2006 YAMAHA FJR1300A Complaints

YAMAHA FJR AE 2006. I PURCHASED THIS BIKE IN 2010 WITH ONLY 3500 MILES ON IT. RIDING WITH FRIENDS WE WERE ABOUT TO ENTER A MAJOR INTERSTATE HIGHWAY IN DALLAS, TX. UPON GIVING THE BIKE THROTTLE THE ENGINE SUDDENLY LOST ALL POWER AT ABOUT 50 MILES PER HOUR. THE SPEEDOMETER AND TACHOMETER WERE JUMPING FROM ZERO TO MAXIMUM SEVERAL TIMES. I ALMOST LOST CONTROL AND OTHER BEHIND ME ALMOST CRASHED INTO ME FROM BEHIND. AS I BEGAN TO PULL OFF THE RAMP OUT OF THE WAY OF OTHER TRAFFIC SUDDENLY THE BIKE RESTARTED AND REGAINED POWER. IT HAS NOT DONE THIS AGAIN. WHEN I TOOK THE BIKE TO THE LOCAL YAMAHA DEALER THEY TOLD ME THERE WERE NO ACTIVE RECALLS ON THIS MODEL. NOW I FIND THAT INDEED THE IGNITION SWITCH HAS A SAFETY RECALL AND I'M QUITE SURE THIS IS THE PROBLEM. I WILL RETURN TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THE IGNITION RECALL COMPLETED. *TR

ELECTRICAL POWER CUTOUT. NO POWER TO STARTER, MULTIPLE DASH LIGHTS ON, FLASHING FUEL METER INDICATOR, TURN SIGNAL INDICATORS, ETC. NOT A BURNED OUT FUSE BUT RATHER A FRIED GROUND POINT ON THE WIRING HARNESS. THIS IS BEING REPORTED VERY OFTEN ON THE FJR FORUM. MY SHOP TOOK PIX AND SENT TO YAMAHA TO SEE WHAT THEY WILL DO ABOUT IT. GROUND POINT CONNECTOR GETS CORRODED, LOSES GROUND, OVERHEATS AND FRIES CIRCUITS. IF THIS HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE RIDING, YOU WILL LOSE ALL POWER AND THE ENGINE WILL DIE. *TR

AFTER STARTING MY MOTORCYCLE FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT DAY, MY WIFE AND I RODE IT .9 MILES WHEN THE ENGINE QUIT RUNNING. I WAS MIDWAY THROUGH A STEEP, DOWNHILL LEFT TURN WHEN I LOST POWER. I STOPPED THE BIKE USING A COMBINATION OF FRONT AND REAR BRAKES, STOPPING AT THE STOP SIGN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL. SEVERAL OF THE LIGHTS ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WERE ILLUMINATED. BOTH TURN SIGNAL INDICATOR LIGHTS WERE LIT WITHOUT FLASHING. THE LCD FUEL GAUGE WAS FLASHING. THE HIGH BEAM INDICATOR LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE BIKE'S HEADLIGHTS WERE NOT ILLUMINATED. THE HORN DID NOT WORK. THESE SYMPTOMS HAVE BEEN REPORTED BEFORE ON FJRFORUM.COM AS I WAS 150 MILES FROM HOME, I MADE A PHONE CALL TO A FRIEND AND ASKED HIM TO GO ON FJRFORUM.COM AND FIND THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. FOLLOWING THE DESCRIPTIONS AND PHOTOS OFFERED ON THE FORUM, I WAS ABLE TO LOCATE A MELTED CONNECTOR. IT IS KNOWN AS A "GROUND SPIDER". AFTER REMOVING THE GROUND SPIDER, CLEANING IT AND REINSTALLING IT, I WAS ABLE TO GET THE BIKE RUNNING. THE BIKE RAN NORMALLY FOR 4 OR 5 MILES BEFORE THE SAME PROBLEM RETURNED. KNOWING WHAT TO LOOK FOR, I AGAIN PARTIALLY DISASSEMBLED THE BIKE TO AGAIN HAVE ACCESS TO THE GROUND SPIDER. THIS TIME, I CUT THE MELTED PLASTIC OFF THE LUGS, EXPOSING THEM AND USED UTILITY WIRE TO BIND THEM TOGETHER. THE BIKE RAN NORMALLY AFTER THAT. I WAS ABLE TO RIDE THE BIKE HOME. I WOULD LIKE YAMAHA TO CORRECT THIS DESIGN FLAW. THE PROBLEM IS WELL DOCUMENTED. SOME VERY INTELLIGENT FJR OWNERS HAVE TRIED TO MAKE THE BEST OF THIS SITUATION. YAMAHA COULD EASILY USE THE INFORMATION GENEROUSLY SHARED ON FJRFORUM.COM TO CORRECT THEIR PROBLEMATIC WIRING HARNESS. *TR

SITTING ON MOTORCYCLE, STARTED MOTOR, BACKED OUT OF GARAGE, PUT KICKSTAND UP AND MOTOR DIED. TRIED TO RESTART, BUT NOTHING WORKED; NO LIGHTS, NO HORN, NO INFORMATION SHOWING IN DISPLAY, NO FLASHER LIGHTS OR TURN SIGNALS. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS INCIDENT HAS OCCURRED. TOOK TO LOCAL MOTORCYCLE DEALER AND AFTER HAVING TO LOOK ON A MOTORCYCLE FORUM ON THE INTERNET FOUND OUT PROBLEM WAS IN ONE OF EIGHT DIFFERENT GROUND SWITCHES LOCATED IN THE WIRING HARNESS. HE CLEANED SWITCH (CANNOT REPLACE INDIVIDUAL GROUNDING SWITCHES) AND GOT BIKE RUNNING AGAIN. MECHANIC STATED IT MAY OCCUR AGAIN AT ANY TIME AND COULD OCCUR WHILE RIDING. ACCORDING TO THE PARTICULAR MOTORCYCLE FORUM, SOME PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS OCCUR WHILE RIDING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS. IT SEEMS TO BE COMMON TO MY PARTICULAR MAKE AND MODEL OF MOTORCYCLE. THIS COULD BE A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE; THE MANUFACTURER SEEMS TO KNOW ABOUT THE ISSUE BUT HAS DONE NOTHING PUBLICLY TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OR ADVISE OWNERS THE PROBLEM EXISTS. *TR

INVESTIGATION OF KNOWN ISSUE WITH OTHER YAMAHA FJR1300S. SPIDER GROUND #4, "S4" SHOWED SIGNS OF A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR IN THE WIRING HARNESS DUE TO OVERHEATING. CONNECTOR IS MELTED AND CORROSION IS PRESENT. FINDING THIS MELTED CONNECTOR BEFORE RIDING THE MOTORCYCLE PRECLUDED FAILURE OF THE CONNECTOR WHILE IN MOTION. NO ACCIDENT OCCURRED. I INSTALLED A 'GROUND SHUNT' WIRING HARNESS THAT I MADE TO RE-ROUTE THE GROUND CONNECTORS AWAY FROM THE FACTORY HARNESS WHICH IS OF POOR DESIGN, AND OF WIRE GAUGE SIZE TOO SMALL FOR THE POSSIBLE AMPERAGE OF THE CIRCUIT. MELTED CONNECTOR AND COMMON GROUND INSERT ARE AVAILABLE. *TR

