Home Community Motorcycle Safety 2017-2018 Kawasaki Z900 Recall Due to Rear Shock Absorber Issues

2017-2018 Kawasaki Z900 Recall Due to Rear Shock Absorber Issues

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December 7, 2017

2017-2018 Kawasaki Z900 Recall

Kawasaki USA has recalled 2,383 of certain 2017-2018 Z900 motorcycles due to rear shock absorber issues. The Z900 is the popular naked mid-weight that is the base for the all-new Z900RS, which was released to stateside audiences at New York International Motorcycle Show.

Kawasaki says the rear shock absorber tie-rod frame mount holes can become elongated if the rear shock absorber bottoms out, affecting the operation of the shock absorber. This can increase the risk of a crash.

Kawasaki says the motorcycles affected in the recall are classified by the following models:

ZR900AH
ZR900BH
ZR900BJ

Kawasaki will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the tie-rod mounting hole and replace the bracket or frame depending on the extent of the elongation of the tie-rod mounting hole, free of charge.

The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Kawasaki customer service at 1-866-802-9381. Kawasaki’s number for this recall is MC17-04.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov. The NHTSA Campaign Number is 17V703000.

The Motos and Friends Podcast is brought to you by Insta360. This episode is also brought to you by the 33rd annual Biketoberfest® rally that takes place in the Daytona Beach and Volusia County areas, Florida; on Oct. 16-19.

In our first segment, Don Williams and Kelly Callan discuss the all-new 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R. This is a clean-sheet motorcycle with little in common with its predecessor. The R has a new chassis, larger-displacement engine, and a 21-inch front/18-inch rear wheelset. Looking ready to hit the dirt with its rally-tall windscreen and wire-spoked wheels, the 390 Adventure R still sits in the Travel category, assuring us that KTM didn’t lose track of the pavement experience as the new model is prepped for off-road detours. In KTM’s extensive 390 lineup, the new Adventure R slots perfectly between another two new models—the more road-friendly Adventure X and the dual-sport Enduro R.

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Insta360, is the leader in 360-degree action camera technology. Teejay Adams and Arthur Coldwells took an Insta360 X5 on their recent trip to Alaska, and in this week’s Snippet they discuss their experiences with it.

Don’t forget to bag a free invisible selfie stick worth US$24.99 with your X5 purchase, head to store.insta360.com and use the promo code “ULTIMATE”, (available for the first 30 purchases only).

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Now here’s a really cool event coming up this October that you should not miss! It’s the 33rd annual Biketoberfest® rally that takes place in the Daytona Beach and Volusia County areas; this year it’s on Oct. 16-19. The four-day motorcycle event attracts riding enthusiasts to the destination for the beautiful Florida weather, live music, the industry’s top vendors, bike shows, motorcycle racing at Daytona International Speedway. There are miles of scenic rides along the famous A1A, historic Main Street and the Ormond Beach Scenic Loop. For more information andto book your plans for Biketoberfest® 2025, visit www.biketoberfest.org

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In our second segment this week, Teejay Adams chats with Lucy Blondel, from Vancouver, Canada. Lucy is a regular at track days on her BMW S1000RR and Suzuki Gixxer 750. She also competes on her Ninja 400, but we met her through her 2024 and 25 seasons participation in the Royal Enfield Build.Train.Race program. She didn’t win a race, but she acquitted herself extremely well and is proud of her accomplishments. Unfortunately Lucy has had some life-changing challenges in the last couple of years, and yet somehow has come through it all and is still smiling and riding motorcycles very, very fast.

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Here’s a quick reminder to leave us your comments on our social media—we’re on all the usual platforms at Ultimate Motorcycling. We love hearing your feedback… so good or bad, please let us know what you think. If there’s something you’d like us to cover, we’d love to hear those ideas too!

@ultimatemotorcycling

@UltimateMotoMag

@UltimateMotorcycling

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