YAMAHA Complaints

2002 YAMAHA YZFR6 W/ 500 MILES. WENT RIDING ... ONLY 'BOUT A 20 MILES B4 A THUDERSTORM APPROACHED. I RUSHED BACK HOME AND PUT THE BIKE BACK IN THE GARAGE, LOOKED IT OVER FOR BUG GUTS, AND THEN CLOSED UP. NEXT MORNING I HAD TO GO BACK IN AND NOTICED WHITE FOAM'Y STUFF ON THE FLOOR UNDER THE 6. SO I GO TO THE LEFT SIDE AND THERE IT IS, BATTERY ACID ALL OVER THE SWINGARM, CHAIN, SHOCK, REAR SET, CHAIN GUARD, AND CHAIN GUIDE!!!!! THIS ACID SEVERLY WEAKENED MY MOTORCYCLES STRUCTURE AND IT'S ABILITY TO WITHSTAND STRAIN UNDER NORMAL RIDING CONDITIONS! IT'S NO LONGER SAFE! I CALLED THE DEALER, THREE DEALERS TO BE EXACT (LUMBERTON YAMAHA, SANDHILLS YAMAHA, & MERIDIAN YAMAHA, ALL IN NC). THEY ALL SAY THEY'VE NEVER HEARD OF THE PROBLEM AND YAMAHA WILL DO NOTHING 'CAUSE THE BIKE IS OVER A YEAR OLD. HOWEVER, I FIND OVER 500 DIFFERENT PERSONAL REFERENCES TO THIS ISSUE ON THE NET.*AK

CONSUMER STATES WHILE TRAVELING NOTICED TRANSMISSION SLUGGISH GOING INTO GEAR. CONSUMER REPLACED CLUTCH, BUT VEHICLE STILL HAS THE PROBLEM. *AK

2002 YAMAHA V STAR 1100 CUSTOM MY STARTER IS FAILING DUE TO AN APPARENT DESIGN FLAW.IF WHEN TRYING TO START THE BIKE THE STARTER FAILS TO START, IT MANY TIMES WILL "KICK BACK" VIOLENTLY RESULTING IN THE STARTER CASE ITSELF ROTATING AGAINST ITSELF. *AK THIS IS QUITE OBVIOUS BY LOOKING AT THE EXTERNAL BOLTS THAT HOLD THE 2 END CAPS AND CENTER SECTION TOGETHER. THE ALIGNMENT WILL BE OFF FROM SLIGHTLY TO A RATHER LARGE AMOUNT. THE BOLTS THEMSELVES WILL NO LONGER BE STRAIGHT BUT BENT. I AM A MEMBER OF THE INTERNATIONAL STAR RIDERS ASSOCIATION WHICH HAS A DISCUSSION FORUM ON THE INTERNET. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE 1999 MODEL YEAR AND HAS BEEN DISCUSSED IN GREAT DETAIL THERE. A POLL WAS CONDUCTED OF MEMBERS AND OUT OF 737 VOTES TALLIED 192 HAD THE PROBLEM AND EITHER REPLAED IT OR WERE IN PROCESS OF TRYING TO GET IT REPLACED. THAT IS A 26% FAILURE RATE WHICH IN MY OPINION ISN'T GOOD. SO FAR YAMAHA HAS DENIED THERE IS A PROBLEM EVEN THOUGH THEY REDESIGNED THE STARTER FOR THE 2003 MODELS AND ALL OLD STARTERS ARE BEING REPLAECD WITH THE NEW MODEL. I ONLY HAVE 5000 MILES ON MY BIKE IN A 2 YEAR PERIOD. WHEN I CONTACTED THE DEALER THEY SAID IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND $316 WOULD BUY A NEW STARTER PLUS LABOR TO INSTALL. A CALL TO YAMAHA MOTOR CORP WAS LIKE TALKING TO A WALL. I HAVE NEVER HAD OR EVEN HEARD OF A STARTER FAILURE LIKE THIS BEFORE. I HOPE THAT YOU CANINVSTIGATE THIS MATTER AND OBTAIN A FAVORABLE RESOLUTION FOR THE OWNERS OF THESE MOTORCYCLES. PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR MUCH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

