Sun melting C-14 plastic dash ????

[CRWDDYZ]

Saw this on the CoG forum

http://concours.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35537

Has anyone here experienced this yet ? Sounds and looks very bad...pictures in the link above.

[concoursefred]

I have not. Its hard to worry about the sun with all the snow on the ground.

[ang]

I have, only 300 miles on the bike and now a small shiny spot on the shelf between the dials. Not good.

[CW3]

Kawi must have some plastic quality issues. When I picked my bike up it had what looked to be heat related marks on one of the textured black pieces that starts next to the instruments and extends out to the sides. A new one was ordered in October and I still haven't received it yet. Saturday, the dealer said it was in a warehouse, but didn't know which one. Maybe when someone asks where I got my bike, I'll tell them at a Kawasaki shop, but I don't remember which one....

Hey Fred, I'm so sore from plowing and shoveling snow, I don't think I could throw a leg over my bike right now !

[Rocklee]

Originally Posted by CRWDDYZ

Saw this on the CoG forum

http://concours.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35537

Has anyone here experienced this yet ? Sounds and looks very bad...pictures in the link above.

Yes, I have experienced the melt. Just goes to show when you want to innovate at anything make sure that you have the fundamentals covered. There is a lot of relatively expensive plastic on this bike. I need to hear that they will redesign and retrofit.

[psy1261]

I took a sharpie and colored the edge of my windshield to cut down the magnifying glass effect. I can't say that it worked as I always park in the shade.

[CRWDDYZ]

Originally Posted by psy1261

I took a sharpie and colored the edge of my windshield to cut down the magnifying glass effect. I can't say that it worked as I always park in the shade.

What color sharpie did you use ? I also heard of someone sanding the edges of the windshield for the same benefit.

[CRWDDYZ]

Originally Posted by Rocklee

Yes, I have experienced the melt. Just goes to show when you want to innovate at anything make sure that you have the fundamentals covered. There is a lot of relatively expensive plastic on this bike. I need to hear that they will redesign and retrofit.

Rocklee - What did your dealer say ? ASre they covering it under warranty ?

Anyone know how much the cost is to replace this damage ?

[CRWDDYZ]

I just emailed Kawaski from their website at http://www.kawasaki.com/OurCompany/ContactUs.aspx

I sent them a message about the concern and a link to the CoG board so they could see that picture. The damn well better fix them all for free or replace/redesign the dash and or windshield. Hope they respond back.

I wonder if all the damaged dashes were with the stock windshield ? Wonder if any have been damaged with an after market windshield ? When I get my Cee Bailey I am going to do a test next summer...put the bike in the sun for 30 minutes with each windshield and measure the heat on the dash shelf with a temp gun. Too bad its cold as hell now darn it.

[Chez]

If the dash is being affected by the sun why not use a dash mat like in our cars. I parked in 40C heat all day and it had no effect on the plastic dash. They can be tailored to fit snuggly and color coded to match.

[JamminJere]

Guys,

I was at a focus group for our bike back in early November in Seacaucus, NJ. The little guys in the green suits know about this. It occurs due to the prismatic effect of the suns rays thru the edge of the stock shield ( i say that because i know of no one that this has occured with aftermarket shields) I'm not sure if ambient temperature has anything to do with it. I guess parking in the sun all day with no protection, once it hits the shield at the optimum angle it does its artwork. One guy who commutes slips a T shirt over the windshield to try to prevent it. Darkening the edge with a sharpie as was mentioned above may do the trick too.

If you have dash damage I would ask for a factory rep to look at it if your dealer says he's getting no where...

The squeeky wheel gets greased..

Don't let them pull the gee... we never heard of anyone having this problem BS line.. They Know About This!

See you on the road,

Jerry

[mwsedam]

Are they sure it's through the edge of the windscreen? Only reason I ask is I went out and screwed around with a flashlight and it looks like if it goes through the windscreen just right it bounces off the plastic cover of the LED screen onto that little black shelf that's been melting. Not the most technically sound experiment, but my interest was peaked.

