummmm ya....:D
 
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