2009 Kawasaki Concours 14: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2009 Kawasaki Concours 14
On the 2009 Kawasaki Concours 14, the failure owners report most often is ABS module or sensor failure, with 3 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 25,000 miles.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 5 named failure modes on the 2009 Kawasaki Concours 14, and the three most-reported carry 75% of everything filed, so the trouble here is concentrated rather than scattered.
ABS module or sensor failure leads with 3 reports and about 1.1 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other brake problem follows with 2 reports, median 30,000 miles.
Master cylinder or brake booster failure follows with 1 report, median 1,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into brakes (6), engine (1) and electrical (1).
At what mileage it happens
8 of the reports on the 2009 Kawasaki Concours 14 came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 25,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 88% by 50,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 20,000 and 30,000 miles, which alone holds 38% of the dated reports.
63% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, which is early enough that a fair number of these cars were still under a factory warranty when the owner complained.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
How bad it is when it goes
Across the named modes, 1 a fire. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 4.88, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: ABS module or sensor failure at $500–$2,400, other brake problem at $300–$1,800, master cylinder or brake booster failure at $450–$2,200 and other engine problem at $300–$4,000. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
13% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABS module or sensor failure | brakes | 3 | 3 | — | 24k | — | 1.1 | $500–$2,400 | High |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 2 | 2 | — | 30k | — | 0.8 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Master cylinder or brake booster failure | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 1k | — | 0.4 | $450–$2,200 | Critical |
| Other engine problem | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 28k | — | 0.4 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 43k | — | 0.4 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2009 Kawasaki Concours 14 draws about 3.0 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 85th percentile of complaint rates among 2009 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 2,657 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2009 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
ABS module or sensor failure
Rear brake locks and will not take any input to the pedal intermittently. Able to free it up or it does it by itself after a few minutes not riding it. Abs light is never illuminated front brake not affected can happen after five minutes of riding or upwards of an half hour 45 minutes. Can happen riding city and highways at all speeds. Never happened stationary
Rear brake lever would get stuck when applying rear brakes. Now I have no rear brakes. Abs pump has failed, no brake pressure after the pump to the rear brakes. There is pressure before the pump, but none after the pump.
Other brake problem
Tl* the contact own a 2009 kawasaki concours 14. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH the vehicle failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the ABS system failed. There was a recall under NHTSA campaign id number 12v343000( service brakes, hydraulic , structure ) which according to the manufacturer is not the cause of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 16,500.
Master cylinder or brake booster failure
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 kawasaki concours 14 motorcycle. The contact received a recall notice under NHTSA campaign id number: 12v343000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician explained that they would have to evaluate the space between the brake pedal and guard before performing the repair. The contact stated the recall indicated the replacement of the rear master cylinder and does not mention an evaluation. The contact wanted the part replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact had not experienced a failure. The approximate mileage was 1,000.
Recalls on the 2009 model year
NHTSA has issued 4 recall campaigns covering the 2009 Kawasaki Concours 14, affecting an estimated 2,830 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover electrical system:wiring:fuses and circuit breakers, fuel system, gasoline, service brakes, hydraulic and electrical system. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS
194 vehicles 2015-02-27- Defect
- Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (Kawasaki) is recalling certain model year 2009-2013 Kawasaki Concours 14 and 14ABS motorcycles manufactured May 8, 2008, to February 20, 2013, and modified for police authority use. The additional police accessories may cause the 30-amp main fuse to blow. Also, the additional police wiring harness may chafe leading to a short, which may blow the main fuse.
- Consequence
- If the fuse blows, the engine will stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Kawasaki has notified the affected police departments and will send trained personnel to repair the motorcycles, free of charge. The recall began April 13, 2015. Owners may contact Kawasaki customer service at 1-866-802-9381. Kawasaki 's number for this recall is MC15-02. Note: This recall is an expansion of recalls 12V-134, 13V-370 and 13V-387.
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
337 vehicles 2013-08-27- Defect
- Kawasaki is recalling certain model year 2009-2013 Concours 14 police motorcycles. The improper installation of additional police accessories may cause multiple safety issues such as fuel leaks, reduction of braking ability and loss of electrical power to the engine, resulting in a stall.
- Consequence
- These issues increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Kawasaki has notified that affected police departments and will send trained factory personnel to the departments to repair the motorcycles. The recall began on August 21, 2013. Owners may contact Kawasaki at 1-866-802-9381. This campaign is being conducted independent of recalls 12V134 and 13V370 for blown fuses on authority bikes.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
13,289 vehicles 2012-07-20- Defect
- Kawasaki is recalling certain model year 2008-2012 Concours 14 (ZG1400 A/B/C/D) motorcycles. Due to a gap between the brake pedal and guard, small stone or debris can become trapped, creating a brake drag. This can cause the rear brake to overheat, leading to rear brake damage and lock-up or failure of the rear brakes. The front brakes may also be affected on ZG1400C models.
- Consequence
- If the brakes lock up or fail, there is an increased risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Kawasaki will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear master cylinder rod end and remove the brake guard (if installed), free of charge. The safety recall began on July 37, 2012. Owners may contact Kawasaki at 1-866-802-9381.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
273 vehicles 2012-03-30- Defect
- Kawasaki is recalling certain model year 2009-2012 concours 14 police motorcycles. The additional police accessories may cause the 30-amp main fuse to blow. Also, the additional police wiring harness may chafe leading to a short, which may blow the main fuse.
- Consequence
- If the fuse blows, the engine may stall increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Kawasaki will notify owners, and provide instructions to mitigate electrical system failure, free of charge. The safety recall began on april 5, 2012. Owners may contact kawasaki at 1-866-802-9381.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
Every year of the Kawasaki Concours 14
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
What this page cannot tell you
8 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 8 reports, 8 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 100% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2009 Kawasaki Concours 14?
The most-reported failures are abs module or sensor failure (3 reports, median 25,000 miles), other brake problem (2 reports, median 30,000 miles) and master cylinder or brake booster failure (1 report, median 1,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed