Kawasaki Extended Warranty Thoughts

 

Introduction

I hate extended warranties. I think they are just added profit for the dealer. I have never purchased one for anything until I purchased the my Ninja 250R.

Here was my logic:

• I was getting the Ninja 250R as a commuter first and a toy next.
• An engine that spins several thousand RPM at 70 MPH made me nervous from a longevity standpoint.
• The Kawasaki engine is an unknown quantity to some degree as there are to date very few documented examples of extremely high mileage sport bikes engine in general.
• I also asked the dealer point blank about the unlimited mileage, "What if I put so many miles on it the engine wears out, will I still be covered?" He said "Yes I would." It may be a snow job, but there is the piece of mind issue.
• Kawasaki could try to get out of honoring the warranty, but I think it was worth the risk as they want me to buy more bikes and my situation is rather unusual. I thought the extended warranty was worth the investment as there is a significant possibility of needing a new engine before the warranty runs out.

Therefore, as I knew I was going to put some serious miles on the Ninjette and the extended warranty was unlimited mileage I purchased 4 extra years. Some peace of mind when touring on the Ninjette if nothing else.

I have averaged over 2000 miles a month so far. At that rate I could have put over 120,000 miles on the bike before the warranty runs out. No 250R to date has gone over 100,000 miles without an engine rebuild as far as I know.

Questions to consider

What is the mean time (in number of miles) between failures on a 250R engine or transmission? (I don't even know if there is enough data on that to have a decent statistic).

What are you comfortable with from the "peace of mind" angle?

Will Kawasaki really warranty with a new engine if one puts 95,000 miles on it in four and a half years or was that dealer hype?

Are you going to keep it that long or will you be "big bike lust" well before the extended warranty is up?

Are you hedging your bets? Here is what I am doing or have done: Careful break-in period (I asked 250 experts and researched magazine articles before deciding on the manner and method of engine break-in). I lowered the engine RPMs with a modified final drive. I run Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 and still change it every 3000 miles, I keep right on top of maintaining it, I do not ride in the rain or if the roads are wet, and it is kept cleaned and garaged.

Are you willing to thoroughly document that you are properly maintaining the bike (at least that is what my dealer recommended). The Ninjette Maintenance Log

Conclusion

I would suspect that the average 250R fails at 70,000 miles or less. If you think that you are going to put 75,000 miles or more on the bike before the extended warranty period is up then you may want to seriously consider purchasing the extended warranty.

If you will only be using your motorcycle for recreation and will just be putting a few thousand miles a year on it then I would skip the extended warranty.