Which is scarier, GenI or GenII unique issues?

FJRBluesman · May 31, 2011

Which is scarier, GenI or GenII unique issues? Just sayin'.

There is no perfect bike, well… ok, an 1198 Ducati, aside from that the FJR is an awesome bike whether GenI or GenII. Looking at issues between the bikes which is the lesser of the two evils? Vote and give your reason why.

Note: I'll add to this as others make me aware of things I forgot or don't know that are unique to each Gen.

GenI unique Issues:

CCT

Ticker

Heat

GenII unique Issues:

Ignition recall

Ground Spider

Thanks for participating.

ScottyUSN · May 31, 2011

The only 2 real "issues" I've only read about that have not been addressed by Yamaha are the Gen I Ticker and the Gen II Ground Spider.I would say the ground spider is simpler to resolve than a ticker, but the spider is something your more likely to eventually experience without preventative maintenance (after market harness) than a ticker.

That said, I will not be holding my breath Yamaha to step up. I will beef up the grounds before any degrade occurs.

FJR Bill · May 31, 2011

I voted for Gen2. Why? Because that's what I have and Radio Howie scares me!!

Bill

beemerdons · May 31, 2011

FJR Bill said:
I voted for Gen2. Why? Because that's what I have and Radio Howie scares me!!

Bill

Simple Simon, Bill is right; you do need a third category for voting, regarding whether Radio Howie scares us more than the two Gen's combined, it's only fair Bro'!

SkooterG · May 31, 2011

FJR Bill said:
I voted for Gen2. Why? Because that's what I have and Radio Howie scares me!!

Bill

:rofl: :rofl:

Monty · May 31, 2011

Didn't vote as I'm too new to know the difference. The dealer did a recall on my '07 for the spider problem. :huh:

SkooterG · May 31, 2011

FJRBluesman said:
GenI unique Issues:

CCT

Ticker

Heat

GenII unique Issues:

Ignition recall

Ground Spider

You're list is not complete. But that doesn't really matter as all the 'issues' have been resolved except for two. Sort of.

ScottyUSN said:
The only 2 real "issues" I've only read about that have not been addressed by Yamaha are the Gen I Ticker and the Gen II Ground Spider.I would say the ground spider is simpler to resolve than a ticker, but the spider is something your more likely to eventually experience without preventative maintenance (after market harness) than a ticker.

Good comments.

Ok, so how I see it.........

The only issue with a Gen I is the tick. Doesn't happen very often, Yamaha paid for the repair in the past (will they still?), and the biggie? IT WON'T LEAVE YOU STRANDED. You have a long time to get it fixed at your convienance.

They did fix the Gen I ticking issue - when they came out with the Gen II. No more tickers. And though it would really suck, if you do get a ticker you can have the head rebuilt with the new parts and you'll never have to worry about it again.

Gen II has had MANY issues. All have been rectified except for the Ground Spider problem, so that is really the only applicable issue. This one scares me. IT CAN LEAVE YOU STRANDED. (Ask TurboDave about being stuck in the middle of Death Valley. First time he has been stranded on a motorcycle in many years and many bikes.) It could stop your engine while riding down an interstate with traffic everywhere, or in the middle of a corner when leaned over. Scary ****. It IS a safety issue. A ticker is not. Also, you could have a ground spider issue fry your wiring harness, have Yamaha replace it, and have the same thing happen all over again! There is NO official fix.

That's why I voted Gen II.

Thankfully, ground spider is also relatively rare, and you can pre-emptively do things to avoid it. But nobody should have to. Yamaha really screwed the pooch on the Gen II. Too many electrical issues, and the the Japanese are known for their electronics prowess.

As for Radiohowie, well ****, he is the ulitmate scary issue. There's just no comparison.

beemerdons · May 31, 2011

SkooterG said:
FJRBluesman said:

GenI unique Issues:

CCT

Ticker

Heat

GenII unique Issues:

Ignition recall

Ground Spider

Click to expand...

You're list is not complete. But that doesn't really matter as all the 'issues' have been resolved except for two. Sort of.

ScottyUSN said:

The only 2 real "issues" I've only read about that have not been addressed by Yamaha are the Gen I Ticker and the Gen II Ground Spider.I would say the ground spider is simpler to resolve than a ticker, but the spider is something your more likely to eventually experience without preventative maintenance (after market harness) than a ticker.

Click to expand...

Good comments.

As for Radiohowie, well ****, he is the ulitmate scary issue. There's just no comparison.

Sometimes Son, You're Truly A Genius; as well as My Hero, kick RH every chance you get!