GROUND SPIDER FAILURE. 2006 FJR1300 WITH 30,880 MILES ON THE CLOCK, BOUGHT IT USED FROM A LOCAL HONDA DEALER ON 4/8/10. STARTED NOTICING WEIRD HICCUPS LESS THAN A MONTH AFTER I BOUGHT IT. I FIRST STARTED TO NOTICE PROBLEMS ON THE WAY HOME FROM DEALS GAP, NC WHILE SITTING IN 98 DEGREE RUSH HOUR LOUISVILLE TRAFFIC. BIKE DIED ON ME: TURN SIGNAL INDICATORS LIT UP, GAS GAUGE FLASHED, WINDSHIELD STAYED PUT, NO HEADLIGHT OR TAILLIGHT, NO STARTER BUTTON, NO FANS, NO HORN. PUSHED BIKE TO SIDE OF ROAD AND FIDDLED WITH IT FOR A FEW MINUTES, THINKING IT HAD JUST OVERHEATED. AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF SITTING AROUND, IT FIRED RIGHT UP. THIS PATTERN HAPPENED TO ME EVERYDAY FOR ABOUT A MONTH. DECIDED TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER WHEN THE BIKE DIED ON ME IN A LOW SPEED, PUCKER-INDUCING TURN WITH MY FIANCEE ON THE BACK. DEALER SPENT 7 HOURS OF LABOR TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. HAD THE CHOICE OF REPLACING THE ENTIRE WIRING HARNESS ($$$$) OR CHANGING AND REWIRING THE GROUNDING BLOCK FOR FREE. I CHOSE OPTION #2. THANK YOU DREYER HONDA FOR PAYING DREYER YAMAHA'S LABOR TO CORRECT THIS ISSUE! IT IS A REAL SAFETY HAZARD THAT SHOULD DEFINITELY BE A RECALL FROM YAMAHA. AS A RESULT OF THIS ISSUE, I WAS STRANDED IN TRAFFIC 8 TIMES, DEAD ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD TWICE, AND NEARLY WRECKED IN A TURN WITH A PASSENGER DUE TO THE POWER CUTTING OUT. *TR

2006 YAMAHA FJR1300. VEHICLE WAS BEING RIDDING AND THE SPEEDOMETER STOPPED WORKING, ABS AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS STARTED FLASHING AND THE GEAR INDICATOR WAS ALSO FLASHING. THIS IS THE AE MODEL WITH ELECTRICAL SHIFTING. IT WAS STUCK IN 5TH GEAR AND WOULD NOT DOWN SHIFT. I WAS ABLE TO RETURN IT TO THE PARKING LOT IN HIGH GEAR AND TURN OFF THE MOTOR. CALLED DEALER AND HE CLEANED A CORRODED GROUND SPIDER AND VEHICLE IS NOW OPERATING PROPERLY AGAIN. *TR

