2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, Ninja 650 and Versys Pegged for Recall

Kawasaki is issuing a recall for certain 2012 Ninja 250R and Ninja 650 sportbikes as well as the Versys 650 due to a risk of the passenger footpegs falling off.

According to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the circlips on the footpegs’ mounting pins may break under engine vibrations, potentially leading the footpegs to detach. This poses a potential danger to the passenger. A fallen footpeg may also become a distraction to the rider and create problems for other vehicles.

Kawasaki attributes the problem to improper preparation during the acid washing process before the plating process to a certain batch of circlips.

The affected circlips may be brittle and may even crack during installation. The problem was first identified by Kawasaki Malaysia which found circlips breaking during assembly of a domestic model in December. In the ensuing months, Kawasaki conducted an investigation and concluded there was a potential defect on circlips used on passenger pegs for other, international models.

Kawasaki dealers will replace passenger footpeg circlips on the affected units. The recall campaign affects 793 units manufactured between Sept. 13, 2011 and Oct. 25, 2011.

[Source: NHTSA Campaign ID# 12V081000]

By Dennis Chung