KAWASAKI.COM PARTS DIAGRAMS - GONE???

sent a message, and linked this thread. hopefully they view it.

also, cool stuff that we have an insider taking part in our forum haha

Just submitted the following:

I recently discovered that Kawasaki.com has dropped all the parts diagrams for bikes older than 1984. This is really disappointing.

I own a 1979 KZ750 and a 2009 Versys. I have to tell you a big part of my decision to buy the Versys as opposed to another brand was what I saw as a long term commitment to support your customers by making the parts diagrams from so many older bikes available freely on your website.

The parts diagrams are a vital resource for thousands of riders who love their vintage Kawasakis. Having access to those diagrams and the what-fits-what parts lookup are essential for those of us who want to keep our vintage bikes on the road.

When people see a 35 year old Kawasaki going down the road it speaks volumes about the reliability of the brand. It gives them confidence that the new bike they're going to pick up at the dealership is built well and will last them a long time.

Please help support the community of riders of vintage Kawasakis and put the parts diagrams back up on the website.

Got a reply today with a PDF of the parts diagrams for my bike and a statement that they're working to restore the old diagrams. At least Kawasaki is responding promptly to this.

Topper wrote: ...At least Kawasaki is responding promptly to this.

I have also been impressed with the quick and friendly response from Kawasaki. I does sound like they plan to restore the missing years and models.

However, I'm more concerned about the missing features, which look to me to be outside of the scope of what they had planned.

The PDF documents they are sending out appear to be direct transcriptions of the original microfilm. The numbers listed are all the original part numbers. They do not show the newer numbers for the many superseded parts.

But the biggest issue is the lack of a way to find out if any given part is still active or if it is no longer available.

If anyone from Kawasaki is reading this, I can give a good example: A simple 6mm lock washer, of which there are probably over 100 on my bike.

The PDF lists the part number as 461F0600. The old online database shows this part is obsolete (I copied some data before it was removed), but was superseded by a newer part that is equivalent and still active. I did not record the newer number.

Partzilla lists 461F0600 as available, even though I am certain it was listed as canceled (not available) in the database. They list a price of $0.28.

It is very common for them to show a part as available that is most definitely not available .

Someone on Ebay is selling one for $8.99 + $6.50 shipping, which is crazy.

If I need one, can I buy it from a dealer? Is it available? Is a newer equivalent with a slightly different part number available? Or do I have to subject myself to highway robbery to get it on Ebay?

I could order it from Partzilla and hope for the best, which I've done in the past. It takes about a week to find out that the part is not available, which can be frustrating and disappointing. I could call my local dealer to ask about the status of each nut and washer that I'm looking for, which I think would get old pretty fast.

This washer isn't the best example, as I can get one at a good hardware store, but it does show how crazy NOS parts can be on the used market . There are many parts that are very specific to each model and must come from the factory, either directly or through the used market. Many are still available, many are not. The ability to quickly find a part's status was really really valuable. Please restore the old database features.

Edit: Nevermind...found the link to the contact form from an earlier post. Thanks

Click here for contact form

[quote="dohc" post=650566........
But the biggest issue is the lack of a way to find out if any given part is still active or if it is no longer available.
[/quote]

Along with that question is this -
How will a Kawasaki dealer know if the part is still available? Will they order it from Kawasaki and wait a week to learn it was discontinued or do they have some other method? Ed

650ed wrote:
Along with that question is this -
How will a Kawasaki dealer know if the part is still available? Will they order it from Kawasaki and wait a week to learn it was discontinued or do they have some other method? Ed

Dealers use a dealer system with Kawasaki. It tells parts status as well as which of the three main warehouses it is stocked in. The dealer will know as soon as they place the order with Mother Kaw about the part(s).

Or at least that's how it was when I worked at a "Big 4" dealership 10 years ago. I think they might have a newer better system in place now.

Later, Doug

Getting the diagrams back would be nice - but.... the bigger issue is Kawasaki USA is going through a concerted effort to discontinue many of the parts for the older bikes.

In just this past 1-2 weeks, we've seen 12-15 parts go discontinued. Some relatively high-volume parts.

What I don't understand is we are able to obtain those parts from Kawasaki in Japan through a dealer in Japan, so this appears to be a Kawasaki USA strategy only at this time.

The diagrams for the older kaws aren't working on Partzilla now either...you don't suppose they're tied in with Kawasaki.com somehow?

I sent my feedback to Kaw and never got a reply. I was hoping for a .pdf file...bummer!

That's crazy! I just ordered parts for my '78 with the Partzilla diagrams a few days ago.

It does look like the models remaining on Partzilla exactly match the data currently on Kawasaki.com. 1984 is the oldest year with only the KDX80, and then the LTD454 and KX60 are added for '85.

Could it be the case that Kawasaki has implemented a 30 year cutoff on model support? Anything older than 30 years officially no longer exists?

The previous Kawasaki.com diagrams were hosted at www.kawasakiepc.com , which I always assumed was actually intended for dealer use. Does anyone have current access to the dealer parts catalog? Is the older model data still available to dealers?

So does anyone know if kawasakiepc (Net-Compass) still provides access to older parts information?

www.kawasakiepc.com/Help/Help-NCUser_0.pdf

Indirectly, all the online web sites with Kawasaki parts diagrams get the diagrams from Kawasaki. There are a couple of different software companies providing this to the dealers.

Kawasaki USA appears to be in the middle of a concerted attack on all the older bikes and their parts. We have seen 50+ parts go discontinued in just the last few weeks. Strangely this appears to be JUST a Kawasaki USA initiative. We've been able to get most of these parts from Kawasaki Japan through one of our contacts.

I don't understand the strategy - bikes like the Z1 are a big part of the Kawasaki heritage - and by turning their back on older models, Kawasaki USA is alienating many owners. When the W650 stopped being sold in the USA, it wasn't many years before some of the parts for those bikes started drying up in the USA. We've bought a number of W650 parts in from Japan for those owners. Kawasaki is now the worst of the OEM's for stocking parts for older bikes. That really makes you want to buy a new one huh! Knowing in 10 years Kawasaki will wash their hands of the model....