KAMS kit for '09-'11 Voyagers

[David (N. Alabama)]

Read this on another forum:

Kawasaki has released the KAMS as a kit to retrofit 2009-11 Voyagers. This is to direct the heat flow from the rad under the bike and heat from the engine down beside the left passenger footboard. The kit includes a new radiator, shrouds, blower fan and the electronics.
The kit number is 99994-0370, and is $399.95.

[hank43]

If this is true, I will definately be one of the first people in line for this mod. I would also wrap the pipes to help.

Problem is, I don't see this available from any of the Kawasaki OEM suppliers, or from my local dealer......

Anyone else find anything about this?

[hank43]

Kit ordered. Price as noted, should be delivered 3-4 days, will let you all know how it all works out. Will still wrap pipes, do oil change at same time.

[David (N. Alabama)]

Kit ordered. Price as noted, should be delivered 3-4 days, will let you all know how it all works out. Will still wrap pipes, do oil change at same time.

Nice. Take lots of pics of the install if you can.

[hank43]

Will do David!

[hank43]

Received the KAMS kit today, links to pictures included.

Looks to be a bunch of bolt-on stuff, new radiator, hoses, shrouds, foam stuff, replacement exhaust pipe shroud, wiring harness, new fuse box, and more, but the best thing........

A 10 PAGE INSTRUCTION BOOKLET WRITTEN SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND IT.

Go here for picture of kit http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd4 ... CT0107.jpg

Pictures of installation to follow........


hank

[TheAudiDoc]

thanks Hank...keep us posted...this one i may do....the wrap and engine ice were good...this may make it great

[David (N. Alabama)]

That is quite a kit! Thanks. Looking forward to the install photos.

[hank43]

Getting ready to install the kit this weekend, checked the Kawasaki Shop Manual re: Antifreeze, it says to use "Permanent type antifreeze, GREEN" Wow! That was sure helpful. Does anyone know what type of AF to use? Propolyne-Glycol? Ethhylene-Glycol? Engine Ice? Dry Ice?

Also, picked up the pipe wrap stuff, since installing the KAMS kit requires replacing the front exhaust pipe heat shield (AH HA! New one is notched to clear the radiator fan bracket), decided to go ahead and wrap the pipes while I'm at it. BTW, The kit includes a new radiator, which has additional brackets welded on it for the cooling shroud. So, anyone want or need a nearly new radiator? Really cheap?

Only problems I for see are removing the engine. .......... WAIT! Just kidding! Only the old radiator comes off, and the front exhaust pipe heat shield.

hank

[David (N. Alabama)]

I would recommend going with engine ice while you are doing this. It is proven to do a better job at removing heat and with the shroud that extra heat it removes will go under the bike so you should be more comfortable in the process. If I keep the bikes long enough to swap out coolant I go with engine ice. If I buy a used one that is old enough to require the coolant change I go with engine ice.

Of course engine ice is a blue purpleish color and I do prefer the color green.

Good idea wrapping the pipes while you are at it.

[hank43]

Thanks David, I just thought that as long as I have it apart, might as well go ahead and do it. I hate throwing money at a problem, but I see no other way to recoup my ($20,000) investment, as the saying goes. At the rally, I could easily see that I needed to do something to squelch the heat, hope this improves the problem.

Now, about wrapping the pipes: My bike has a trike kit on it, which means that more pieces need to be removed to do anything. To get at the muffler on the right side, I had to remove the bag on that side, but first, I thought I would have to remove the trike kit, so the pipes would clear the trike frame, but I was able to twist and turn the pipes to get them out after all.. I also had to disassemble the lower right side fairing in order to be able to reach the heat shield clamps. Of course, (I lost one of those little pop up plastic buttons, so will need to buy some more).
The top front clamp was turned into the radiator, so could not get a socket on it. I hope that I do not have to remove the fairing, don't want to introduce yet more rattles.

I counted 33 plastic bags of one or more parts in this kit, and just looking at the list cost of some of these parts, I think the price was very good.

Total time spent wrapping the pipes: about 3 hours. 2 hours getting them off, 15 minutes wrapping them, and 45 minutes trying to figure out how those stainless steel clamps work. (HINT: Once you "make a circle" out of the clamp, you will never open it up again without cutting it off......So, just place over the wrap, insert the end into the buckle, and pull tight with a pair of pliers). The wrap and clamps I used were from DEI, Cleveland, Oh.

Now, on to the actual installation of the kit. BTW, I located engine ice locally here in Sacramento, so will be using that. Besides, blue IS prettier than green!

hank

[hank43]

As I move along in the installation of the KAMS kit, I see that the instructions are really not that clear, so I decided to read thru completely, then walk away, then read thru again and again to better understand. After 40 years or so of building electronic kits, I have found this to be absolutely necessary. What I discovered is this:

1. Open kit box of parts, and WITHOUT OPENING any bags of parts, compare the bag part numbers with the instruction sheet

2. Read everything in the instructions, before picking up a wrench. This includes reading the chapters 2 and 4 in the shop manual regarding radiator removal and installation. This is NOT spelled out in the KAMS manual. I suspect this was written for a motorcycle mechanic, and they would (or should) already know certain procedures, like how to dump the coolant. (Hint: you must remove side cover of bike, and gas tank in order to get at the radiator cap and overflow tank, which must also be removed and emptied. The cross pipe and charging system diode bridge must be removed, etc)

3. Step 1 in the KAMS manual states "Remove the radiator and front heat shield and replace with new parts. STOP!! Remove these parts, but don't bolt on new ones yet, certain sub-assemblies on the radiator must be assembled BEFORE re-mounting the radiator, and certain soft (Silicone rubber?) pieces need to be attached to the front jug, for the radiator shroud to seal against.... This is why you have to read, read, read EVERYTHING first.

