2005 YAMAHA FJR1300 Complaints

IGNITION SWITCH ON MY 2004 YAMAHA FJR1300 FAILED WITHOUT NOTICE WHILE RIDING AT 60 MPH. THE MOTORCYCLE IMMEDIATELY LOST ALL POWER AND HAD TO BE TOWED. *TR

05 YAMAHA FJR 1300 MY MOTORCYCLE JUST STALLED ON THE FREEWAY TWICE ON MY LAST TRIP. USUALLY I DON'T GO VERY FAR BUT ON THIS TRIP WE RODE FOR 5 STRAIGHT HRS AND THIS HAPPENED. THERE IS A THROTTLE SENSOR RECALL ON THIS BIKE. I GAVE THEM MY VIN# AND THEY SAID IT DID NOT PERTAIN TO MY BIKE. I BELIEVE THIS IS THE PROBLEM. THEY TOLD ME TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER BUT THE DEALER WANTS TO CHARGE ME FOR THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST OF $100 HR. WHAT CAN I DO? *TR

AFTER RIDING 600 MILES AFTER THE CRASH ,I STOPPED AT A LIGHT AND THE BIKE DID NOT START . THE SECOND TIME I WAS AT THE BIKE DEALER AND WAS LEAVING LET OUT THE CLUTCH THE BIKE STALLED AND DID NOT START THE NEW IGNITION HAD 600 MILES ON IT. *TR

THE YAMAHA FJR1300 MOTORCYCLE HAS HAD NUMEROUS IGNITION SWITCH FAILURES DOCUMENTED ON THE INTERNET. MY 2005 HAS FAILED TO START ON A FEW OCCASIONS AND TODAY I TOOK THE TIME WITH AN OHMMETER TO VERIFY THAT ONE SWITCH IN THE IGNITION SWITCH IS INTERMITTENT THUS PREVENTING THE BIKE FROM STARTING. *TR

GAS TANK ON A 2005 YAMAHA FJR1300A ERUPTED IN A GEYSER OF GASOLINE. WHAT HAPPENED?: ON MONDAY 7-16-07 I STOPPED FOR FUEL. IT WAS ABOUT 95 DEGREES, AND THE BIKE WAS HOT. IT WAS NOT OUTSIDE OF NORMAL OPERATING TEMP. - I HAD TWO BARS ON THE TEMP GAUGE. I OPENED THE FUEL CAP/DOOR AND LIQUID GASOLINE SPRAYED UP IN THE AIR ABOUT 5 FEET, IT LOOKED LIKE OLD FAITHFUL. LIQUID GAS RAINED DOWN ON THE FJR AND SOAKED THE TANK, FAIRING AND SEAT, AND IT CRACKED BOTH MY HEADLAMP LENSES INSTANTLY. THE EVENT VOIDED THE TANK OF MOST OF THE GAS - IT WAS INSTANTLY EMPTY. IT DID NOT CATCH FIRE. AFTER REGAINING SOME COMPOSURE, I WASHED THE BIKE OFF WITH WATER, MOVED IT AWAY FROM THE GAS PUDDLE BEFORE STARTING IT, AND DROVE HOME (2 BLOCKS AWAY). WHY DID IT HAPPEN?: I LIVE AT APPROX. 5,000 FEET. I HAD BEEN RIDING AT 10,000 FEET ALL MORNING. I CAME DOWN FROM THAT ALTITUDE IN ABOUT 1 HOUR. ALTITUDE LOWERS THE BOILING POINT OF LIQUIDS. I HAD PURCHASED THE MORNING'S TANK OF GAS AT SAFEWAY (WHICH I HAD NEVER DONE BEFORE), IT HAS A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF OXYGENATES (MTBE, METHANOL) THAN OTHER BRANDS. THE TANK WAS SUPER-HEATED SINCE IT WAS CLOSE TO EMPTY (AT '3-BARS' ON THE DISPLAY), AND IT WAS OBVIOUSLY SUPER-PRESSURIZED BY THE HEAT. WHEN I RELEASED THE GAS CAP, THE INSTANT LOWERING OF THE PRESSURE INSIDE LOWERED THE BOILING POINT, AND THE GASOLINE EXPANDED RAPIDLY (IT 'BOILED') AND EJECTED FROM THE TANK. SINCE GAS EVAPORATES QUICKLY, WHEN IT TOUCHED THE HOT HEADLIGHT LENSES IT'S EVAPORATIVE COOLING REMOVED HEAT TOO QUICKLY , CAUSING THE SPIDER CRACKING ACROSS THE LENSES. IT ALL HAPPENED IN ABOUT 5 SECONDS. THIS SERIES OF EVENTS IS A NEW OCCURRENCE FOR ALL OF US BECAUSE OUR GASOLINE QUALITY IS CHANGING, IT'S GETTING WORSE TO MAKE A PROFIT AND APPEASE THE 'GREEN' CONTINGENT. THE 'HOT' FJR SYNDROME IS NOW A CONCERN BEYOND JUST BODY COMFORT! WORST CASE I COULD HAVE BEEN BURNED ALIVE IF THE GAS HAD IGNITED. I KNOW OF NO WAY TO CORRECT THIS UNTIL I TALK TO A SERVICE REP.

YAMAHA FJR1300, 2005 MODEL, EXHAUST VALVE NOISE ASSOCIATED WITH FAULTY VALVE GUIDE AND VALVE GUIDE SEAL DESIGN. THE NOISE STARTED AROUND 5000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER AND HAS GRADUALLY INCREASED TO A LOUD TICKING. YAMAHA DEALER SAYS IT COULD BE A PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH THIS MODEL BUT ADVISED I WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS. THIS IS A DOCUMENTED PROBLEM FOR THE 2003-2005 FJR1300 MODELS AND YAMAHA IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL. THE FJR1300 OWNERS GROUP HAS DOCUMENTED SOME REPAIRS PAID FOR BY YAMAHA BUT ONLY AFTER REPEATED COMPLAINTS TO YAMAHA DIRECTLY. MY FJR1300 IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND I AM STUCK WITH A LEMON. THE VALVE PROBLEM WILL EVENTUALLY RESULT IN ENGINE DAMAGE MAKING THE MOTORCYCLE USELESS. THE OUT OF POCKET COST FOR REPAIR IS WELL OVER $1000. *JB

I HAVE A MOTORCYCLE AND A GREAT MANY TRAFFIC LIGHT SIGNALS DO NOT ACTIVATE WHEN I AM AT AN INTERSECTION. SENSORS UNDER THE STREET TRIGGER MANY TRAFFIC LIGHTS. THESE SENSORS ARE OFTEN NOT ADJUSTED TO DETECT MOTORCYCLES. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD. I AM FORCED TO RUN THROUGH RED LIGHTS ALL THE TIME AND OFTEN I MUST ENTER INTO HEAVY TRAFFIC. LEFT TURN LIGHTS THAT WILL NOT SENSE MOTORCYCLES ARE PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE RIGHT AWAY. THIS IS A MAJOR PRODUCT SAFETY DEFECT. *NM