FJRF013 - Transmission Recall for Second Gear (DE, UK, CA, & US) (2016-2020)

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
A buddy in SoCal had a couple of hiccups with his recall. First the dealer managed to fold a gasket which resulted in an oil leak. They had to pull the engine a second time to fix that. When he went in to pickup his bike he asked about the purpose of the ECU flash update. Response was "what flash update?". He has to go back later to get his bike.

Based on this I asked my dealer about the update flash. "What update flash?" It appears to be easy to miss this step in the documents sent to the dealers?? I scanned and sent a copy of my recall letter to my dealer which is pretty clear about the update flash. So I'll be making a trip back to my dealer as time and weather permits to get this step done.

Be sure and mention this to your shop just in case!

 
Bike #1 came back in for “clutch issues”.

Mine is waiting on this repair to be finished. Reportedly, my engine/transmission is back in the frame. 
-Steve

 
Just curious but does anyone know what exactly changes when they do the flash?  If I had to ass-u-me I'd be thinking they'd de-tune it a bit to put less stress on the gear which, when coupled with the upgraded parts replacement, might be a belts and suspenders type of thing.  IOW might it not be so bad performance-wise if they actually 'forgot' to do the flash?  Just thinkin' out loud.

 
Just curious but does anyone know what exactly changes when they do the flash?  If I had to ass-u-me I'd be thinking they'd de-tune it a bit to put less stress on the gear which, when coupled with the upgraded parts replacement, might be a belts and suspenders type of thing.  IOW might it not be so bad performance-wise if they actually 'forgot' to do the flash?  Just thinkin' out loud.
Mine was reflashed as a matter of course. No perceptible change in performance. 

 
The recall letter from Yamaha says, "reprogramming for ECU to change the performance characteristics for 2nd gear operations". 

Maybe the new gears are so strong they turned up the juice! 😁

I'm having mine reprogrammed and then will probably put the Ivan ECU back in. If anything breaks I'll swap it back in??

 
I`m not doing mine. I had a nice talk with my dealer who is also a mechanic and he said that if it were his bike, he would not do the recall. Just my opinion.

 
I`m not doing mine. I had a nice talk with my dealer who is also a mechanic and he said that if it were his bike, he would not do the recall. Just my opinion.
What would be his reason to go against the Mother Ship? Could it be they are scared of the Job or not make any money at it?

If 2nd break's at the wrong time it could be a death warrant and you/your family would have no right to have a claim as you ignored the recall.

 
How much time do you have to get this recall done? I know the letter says not to ride the bike till you get it fixed, but it may be a while because I want to make sure I find a competent mechanic that has done several of these procedures in my area. I don't trust every dealership.

                              GP

 
Got my FJR back this morning after the recall work. It went in Tuesday as planned and they called me Thursday morning saying they'd have it done by 3 PM. Unfortunately, they found a nail in my nearly brand-new tire (<300 miles) that they installed in October last year.

I picked it up this morning. The transmission feels fine - no different than before. 

I also got my original tire back and it has no discernable indication on the inside of any damage (appearance or feel), but the tech told me it does have a very slow leak.  It's time to learn how to patch, balance and mount FJR tires. 

20210219-130238.jpg


 
Things are turning bad.

My bike is apart once again, as “no drive” when test drive attempted.

Me: what does ECU flash actually do?
Dealer: What ECU flash?
Me: Read this - https://canadamotoguide.com/2020/12/02/yamaha-recall-21/

Dealer: H’mmm, we will check with Yamaha Canada.

2 hours later;

Dealer: Reflash instructions are ‘vague’, Yamaha Canada has set us straight. We will do it.

Me: what does ECU flash actually do?

-Steve

 
Dealer: Reflash instructions are ‘vague’, Yamaha Canada has set us straight. We will do it.
I have to agree with the 'vague' statement. My dealer said, "....[SIZE=11pt]on the dealer packet it is rather hidden at the back and the pages look different from the rest."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]That and given the fact there are multiple reports of the re-flash being missed by dealers Yamaha clearly could have done a better job documenting the required repair work. [/SIZE]

 
Tech agrees/admits to ‘brain fart”.

Yamaha provides this new assembly (blue circle).

However, no go unless this (red circle) is re-installed.

c8mCpc.jpg


Dealer has ordered the replacement single use fasteners. Should arrive tomorrow.

-Steve

 
Tech agrees/admits to ‘brain fart”.

Yamaha provides this new assembly (blue circle).

However, no go unless this (red circle) is re-installed.



Dealer has ordered the replacement single use fasteners. Should arrive tomorrow.

-Steve
Good thing the service guys recognized the need for replacing the single-use fasteners, especially since that would be on their dime.  I wish I could say I had never made a mistake this dumb.

(Ordering Lego at the same time?)

 
They know they messed up.

I know they messed up.

They are making it right.

I’m just looking at the bright side;

Nothing broke, no one hurt, & I got another look inside the engine. Nice clean exhaust ports, spotless oil pan pickup.

[LEGO sidebar: yes sort of, re-building 21108 & 7784 from the spares bin]

-Steve

 
Me: what does ECU flash actually do?
Picked up the bike today.

I think 1-2 shifts are cleaner than before. Maybe its just my imagination. All the clunks are still there, so thats comforting.

Yamaha Canada told dealer -

The reflash interrupts the spark when bike is started (begins to move) in second gear with above idle revs. No other change. Also mentioned that there are no reported Canadian 2nd gear failures.

-Steve

 
It will be my 2018's time in the barrel on March 9th.

Yesterday, I talked to my Tech who will do the recall -  he is wrapping up his second one now, and will begin his third one on Tuesday. Then mine well be his fourth FJR for this recall. I wanted to ensure he did 2-3 before mine.  😁

Took this beast out for 100-mile spin today in sunshine. Admittedly, this matte blue bike has been languishing in the garage since I scored the BMW S1000XR last September.  🙄

dusty.jpg

 
My dealer is picking mine up this week. I was able to stall them so I wouldn't be the first one they did. 

I had a good excuse anyways...my bikes are all in the house surrounded by snow. 😆

A warm stretch allowed my to plow a path around to the garage and I was able to ride thru the nearly melted grass. Butt pucker time!

But it's nice that they are coming to pick it up in an enclosed trailer then back to me next week sometime. 

 
Top