Kawasaki Motorcycle Forums - View Single Post - 2003 Mean Streak

800AJAY · 03-19-2005

Picked up the MS today after work. Some dealers are really bad. I started the engine. Seemed to run a little rough. Couldn't keep it going. Would idle a while then fade out. It would restart, run a little and then fade out. I was really ticked off. I had about a 40 mile ride home and it was getting dark and cold. They had started the engine the week before for me when I was first looking at the bike and it seemed to run OK. I had started it up 2 to 3 times with no problem, started every time, kept running. Went for a ride down the street a little ways, as the dealer suggested, I guess so the engine would cure itself of whatever problem there was by getting a few miles on it. Quarter mile away the engined died. Couldn't restart. The low fuel light was on but the dealer said it had plenty of gas-it "had a lot of gas" was the quote. I had moved the bike side to side to see if I could hear gas sloushing around. Couldn't hear anything. I was fortunate enough to get a ride back to the dealer quickly. Got back to the dealer and we picked up some gas, at my suggestion, and went back to the bike, which I had to leave in the driveway of the guy who gave me a lift back to the dealer. Turned out to be no gas (or not enough) gas in the tank. Bike started right up and kept running. Went immediately to a gas station and filled the tank. It only took another 2.7 gallons. With the 1 gallon we put in to get it started, that's a total of 3.7 gals. Tank is supposed to be a 4.5 gallon tank. There should have been enough gas. So I'm still not sure if it was really out of gas. I asked the dealer if all the fluids had been checked. Of course they had he said. When I got home, I checked the final drive oil level-couldn't see any oil. Suppose to be up to the bottom threads of the oil fill opening. Opened the drain plug of the final drive. Thank God there was oil running out. Right now my guess is that it's a quarter to a half full, maybe. I will check tomorrow morning by daining it all out and refilling. But now I'm really ticked off. I could feel oil on the gears so it was picking up some oil as they turned. But riding home for the first time with low oil. What damage has been done, is the question in my mind now? What does anyone out there think about that? Any damage? You just can't trust anybody. I thought about checking it at the dealer but after asking again about the fluid levels they assured me they had been checked. Also, the bike was dirty. They said they would wash the bike and get it all cleaned up. They didn't. It still looked like it had been sitting on the floor for a couple years. The bike was a 2003 left over (1500 cc version) that I got for $7750 after a $600 rebate that Kawasaki was offering on the bike. A great price, no doubt. But just because I got it for a good price doesn't mean I should get this kind of service. Anyway, that's the first ride story. What a pain.

03-19-2005	#1 (permalink)
800AJAY Cruising In Fourth Gear BTK Intermediate Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 240	2003 Mean Streak - First Ride Home Picked up the MS today after work. Some dealers are really bad. I started the engine. Seemed to run a little rough. Couldn't keep it going. Would idle a while then fade out. It would restart, run a little and then fade out. I was really ticked off. I had about a 40 mile ride home and it was getting dark and cold. They had started the engine the week before for me when I was first looking at the bike and it seemed to run OK. I had started it up 2 to 3 times with no problem, started every time, kept running. Went for a ride down the street a little ways, as the dealer suggested, I guess so the engine would cure itself of whatever problem there was by getting a few miles on it. Quarter mile away the engined died. Couldn't restart. The low fuel light was on but the dealer said it had plenty of gas-it "had a lot of gas" was the quote. I had moved the bike side to side to see if I could hear gas sloushing around. Couldn't hear anything. I was fortunate enough to get a ride back to the dealer quickly. Got back to the dealer and we picked up some gas, at my suggestion, and went back to the bike, which I had to leave in the driveway of the guy who gave me a lift back to the dealer. Turned out to be no gas (or not enough) gas in the tank. Bike started right up and kept running. Went immediately to a gas station and filled the tank. It only took another 2.7 gallons. With the 1 gallon we put in to get it started, that's a total of 3.7 gals. Tank is supposed to be a 4.5 gallon tank. There should have been enough gas. So I'm still not sure if it was really out of gas. I asked the dealer if all the fluids had been checked. Of course they had he said. When I got home, I checked the final drive oil level-couldn't see any oil. Suppose to be up to the bottom threads of the oil fill opening. Opened the drain plug of the final drive. Thank God there was oil running out. Right now my guess is that it's a quarter to a half full, maybe. I will check tomorrow morning by daining it all out and refilling. But now I'm really ticked off. I could feel oil on the gears so it was picking up some oil as they turned. But riding home for the first time with low oil. What damage has been done, is the question in my mind now? What does anyone out there think about that? Any damage? You just can't trust anybody. I thought about checking it at the dealer but after asking again about the fluid levels they assured me they had been checked. Also, the bike was dirty. They said they would wash the bike and get it all cleaned up. They didn't. It still looked like it had been sitting on the floor for a couple years. The bike was a 2003 left over (1500 cc version) that I got for $7750 after a $600 rebate that Kawasaki was offering on the bike. A great price, no doubt. But just because I got it for a good price doesn't mean I should get this kind of service. Anyway, that's the first ride story. What a pain.