YAMAHA Complaints

WHEN RIDING THE YAMAHA BOLT TOWARDS THE SUN, THE SPEEDOMETER IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ. BECAUSE OF THE POSITIONING OF THE SPEEDOMETER, AND THE GRAPHIC INTERFACE THAT IS USED, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ. THIS HAS CAUSED ME GREAT DIFFICULTY WHILE RIDING. IF I CANNOT READ MY SPEED ACCURATELY, I HAVE NO IDEA OF MY RATE OF TRAVEL. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND POSES RISK TO MYSELF, MY PROPERTY, AND THOSE SURROUNDING ME. THIS SPECIFICALLY HAPPENS WHILE IN MOTION, RIDING TOWARDS THE SUN.

I WAS RIDING AT ABOUT 30MPH ON A HIGHWAY AND THE ENGINE SUDDENLY DIED. I HAD TO COAST OVER TO THE SHOULDER TO STOP. THE GAUGES STAYED ON, THE KILL SWITCH WAS IN THE RUN POSITION, BUT THE ENGINE WOULD NOT START (STARTER WOULD NOT ENGAGE) UNTIL I TURNED THE IGNITION KEY OFF THEN BACK ON. THEN IT STARTED BACK UP AS USUAL, AND I RODE ON TO WORK. THESE ARE THE SAME SYMPTOMS DESCRIBED IN THE RECALLS # 09V-002 AND 11V-338 WHICH WERE PERFORMED ON MY BIKE IN 2011 (MODIFICATION NUMBERS FROM YAMAHA 990051 AND 990061) BUT APPARENTLY THE BIKE IS NOT FIXED AND APPEARS TO BE DANGEROUS TO RIDE SINCE IT LOST ENGINE POWER WITHOUT WARNING AT SPEED. PER THE RECALL INSTRUCTIONS, THE WIRE SUBLEAD WAS REPLACED BUT THE WIRE HARNESS ASSEMBLY WAS NOT REPLACED. PERHAPS THE MAIN WIRE HARNESS IS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED?

AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE DAY THE SPEEDOMETER IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO READ TO TO THE SUN SHINING ON TO IT . IT TAKES YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD AND YOU SOMETIMES HAVE TO USE YOUR HAND TO COVER THE SPEEDOMETER TO SEE THE NUMBERS WITH IN ITSELF IS UNSAFE WHEN RIDING A MOTORCYCLE WHICH COULD CAUSE A ACCIDENT.

I WAS DRIVING ON I-70 NEAR AURORA, CO, AT APPROXIMATELY 55-60 MPH IN THE FAR LEFT LANE WHEN I STARTED LOSING SPEED. I NOTICED THAT MY DRIVE SHAFT WAS STILL SPINNING AND MY SPEEDOMETER WAS STILL SHOWING MY SPEED AND WOULD CHANGE WITH THE AMOUNT OF THROTTLE THAT I GAVE IT. LUCKILY, WHEN I TURNED ON MY RIGHT TURN SIGNAL, I WAS ABLE TO COAST THROUGH TRAFFIC TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER OF THE ROAD AND GET OFF OF THE ROAD. WHEN I WAS ABLE TO DISASSEMBLE THE FINAL DRIVE, I FOUND THAT THE CLUTCH HUB, WHICH IS ATTACHED TO THE REAR WHEEL AND ENGAGES INTO THE FINAL DRIVE, HAD HAD ALL OF ITS TEETH SHEARED OFF. I TOOK THE PART TO THE LOCAL YAMAHA DEALER AND SPOKE WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER AND WE BOTH AGREED THAT IT LOOKED AS THOUGH THIS DAMAGE HAD BEEN HAPPENING OVER SOME LENGTH OF TIME AND IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE FULL FAILURE. I FEEL THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YAMAHA SHOULD TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE PART CONSIDERING THE TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF MATERIAL USED (THE FINAL DRIVE GEAR TEETH ARE STEEL AND THE CLUTCH HUB IS ALUMINUM) AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF PART FAILURE. I NOTICED THAT I AM NOT THE ONLY PERSON TO REPORT THIS FAILURE AND I AM SURE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN OTHERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS AS WELL. THERE IS EVEN THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE FINAL DRIVE/REAR WHEEL COULD LOCK UP ON SOMEONE, CAUSING THEM TO CRASH.

I OWN AN EARLY 2007 FZ1 MOTORCYCLE. THE MACHINE IS IN MINT CONDITION WITH ONLY 15,000 MILES. ON FEBRUARY 25TH 2016 I NOTICED A LARGE CRACK IN THE FRAME WELD ON THE RIGHT SIDE. IT STARTS AT THE BOTTOM AND CLIMBS THE WELD OVER 2 INCHES, CLEANLY THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE. FOR THE PAST MONTH I HAVE BEEN STRESSING DAY-IN AND DAY-OUT TRYING TO SOLVE THIS NIGHTMARE. I'VE BROUGHT THE MACHINE TO MY LOCAL AUTHORIZED DEALER AND SUBMITTED A REPAIR ORDER ONLY TO GET A QUOTE OF $3500 TO REPLACE THE FRAME. I'VE SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS AND DAYS GOING BACK AND FORTH WITH CUSTOMER RELATIONS STAFF JUST TO BE TOLD "YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN ON THIS ONE" AND "THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO." THERE'S NO DOUBT THIS WAS A MANUFACTURING DEFECTIVE WELD BECAUSE NO MATTER HOW LONG THE WARRANTY, THE FRAME IS THE BACKBONE OF THE MACHINE AND SHOULD LAST BEYOND THE MACHINES LIFETIME. WITH THE 06'S HAVING THE SAME ISSUE I CAN SEE HOW IT CARRIED INTO SOME 07'S BEFORE BEING FULLY CORRECTED. UPON RESEARCHING THE ISSUE FURTHER, I DISCOVERED HUNDREDS OF OTHERS WITH IDENTICAL CASES THAT HAD BETTER LUCK AND THEIR REPLACEMENT EXPENSES COVERED BY YAMAHA. NEEDLESS TO SAY I'M EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED THUS FAR AND HOPING TO HAVE THE REPLACEMENT EXPENSES COVERED BY YAMAHA.