THERE WERE NO MEMORABLE EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE FAILURE. THERE ARE NO MODIFICATIONS TO THE MOTOR, ELECTRICAL, OR IGNITION SYSTEMS. ALL SYSTEMS REMAIN STOCK FROM THE DEALER/MANUFACTURER. THE MOTOR WAS CUTTING IN AND OUT LIKE THERE WAS AN ELECTRICAL INTERRUPTION. AT THE SAME TIME THAT THE MOTOR WAS CUTTING IN AND OUT, THE TURN SIGNALS AND HIGH BEAMS INDICATOR WOULD TURN ON FOR AS LONG AS THE MOTOR WAS CUTTING IN AND OUT, WHICH WAS VERY FAST (EXAMPLE: .5 SECOND). THIS CONDITION CONTINUED FOR 3 MONTHS WITH NO REGULARITY. THE COMPLETE FAILURE FINALLY OCCURRED WHILE TRAVELING HOME FROM WORK ON THE FREEWAY. I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY GET TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, BUT WAS UNABLE TO GET THE MOTOR STARTED. I HAD TO CALL A TOW TRUCK AND PAY TO HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED TO MY RESIDENCE. FOUND AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR (KNOWN AS S4 SPIDER GROUND) THAT SERVES AS A COMMON GROUND TO 5 OTHER ELECTRICAL WIRES WAS MELTED, LIKE IT WAS OVER HEATING FROM INSIDE THE CONNECTOR. THIS CONNECTOR DOES NOT CONTACT ANY HOT SURFACES. I CLEANED THE CONNECTOR WITH ELECTRICAL CONTACT CLEANER. I PICKED OUT THE MELTED PLASTIC THAT WAS BLOCKING THE CONNECTOR HOLES. I ALSO CLEANED OFF THE CONNECTOR PLUG THAT CONNECTS ALL THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR TERMINALS TOGETHER DUE TO CORROSION AND MELTED PLASTIC STUCK TO IT. FINALLY, I APPLIED DIE-ELECTRIC GREASE TO THE CONNECTORS TO REDUCE CORROSION AND IMPROVE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CONNECTORS AND THE CONNECTOR PLUG. I COULD NOT REPLACE THE CONNECTOR WITHOUT REPLACING THE ENTIRE HEAD LIGHT ELECTRICAL HARNESS. THIS FIX LASTED FOR 1 YEAR BEFORE FAILING AGAIN. I DID THE SAME CLEANING AS I HAD MENTIONED ABOVE, BUT IT FAILED AGAIN AFTER 2 MONTHS. I THEN SOLDERED 2 SEPARATE WIRES TO THE TOP OF THE 6 PRONG CONNECTOR AND ATTACHED THOSE WIRES TO TWO DIFFERENT POINTS ON THE VEHICLE. THE LAST FIX HAS LASTED 11 MONTHS WITH NO MORE EVIDENCE OF OVERHEATING TO THE S4 GROUNDING PLUG. THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY MORE ENGINE CUTTING IN AND OUT SYMPTOMS EITHER. *TR

THIS FAILURE OCCURRED ON A 2006 YAMAHA FJR1300A MODEL. AFTER RIDING MOTORCYCLE FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS I STOPPED FOR A MEAL BREAK. WHEN I TRIED TO START MOTORCYCLE IT WOULD NOT RESTART. INSTRUMENTS WERE FLASHING INDICATING AN ELECTRICAL ERROR. MOTORCYCLE NEEDED TO BE TRAILER HOME. UPON INSPECTION BY AN AUTHORIZED YAMAHA DEALER IT WAS FOUND TO HAVE AN OVERHEATED, MELTING, GROUND JUNCTION IN THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS. YAMAHA CORP. AUTHORIZED A REPLACEMENT OF THE MAIN WIRING HARNESS UNDER MY EXTENDED WARRANTY. IF THIS HAD OCCURRED WHILE THE MOTORCYCLE WAS UNDER POWER THE ENGINE WOULD HAVE SHUT DOWN POTENTIALLY CAUSING INJURY OR DEATH. *TR

2006 YAMAHA FJR1300AE WITH 20,000 MILES. LEFT ME STRANDED WHEN IT SUDDENLY WOULD NOT START. SYMPTOMS INCLUDED: 1.THE FUEL GAUGE BAR DISPLAY SHOWS A FULL TANK AND THE WHOLE BAR DISPLAY IS BLINKING ON AND OFF. 2. HORN WON'T WORK 3. THE HEADLIGHT HIGH BEAM INDICATOR IS ON, ALTHOUGH THE HEADLIGHT IS NOT ON AND SWITCH IS IN THE LOW POSITION 4. BOTH TURN SIGNAL INDICATORS ARE STEADY ON 5. NO ERROR CODES 6. NEUTRAL INDICATOR IS ON THIS IS A MOTORCYCLE WITHA COMPUTERIZED CLUTCH - SO NO MANUAL SHIFT. WHEN IT IS DEAD THERE IS NO MOVING IT. TOWED TO MY MECHANIC WHO DISCOVERED A MELTED GROUND JUNCTION IN THE MAIN ELECTRICAL HARNESS UNDER THE FUEL TANK. REPLACED BOTH UPPER AND LOWER HARNESSES AT A COST OF OVER $1000. *TR