Foam Pads falling apart

[chrisenglandus]

Holes are developing in the foam attached to the inside of the lower fairing and pieces of foam are falling onto the floor. Please tell me the reason for this. Is it normal? What should I do? I noticed this about a week ago, the bike is a 2009 and under a year old from purchase date. Thanks Christine

[BlueRaven]

Are you the original owner of this bike?

[Momaru]

Definitely not normal, first report of this I've seen if it's as severe as it sounds. Do you have any pics? Sounds like someone might've used a cleaning agent down there that wasn't rubber/foam-safe and it's degraded the material.

As for what to do: if it's still in warranty, see the dealer.
If not, you can either ignore it or remove the pads. If you choose to remove them, you have the option to replace or not.
If you choose to replace, you can either see the dealer, or look online for parts (link to a list of parts providers, but I recommend cheapcycleparts.com or kawasakipartsnation.com if you order online)

I'd suggest replacing them as, at least on my bike, they keep certain things, like a coolant hose from rubbing/melting the lower fairing.

[jonthechron]

Pics please, maybe a gas leak? Are they the original fairings?

[wayanlam]

the indonesian models dont have this foam on the inside of the faring panels. when i saw pictures of it in someones DYI or something, i thought it might be there to help reduce engine noise? or what is the actual use of the foam?

[chrisenglandus]

Thanks for the posts. I am the original owner and the bike has not been cleaned with any form of cleaner, only water from a garden hose pipe. Thank you for the replies. I am taking the bike for the 600 mile service this morning although it only has 527 miles on it. I will let you know what happens.
Christine

[TrueFaith]

Definately not normal. Solvents were my first guess, but if you haven't used any it can't be that. Make sure you get a satisfactory answer and/or remedy from the dealer when you bring it in because they will probably try to convince you it's either "normal" or no big deal. Get this taken care of while it's still under warrany, because it sure sounds like a manufacturing defect.

[chrisenglandus]

They are replacing the pads for free under the warranty. This is great as they are expensive bits of foam. The 600 mile service was completed and I was told that I need my chain with less slack than most due to my weight - seems odd that I have never been told that before.

[BlueRaven]

Originally Posted by wayanlam

the indonesian models dont have this foam on the inside of the faring panels. when i saw pictures of it in someones DYI or something, i thought it might be there to help reduce engine noise? or what is the actual use of the foam?

I always thought it was to protect the fairing from the engine heat.

Originally Posted by chrisenglandus

They are replacing the pads for free under the warranty. This is great as they are expensive bits of foam. The 600 mile service was completed and I was told that I need my chain with less slack than most due to my weight - seems odd that I have never been told that before.

That is good to hear that they are replacing the pads for free. I've never heard of slack in the chain because of weight but then again i'm not bike mechanic either.

[Snake]

As long as the slack in the chain is within specs you are fine.

[Momaru]

Originally Posted by BlueRaven

I always thought it was to protect the fairing from the engine heat.

There is (or should be in NA models) two kinds of padding on the right hand fairing. There's a silvery one that is indeed primary heat shielding, but only covers the places near the exhaust. The foam one does serve as sound dampening, as well as a little rub/heat protection

[TrueFaith]

Originally Posted by chrisenglandus

They are replacing the pads for free under the warranty. This is great as they are expensive bits of foam. The 600 mile service was completed and I was told that I need my chain with less slack than most due to my weight - seems odd that I have never been told that before.

So did they give you any explanation as to why the foam was disintergrating in the first place?

[chrisenglandus]

They gave many theories for why the foam was falling into holes and falling off - some very far fetched. There are two new 250Rs on the sales floor, neither had identical foam to that on my bike. Also both these new bikes had teh foam firmly attached to the plastic. On my bike the foam is not attached to the plastic in most areas - so the prevailing opinion is that the foam was not properly attached and that is about all everyone could agree upon. My favourite was that an alien came in on a TH-67 (Helicopter) and started eating things - based on a couple of completly unrelated and unexplained incidents this week.

[Daeldren]

I will say this about kawasaki, while most of their hard components are great (such as engine, frame, etc...) they use some cheap ass crap when it comes to rubber and other parts. To be fair though I have seen an MV Augusta F4 which had degrading well nuts on the windshield, guess we should treat them like consumable parts.

[TrueFaith]

Originally Posted by chrisenglandus

They gave many theories for why the foam was falling into holes and falling off - some very far fetched. There are two new 250Rs on the sales floor, neither had identical foam to that on my bike. Also both these new bikes had teh foam firmly attached to the plastic. On my bike the foam is not attached to the plastic in most areas - so the prevailing opinion is that the foam was not properly attached and that is about all everyone could agree upon. My favourite was that an alien came in on a TH-67 (Helicopter) and started eating things - based on a couple of completly unrelated and unexplained incidents this week.

Gotta love those dealers. They're so creative with their excuses. Sounds like they were just throwing ideas out there and hoping your head would start bobbing at one of them. I'd keep a close eye on the new foam and return to the dealer at the first hint deterioration. Since you obviously didn't get an explanation there's no reason to think it couldn't happen again.