I’ve used the bike for the couple of days at the time of writing this and the issue has not occurred again
Bhpian jomson13 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Update on the bike not starting issue:
Initially, when the key was turned on, the instrument cluster would light up but the starter button would not work. Bike could be push started and would run fine.
This was narrowed down to the starter relay which was swapped out.
Here’s the old one
The new one set me back a princely sum of 7,800/-
There are cheaper ones available; I was told that these were for the bikes manufactured after 2021. In any case, I went in for the OEM spare which was bought off the counter at the Kawasaki ASC.
Post this the bike started as usual.
A couple of days after this, a new problem started – the bike would go dead under normal operating conditions. A few minutes later it would start back up again.
This time, the instrument console would not light up when the key was switched on. It seemed like some kind of loose connection some where.
I decided to open up the side panel and take a look at the newly installed starter relay.
Accessing the relay is pretty straightforward, open up both side panels, get the seat off and you can see the relay.
The ‘B’ contact cover was off
I put it back on, the lights on the panel came back on and all was back to normal.
It didn’t make any sense but there was a sense of achievement. I patted myself on the back and went about my usual routine.
But the joy was short lived! The same issue recurred later on during the day.
This time I was stranded on the road – thankfully it was close to my FNG.
Called him up and he came and tinkered around with the starter relay connector.
This at least made some sense. Maybe the old connector was not fitting snugly with the new relay.
Bike was back to normal. Rode it back home and parked for the night.
Next day morning – the same issue!!
This time I was pissed – after all this was not expected from a Kawasaki.
Opened up the side panel; touched the relay connector and the bike was back to life. Disconnected the connector and moved the metal inside a bit with a small screwdriver and put it back. The nice click sound that you expect was missing. Fearing the worst, I decided to tie a string around the wire so that I could wiggle the connector without having to remove the panel if the problem were to recur.
You can see the string hanging out under the seat.
Decided to drop off the bike to the FNG since this was not something which a ‘jugged’ could fix.
The ride back to the FNG was an eventful one, the bike conked off at least 15 times. 2-3 times at highway cruising speeds!
Each time I would pull over, wiggle the string and start the bike. It was a crazy ride.
Anyways, the FNG seems to have fixed the issue. The existing connector has been somehow fixed tightly to the starter relay. I’ve used the bike for the couple of days at the time of writing this and the issue has not occurred again.
Keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t crop back up.
Quote from BHPian We are not:
Sharing few photos.
Thank you sir, The pictures have come out really well!
Here are the two taken on the phone via the funky lenses that you had with you.
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
