Kawasaki is issuing a recall for all Ninja H2 and Z H2 models

It’s not often that Kawasaki has to issue a recall, but this time they’ve got a pretty big one on their hands. Research has shown Kawasaki that the plunger of the camshaft chain tensioner can get stuck.

In November 2020, KML (Kawasaki Motors, Ltd.) received a report of abnormal engine noise from an H2 model from the Japanese distributor (KMJ). Inspection of the engine revealed that the cam chain tensioner was stuck.

KML asked the supplier to inspect the tensioner and report back. The supplier discovered nothing abnormal and reported that there may have been a maintenance issue with the engine in question and no further issues to be expected.

However, in the period March – June 2021, KML received two more reports of abnormal engine noise, again from KMJ and not from other markets.

In September 2021, Kawasaki received a report of an engine that had lost power. The incident had not resulted in an accident or injuries.

KML’s Quality Assurance Department shared these reports with KML’s R&D Department and the supplier and reopened the investigation into this issue.

An in-house investigation learned KML in November 2021 that certain parts of the tensioner varied in size, although each part was within the specified tolerance. However, it was not yet clear to KML to what extent these size variations caused the problem.

From February to September 2022, KML and the supplier continued to investigate the tensioner and attempted to replicate the issue, first by manually pressing the tensioner, then during use in the block. KML failed to mimic the problem.

Following another report from the Japanese market of a loss of power, KML began looking into a solution to the problem in October 2022, although it was still not clear whether the cause was due to the size variations.

In November 2022, KML decided to use a tensioner from another model, which does not have this problem, to solve the problem on the H2 models. In December, the decision was taken to issue a recall for the H2 models to ensure that this problem does not recur.

The recall applies to all supercharged H2 models as per the list below. At the Kawasaki dealer, the tensioner will be replaced by the other tensioner that does not have the issue. From November 2022, that tensioner has been used in production.