More to come
hank

[namkraps]

It would be nice if Kawasaki made this a recall item.

[hank43]

I had meant to photograph this install as I went, but just can't do it, sorry guys. It is 95 degrees, and I am working on my knees in a single car garage. I have about 1 foot either side of the trike, and just can 't manouver and focus that close! When I complete this, I WILL make notes available to anyone that wants them.

It doesn't seem that complicated at first, but Maw Kaw assumes that everyone has a shop manual, and a TORQUE WRENCH that is calibrated in INCH POUNDS, plus lots of metric wrenches, sockets, extensions, and phillips screwdrivers. About phillip head screws, if you ever remove one, do yourself a favor, and replace it with a hex head (button head) SS screw. Phillips heads ALWAYS strip out!.. You can get them in SAE or Metric sizes at Home Depot, Lowes, and regular hardware stores. Before I am done, I will replace every phillips head screw. I hate them!

Many times, I see references to the shop manual. The shop manual is not all that great either! i.e. Chapter 4 is cooling system, but if you want to drain and replace coolant, you must go to chapter 2, periodic maintenance, to determine how (and where!) the overflow tank is located, so you can remove and empty the old coolant. Oh Yeah, and when you want to add the new coolant, you must remove the gas tank, which is in a different chapter. This is why, you must read, read, read before doing any step.

I have installed the rear cooling fan and all brackets (There is a gorgeous chrome bracket that holds the cooling tube in place, it's a beauty!) then tomorrow, I will complete plugging in the electrical, install the radiator and new hoses, fill, run, and let cool, and check coolant level After I am sure that the expensive Engine Ice is not running all over the garage floor, I will install the chrome exhaust pipe shields, saddle bag, seats, lower fairing, and let it run for awhile to check if both the fans are running.

hank

[David (N. Alabama)]

Thanks for the update Hank, and for being the pioneer on this one.

It is sounding like a costly endeavor for those who would have to pay someone else to install this kit. I guess it would still work out cheaper than trading in your '09 - '11 on a new one.

[jhellman]

The KAMS kit arrived in less than a week after being ordered.

I'm not all that mechanically handy, so I asked my local dealer to estimate the installation cost. Their estimate was $350 - 400, which includes installing the kit, engine ice, wrapping the pipes (with my pre-purchased parts for tape and head gaskets) and synthetic oil change.

The dealer is booked out until late September, but I've lived with the heat for 3 years, and another month is no big deal.

So, my total outlay for this heat reduction will be about $800 - $850. Since I have 18,000 miles on the bike and love it despite the floating gear shift indicator, this seems a reasonable investment.

[David (N. Alabama)]

Glad you have a good dealer Joe. I wouldn't trust mine to do this job or do it in four or five hours.

[hank43]

I think a dealer could do this 4-5 hours, he has the tools, the lifts, the experience working on these bikes, and lastly, if he gets jammed up on a problem, he has Kawasaki tech support to help out. Like jhellman sez, if you really like this bike, it IS all worth it. I will be more familliar with the machine when I'm done, and besides, Mom wont let me buy another yet!

More to come.


hank

[David (N. Alabama)]

I think a dealer could do this 4-5 hours, he has the tools, the lifts, the experience working on these bikes, and lastly, if he gets jammed up on a problem, he has Kawasaki tech support to help out. Like jhellman sez, if you really like this bike, it IS all worth it. I will be more familliar with the machine when I'm done, and besides, Mom wont let me buy another yet!

More to come.


hank

If you can find a tech with experience working on these bikes. I brought my bike in the for the ECU recall and I had to talk the technician through it. I had already downloaded the instructions and studied them.

I let the local dealer do my first service on the concours to keep peace with them in case I have a warranty issue. They let me in the service area and I had to point out to the technician who was changing the rear fluid that he was doing it wrong. The manual stipulates that you should not rotate the rear wheel while filling the hub. If you do so, you now have to wait for the oil to run back down off the gears or risk overfilling.

If you let anyone else do anything for you regardless of what trade it is, you either have to just accept what you get and be happy, or know what is supposed to be done and watch like a hawk. I have story after story.

Went to pick up new eye glasses with progressive lenses. Tried them one and said the vision was not right. The girl tried to send me home saying that my eyes would get used to them. I said, "no, I want to look at an eye chart". I told her the focal point on the the lense was not correct. She finally sent in the eye doctor. After a discussion he finally decided the girls got the Pupil distance wrong. When they looked up my current pair they saw that there was a 2mm difference. If it had been my wife, she would have gone home and hated the glasses and probably not worn them.

[debron]

It doesn't seem that complicated at first, but Maw Kaw assumes that everyone has a shop manual, and a TORQUE WRENCH that is calibrated in INCH POUNDS.....

You can get an "inch pound" (or even a "foot pound") torque wrench at Harbor Freight right now for only ten bucks: