YAMAHA Complaints

WHEN SLOWING TO STOP AND PARK THE MOTORCYCLE, THE CLUTCH LEVER BROKE CAUSING THE DRIVER TO BE OFF BALANCE AND UNINTENTIONALLY INCREASING THE THROTTLE RESULTING IN THE MOTORCYCLE STRIKING AN 18 INCH CURB AND RIDING OVER THE CURB. IF THE FAILURE HAD OCCURED IN TRAFFIC, SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER DAMAGE AND POSSIBLE INJURIES OR FATILITIES COULD HAVE OCCURRED. *AK

CONSUMER HEARD A RATTLING SOUND, UPON EXAMINATION SAW THE REAR SPROCKET HUB WAS CRACKED AND ONE PIECE WAS MISSING. *ET

THE CUSH DRIVE HUB IS BASICALLY A SPROCKET CARRIER THAT FITS INTO THE REAR WHEEL. IT IS MADE OF CAST ALUMINUM, AND IS APPARENTLY VERY FRAGILE. WITH ONLY 1500 MILES ON MY MOTORCYCLE, I NOTICED THAT THE HUB WAS CRACKED VERY BADLY, WITH PIECES MISSING FROM IT. IT EVEN GOUGED A SPIRAL IN THE SWINGARM, WHICH WASN'T REPLACED. THE DEALER ACCUSED ME OF ABUSING MOTORCYCLE, ALTHOUGH I HADN'T. HOWEVER, THEY FIXED IT UNDER WARRANTY BUT GAVE ME NO RECEIPT. ABOUT ONE YEAR LATER, BEFORE LEAVING ON A LONG TRIP, I NOTICED THAT THE PART HAD CRACKED AGAIN, AND I CALLED YAMAHA USA AND THEY AGREEED TO REPLACE IT FOR FREE SINCE THEY HAD REPLACED IT ONCE ALREADY. THEY DENIED ANY KNOWLEDGE OF A DEFECT, EVEN THOUGH MY DEALER HAD CLAIMED FIXING ABOUT SEVEN OTHERS AT THIS POINT. I WAS NOT GIVEN ANY RECEIPT AT THIS TIME EITHER.THERE HAD ALSO BEEN MANY REPORTS OF THIS FAILURE AT HTTP://WWW.YZF-R1-FORUM.COM. YAMAHA HAS MADE AN UPGRADED PART TO REPLACE THE ORIGINAL, BUT THE FIRST REPLACEMENT PART I RECEIVED WAS THE SAME AS THE ORIGINAL. THE NEW PART IS STILL FINE AT 9000 MILES. NO ONE WAS HURT, BUT IF THIS PART HAD BROKEN FURTHER AT A CRUISING SPEED, THE REAR WHEEL COULD HAVE EASILY LOCKED, CAUSING THE BIKE TO CRASH. THERE HAS BEEN A WORLDWIDE RECALL ON THIS PART EVERYWHERE EXCEPT THE US AND CANADA. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS MATTER, AND I WILL HELP WITH ANY OTHER INFO YOU MAY NEED. I HAVE SEVERAL PHOTOS OF THE PART IN QUESTION, ALTHOUGH THEY ARE NOT MY OWN, I AM WILLING TO SEND THEM TO YOU. *AK

REAR WHEEL HUBS BROKE WHILE TRAVELING AT 70 MPH. NOTICED PROBLEM AFTER REACHING HOME. DEALER/MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED AT THIS TIME. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *AK

I AM VERY UNSATISFIED WITH THE MOTORCYCLE AND HAVE NOT FELT SAFE FOR THE LAST 2 MTHS I HAVE SPENT 4 DAYS AT DOTHAN POWER SPORTS TRING TO GET THE PROBLEMS CORRECTED BUT NOT A WHOLE DAY WILL PASS BUT FOR THE PROBLEM ACCURES AGAIN IT HAS NOT GOT BETTER AT ALL AND I FEEL THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO GET WORSE AND THAT HASNT HELPED THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT RIDING THIS DEATH TRAP DOWN ROAD I ALSO HAVE A FAMILY THAT WILL NOT EVER BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THE JOYS OF CYCLING BECAUSE THIS MOTORCYCLE IS NOT SAFE. *AK

TWO MANUFACTURER'S RECALL NOTICES RECEIVED CONCERNING KICKSTAND AND BRAKE PADS. TAKEN TO A DEALER , AND HE REFUSED TO HONOR THE RECALLS BECAUSE MOTORCYCLE WAS NOT BOUGHT THROUGH THEM. ASKING NHTSA FOR HELP IN THIS MATTER. *AK

ADJUSTER BROKE AND CAUSED DRIVETRAIN TO GO UP THROUGH THE ENGINE, WHEN THIS OCCURRED BACK END OF MOTORCYCLE COULD CHANGE DIRECTION AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT ON THE FREEWAY. CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO RIDE MOTORCYCLE, AND IT WAS TAKEN TO DEALER. *AK

I RIDE THE MOTORCYCLE UNTIL THE ENGINE HAS REACHED NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE AND THEN PARK IT AND SHUT OFF THE ENGINE. AFTER A FEW MINUTES WHEN I PUSH THE STARTER BUTTON GASOLINE POURS FROM THE CARBURETOR ONTO THE HOT ENGINE. THIS CONTINUES UNTIL I RELEASE THE STARTER BUTTON. THE ENGINE WILL NOT START WHILE THE GASOLINE IS SPILLING ONTO THE ENGINE. AFTER LETTING THE MOTORCYCLE COOL FOR A FEW MINUTES, SOMETIMES IT WILL THEN START OR THE GASOLINE WILL AGAIN POUR ONTO THE HOT ENGINE. YAMAHA MOTOR COMPANY HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THE THIS IS A PROBLEM ON THIS MODEL OF MOTORCYCLE WHEN RIDDEN IN HIGH ALTITUDE SITUATIONS. I HAVE HAD THE PROBLEM IN COLORADO, PHEONIX AZ, EDMONTON AB CANADA, AND NORTH CAROLINA. THE DEALERSHIP, UNDER DIRECTION FROM YAMAHA, HAS REPLACED THE CARBURETOR AND FUEL PUMP. THIS HAS NOT FIXED THE PROBLEM AS IT REOCCURED ON 02/27/2000. I WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE DEALERSHIP AND YAMAHA TO GET THIS PROBLEM RESOLVED.

I'M FILING THIS COMPLAINT DUE TO THE CUSH-DRIVE RECALLS THAT HAVE OCCURRED ON THIS MOTORCYCLE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, EXCEPT FOR THE USA. I AM NOT AWARE OF THE CUSH-DRIVE FAILING ON MY MOTORCYCLE, BUT AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE SITUATION. CANADA HAS APPARRENTLY RECALLED THE CUSH-DRIVE ON THE MOTORCYCLE IN THEIR MARKET. WHY HASN'T THE USA? NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED IN SUMMARY. *AK

MOTORCYCLE TRANSMISSION JUMPS IN AND OUT OF 2ND GEAR, RENDERING THE MOTORCYCLE UNSAFE. WHILE OPERATING THE MOTORCYCLE, THE TRANSMISSION JUMPS IN AND OUT OF GEAR, UNLOADING THE MOTORCYCLE'S SUSPENSION, AND CAUSING THE MOTORCYCLE TO LOSE DIRECTIONAL CONTROL AND STABILITY, WHEREBY CAUSING THE MOTORCYCLE AND RIDER TO ENTER ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND THE UNPAVED RUN-OFF AREA OF THE ROADWAY--ENDANGERING THE LIFE OF THE MOTORCYCLE RIDER AND OTHER MOTORISTS IN THE VICINITY OF THE DEFECTIVE MOTORCYCLE. I HAVE RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM OF DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSIONS IN THE 1998 AND 1999 YAMAHA YZF-R1. YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND THEY HAVE RESPONDED TO COMPLAINTS OF THE CLUNKY AND UNRELIABLE TRANSMISSION BY REPAIRING IT FREE OF CHARGE UNDER WARRANTY. ADDITIONALLY, IN RESPONSE TO THE OUTPOURING OF COMPLAINTS BY CONSUMERS, YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION MADE EXTENSIVE CHANGES TO THE 2000 MODEL YEAR YZF-R1, NOTED BY..."THE TRANSMISSION RECEIVE[ING] EXTENSIVE ATTENTION, PARTIALLY TO LIGHTEN THE SYSTEM, PARTIALLY TO IMPROVE TRANNY PERFORMANCE(SHIFTING AND LONGEVITY)..." (ROADRACING WORLD, FEBRUARY 2000, PP 15-16) AND "THERE WERE SOME COMPLAINTS WITH THE PREVIOUS R1 ABOUT THE CLUNK BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND GEAR, SO YAMAHA MADE SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN THAT AREA - CLEANING UP THE TRANSITION BETWEEN THE TWO COGS TO MAKE SHIFTING SMOOTHER. THERE'S ALSO A NEW SHIFT SHAFT, AND ADDITIONAL BEARING AND DIFFERENT LINKAGE IN THE SHIFT MECHANISM." (CYCLE NEWS, JANUARY 26, 2000, P.21) AND "...YAMAHA ALSO REWORKED THE GEARBOX ON THE R1. WHAT WAS A SOMEWHAT CLUNKY TRANSITION FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR HAS BEEN CLEANED UP CONSIDERABLY..." (CYCLE NEWS, JANUARY 26, 2000, P. 21). THE TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN AN ITEM OF SAFETY CONCERNS PRIOR TO MY COMPLAINT. THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMIN OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION POSTED NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID# 98V236000 AGAINST THE YAMAHA YZF R-1. "THE PRIMARY DRIVEN GEAR BACKING PLATE(CLUTCH BASKET) CAN BREAK CAUSING THE ENGINE COMPONENTS TO LOCKUP