Unofficially Diagnosed

Toecutter · Feb 7, 2006

Thankful to LongRider for his previous experience (Another Ticking '04), I ran my bike in to Wilson's this morning for them to give it a listen. Fresno area riders are blessed to have a dealership with such a friendly and helpful service department in our area. For no charge, Randy had me pull it around. "Oh , that ticking sound?", he asked. Then Clarence came out, ran it up a couple of times and said "Yep...".

So, I'm dropping it off Saturday for them to do the official diagnosis and, if so, start the repair process.

If you live within 200 miles and think you have a ticking problem, I would strongly suggest dealing with these people. They have a track record and don't give the runaround that some other dealers will. I didn't have to lead them down any path. They noticed the noise and went from there. Now, we just have to go for a nice ride Saturday before Baby goes to the hospital....

Feejer/Weejer man · Feb 7, 2006

If I get no satisfaction where mine is then I will take it over there. Sounds good. It just never ceases to amaze me that we who pay attention know more than most of Yamaha's dealers and mechanics. After all this time go figure.

Gleno · Feb 7, 2006

Wonder what a flight from Fresno back tov Vegas costs???

The dealers here blow small farm animals.

Coyote · Feb 8, 2006

My two cents. I bought my bike from Wilson's and didn't get that kind of treatment. But I don't live in the neighborhood. I willingly overpaid for my bike (didn't want to wait) and I felt like I ended with an AMF. I had a couple of minor problems they repeatedly promised to take of and never did. I gave up. Left me with a bad taste over some chickenshit little items. My local dealer said they were problems with the dealer setup and had to be taken care of by Wilsons (I discovered a few more setup problems later on).

Ended up paying for it myself.

Won't go back, but I'm happy for you Toecutter.

Toecutter · Feb 8, 2006

My two cents. I bought my bike from Wilson's and didn't get that kind of treatment. But I don't live in the neighborhood. I willingly overpaid for my bike (didn't want to wait) and I felt like I ended with an AMF. I had a couple of minor problems they repeatedly promised to take of and never did. I gave up. Left me with a bad taste over some chickenshit little items. My local dealer said they were problems with the dealer setup and had to be taken care of by Wilsons (I discovered a few more setup problems later on).
Ended up paying for it myself.

Won't go back, but I'm happy for you Toecutter.

Well, it ain't over yet. Your experience is one reason I have never bought a new vehicle*. I expect to have some surprises when buying used. I'd like to think a new dealer would have more respect for their customers. I guess that's an unrealistic expectation, AKA premeditated resentment.

* May change soon. Looking hard at the Camry hybrid.

Toecutter · Feb 13, 2006

So, I took it in to drop off Saturday and it was like the service people had amnesia. "So, what do you want us to do?". The manager girl said "Well, I don't know what they'll say since it isn't due for valve adjustment until 26k, but we'll try and check it out, then call Yamaha and let you know something Tuesday." [SIZE=14pt]SERENITY NOW! SERENITY NOW! SERENITY NOW![/SIZE]

Feejer/Weejer man · Feb 13, 2006

Frustrating to the max!!!!!!!!!!!!! Basically the same as the rest of us. When they call Cypress they will give them the dope. Check my posts on the header drop and the carbon build up not just on #1 but aso on #3 but the most on #4 cylinder. Then they will tell you ok we got a verification from Yamaha and they are sending the parts, yada,yada,yada. Keep the chin up. We feel your pain bro!!!

skyway · Feb 13, 2006

So, I took it in to drop off Saturday and it was like the service people had amnesia. "So, what do you want us to do?". The manager girl said "Well, I don't know what they'll say since it isn't due for valve adjustment until 26k, but we'll try and check it out, then call Yamaha and let you know something Tuesday." [SIZE=14pt]SERENITY NOW! SERENITY NOW! SERENITY NOW![/SIZE]

The serenity you seek can be found at www.yocracing.com right now!

Point your bike south and don't look back. B)

Derek · Feb 13, 2006

how may miles do you have on your bike now toecutter? i was under the impression that the tickers reveal themselves early on. i hope i don't have to start being paranoid all over again at 50000km.

derek

Feejer/Weejer man · Feb 13, 2006

More and more there have been late milage tickers. Unfortunate but now not exempt from the dreaded tick. Now what happens after the fix. A few are reticking! Drat!!!!

Ramblin Man · Feb 14, 2006

I don't want to say I told ya so, but I did. Thats all I'm gonna say.

Except for maybe this is all part of some kind of pleasure continuum. You know what I'm talking about. The FJR is sooooo awesome that many HAVE to be flawed or the other parts of their owners lives would suffer because of it.

So if you own an FJR and your guides don't go, then you should expect to have your roof blown off your house or the water main to your house break between the house and the street, or maybe step on a rusty ten penny nail while wearing heavy work boots so it and the board it's in needs to be pried from your foot. Hello tetanus shot.

Me? I've had my ticker repaired and will probably go through it again, but I'm covered in all of the other areas because of it. Life is good.

Toecutter · Feb 15, 2006

The manager girl said "Well, I don't know what they'll say since it isn't due for valve adjustment until 26k, but we'll try and check it out, then call Yamaha and let you know something Tuesday."

