YAMAHA Complaints

MY 2006 YAMAHA ROADSTAR EXHIBITS FUEL LEAKAGE OUT OF THE CARBURETOR WHEN THE ENGINE IS HOT. THIS USUALLY OCCURS AFTER STOPPING AND THE ENGINE IS WARM AND HEAT SOAKS THE CARB. THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE MODEL. MY CONCERN IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A FIRE WHILE I AM SITTING ON THE MOTORCYCLE. YAMAHA SERVICE REPS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED AND ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT YAMAHA DOES NOT HAVE A FIX IN PLACE AT THIS TIME NOR DID THEY SUGGEST THAT THEY WERE WORKING ON ONE. I WOULD HAVE FOR SOMEONE TO BE BURNT OR KILLED AS A RESULT OF THIS ISSUE. *CN

WHILE DRIVING A 1997 YAMAHA ROYAL STAR TOUR DELUXE, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY QUITS, BUT ELECTRONIC REMAIN ON. STOPPING THE BIKE AND RESTARTING RESOLVES THE ISSUE. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS HAPPENED TO ME WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON THE 405 HIGHWAY, AND ALMOST CAUSING A MAJOR (AND POTENTIALLY FATAL) ACCIDENT. APPARENTLY, THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING ISSUE FOR MANY OWNERS (INTERNET SEARCH BEARS THIS OUT), AND THE PROBLEM IS THE IGNITION SWITCH. STOPPING THE BIKE, REMOVING KEYS AND RESTARTING USUALLY RESULTS IN BIKE OPERATING AGAIN. EVEN JIGGLING THE KEYS WHILE BIKE IS STALLED, BUT STILL MOVING CAN BRING THE MOTORCYCLE BACK TO LIFE. THE HIGH POSSIBILITY FOR DANGER OCCURS WHEN THE PROBLEM HAPPENS WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY, AS IT DID WITH ME. THE ENGINE STALLED, AND THE BUMPY ROAD MADE THE KEYS JIGGLE, WHICH BEGAN A SERIES OF STRAYING AND STALLING. THIS MADE THE BIKE IMPOSSIBLE TO HANDLE AS IT LURCHED AND STALLED SEVERAL TIMES. I CAN ONLY DESCRIBE IT, AS IF ONE WERE RIDING A MECHANICAL BULL IN THE FAST LANE. I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER TO THE LEFT SHOULDER. THIS SITUATION IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND THE DEFECTIVE SWITCH NEEDS TO BE APPROPRIATELY ADDRESSED AND REPLACED. AN INTERNET SEARCH WILL REVEAL HOW PREVALENT THIS SITUATION IS AND IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE IT RESULTS IN INURY OR DEATH IF NOT CORRECTED. *DT

I WAS RIDING THE MOTORCYCLE ON THE FREEWAY WHEN LOUD GRINDING NOISE FOLLOWED BY RAPID DECELERATION OCCURRED. LUCKILY THERE WASN'T A LOT OF TRAFFIC AT THE TIME AND I WAS ABLE TO MOVE TO THE SHOULDER WITHOUT INCIDENT. HAD THIS HAPPENED ON A CROWDED FREEWAY I'M SURE AN ACCIDENT WOULD HAVE OCCURRED. IT TURNED OUT THAT THE MIDDLE DRIVEN SHAFT CONNECTING THE U-JOINT WITH THE TRANSMISSION BROKE LOGGING THE BROKEN PART BETWEEN THE FRAME AND U-JOINT. AFTER READING SOME ON-LINE POST, THIS APPEARS TO BE AN ISSUE THAT'S OCCURRED MUCH TOO FREQUENTLY. THE POSSIBLE INJURIES THAT COULD HAVE RESULTED FROM THIS FAILURE IS THE REASON I'VE LOGGING THIS ISSUE. THE ESTIMATED COST TO REPAIR THIS FAILURE IS ~$3000.00. *TR

YAMAHA XVS 650 DRIVE SHAFT COUPLER FAILS. COULD CAUSE RIDER TO LOSE CONTROL. FACTORY DOES NOT LUBRICATE PART AT DURING ASSEMBLY AND DOES NOT INFORM OWNER TO LUBRICATE. THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED TO MANY OWNERS. THIS HAPPENED TO ME, WITHOUT A MAJOR INCIDENT. YAMAHA DOES NOT SEEM TO CARE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *TR

SYMPTOMS: 1. NORMAL RIDING. 2. BIKE JERKED VIOLENTLY A FEW TIME AT CRUISING SPEED (70MPH), ALMOST BUMPED ME OFF THE BIKE. ALSO, BIKE CUT OFF SEVERAL TIME WITHIN A 10MINUTES RIDE. IT HAPPENED ONCE DURING A TURN, AND THAT CAN BE DANGEROUS OR FATAL. 3. HOLDING THE CLUTCH IN AND IMMEDIATELY RE-STARTING IT WILL ALWAYS FIX THE PROBLEM... FOR A SHORT WHILE THE BIKE WILL RUN PROPERLY. *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

ON MY YAMAHA ROAD STAR MOTORCYCLE THERE IS WHAT I THOUGHT A SOLID RUBBER BUMPER ON THE SHOCK ABSORBER. THIS IS THERE AS A CUSHION IN CASE THE SUSPENSION SHOULD BOTTOM OUT. THE SHOCK ABSORBER IS MOUNTED INSIDE THE SPRING AND IS A SINGLE UNIT MOUNTED UNDER THE MOTORCYCLE. NOT LIKE THE DUAL SHOCK/SPRINGS SEEN ON SOME MOTORCYCLES. ON MY MOTORCYCLE WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A SOLID RUBBER BUMPER TURNED OUT TO BE A SPONGY LOOKING MATERIAL WITH A BLACK COVERING TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE SOLID RUBBER. THE BLACK COVERING HAS NOW DETERIORATED AWAY AND THE SPONGY LOOKING MATERIAL IS NOW EXPOSED AND FLAKING AWAY PIECE BY PIECE. AUTOMOBILE SUSPENSION BUMPERS ARE IN FACT MADE OF SOLID RUBBER AND LAST FOR THE LIFE OF THE CAR AND BEYOND. MINE IS NOT THE ONLY MOTORCYCLE THAT HAS EXPERIENCED THIS FAILURE. THE SAFETY ISSUE IS THIS: WITH THE BUMPER GONE IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE FOR THE MOTORCYCLE SUSPENSION TO BOTTOM OUT METAL TO METAL WITH SUFFICIENT FORCE TO BREAK SOMETHING. A SUDDEN FAILURE OF THE REAR SUSPENSION AT SPEED COULD EASILY RESULT IN A CRASH THAT WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY INJURE THE RIDER AND POSSIBLY OTHERS. I AM ASKING OTHERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS FAILURE TO REPORT TO YOU. YAMAHA SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO IMMEDIATELY ISSUE A SAFETY RECALL AND REPAIR THE DEFECT ON THE AFFECTED MOTORCYCLES. ALSO, NOTIFICATION TO OWNERS SHOULD BE PROCESSED IMMEDIATELY. I HAVE ALMOST 40 YEARS OF TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE IN THE AUTOMOTIVE FIELD AND I KNOW THIS CAN BE A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION ESPECIALLY TO UNSUSPECTING RIDERS. MY MOTORCYCLE IS A 1999 BUT THE OTHER ONE I HEARD OF THIS HAPPENING TO OWNS A NEWER MODEL. *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

IGNITION SWITCH FAILURE DUR TO CURRENT OVERLOAD CAUSES ENG CUT OUT AND OR INTERMITTENT HARD START. *TR