Kawasaki Issues Recall on Unauthorized Concours 14 Police Models

Kawasaki announced a recall on 44 2012-2013 Concours 14 potentially faulty motorcycles allegedly converted for police use without the manufacturer’s consent.

Back in early 2012, Kawasaki announced a recall on 278 2009-2012 Concours 14 police motorcycles because the add-on equipment installed by Idaho-based Beaudry Motors suffered electrical problems. According to the recall documents, the electrical system installed by Beaudry could overload the charging circuit between the regulator and the two batteries and eventually blow the main fuse. Following the recall, Kawasaki suspended further shipments of Concours 14 models intended for modification for law enforcement use.

In new documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Kawasaki alleges Beaudry and associated company Enforcement Motors continued to modify Concours 14 motorcycles without the manufacturer’s authorization or approval.

Both Beaudry and Enforcement Motors continue to advertise police-spec Concours 14 models on their websites. Pictured below is a photo of a fleet of converted Concours 14 police bikes outside Beaudry’s facility in Hayden, Idaho, that still appears on Enforcement Motors’ website.

As many as 44 converted police motorcycles were then allegedly sold, either through Kawasaki dealerships or directly to at least nine law enforcement agencies. Even worse, Kawasaki alleges the modified motorcycles may continue to have the same flaws that initiated the original recall.

Kawasaki says it became aware that BMS and Enforcement Motors were purchasing Concours 14 models from dealers and converting them for police use in May 2013. After further investigation, Kawasaki alleges these modified units contain the same safety-related defects that led to the first recall.

Kawasaki claims Beaudry has refused to submit a defect report to NHTSA and alleges the company does not intend to notify customers about a potential defect, so it has initiated a recall on its own. Kawasaki dealers will be provide instructions on how to correct the potential electrial problems. The new recall includes 44 models that Kawasaki is aware of, though because it has not approved Beaudry’s police conversions, Kawasaki cannot determine how many more similar models are out there.

[Source: NHTSA]

By Dennis Chung