2006(+?) FJR1300 Recalls and Service Bulletins

[RiderJoe]

Hello All! I bought a 2006 FJR1300A in April of 2021 with just over 7K miles on it. The bike ran great on the test ride and all around our area for a few months, until a few weeks ago I took it up to much higher elevations than where we live, with my wife as a pillion. At 5,000' or so when we turned onto a twisty, single lane road I found that the bike would not want to accelerate off idle, and then suddenly lurch forward at around 3000 RPM, like someone lit a firecracker behind a bull. Unnerving to say the least riding two-up on a narrow road with blind corners, a cliff off the right and a mountain to the left with no shoulders to pull off to. After we were able to stop and turn around, the bike ran fine all the way home. I looked into what might cause the bike to do that, and I found that it is a classic case of altitude sickness documented in Yamaha's TSB M2007-016A. A little more digging on the NET revealed that my bike has one of the "affected" VINs. So, I took it to the local Yamaha service center with a copy of the Tech Service bulletin printed out in my hand to see if they would fix the issue. The service manager looked up my VIN number and found that with the exception of the ignition switch fix, all other Recalls and Service Bulletin items were outstanding on the bike. He offered to call Yamaha to see if they would fix the altitude sickness issue on a bike with very low miles, even though his computer screen clearly showed that the Service Bulletin timeline (on FJRF004) has expired. The same was true for the 17MPG readout issue (FJRF010) - not that I care about that. He explained to me that Technical Service Bulletins are different than recalls, and he advised me to not get my hopes up about TSBs. Recalls, however, are usually honored. After two weeks of waiting, I called the service manager about the status of my bike. He told me that he received one item for a recall, and is waiting for the sub harness to arrive for the second. Yamaha declined to fix the TSB issues, however. So, I called Yamaha Customer Relations myself. The person on the phone didn't seem to care about any details I wanted to provide. She asked me for my VIN number, and after I gave it to her, she said that I should not ride my bike until the ground wire issue is fixed (FJRF009). Then I asked her if something can be done to help me with the other TSBs outstanding for my bike. She told me that the only thing that needs fixing is the electrical grounding issue (FJRF009). Again, I asked her about the altitude sickness issue - TSB M2007-016A. To that, she replied - in an obviously annoyed tone - that she doesn't know anything about that TSB, and reiterated that the wiring issue needs to be fixed and nothing else can be done.

So, I am not sure if sharing my experience is helpful, but I am hoping that it would be useful for someone in a similar situation that I am in.

 

[BigOgre]

Always good to share (most) stories. :winksmiley02:   I've not owned a Gen II but have read many postings about the altitude sickness issue.  From what I recall Ivan's ECU flash should solve that problem and maybe even provide some other benefits also.  In the meantime I believe cycling the ignition once at the higher elevation should also correct it for the time being.  Hopefully someone will be along here and correct me if I'm off a bit.

 

[RiderJoe]

Hi BigOre, you are correct. I read about the ignition cycling and stepping down to lower gear (elevating revs) to solve the altitude sickness problem temporarily. I am sure that most of the time I can do one or the other if I notice it happening. However, even if I knew what I know now, I am not sure that either option would have been good at that time. I was already riding in first gear on the windy, single lane mountain road and as I mentioned, there was no safe place to pull over to safely. That situation was just simply unsafe with a nearly uncontrollable engine. So, I will have to fix the ECU problem no question about it. Lesson learned and shared.

 

[rbentnail]

There's another option- a replacement ECU.  I've got a spare from an '07 FJR.  $150 + shipping.

 

[RiderJoe]

Hi rbentnail, Thank you for the suggestion, I was thinking of the same solution.  Yesterday I received an '07 ECU I brought last week on Ebay for $155. I sure hope that it is the updated version that no longer has the altitude sickness issue. On the ECU I purchased there is a part number of 3p6 with a large "23" number following it. That "23" corresponds with the updated ECU part number Yamaha sells now, which is 3P6-8591A-23-00 for $$$$$$$. The previous version was 3P6-8591A-20-00. I am busy during the week, but  hoping to get to swap the ECUs over the weekend.