IT IS WITH THE UTMOST CONCERN THAT I, AS AN OWNER OF A 2002 YAMAHA ROAD STAR, PROVIDE THIS COMMUNICATION TO YOU AND THE YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION, USA. IT HAS BEEN KNOWN THAT A PROBLEM EXISTS WITH THE TRANSMISSION, WHEREBY AT UNEXPECTED TIMES THE TRANSMISSION LOCKS, WHICH CAN AND HAS CAUSED LOSS OF CONTROL BY THE RIDER, THEREBY ENDANGERING THE SAFETY AND LIFE OF THE RIDER, PASSENGER, AND OTHER VEHICLES, PASSENGERS, AND PEDESTRIANS IN THE AREA. THE OCCURRENCE OF THE TRANSMISSION LOCKING UP HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED BY MEMBERS OF THE ROAD STAR RIDERS FORUM HTTP://FORUMS.DELPHIFORUMS.COM/1602/MESSAGES), WHICH IS COMPRISED OF MEMBERS AND OWNERS OF ROAD STAR MOTORCYCLES ON A GLOBAL BASIS. IT IS AN ON-GOING, REPETITIVE INCIDENT AND HAS HAPPENED AS RECENTLY AS APRIL OF 2003. THIS ISSUE CONTINUES TO BE A MATTER OF GRIEVOUS ANXIETY AND ALARM TO ME AS AN OWNER OF A ROAD STAR MOTORCYCLE. PLEASE RESPOND IMMEDIATELY WITH WHAT ACTION IS APPROPRIATE BY THE YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION, USA IN ORDER TO ENSURE MY SAFETY AND WELL BEING, WHILE I AM ENGAGED IN OPERATING THE AFOREMENTIONED VEHICLE MANUFACTURED BY YOUR COMPANY. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND ACTION INTO THIS SERIOUS SITUATION. MY 2002 ROADSTAR SILVERADO CURRENTLY HAS A TRANSMISSION NOISE IN IT AND MY DEALER CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS. *AK

THE TRANSMISSION IS MAKING AN UNKNOWN KNOCKING SOUND ALL THE TIME INCLUDING COLD START. THE CAUSE HAS NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED. *AK

YAMAHA, VISION, 1982. CONSUMER STATES THAT RIGHT SIDE MIRROR IS DEFECTIVE, ITS AT AN ANGLE WHERE SOMEONE COULD BE STABBED. *AK

I'M FILING THIS OVER CONCERN ABOUT MY 2001 YAMAHA ROADSTAR, WHICH HAS HAD SOME LOUD INTERMITTENT KNOCKING SOUNDS COMING FROM THE TRANSMISSION. I NOTICED THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL CATASTROPHIC TRANSMISSION FAILURES OCCURRING IN THESE ROADSTARS AS POSTED ON THE ROADSTAR RIDER'S FORUM AND OTHER SITES. AS MUCH AS I WORK TO MAINTAIN MY BIKE AND RIDE SAFELY, I'D HATE TO THINK THAT MY TRANSMISSION MAY SOMEDAY LOCK-UP, AS IT HAS ON OTHER'S BIKES. DEPENDING ON THE SPEED AND TIMING OF A LOCK-UP, MY PASSENGER AND I COULD BE KILLED OR SERIOUSLY INJURED DUE TO A KNOWN DESIGN FLAW. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP, RAM. *AK

CONCERNED ABOUT TANSMISSION FAILURE ON YAMAHA ROADSTAR MOTORCYLES FROM 1999-2001. I HAVE HEARD THROUGH DIFFERENT FORUMS ON THE INTERNET OF SUDDEN FAILURES OF THE TRANY'S ON THIS BIKE, SOME RESULTING IN DEATH. THE FAILURE APPEARS TO HAVE HAPPENED BETWEEN 9,000 AND 10,000 MILES. MY BIKE HAS OVER 10,000 MILES AND I AM CONCERNED FOR MY SAFETY AS WELL AS THE SAFETY OF ANY PASSENGER THAT MIGHT BE ABOARD AT THE TIME, IF SUCH FAILURE SHOULD HAPPEN. YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER IS APPECIATED. *AK

VERY CONCERNED OVER THE LARGE NUMBER OF TRANSMISSION FAILURES SEEN IN YAMAHA ROAD STAR MOTORCYCLES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 3/00 AND 8/01. THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN TRACKED INDEPENDENTLY BY ROAD STAR OWNERS ON THE DELPHI ROAD STAR RIDERS INTERNET FORUM FOR THE PAST YEAR OR SO. I OWN A 2000 ROAD STAR THAT WAS MANUFACTURED IN 3/00, AND RIDE THE MOTORCYCLE REGULARLY AND FOR LONG DISTANCES AND EXTENDED TRIPS. SUCH A FAILURE COULD POTENTIALLY LEAD TO INJURY OR DEATH, AS THE REAR WHEEL LOCKS-UP UPON TRANSMISSION FAILURE CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE.*AK

SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT TRANSMISSIONS LOCKUPS. FROM THE DATA THAT I HAVE FOUND, APPARENTLY THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH A CIRCLIP BREAKING CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO LOCK UP. WHEN THIS OCCURS, LOSS OF CONTROL IS ALMOST CERTAIN. THERE APPEARS TO BE A PROBLEM WITHIN A CERTAIN PRODUCTION DATE AND SERIAL NUMBER. MY MOTORCYCLE FALLS INTO THIS RANGE. NUMEROUS ACCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED DUE TO THIS PROBLEM.*AK