Fred W · May 31, 2011

The correct answer is: neither. None of these issue is particularly scary if you already know about them. And therein lies the absolute beauty of a users forum like this one. You do learn about it, possibly even before your purchase.

Yeah, the spider and ignition issues on gen 2's can both leave you walking. But both are easily and cheaply prevented with a very little effort or expense. The tickers are more chronic than acute, won't leave you stranded, but are potentially the most expensive (of those already mentioned).

Items not previously listed:

CCT failures (Gen 1?)

Lean surging Gen1

Ignition switches Gen2

Altitude fix Gen2

YCCS errors Gen2 AE only

Jerky throttles Gen

Sidestand collapse Concours refugees

allrider · May 31, 2011

FJRBluesman said:
Which is scarier, GenI or GenII unique issues? Just sayin'.

There is no perfect bike, well… ok, an 1198 Ducati, aside from that the FJR is an awesome bike whether GenI or GenII. Looking at issues between the bikes which is the lesser of the two evils? Vote and give your reason why.

Note: I'll add to this as others make me aware of things I forgot or don't know that are unique to each Gen.

GenI unique Issues:

CCT

Ticker

Heat

GenII unique Issues:

Ignition recall

Ground Spider

Thanks for participating.

I had both Gen's and everything but a ticker can be resolved easily enough. The only scary thing is doing nothing about any of these issues and being scared.

Geezer · May 31, 2011

Gen 1 owner here, and I voted for Gen 1 for similar reasons as above, a ticker is a very serious issue that you can't really prevent or avoid. Luckily it only affected a small number of bikes.

The rest of the Gen 1 issues, and the Gen 2 issues can be avoided if you follow the forum closely enough to learn what the problems are and how to prevent them from biting you.

I am ignoring the heat issue because I haven't ridden a Gen 2 so I don't know how much of a difference there is.

That said, I still don't want to trade my Gen 1 for a Gen 2, or even for another Gen 1.

Knifemaker · May 31, 2011

I don't get scared. You must be some kind of girlly-man.

Got a 2006 model and all recalls been done...free... And not scared of spiders either...

Wuss.

KM

Bungie · May 31, 2011

SkooterG said:
Thankfully, ground spider is also relatively rare, and you can pre-emptively do things to avoid it.

I would not call the ground spider issue rare. Not a week goes by here on the forum where somebody we've never heard of finally de-lurks and tell a tale of woe. I'd add the number bikes affected is FAR FAR greater than those affected by ticking issues. (note: my bike was a ticker, Yamaha Canada covered the cost of parts and machining while the bike was out of warranty)

I know forum members who've got 50,000+ miles on their tickers. I planned on keeping my Gen 1 so it was worth it for me to pay the labour to have it fixed.

Also, the CCT's issues are not unique to Gen 1's.

All that being said, my next bike will either be another Gen 1, or something else entirely. The Gen II's electricals are just far to flakey for me (Spiders, Ignition switches, ECU's) for me to even consider buying one, preventable or not, they are indicative of a larger problem as a whole.

JR'SFJR · Jun 1, 2011

The Gen I ticker was a deal breaker for me. My Gen II easy fixes came along before I had any issues and has never left me stranded. The computer altitude fix came before I headed out west to altitude. Like many, I carried a toggle switch before the ignition recall and Brodie relay fix, but never needed it. More recently, I installed an extra ground wire on S4 ground spider even though it was fine after 50k. The throttle spring release and G2 helped the throttle roughness. I consider these minor compared to removing the engine for repair, even if Yamaha fixes it.

MEM · Jun 1, 2011

Monty said:
The dealer did a recall on my '07 for the spider problem. :huh:

No one seemed to notice this but I'll ask......HUH?!

A recall? Really ???? :blink:

Checkswrecks · Jun 1, 2011

I'm with Knifemaker and Fred in that nothing about either is scary, so I think the poll is as misleading as something from some news organization. Maybe well-intended but misleading and easy to take out of context.

beemerdons · Jun 1, 2011

Checkswrecks said:
I'm with Knifemaker and Fred in that nothing about either is scary, so I think the poll is as misleading as something from some news organization. Maybe well-intended but misleading and easy to take out of context.

Checkswrecks, Fred W and Knifemaker: Have you guys ever ridden with Bluesy? If you think our Simon is misguided on a keyboard, just follow him on his FJR; WORD!

MarFJR · Jun 1, 2011

Im on my new 2010..

Spider issue?? What is it and how do I make sure I prevent it?

SkooterG · Jun 1, 2011

MarFJR said:
how do I make sure I prevent it?

Sell your POS GenII FJR and buy a GenI.

You're welcome.

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