FRAME CRACKED ALONG FACTORY WELD ON THE RIGHT SIDE INSIDE/OUTSIDE VERTICAL AND LOWER HORIZONTAL. THE MOTORCYCLE HAS NEVER BEEN DROPPED OR CRASHED AND PASSED MARYLAND STATE SAFETY INSPECTION YESTERDAY. WHEN WASHING THE BIKE TODAY, I NOTICED A LINEAR CRACK THAT RAN VERTICALLY ALONG THE WELD ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE FRAME BELOW THE TANK. NO WRECKS, EXCESSIVE STRESS OR TEMPERATURE CHANGE PRECEDED CRACK. THE BIKE HAD ONLY MADE A 3 MILE TRIP FROM THE INSPECTION STATION TO MY HOME WHEN I NOTICED THE CRACK. THIS IS CLEARLY A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND IT IS AN OUTRAGE THAT THESE FRAMES WEREN'T RECALLED FOR SAFETY.

THERE IS A STRANGE NOISE IN 3RD GEAR AND HAVE BEEN ADVISED IT IS A DE-LAMINATED GEAR.

I COMMUTE ON MY MOTORCYCLE NEARLY EVERY DAY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THIS IS THE REASON I HAVE A MOTORCYCLE. MY WORK START TIME IS AT 5:30AM SO I COMMUTE TO WORK IN THE DARK YEAR ROUND. I ALSO TRAVEL A SECTION OF ROAD THAT TAKES ME THROUGH A 6 MILE CANYON THAT HAS NO STREET LIGHTING SO THE ROAD IS COMPLETELY DARK AND HAS MANY TURNS WHILE TRAVELING AT NEAR THE 65MPH SPEED LIMIT. TWO WEEKS AGO WHILE TRAVELING THIS SECTION I FLIPPED THE HEADLIGHT BRIGHTS SWITCH WHICH CAUSED MY HEADLIGHTS TO GO COMPLETELY OUT. FLIPPING THE SWITCH BACK TO NORMAL LIGHTS DID NOT TURN THEM BACK ON. AFTER A FEW SECONDS THE LIGHTS CAME BACK ON. THIS HAPPENED THREE TIMES DURING DOWN THE CANYON AND TWICE MORE UNTIL I GOT TO WORK. I WAS VERY LUCKY I DIDN'T CRASH OR GET INJURED. LUCKILY, A CAR WAS POSITIONED A LITTLE AHEAD OF ME WHICH ALLOWED ME TO KNOW WHERE THE ROAD WAS DUE TO THE CAR'S TAIL LIGHTS. I WAS ABLE TO RIDE HOME IN THE DAYLIGHT. I TESTED THE HEADLIGHTS AT HOME AND FOUND THAT A RELAY WAS BUZZING SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE CAUSE. UNFORTUNATELY, SWAPPING FOR A DIFFERENT RELAY DID NOT FIX THE ISSUE. I EVENTUALLY LOCATED A CONNECTOR WITH A SPIDER GROUNDING POLE THAT HAD A BURNT MARK. TAKING IT APART SHOWED THE CAUSED. ONE OF THE WIRES NO LONGER HAD GOOD CONTACT DUE TO AN OVERLOAD OF THE CONNECTOR. I'M ATTACHING A PICTURE. THERE'S A RECALL DUE TO ANOTHER ONE OF THESE CONNECTORS AND IT WAS COMPLETED A WHILE AGO. MY RECENT ISSUE IS NOT ADDRESSED BY NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 11V-338. MY FAULTY CONNECTOR IS S6 NOT THE S4 FROM THE RECALL. I'VE READ THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH THE SAME CONNECTOR AND IF FUTURE RIDERS HAVE A SIMILAR PROBLEM AS MINE WE ARE CERTAINLY LOOKING AT A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE.

DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS THE SPEEDOMETER IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO READ. IN CERTAIN CONDITIONS IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ. I HOPE NHTSA WILL REQUIRE YAMAHA TO REPLACE ALL AFFECTED SPEEDOMETERS AS IT IS A SAFETY DEFECT THAT COULD LEAD TO INJURY OR EVEN DEATH. THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE NEW. IT IS NOT A NEW PROBLEM, THE MOTORCYCLE ARRIVED IN THIS CONDITION. I HAVE TALKED TO YAMAHA AND THEY ARE AWARE OF THE CONDITION (MANY COMPLAINTS) BUT THEY ARE CHOOSING NOT TO FIX THE PROBLEM.

THE GLASS COVERING THE SPEEDOMETER IS TINTED AND IS SO DARK THAT READING THE SPEED OR OTHER DATA IS IMPOSSIBLE WHILE RIDING INTO, OR TANGENTIALLY, TO THE SUN.