Issues with 13s and 14s

[ionbeam]

Ok then.Just a quick whip through some of the posts.

Hard downshifting on a 2013

Poor paint finish generally on the 2014

Vibration 2500-3500 on a low mileage 2013

The old missing mudflap saga

Rear shock noise on a 2013

Throttle abruptness on a 2014

Buzzy bars on a 2014.

That took all of 5 minutes to find.Just thought i'd point that out.

Have a great day.

...I wasn't around when the 05 model came out(current bike) and wouldn't know if this forum was either but there seems to be plenty of issues going by the forum re the 13 and 14 models. Don't get me wrong, i'd still love a new bike but man!!...

Since I happen to have recently put together a few items about the Gen I and Gen II that could use some improvement I'll tack it on here. This is what the Gen 3 it going up against, every item has had lots of threads and posts in this Forum over the years.

OEM seats

OEM windshield

OEM handlebar position

engine heat

it's heavy

it's top heavy

wire harness failures

wire harness recall

ECU recall [bramfrank detail minutia clarification: free factory replacement for all involved '06 & '07 FJRs]

meter assembly recall

TPS recall

bad CCTs

AE shift bracket failures

AE shift bracket recall

the center stand is too hard to use

the center stand is defective and breaks

the side stand is too hard to use correctly

side stand switch exposed to dirt and sticks

throttle pulley not concentric

throttle control

ABS pump fails

drive shaft splines not lubed

relay arms insufficient lube

brake pedal sticks

shift pedal sticks

headlights weak, poor beam pattern

lack of conspicuousness lighting

brake lights don't strobe

front fender does not extend down far enough

no radiator guard

no OEM heated grips except on the AE

lack of throttle lock/cruise control except on the Gen III

insufficient storage capacity, often needs a trunk

no passenger back rest

no highway pegs

the stock exhaust

the PAIR plumbing

the front suspension

the rear suspension

the OEM tires

no OEM frame sliders installed

OEM paint colors

throttle body synch is off

superfluous badges, stickers and reflectors

no obvious good choice for oil

no obvious good choice for tires

no obvious good choice for spark plugs

no obvious good choice for batteries

Alan, that listing is longer than my grocery list... like, when I've got a major buzz going!...

Kinda makes that Gen 3 list look good After riding the '14ES it does look like many of the 'not preferred' items have been taken care of between my oldie Gen I and today. No matter what, it will always be something, but so far most of the Gen 3 things only involve a small number of people/bikes and are within the range of individual preference.

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

Hi all
Just thought i'd speak my mind!

I wasn't around when the 05 model came out(current bike) and wouldn't know if this forum was either but there seems to be plenty of issues going by the forum re the 13 and 14 models. Don't get me wrong, i'd still love a new bike but man!!

Regards to all

gazza

I'm on my forth FJR owning a 07AE, 08AE, 13A and a 14ES. Everyone has been better than the model I owned before it. I don't know if they have archived perfection yet, but they are good enough that I would look no where else or consider any other type of bike as my main ride. They are the best bike made IMHO.

 

[RichDoyle]

I was in the other day getting the oil changed and a new tire installed on my bike and a guy came in for an oil change on his new 2013. (bought it in April as a last years model) He has noticed that the odometer rolls up to 7500kms and then resets back to 6501 kms. He said it has done it a couple of time so far. Any body else heard of this ..... Or this a one off kind of thing. He didn't seem worried. He even thought warranty issues it might be a good thing.

Now that's interesting. Of course mine is in miles, but it hasn't done anything like that. I assume you're not talking about the trip odometers. It almost sounds like the old mechanical odometers with the rotating wheels, like the thousands digit slips back a notch. I infer you don't really know the guy, so no point in asking a lot of questions in here, though many come to mind.

 

[1maxman]

Let me see, my '13 has had problems, the hard bag "Yamaha" labels fell off, there's my laundry list. Oh I forgot, it fell over in a parking lot while I was on it.

 

[Grey13]

My big problem is that the bike gets to non-legal speeds way too easily and quickly. Luckily, it's even quicker getting back down to legal speeds.

Oh!! Just realized, I've had my bike 1 year exactly today. About to hit 12k on the odo.

