Hi gang- I'm brand new to the forum and would like to take this opportunity to vent. I bought a brand new 750i Fuel injected Camo Brute Force. It ran great for the first 2 hours that I drove it around my yard. Some guys from work and I took the machines to northern Wisconsin for some trail riding this past weekend. I had not had time to give it the proper break in, so I though I'd baby it while riding and would still have fun.
Well, the first morning on the trails, about 20 minutes into the ride, most of which was riding down a gravel road to get to the trails, my machine shut down. We pulled it off to the side of the trail and looked thing over. We found that the air filter box, which is located about as high as you could possibly get it, was filled with dirty water.
Keep in mind that we did not get to any water holes yet, only puddles no deeper than the floor boards. I know that it was no deeper than the floor boards because I was towed back through them. The 8 other guys that I was with went through the same puddles that I did. We had almost every make out there covered, and the other 8 machines didn't have as much as a hiccup, and they drove from 8 am to 3 am the following morning for 3 days. Mine broke down within the first 20 some minutes.
We blew the water out of the cylinders, changed the oil and filter, and dried everything out on the trail. It still wouldn't start.
I had to rent an Actic Cat to ride what was left of the day, then came home 2 days early.
I took the machine in to the dealer, and without getting into how poorly I was treated at the dealership, they called me the next morning and said that there was water and mud on the throttle plates, so warranty would not cover it. I will have to pay for them to rebuild the engine out of my own pocket.
I feel the need to warn anyone with one of these machines that there is obviously a flaw in the design of the air intake on these machines. The Brute Force broke down within 20 minutes from driving it through puddles, while the machines by Yamaha, Arctic Cat, Suzuki, Honda and Polaris went though water that I wouldn't even think about going though, up to their seats, and never missed a beat.
Steiger Powersports in La Crosse and Kawasaki, so far do not stand behind their product. I hope they prove me wrong and realize that there is a flaw in the design of the air box and make it right.

Anybody hear anything like this before with the Brute Force?

Thanks for letting me vent.

 

I have a 08 brute 650i and have had it in water over the seat and started it under water and have no probs not even a wet belt.

 

How fast were you crossing the water?
And what's the damage on the engine if any?

 

I didn't look at the exact speed, but we going slow because of rocks and such on the trail. I can tell you that the guy in front of me on his Grizzly had water splash up to his goggles, i had water splash up to my knees.



As far as the damage, they say there is poor compression in one of the cylinders.

 

I have a 650I. I could go through deep water slowly with no oroblem. But soon as I would splash in little as rim deep water it would get it in my transmission and would have to drain it. So I made some splash deverters and can seemingly go through any water at any safe speed. So I believe your water in the airbox problem.

 

I got the call yesterday from the dealership that Kawasaki called them and said that they read through a few ATV forums and saw that water in the airbox was a commom problem, then gave them the go-ahead to at least tear down the engine under warranty. So, if I keep my fingers crossed, maybe they will cover the complete repair under warranty.
Just wanted to fill you in. So far, it seems that Kawasaki is covering the design flaw under warranty so far.

 

Post up if they don't stand behind their product so I can take em off the list of options.

 

I have an 09 750 FI. If Kawasaki acknowledges that it is a common problem then why hasn't a recall been issued? Also, did you do some detective work and find out where the water's getting in? If so, let me know.
Thanks

 

This seems hard to believe. Kawasaki is a massive global corporation and doesn't make warranty decisions from afar based on a few ATV posts. You can't be the first person to have these issues if this is a common problem. Likely the dealer got no such call and has just decided to submit the repairs after you left and they talked it over. Kawasaki's supposed forum research is just a convenient excuse to backtrack IMO. I suppose it's remotely possible, but highly unlikely.

 

I would do something to keep the water from getting in again when you get the brute back. If you want pics of what I did just ask.