[CRWDDYZ]

Originally Posted by JamminJere

Guys,

I was at a focus group for our bike back in early November in Seacaucus, NJ. The little guys in the green suits know about this. Jerry

Jerry,

Best news I have heard yet...I would like to see a recall though. Did they mention what they plan to do about the problem....free Cee-Bailey coupons for everyone would be nice

[JamminJere]

I dont know if its wide-spread enough for a recall... I"m not sure how many of us are letting them sit outside in the sun all day... (garages, etc.) They didn't mention they were doing anything about it as a correction, although they must be... I do know that if you don't have the stock windshield on the bike, and it occurs... They are saying its not their problem. They cant deny you a claim if you only have the stock windshield from what i gathered.

[psy1261]

Originally Posted by CRWDDYZ

What color sharpie did you use ? I also heard of someone sanding the edges of the windshield for the same benefit.

Black of course, I then used some novus#2 to clean up where I slipped and got a bit on the front of the shield.

Yes a COGer sanded the edge of his shield. The thing to remember here is that I don't have any way to prove that this helped! I have no intention of parking my bike in the sun to test this theory. From what others reported the marks follow the same shape as the edge of the windshield.

[sykotek-c14]

It happened to mine. Both sides of the dash, on the black side panels. It is definitely from the edge of the windscreen, because I've happened to notice at just the right time that the sun coming thru the edge of the screen will illuminate a very bright line in the same shape and angle of the edge of the screen on these panels. I'm guessing that when that angle gets just right the light gets very hot, like a magnifying glass. The day it happened to me I was parked outside at work, facing due north, screen was "up".

[Presta]

what happened to my display was a little bit similar, the bike was near 2h (displays facing direct sun light) parked, i cud not see 3/4 of the displayed info, and for near 30 minutes i had no display at all, slowly it stated to function again sort of regenerating from right to left presenting at same time same small rainbows....
odd...

[Rocklee]

Originally Posted by CRWDDYZ

Rocklee - What did your dealer say ? ASre they covering it under warranty ?

Anyone know how much the cost is to replace this damage ?

Sorry for delay to respond to you. Work is nuts around here. But to answer your question, I have not talked to the dealer about mine yet. I know that he is Dye-Hard Kawasaki (will carry no other brand/accepts no other trade-ins) and will grant my requests to warranty replace. The point is that motorcycling and sunlight go hand-in-hand. If I get the same plastic, and keep the original windscreen, I'll get the same melt. And oh yeah my bike see's limited motionless sunlight. I bought a UV cover to protect the paint from the date of purchase just in case. I used Armour All protectant since day one to protect the black plastics and this melt still happened. As some have already concluded it is definitely the screen edge that does the cooking. If you don't get obvious melt you might just get a shinier area that is shaped like the contour of the screen at the time and angle that the sun was just right to imprint. Just like a snapshot of a photo.

[chi-gpz1100]

Just got a call from the dealer today that my two replacement panels are in. Good timing too.. It's finally warmed up around here (~35F), warm enough to go to the garage to remove the old ones.

I'll snap a few pics before dropping them off at the dealer. Also will inspect the cluster to make sure nothing else is burnt. Be a shame if the tach or speedo are branded too.

Btw, it took about a month for them to get 'em. The luggage latch took about 3 weeks.

[BlueBomber14]

In our case the sun was coming in from the back of the bike shining into the windscreen underside curvature which is acting as a magnifying glass and concentrating the effects of the sun on the top of the instrument cluster. we replaced a clear gsrx600 windscreen with a chrome one and while we were putting in the final screw we saw smoke coming off the top of the instrument cluster (speedo to be exact) thought we somehow shorted a wire ??? then we noticed the top of the speedo was burnt exactly like setting a cigarette on the edge of something and letting it burn out. then we noticed the bright concentration of magnified light on the speedo and threw a glove on it to protect it, it took all of six seconds to heat up the glove and start melting it!! It was hot enough to burn your skin if you put your hand under it. The underside of the chrome convex screen is a parabolic reflector and concentrates the light on a single spot with enough intensity to melt the plastic, and possibly more. My zx14 chrome screen has a perforated black liner to keep this from happening. We contacted the screen manufacturer they paid for a new speedo plastic and said they have found out about this problem and have put notices in the newer products. just make sure the ass end isn't facing the sun or line the inside of the screen with something non reflective.