2004 YAMAHA FZ6 Complaints

1) AT APPROXIMATELY 8000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER, MY YAMAHA FZ6 BEGAN EXHIBITING PERIODIC STALLING. WHEN UNDER NORMAL POWER, THE BIKE EXHIBITED A MODERATE LOSS OF POWER, WITH A COMPLETE ENGINE STALL ONCE THE CLUTCH WAS DISENGAGED (WHILE STOPPING IN TRAFFIC OR PARKING). THESE SYMPTOMS INCREASED IN FREQUENCY UNTIL IT WAS HAPPENING SEVERAL TIMES PER DAY. 2) THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FAILURE WERE GENERALLY MINIMAL, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF STALLING IN STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC. ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION, THE STALLING PREVENTED ME FROM MOVING WHEN TRAFFIC AHEAD OF ME BEGAN MOVING, PLACING ME IN A VULNERABLE POSITION UNTIL THE IGNITION WAS CYCLED AND THE BIKE STARTED AGAIN. SIMPLY PRESSING THE START BUTTON WOULD NOT SUCCESSFULLY RESTART THE BIKE. 3) THE PROBLEM WAS CORRECTED BY THE DEALER REPLACING THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR (TPS). I HAD READ SEVERAL REPORTS OF OTHER FZ6 OWNERS CORRECTING THE PROBLEM BY REPLACING THE TPS, AND HAD A TPS FAULT CODE LOGGED IN THE COMPUTER. THE DEALER HAD NOT HEARD OF ANY ISSUE FROM YAMAHA AT THAT POINT, AND ATTEMPTED TO CLEAN AND RESEAT THE CONNECTIONS TO THE TPS FIRST. THE PROBLEM PERSISTED UNTIL REPLACEMENT OF THE TPS. THE OLD PART IS NOT AVAILABLE.

IDLE SUDDENLY GETS ROUGH THEN ENGINE QUITS/STALLS AT RANDOM TIMES, MOST OFTEN AT LOW SPEED AFTER DOWNSHIFTING, BUT HAS HAPPENED AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ON PARKWAY IN TRAFFIC. I'M INVOLVED WITH AN ONLINE USERS GROUP OF FZ6 OWNERS (ABOUT 100-150 IN THE GROUP) AND ABOUT 20 - 25 PEOPLE HAVE HAD TO GET THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR (TPS) REPLACED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. (WITHIN THE 1ST YEAR OF OWNERSHIP) I BELIEVE MY BIKE IS STARTING TO EXHIBIT SOME OF THE SAME CHARACTERISTICS THEY ALL HAD AND FEEL YAMAHA SHOULD LOOK INTO THIS FOR A RECALL BEFORE SOMEONE DOES INDEED GET HURT OR KILLED IF THE BIKE STALLS OUT WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY OR ANY OTHER ROAD.

1-AVERAGE USAGE, 2-MOTORCYCLES WOULD STALL SPORADICALLY, RPMS WOULD VARY CONSIDERABLY, A LOT OF HESITATION, VARIABLE IDLING, BAD GAS CONSUMPTION. A FAILURE OF THE MOTORCYCLE TO CEASE THROTTLE OPERATIONS THROUGH MID-CORNER DURING A TURN WOULD INEVITABLY CAUSE THE MOTORCYCLE AND ITS RIDER TO LOSE TRACTION AT THE REAR WHEELS. FURTHER CONSEQUENCES WOULD BE DEATH TO THE RIDER IN EXTREME, BUT HIGHLY LIKELY CIRCUMSTANCES. 3-THERE WAS A DEFECTIVE THROTTLE POSITIONING SENSOR WITH THE 2004-2005 YAMAHA FZ6 MOTORCYCLES. YAMAHA HAS SO FAR FAILED TO ANNOUNCE A RECALL OF THIS DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT WHICH CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS. QUITE A FEW FZ6 OWNERS HAVE NOTICED THIS FAILURE SO IT OBVIOUSLY IS NOT A 'ONE IN A MILLION' CONDITION. PLEASE HELP THE FZ6 COMMUNITY OUT BY ALLEVIATING THIS WORRY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.*AK