Well, practicing my serenity mantra, I patiently waited until this afternoon to call them for an update since they hadn't called yet. Cindy told me that she had called Yamaha, and they have authorized Wilson's (as in gratis to me

) to do a valve adjustment, since it wasn't due for another 4,000 miles, then take it for a nice long ride, and if the noise didn't go away, tear into it to check the guide clearances.

At this point, I'm feeling pretty well treated. I doubt that the lash adjustment will cure the problem, but understand their process. Bad part is, I'm without my mount and will probably miss the $50.00 track day next Tuesday at Willow Springs, but sometimes sacrifices must be made. Who knows, maybe it will be fixed, I can get it back by this weekend and hit the race track Tuesday. Time will tell.

I don't want to say I told ya so, but I did. Thats all I'm gonna say.

I tend to believe ya, but there are some high miler non ticking bikes out there (RogerFJRfaster for one). I'll take good karma any way I can get it though.

how may miles do you have on your bike now toecutter?

22,000 in case you're bad at math

Feejer/Weejer man · Feb 15, 2006

For the new diagnostic a valve adjustment is old school. Removing the header and checking for carbon buildup from seepage is the new trend at least for two of us in the Bay Area. Mine is underway and they didn't do a valve adjust or pull the heads to get an ok from Cypress. Very few are out of adjustment as reported on these site. Why does Yamaha seem to fix some without all the trouble and for some of us it takes all the info we got from these sites to GET R Done. Hope the adjust works. It will save a lot of time and trouble.

Toecutter · Feb 18, 2006

Why does Yamaha seem to fix some without all the trouble and for some of us it takes all the info we got from these sites to GET R Done. Hope the adjust works. It will save a lot of time and trouble.

All I can offer is because the tech (Clarence) said it wasn't as noisey as Longrider's bike but it definitely sounded like it was headed that direction, so Cindy probably said something like 'slight noise' when speaking with Yamaha, hence the adjustment being the first step. If that doesn't fix it, they said they'll tear into it to check the guide clearances. They didn't mention exactly how, but I wouldn't doubt that pulling the header may be the next step, unless they try the cam chain tensioner thing. I may know more in a few hours when I call them, but as of last night it was still 'waiting in line to be worked on' according to everything the guy at the other end of the phone knew, since Cindy had just left for the day. He also said that all the parts were here to fix it, so I'm guessing he was clueless as to the factual situation. I'm confident that they won't be trying to give me a brush-off after the adjustment. If Clarence doesn't think the noise is gone, he'll say so. If he says it's running right, I'll tend to believe him.

Luke · Feb 18, 2006

Sorry to hear about the problem, TC.

Keep us all informed, step by step. We all will sway the good Karma your way.

Toecutter · Feb 18, 2006

Keep us all informed, step by step. We all will sway the good Karma your way.

Thanks, I need all the help I can get.

Update- Spoke with Cindy this morning. She said they did do a valve adjustment, and after a good long :angry: test drive the noise was worse than before. So, Yamaha is now authorizing them to tear down the head to check the guide clearances. Then, if that's the problem, they will send the required parts to effect repairs. New guides, valves, seals, etc...Cindy also told me that they have a history of two bikes so far that have been repaired in this fashion and made it to the next service interval (another 26k miles) without recurrence. Not sure how many have been done this way and NOT made it another 26k though. Anybody? It's actually kind of comforting knowing that I will have had "The fix" in my past instead of in my future (at least once anyway). Also, another 26k to my next (and first billed) major service.

I just wonder if things might be different if we were able to run oil or additives with friction modifiers. Friction in motor bad, friction in clutch good. Seems like a whack design.

Feejer/Weejer man · Feb 18, 2006

Good for you. They could have cut the cost if they did not do the valve check. But the good thing is it is going to be fixed. They have a new exhaust valve seal that is supposed to be different. There have been old fixes that are being redone as we speak. The good thing for Yamaha is that a lot of owners do not put on the kind of milage to refix the fix so soon. Hopefully our fixes will be the last.

Toecutter · Feb 24, 2006

Update- Called Cindy again this afternoon. She said they got the teardown done and the valve guides were out of spec, so she called and Yamaha authorized the repair. Problem is, [SIZE=14pt]the exhaust valves are on backorder!!![/SIZE] Damn, no idea when they might show up. I might have to wait until all the '06's get built. Cindy did say that they put them on some kind of hot line priority system and they should know more about when they might show up next week. :sad2:

:sad2:

:sad2:

Another year, another wait. Looks like March may be bikeless. All I can do is make another pathetic phone call next week. I'm definitely not angry at the shop though. They have been really good throughout the process. Maybe it's about time I asked about gettin' a loaner, ya know, since those valves are backordered and all. R1, R6, hell, I'd take a Road Star at this point. Two weeks without a torque fix and counting....

user 711 · Feb 28, 2006

I got the same "valves backordered" message from Eastside Motosports in Bellevue, WA when they went though the diagnosis and Yamaha authorized the tick fix on my '05. It only has 8,000 miles on it and started ticking at 5,500. Been bikeless for almost 2 weeks now... :angry:

Unofficially Diagnosed

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