YAMAHA Complaints

05 1700 YAMAHA ROADSTAR; BIKE WILL LEAN OUT AND DIE,EVEN AFTER COMPLETELY WARMED UP, HAPPENS WHEN ACCELERATING JUST OFF OF IDLE, ESPECIALLY WHEN TURNING. VERY DANGEROUS WHEN TRYING TO MERGE WITH TRAFFIC OR CROSSING INTERSECTIONS.DEALER RESPONSE: WELL THEY ALL DO THAT! WE CANNOT HELP YOU. *TR

MOTORCYCLE ENGINE WILL NOT RUN PROPERLY DUE TO VALVES STICKING. BACK FIRES AND DIES IN INTERSECTIONS. BACK FIRES AND SLOWS ON FREEWAY. WE BELIEVE IT IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED BY THE MOTORCYCLE MAKER. THEY SAY IT WAS A MAINTENANCE ISSUE. ALL MAINTENANCE HAS BEEN DONE AS PER THE MANUAL.*AK

THE YAMAHA ROADSTAR HAVE A CHRONIC PROBLEM OF STICKING VALVES. YAMAHA HAS TOLD THE CUSTOMERS THAT IT WAS OVERFILLING THE OIL. TO DATE THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS RIDERS WHO HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO HAVE THEIR MOTORCYCLES FIXED BY YAMAHA, WHO CLAIMED THIS WAS NOT A PROBLEM. HOWEVER AS STATED THERE WERE NUMEROUS RIDERS WHO WERE REPORTING THIS PROBLEM AND MORE CAME UP EVERY DAY. THIS PROBLEM COULD LEAD TO A FATALITY. THE STICKING VALVES COULD LEAD TO ENGINE SHUTDOWN OR FAILURE. HAVING THIS HAPPEN ON A ROAD COULD LEAD TO LOSS OF LIFE, INJURY TO PROPERTY , ETC. WE WOULD HAVE HOPED THAT YAMAHA WOULD HAVE STEPPED FORWARD BUT, ALAS THEY HAVE NOT AND YOUR DEPARTMENT WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN GETTING THE TRANSMISSION RECALL DONE TO PREVENT LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY. WE THE RIDERS OF YAMAHA ROADSTAR HOPED THAT YOU WILL HELP ENCOURAGE YAMAHA ONCE AGAIN TO FIX A POTENTLY LOSS OF LIFE PROBLEM WITH THE VALVE PROBLEMS THAT WE WERE ENCOUNTERING. *AK

PURCHASED MOTORCYCLE NEW IN SEPTEMBER 2006. IN DECEMBER 2006 I STARTED HAVING DRIVABLE PROBLEMS. AFTER DISCUSSING WITH OTHER OWNERS OF SIMILAR MOTORCYCLES THEY COMPLAINED ABOUT STICKY EXHAUST VALVES. THEY MADE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS, AND IT TEMPORARILY FIXED THE SYMPTOMS WHICH WERE EXTREME LOSS OF POWER AND POOR RUNNING. THE EXHAUST VALVES STUCK OPENLY AT ANY ENGINE SPEED. THIS OCCURRED DURING TURNS, STRAIGHT AND LEVEL RIDING, ACCELERATING, DECELERATING, ENTERING, EXITING FREEWAYS AND WHILE IN TRAFFIC. THE ENGINE SIZE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 2004, NEWER, AND 1999-2003 MODELS WAS ONLY 70CC, BUT THE CARBURETOR JET SETTINGS WERE MUCH BIGGER. THE CARBURETOR JETTED MUCH, AND WAS MUCH RICHER ON THE 2004-2007 MODELS, WHICH LEAD TO EXCESS GAS BEING PULLED INTO THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER, NOT BEING COMPLETELY BURNT AND CARBON DEPOSITS BEING LEFT ON THE VALVE SEAMS OF THE REAR CYLINDER HEAD. THIS CONDITION ONLY HAPPENED ON THE REAR CYLINDER HEAD. MY PEERS AND MYSELF RETURNED TGE MOTORCYCLES TO THE DEALERS AND WE WERE TOLD TO RUN YAMAHAS, RING FREE THROUGH THE GAS. THIS TEMPORARILY TOOK CARE OF THE SYMPTOMS, BUT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. MY PEERS HAVE GOTTEN TIRED OF THE RUN-AROUND. SOME HAVE FILED LAWSUITS AND WON, SOME HAVE REPAIRED THE ENGINE ON THEIR OWN AND HAVEN'T HAD ANY FURTHER PROBLEMS. REHTTP://FORUMS.DELPHIFORUMS.COM/N/MB/MESSAGE.ASP?WEBTAG=1602&MSG=143462.1. *AK

