Recall: Some 2018 Through 2020 Kawasaki H2 Rear Wheels Could Lock Up

On August 2, 2021, Kawasaki Motors Corporation, U.S.A. announced a recall on certain 2018 through 2021 Ninja H2 SX, Ninja H2 SX SE, and Ninja H2 SX SE+ bikes. The reason for the recall is an insufficient amount of grease applied to needle bearings in the rear hub housing on affected bikes. Bearings could fail, which could cause the rear wheel to lock and cause a crash danger to the rider. 

Around 857 bikes in total are believed to be affected, and Kawasaki says that 100 percent of bikes specified below are included in this recall within the American market. 

• 2018 Ninja H2 SX: 158 units 
• 2018 Ninja H2 SX SE: 384 units 
• 2019 and 2020 Ninja H2 SX SE+: 315 units 

More Recent Recalls:

Recall: Some 2020-2021 Hondas May Have Faulty Rear Reflectors

Recall: Some 2021 Ducati Scramblers May Have Wrong Turn Signals

As of August 11, 2021, Kawasaki and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration do not list any known warnings that may occur to let riders know that this problem is about to occur on their bikes. However, since Kawasaki estimates that 100 percent of the bikes specified are affected, it is reasonable to seek recall service for this issue from your local authorized Kawasaki dealer if your bike is on this list. 

To fulfill this recall service, authorized Kawasaki dealers will replace the needle bearings and pack them with sufficient grease, free of charge, on bikes affected by this recall. Dealer notifications about this recall are scheduled to go out from Kawasaki on August 17, 2021.

Additionally, Kawasaki will notify registered owners on August 18, 2021. Kawasaki Motors Corporation’s recall number for this issue is MC21-04. NHTSA’s campaign number for this recall is 21V-594. Owners may contact Kawasaki customer service at 1-866-802-9381. Additionally, owners may contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) or go to www.nhtsa.gov.  

Be aware that Kawasaki issued a second recall for several late models on August 2, 2021 as well, related to a fault that may cause engines on affected bikes to stall. As of August 11, 2021, the two lists of affected bikes under both these recalls do not currently overlap.