POG (Plastic Oil Gear)

UnHog · 09-09-2004

Hi my name is Doug and I am new to this forum. I have been riding for about 10 year and currently have a '99 VN1500-E Classic. I love it.
Anyway, I did a search of the forum and did not find any post concerning the Plastic Oil Gear. So the following is a post that I did on www.virginiawind.com. I have been getting a lot of E-mails from people concerning this post and I feel that it is my duty to inform others of the problem. If you have questions or concerns, please E-mail me at dalexander@lva.lib.va.us and I will be happy to provide you with more information. The problem was corrected in the 2000 model year when a metal gear was installed at the factory.

Keep the dirty side down.
Doug (UnHog)

Post:

I don't know if I should sound the alarm or not, but it seems that the Kawasaki 1500cc engine has an engineering flaw. The main drive gear for the oil pump is made of nylon; plastic oil gear (POG) and they get eaten up by the other gears in the pump. Mine died after only 18,000 miles and when I took it to the Kawasaki dealer to have it repaired they said that it would be several months and $2,800.00. (Groan)

I called a couple other K dealers and they said about the same thing that since it was going to take almost an entire engine rebuild to get to the gear and they were in the busiest part of their season, they could not tie up their bays for such a long time working on mine. Anyway, I started looking around on the Net thinking that I could get a used engine for less than what they wanted to charge for an engine rebuild. I started looking on the Vulcan Riders forum and I saw a bunch of postings about POGs going bad.

Come to fine out that Kawasaki is aware of this problem and will repair it under extended manufacture's warranty. (Sigh of relief) Well, my bike has been in the shop since the first of June waiting for the new POG (Kawasaki says that the replacement gear is metal) to arrive. Seems that the part has been on back order because it is being shipped (by boat) from Japan.

The thing is, none of the dealers were aware of this problem and that it would be fixed under warranty, if I had not been looking on the Net, I would be out $2800.00. I hope that I did not bore you with this long drawn out answer to your short question. I would like to inform people (and I have, in person) that they could experience a problem with their bike's oil pump (VN1500s & Nomads) sometime in the future and that Kawasaki will cover it.

Rider · 09-09-2004

Hi ! Dough
Somebody on this forum send this,and it give you all the details to do it yourself in only 4 hrs.Whitout taking off the engine.
Marvellous. http://www.gis.net/~manjo/faq.htm

Regards Rider

Rider · 09-09-2004

[Excuse me that was not the good address.This is the one,

http://www.vroc.org/faq/jopg/jopg.html

Bye Bob

PickYourPockets · 09-10-2004

Is it just me or does that vulcan riders website appear in German on your pc too?

Rider · 09-10-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by PickYourPockets

Is it just me or does that vulcan riders website appear in German on your pc too?

On mine it's in english !

PickYourPockets · 09-10-2004

@ vulcanriders.com?

Rider · 09-10-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by PickYourPockets

@ vulcanriders.com?

You'r absolutly right,it's in German.

#1 Moses · 08-15-2007

Im sure the dealers know about the warrenty1 But there not going to tell you. Sir your bill is $2,800 Plus ,Plus Ching Ching!$$$. then the turn it in to Kawasaki for the warreny money, Double dip! By Dip SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS****s

cmptrmn.1 · 08-15-2007

Mine comes up in English.

The problem is that most dealers really do not know about recalls until someone points it out to them. The service department may get the paperwork, but, it just gets posted, not paid attention too. Don't really think they do this intentionally, they just don't care to pay enough attention.

BigJohn · 08-15-2007

Talk about thread resurrection. This ones coming back after two years.

Any who...the POG problem is well known and documented by Kawasaki. Hasn't been a problem since 2000 when they changed to metal gears. Kawasaki still honors the replacement if if fails, last I herd.

RichLockyer · 08-16-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigJohn

Talk about thread resurrection. This ones coming back after two years.

Any who...the POG problem is well known and documented by Kawasaki. Hasn't been a problem since 2000 when they changed to metal gears. Kawasaki still honors the replacement if if fails, last I herd.

Ditto... it's not a recall, so owners were not notified, but it is covered under a special service campaign.

I'm not sure, but I don't THINK it is covered until it actually fails (which of course, can cause other damage from loss of oil pressure).

Drifter · 08-17-2007

99 drifters had the metal gear, all dealers know of this problem!

**Spok** · 08-17-2007

well, call me nancy and wake me in the morning

the original message looks a bit suspicious to me. not saying it isn't, just the look and feel of it all

bluestringer · 08-17-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spok

well, call me nancy and wake me in the morning

the original message looks a bit suspicious to me. not saying it isn't, just the look and feel of it all

Yes it does. The member only has that one post total.

rickmizer · 10-30-2008

I have an '87 Vulcan 1500. the rings failed after only 23k miles. Not sure if the failure was caused by the bike sitting for several years, or if it was an oil pump problem. Was the nylon POG in the early versions of the 1500 too? How do I check oil pressure on the early bike? it doesnt have gauges.
thanks

RichLockyer · 10-30-2008

Ring failure was probably due to being stuck in rust in the cylinders and when it was started, rather than soaking the cylinders in penetrating oil and careful rocking in 4th gear or hand-turning the crank with a wrench, someone just hit the start button. That can break rings.

'87... wow... I don't know how far back the POG was used. I know it's on the '96-'99 models, but if yours failed, the rings would not be the first thing that I would suspect to fail. When it's gone, there's NO oil pressure and the bearings won't last long.

rfb92345 · 10-30-2008

I guess I will wait and do mine when I do my clutch. Although with 83K on the bike, I'm sure the clutch wa done at least once. I would assume it was changed then, but who knows?

09-09-2004	#1 (permalink)
UnHog Newbie Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1	POG (Plastic Oil Gear) Hi my name is Doug and I am new to this forum. I have been riding for about 10 year and currently have a '99 VN1500-E Classic. I love it. Anyway, I did a search of the forum and did not find any post concerning the Plastic Oil Gear. So the following is a post that I did on www.virginiawind.com. I have been getting a lot of E-mails from people concerning this post and I feel that it is my duty to inform others of the problem. If you have questions or concerns, please E-mail me at dalexander@lva.lib.va.us and I will be happy to provide you with more information. The problem was corrected in the 2000 model year when a metal gear was installed at the factory. Keep the dirty side down. Doug (UnHog) Post: I don't know if I should sound the alarm or not, but it seems that the Kawasaki 1500cc engine has an engineering flaw. The main drive gear for the oil pump is made of nylon; plastic oil gear (POG) and they get eaten up by the other gears in the pump. Mine died after only 18,000 miles and when I took it to the Kawasaki dealer to have it repaired they said that it would be several months and $2,800.00. (Groan) I called a couple other K dealers and they said about the same thing that since it was going to take almost an entire engine rebuild to get to the gear and they were in the busiest part of their season, they could not tie up their bays for such a long time working on mine. Anyway, I started looking around on the Net thinking that I could get a used engine for less than what they wanted to charge for an engine rebuild. I started looking on the Vulcan Riders forum and I saw a bunch of postings about POGs going bad. Come to fine out that Kawasaki is aware of this problem and will repair it under extended manufacture's warranty. (Sigh of relief) Well, my bike has been in the shop since the first of June waiting for the new POG (Kawasaki says that the replacement gear is metal) to arrive. Seems that the part has been on back order because it is being shipped (by boat) from Japan. The thing is, none of the dealers were aware of this problem and that it would be fixed under warranty, if I had not been looking on the Net, I would be out $2800.00. I hope that I did not bore you with this long drawn out answer to your short question. I would like to inform people (and I have, in person) that they could experience a problem with their bike's oil pump (VN1500s & Nomads) sometime in the future and that Kawasaki will cover it.

09-09-2004	#2 (permalink)
Rider Still On The Kickstand Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Sherbrooke, P.Q Posts: 31	Re: POG (Plastic Oil Gear) Hi ! Dough Somebody on this forum send this,and it give you all the details to do it yourself in only 4 hrs.Whitout taking off the engine. Marvellous. http://www.gis.net/~manjo/faq.htm Regards Rider __________________ Born to Ride :razz:

09-09-2004	#3 (permalink)
Rider Still On The Kickstand Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Sherbrooke, P.Q Posts: 31	Re: POG (Plastic Oil Gear) [Excuse me that was not the good address.This is the one, http://www.vroc.org/faq/jopg/jopg.html Bye Bob __________________ Born to Ride :razz:

09-10-2004	#4 (permalink)
PickYourPockets Cruising In Fourth Gear BTK Intermediate Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 244	Is it just me or does that vulcan riders website appear in German on your pc too? __________________ FOR SALE: '01 800B, candy red/gold, V&H SS, Dragon II air & ket kit, etc.

09-10-2004	#6 (permalink)
PickYourPockets Cruising In Fourth Gear BTK Intermediate Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 244	@ vulcanriders.com? __________________ FOR SALE: '01 800B, candy red/gold, V&H SS, Dragon II air & ket kit, etc.

08-15-2007	#8 (permalink)
#1 Moses Still On The Kickstand Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 26	Im sure the dealers know about the warrenty1 But there not going to tell you. Sir your bill is $2,800 Plus ,Plus Ching Ching!$$$. then the turn it in to Kawasaki for the warreny money, Double dip! By Dip SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS****s

08-15-2007	#9 (permalink)
cmptrmn.1 MaNaMaNa DoDoDoDoDo Forum Supporter Join Date: May 2007 Location: Longview, Wa Posts: 3,077	Mine comes up in English. The problem is that most dealers really do not know about recalls until someone points it out to them. The service department may get the paperwork, but, it just gets posted, not paid attention too. Don't really think they do this intentionally, they just don't care to pay enough attention.

08-15-2007	#10 (permalink)
BigJohn Power Hungry V2K Rider Forum Supporter Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Lake Stevens, WA Posts: 6,289	Talk about thread resurrection. This ones coming back after two years. Any who...the POG problem is well known and documented by Kawasaki. Hasn't been a problem since 2000 when they changed to metal gears. Kawasaki still honors the replacement if if fails, last I herd. __________________ '00 Nomad '06 V2K LT Because RED is the fastest color...

08-17-2007	#12 (permalink)
Drifter Air Force Vet BTK Expert Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 583	99 drifters had the metal gear, all dealers know of this problem!

08-17-2007	#13 (permalink)
Spok RIP Deron - 1400Pilot Extreme Forum Supporter Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mount Vernon, Washington Posts: 34,608	well, call me nancy and wake me in the morning the original message looks a bit suspicious to me. not saying it isn't, just the look and feel of it all __________________ In Memory of Deron Harden - 1400 Pilot. You are missed.

10-30-2008	#15 (permalink)
rickmizer Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 3	I have an '87 Vulcan 1500. the rings failed after only 23k miles. Not sure if the failure was caused by the bike sitting for several years, or if it was an oil pump problem. Was the nylon POG in the early versions of the 1500 too? How do I check oil pressure on the early bike? it doesnt have gauges. thanks

10-30-2008	#16 (permalink)
RichLockyer Patriot Guardian Extreme Forum Supporter Join Date: May 2006 Location: Chino, CA Posts: 20,414	Ring failure was probably due to being stuck in rust in the cylinders and when it was started, rather than soaking the cylinders in penetrating oil and careful rocking in 4th gear or hand-turning the crank with a wrench, someone just hit the start button. That can break rings. '87... wow... I don't know how far back the POG was used. I know it's on the '96-'99 models, but if yours failed, the rings would not be the first thing that I would suspect to fail. When it's gone, there's NO oil pressure and the bearings won't last long. __________________ - Rich 2006 1600 Classic Member CORVA, BRC Patriot Guard Rider

10-30-2008	#17 (permalink)
rfb92345 Wants better weather! BTK Expert Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Hesperia, CA Posts: 780	I guess I will wait and do mine when I do my clutch. Although with 83K on the bike, I'm sure the clutch wa done at least once. I would assume it was changed then, but who knows? __________________ '96 Kawasaki Vulcan Classic 1500 "Better to die living, than to live dying"

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