Oh, so I am supposed to be Kawis free QA department? Screw them. And I will not be buying any Kawis again, thanks though. I'm sure the Prairie has the same chicken-*** build quality as the rest of them.

But...oh.... that great v-twin..... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]

 

Tell you what I will do just for you. I have a prairie that has never had a real problem and runs like a champ. Its tried and true. I will trade you even up just so you know you wont be buying junk. I know your quad might have problems, but im not scared. I will patiently work through them with the loving care they deserve. You dont even have to fix the choke.

 

Ummm... I bought a BRAND NEW quad. What exactly does work through them with loving care supposed to mean? I spent over 7 G's on a 2005 model... that damned quad outta be fixing me with love!

No wonder so many quads suck...the owners just keep their mouths shut and put up with this crap instead of being LOUD and forcing the mfg's to get their act together. Did i not spend enough? What does it take to get something that's not crap? $15K? I am amazed that everyones response seems geared towards just accepting it. Are you guys that lame?

So, I can sell you complete crap and you'll just deal with it? Wow, I've got to start a 4 wheeler company... you can build and sell CRAP and everyone still loves it anyways! Man, that is cool!

No thanks on the trade..... another Kawi is the LAST thing I want. Come up with something FUEL INJECTED and NON-Kawi and I'll think about it.

 

My point was, I can tell by all your posts that you are not a patient person. Its like putting a square peg through a round hole, Its not going to fit right no matter how upset you get, how loud you scream, or how much you force it. If you have done much work on vehicles you know that sometimes its better to walk off and take a break and come back to it. I understand when you pay so much for something brand new you would expect it to be perfect. The problem is nothing mechanical is perfect. Everything breaks. You need to be patient relax and just fix it, or if its new let the dealer fix it. One thing I do know though is if I was dealer I would be alot more likely to help you out if you didnt come in screaming about it. Just calmly walk in and tell them your problem, tell them this is not what you expect from a new quad and let them fix it. If you came into my shop screaming I would say something just to pi$$ more, just for fun. Those dealers get bored and you would be the entertainment for the day. Im not trying to offend you Im just giving advise to keep you from being the clown for a day. Patients is a virtue.

 

`78 John Deere Trailfire 440: Bought new. Owned 7 years. Ridden easy. Problems: Lean condition in L. cylinder caused hole in piston. (anyone know who made engines for John Deere?)

`87 Yamaha BW80S: Bought new. Owned 3 years. Ridden moderately to hard. Problems: 0

`92 Yamaha WR200: Bought new. Owned 1 year. Ridden HARD!! Problems: 0

`86 Honda TRX250R: Bought used. Owned 2.5yrs. Ridden HARD!! Problems: none, other than abuse-related issues (bent rims, axles, smashed case from loose chain (from wasted axle bearings-- previous owner maintenance issue) NEVER BENT A TIE-ROD.

`84 Kawasaki KZ700A1: Bought used. Owned 3 years. Ridden as hard as possible for the street. Problems: 0

`94 Honda CBR600F2: Bought new. Owned 8 years. Ridden VERY hard!! (Brought to AZ and CA for some REAL riding!) Problems: Smoked voltage regulator @ 32,000 miles and 8 years. Not bad!! Changed original chain/sprockets @ 27,000 miles. Changed original battery @ 26,000 miles and 6 years!!

`87 Honda CR125: Bought used. Owned 2 years. Ridden hard. Problems: 0

`04 Kawasaki KFX700 V-Force: Bought new. Owned 1 yr. Ridden hard. Problems: Bent L. tie-rod on 1st ride. Tie-rod end separated on 3rd ride. Machine overheated on 3rd ride. Battery started to die from fan running constantly on 3rd ride. Bent R. tie-rod on 4th ride. Front cylinder stopped firing @ idle before 5th ride. Parked since.

`05 Polaris SP800: Bought new. Owned 2 weeks (not long enough to make a solid case, but great first impression) Ridden moderate(trying hard to break in right) Problems: none so far...

Now, I am by no means bashing ANY brand. BUT, as you can see from the machines I've had "real-world" experience with, the V-Force stands out as the most problematic. ALSO, look at how long I've owned it compared to all others.

Does anyone else think they'd be happy with the V-Force after having this track record??? Should I be wrenching on my quad 2 days after taking delivery??? At the time, this was the most money I had ever spent for an off-road machine. Are these problems expected and acceptable on a $6,000 machine???

 

Have you been to the other brand forums and looked at there problems , I would suspect not since that would require a spot of intellengience, where are all the people complaining about kawies quality, surely you are smart enough to show us this little fact,sound like you need to look at yourself instead of your brand but if you are dumb enough to swap brands I am sure there are some kawie guys in here that live close enough to you to come show how dumb of a move that would be ,I have been looking in the polaris forum and have not seen all those people bragging about there quality. Where are they , in you imaginary forum ??

 

If any of my quads had those problems right off the bat I'd expect the dealer to do all that he can to ensure a happy customer.

 

I'm sure all of them equally suck. I guess I have high expectations from mechanical items. In this day and age of hi-tech mfg methods, advanced materials, and years of experience...I figured that someone by now would have been able to eliminate "gremlins" in these things. Apparently not.

It's all motor with Kawi, that's all they care about and it shows in their products. They should just make engines and forget the rest of it.

Whatever, I'm sure all of the Kawi-nuts just love them. Great.

 

(ATTENTION THY FUHRER POSTS)

HEIL !

Da Kawasaki nocht uses plastic of da caliber of the German . Da engineeering is nocht up to de par . Ist is nocht vat we da German poeple would produce and send to da vorld .

If you do nocht own German equipment you are operating inferior desihned products .

Alvetersein ,

Rick Ritter

 

I have broke about 5 choke levers this winter. I got a little moisture in the choke somewhere. When it gets cold, I have to remember to put the choke on as soon as I shut the machine off. If I don't, the next time I try to use it, it snaps. That's the ony way I got around fixing the problem other than replacing the choke cable and all that BS. $40 in choke levers keeps me reminded to pull the choke down as soon as I shut the machine off. That and the fact that it takes over a week to get a new one.