my wife has a 2000 lakota which I have always praised as the only true sport/utility quad on the market.........however.....this weekend her machine suffered a bent rear axle. I again have to question the quality of the kawasaki product.

#1 she doesn't ride hard enough to compare to the abuse I have seen other bikes endure

#2 the rim only has a small "ding" on the rolled edge, but it wobbles terribly, and the axle is bent?

I would think if you hit something hard enough to bend an axle, it would severely damage the wheel?????

she claims she didn't feel any hard hits to the rear wheel?????

has anyone else had this problem with the lakota or mojave?

this bike still has the **** on the tires! what a shame

 

2punks,

I have put my Lakota through some pretty hard abuse. I have bent the hell out of my sprocket and rotor "protectors". I have also done my fair share of 4' plus jumps. I bent the protectors mainly crawling over rocks. I have not yet harmed my axle. In fact I haven't hurt anything on my machine. It took a nasty spill down a steep hill end over end too. Bent the handle bars, but they bent back. As far a quality goes, I've seen other quads take less abuse and more damage. Not for sure the circumstance of your wifes bent axle but I do know it happens. May want to look towards Dura Blue. I have a friend with a Warrior and he recently bent his axle and put a new Dura Blue Eliminator in place.

 

I have two mojaves and ride with someone who has a lakota. We all have Durablue Eliminator axles now but not because we bent our stock ones. We ride rough trails and fast trails and even MX tracks. We jump the Mojaves 60 feet and sometimes are 10 to 12 feet high. I have hung my rear tire on trees while going as fast as 3rd gear will go
(and I have a 13t front). Did all this with the stock axles with no problems. We all bought durablues to get the extra width, not because we bent ours. I did however sell one of my stock axles to someone who bent theirs in a cross country race. I gave the other stock axle to another friend who bought a used Lakota with a bent axle on it. I have seen Kawi axles bend, but no more than any other brands stock axle. I do suggest you replace with an Eliminator simply because at less than 300 bucks (if you shop around) it is a much better deal than a factory replacement. The Lakota is a great machine for all around fun for someone who does not want a manual clutch.

 

Are you sure it's not just a bent rim? The type that are used on Mojave's and Lakota's are butter soft. I know because my are trashed (getting red labels this spring).

 

I own a 2000 Lakota as well as a 2001 Mojave, never had a problem yet. Have a couple of friends with Lakotas and no bent axles there either. One took an end over end roll down a hill with only bent racks. This guy is rough on it and it is still running. Maybe you had a bad axle from the factory?

 

I have a 2001 Lakota and i have had no problem with anything. Shifting is a little stiff, hopefully that will break in. I am no always aggressive when i ride, but i do get aggressive, small jumps, fast on curvy trails still no problem with the axle. Maybe she got a defective one.

 

thanks for the info from everyone.........yes, it's the axle AND the rim that are bent........can the axle be straightened?..............I have never bent an axle on any atv I have ever owned, and I ride hard!..............the axle was not bent when we bought the machine, so I assume its not any factory defect............I did let my neighbor ride the machine a few times.(wonder if he bent it?)...........oh well, I guess I will let it go awhile and see if I cant find a good used axle cheap..........thanks again for the response.