 

[RiderJoe]

I wanted to give an update on my bike's recalls' status (2006 FJR1300). Yamaha fixed two outstanding recall issues (California charcoal canister replacement, and the ground spider issue FJRF009). On the ground spider issue - Yamaha Customer Relations advised me NOT TO RIDE MY BIKE until the issue is fixed, but the part that fixes the issue is backordered without an expected availability date. After waiting for a month for the part to come in, I was able to get an OEM one from EBay, and the local Yamaha service department installed it. Yes, the part was at my expense, but at least I can ride my bike now instead of waiting for the sub harness to become available (for ? months). Yamaha declined to fix the altitude sickness issue (FJRF004) and the 17mpg readout issue (FJRF010), as the Tech Service Bulletins for those items' replacement period have "expired" - yup, Yammie's opinion is that after an arbitrary date (they set) those issues no longer exist (for them, or the owners of their products). As I mentioned in my earlier post I got a replacement ECU to resolve the altitude sickness issue from EBay, from a wrecked 2007 model. Replacement was straight forward. My bike had part number "21" and the 07's part was "23". The part came from Florida, but the CO settings matched my California model's O2 settings (5, 18, 18, 21, from cylinders 1-4 respectively). There is no noticeable difference in the bike's behavior from before and after the ECU swap, and I haven't had a chance to ride the bike to high elevations yet to confirm that the altitude sickness issue is gone. For what its worth, after all this, I am more confident about taking the bike out for longer rides without worrying about issues that have been reported and known to cause problems on the model year I own.

 

[RossKean]

On the ground spider issue - Yamaha Customer Relations advised me NOT TO RIDE MY BIKE until the issue is fixed

I don't think I would have worried about it much - it has been like that for 15 years already and the worst case scenario is that it would leave you stranded (hopefully not in heavy traffic).  Some have appeared "scorched" but I have never heard of one catching fire.  Failure of one of the other grounding points is still possible and you should watch out for it.  I had one of the others fail after I had the recall done on my '07.

As I mentioned in my earlier post I got a replacement ECU to resolve the altitude sickness issue from EBay

Easy fix and not terribly expensive...

and the 17mpg readout issue (FJRF010)

Not a big deal - if the instantaneous mileage readout is important to you, you can pick up a used instrument cluster - I think anything from late 2006 tp 2012 would do.  I have seen them for cheap on eBay.  Whether you put in a used one or Yamaha replaced it, the total mileage on the display would be wrong.  That would irritate me more than the instantaneous mileage readout issue.  (As far as I know (not certain), the AVERAGE mileage readout is OK and far more useful.)

 

[rbentnail]

Replacing the wiring harness does nothing to repair all the ground spiders.  It just moves the problem from one to another. 

 

[RiderJoe]

@rbentnail and @RossKean, thanks so much for the information! I appreciate it. I will keep an eye out for other possible grounding issues. I rode my 2003 FJR1300 for a bit more than 18 years. I took it on long and many short(er) trips throughout the Western States and Canada without any issues - other than the initial ticking issue that came up around 20K - and was fixed by Yamaha. I am hoping that this (new to me) 2006 will prove to be just as trouble free on my trips, and that is why I tried to fix known issues ahead of time. I understand that problems can arise at any time with any vehicle, but knowing that I tried to get ahead of them gives me some comfort. At least I will not be saying to myself at the side of the road one day hundreds of miles away from home that "I knew that this could happen, and I should have taken care of it before." Thanks again for your heads up on what I should look out for.

 

[teacherman]

My 03 lasted 100,000 trouble free miles.....my 06 AE now has 70,000 trouble free miles other than a shifter issue which Yamaha reluctantly fixed....Looking forward to at least another 30K...

 

[gazelle]

I had an issue with one of my '04's stumbling. I ran it almost empty, raised the tank, cleaned the 14 pin wiring harness connector with DeOxit (sp) and a cotton swab. Never had another problem, sold the bike with 167k miles. Never showed a trouble code of any kind....worth a try.....45 minutes and ten cents....

 

[RossKean]

I had an issue with one of my '04's stumbling. I ran it almost empty, raised the tank, cleaned the 14 pin wiring harness connector with DeOxit (sp) and a cotton swab. Never had another problem, sold the bike with 167k miles. Never showed a trouble code of any kind....worth a try.....45 minutes and ten cents....

That wiring harness connector is a Gen I thing. Fairly common issue with pre-2006 and causes poor running but nothing similar on Gen II+.

Not a common issue, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to pull the connector off the ECU to make sure it is clean and dry (and properly seated).I don't think I would do anything with the pins (or socket) unless there is evidence of moisture/dirt ingress or corrosion.