I RECENTLY PURCHASED THE 2007 R-1 MOTORCYCLE AND HAVE BEEN HAVING CONTINUOUS PROBLEMS WITH THE THROTTLE LAG. 2ND GEAR AT 5500 MPH THE MOTORCYCLE HAD NO POWER. I FOUND THIS TO BE VERY DANGEROUS WHEN PASSING VEHICLES AND ACCELERATING THROUGH TURNS. I FELT THAT YAMAHA WAS NOT DOING THEIR PART TO FIX THE PROBLEM. $12,000 LATER AND UNHAPPY. PLEASE HELP. *AK

STICKING VALVES CAUSED THE MOTORCYCLE TO RUN VERY POORLY IN TRAFFIC AND LOSS OF POWER, RESULTING IN NECESSARY STOPS ON HIGHWAYS. I HAVE PREVIOUSLY SPOKEN WITH YAMAHA DEALERS, AND THEY HAVE TRIED TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE IT WAS MY FAULT. THEY SAID A VALVE JOB WOULD RUN AROUND $1000.00. THIS PROBLEM HAD BEEN OCCURRRING SINCE THE MOTORCYCLE WAS 1 MONTH OLD IN JANUARY 2005. *AK

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 YAMAHA ROAD STAR. HE RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE TO REPLACE THE GEARS IN THE TRANSMISSION BEFORE IT LOCKED THE REAR WHEELS. THE DEALER REPLACED IT; HOWEVER, WHEN HE PICKED UP THE VEHICLE THERE WAS OIL UNDER THE ENGINE/MOTOR FRAME AND ON THE TIRES. OIL ON THE TIRES CAN POTENTIALLY CAUSE A COLLISION. THE DEALER WIPED THE OIL OFF OF THE ENGINE AND TIRES AND STATED THAT THERE WAS NO RELATED FAILURE. THE CONTACT CHECKED FOR OIL IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ENGINE AND TIRES THE FOLLOWING DAY AND FOUND THAT IT WAS PRESENT. THERE WAS NO OIL PRESENT PRIOR TO HAVING THE REPAIR PERFORMED. THEY DEALER STATED THAT THIS WAS NORMAL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 86029 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 86052.

I WAS MERGING ONTO INTERSTATE 80 GETTING UP TO SPEED AND IT STARTED TO SPIT/SPUTTER AND LOST POWER. ALMOST, REAR ENDED BY ANOTHER CAR AT 60 MPH. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO THIS POINT TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM.*AK

UPON TAKING OFF, WITH BIKE UNDER LOAD, 1 CYCLINDER WILL CEASE FUNCTIONING CAUSING A LOSS OF POWER AND A STALLING OF THE MOTOR. THERE HAS NOT BEEN A CORRECTION PERFORMED, STILL WAITING FOR A CORRECT DIAGNOSIS FROM THE YAMAHA DEALERSHIP. CONSEQUENCES OF THIS MALFUNCTION COULD CAUSE LOSS OF LIFE IF THE MOTOR FAILED WHILE ON A BUSY ROAD OR HIGHWAY. *AK

ONE CYLINDER IN THE BIKE SEEMED TO GO DEAD AND WHILE TURNING THE MOTORCYCLE WILL BOG AND STALL....HAVE TO TAKE REALLY BIG CHANCES WHEN TURNING INTO TRAFFIC OR LANES ON HIGHWAY. HAVE ALMOST GOTTEN HIT 6 TIMES BY OTHER TRAFFIC....JUST BEFORE STALLING THERE IS WAS LOUD TAPPING NOISE AND THE MOTORCYCLE POWER VERY QUICKLY WHEN TRYING TO GIVE IT THE THROTTLE. *AK