Ray

 

[Rider]

OEM paint colors

I'd never thought it was a problem until I saw the 2015 colors.

cant figure out the quote box thing here...it won't let me stick my cursor below the quote boxes, in the large white space where it looks like my post should go...

 

[ionbeam]

cant figure out the quote box thing here...it won't let me stick my cursor below the quote boxes, in the large white space where it looks like my post should go...

Ya, the quote thing sometimes gets 'stuck'. In the top tool bar with the fonts and text tools, at the very top left corner there is a little switch -- click it. This turns off all the auto formatting and lets you see all the commands in your message. Get the cursor to move where you want it then at your option turn the switch back on for a normal looking edit window with all the features enabled again.

 

[bramfrank]

Quick correction: There was no ECU recall . . . .

Maybe, perhaps it wasn't absolutely, technically a recall but Yamaha sent out letter M2007-016 to owners of '06 and '07 Yamaha FJR1300's, in this letter Yamaha stated that they are replacing the ECU's because of Altitude Surge.

...Please call your Yamaha dealer to make a service appointment to have this modification performed...
...Service of all affected units is authorized regardless of warranty status...

Strangely, Yamaha Canada refused to acknowledge the exchange program for my machine, even though I was hit by the surge problem . . . and others up here told my THEY got replacement ECUs - Yamaha steadfastly denied my request and denied there was a problem or that anyone in Canada had received replacement ECUs - it, and the unresolved Spider issues for my ride are now the dealer's problem.

 

[ionbeam]

...the unresolved Spider issues for my ride are now the dealer's problem.

Umm, ya, I noticed the 2014ES that suddenly showed up under your avatar

 

[MCRIDER007]

In 10 months I have 13K on a 13A and 4K on a 14ES and the only issues to date have been gas tanks that constantly need to be re-filled..

 

[bergmen]

1) Hard downshifting on a 2013

Not systemic, likely shift lever adjustment or rider error.

2) Poor paint finish generally on the 2014

My 2014 has excellent paint finish and is as durable as any I've seen.

3) Vibration 2500-3500 on a low mileage 2013

Again, not systemic. Vibration levels can vary from machine to machine for a variety of reasons, most fixable.

4) The old missing mudflap saga

Less than $10 and 10 seconds to fix. Whoopty-diddly-doo.

5) Rear shock noise on a 2013

Haven't seen that one, likely not systemic.

6) Throttle abruptness on a 2014

The 2013/2014 FJRs have the smoothest throttles of all three generations, espeically in "T" mode.

7) Buzzy bars on a 2014.

See #3. Mine are velvety smooth, has been for the last 10,000 miles.

If you look for problems on a motorcycle you will find them. If you look for the attributes you will see that they overwhelm the problems on a giant scale (at least to me).

Dan

 

[Allen_C]

Problem?

Not enough time to ride where ever and whenever I what to. I have only put on 11.5K in the past 6 months on my ES.

 

[SkooterG]

Problem? They cost money!

 

[steveoreno]

Love my 2013 but the paint shouldn't rub off where my boots touch the bike. I will fix it this winter but.........

Is the paint coming off the foot pegs?

Are you being obtuse with me Steve G?

 

[wheatonFJR]

Nothing obtuse about that one!

 

[RadioHowie]

Yeah, that was pretty stinkin' obvious.

 

[steve_g]

Love my 2013 but the paint shouldn't rub off where my boots touch the bike. I will fix it this winter but.........

Is the paint coming off the foot pegs?

Are you being obtuse with me Steve G?

Not sure what obtuse means, but i was being a smart ass. No hard feelings meant, hopefully you saw tbe humor.

 

[redir RJF]

With all these problems I going to sell my 2013 with 2000 miles. I think 5 grand should be a fair price.

You guys want problems try BMW and their bullshit attitude. Sheesh.

 

[wheatonFJR]

With all these problems I going to sell my 2013 with 2000 miles. I think 5 grand should be a fair price.

NOW you tell me.

 

[RadioHowie]

Mark, just think....for only another $630 dollars, you could replace the ECU with the latest version that "might" address the 82mph limit!

Granted, $5,630 for a Gen III is a bit much.....