My bike is finally in the shop

[luvtoride]

Well, just got back from dropping my bike off at the dealer. I have two issues going on. #1) Since having the TPS replaced under recall I've been experiencing erratic idle. Shortly after the work was done I was told by the head mechanic that it cannot possibly be the TPS. Yeah well, it seems awfully funny that it didn't start the erratic idle until it was replaced. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

#2) Also, I'm hoping for a tick fix. The bike has been ticking since early on. Shortly after I bought it is when I first noticed it. At that point it was very intermittent (9000 miles plus/minus)... but now w/ 41,000 miles on my bike, it's pretty prevalent.

I have yet to talk w/ a mechanic. I just brought it up there & dropped her off. Hoping that I'm not given a large ration of shit about it & they just fix it.

Anyway, the first step has been taken,

Heidi

 

[03HiYoSilver]

#2) Also, I'm hoping for a tick fix. The bike has been ticking since early on. Shortly after I bought it is when I first noticed it. At that point it was very intermittent (9000 miles plus/minus)... but now w/ 41,000 miles on my bike, it's pretty prevalent.
I have yet to talk w/ a mechanic. I just brought it up there & dropped her off. Hoping that I'm not given a large ration of shit about it & they just fix it.

Heidi,

Wish you luck with your Tick Fix, etc. I just got mine done and this is the link that may give you pointers on how they do or do not repair.

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=21769

Hopefully you will have a better experience and you may need to press them on doing a TBS etc that is NOT called in the manual according to the mechanic who did mine.

Let me know how it goes.

 

[luvtoride]

Thanks for the info silver. It's Monday morning & I'm hoping to hear from them sooner then later. I am betting that they will give me a hard time about this. You can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be on the horn to Yamaha when this happens.

Oh, BTW... did you have the 26,000 valve adjustment done? I haven't as of yet & fully expect then to try to charge me to have one done... although, the tick has been present since around 9,000 miles.

Another question... how long did it take to get your bike back?

 

[03HiYoSilver]

Thanks for the info silver. It's Monday morning & I'm hoping to hear from them sooner then later. I am betting that they will give me a hard time about this. You can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be on the horn to Yamaha when this happens.
Oh, BTW... did you have the 26,000 valve adjustment done? I haven't as of yet & fully expect then to try to charge me to have one done... although, the tick has been present since around 9,000 miles.

Another question... how long did it take to get your bike back?

Heidi,

I had bought the bike w/ 28k miles and did not do the service until 35k miles...no adjustment needed but they did at this time replace the Cam Chain Tensioner.

When I took it to another dealer for the Ticker, they had it a week, pending parts avail. , when they put a new head & valves on the bike... this was what they did in my case but don't think it was necessary.

Please make sure they do the TBS related things because the manual they follow DOES NOT call for it to be done.

Let me know how it goes....

 

[Warchild]

Oh, BTW... did you have the 26,000 valve adjustment done? I haven't as of yet & fully expect then to try to charge me to have one done... although, the tick has been present since around 9,000 miles.

Uh-oh..... Heidi, are you saying your bike has 41K on the odometer, and you never had the 26K valve clearance check performed? AND it's a Ticker?

Wow.... depending on what kind of asswipe your dealer wants to be, you might be behind the Eight Ball on this one, warranty-wise.....

 

[luvtoride]

Exactly what I said Warchild... 41,000. Sometimes it's really fun being poor. Well, I guess what happens, happens. There are other dealers in my area, too.

 

[markjenn]

This is one of those where I have to side with Yamaha. If you're expecting them to step up and fix a bike that is 32K miles out of warranty, then you need to do the required maintenance.

- Mark

 

[luvtoride]

not 32k out of warranty. 16,000 over valve check date... w/ warranty still in place. I'm not looking for sympathy... nor do I know if I'd need it, yet. I'm pretty sure that my original post was about what I have going on & didn't ask any questions. I'm a grown-up & will take responsibility if I need to. By the way, I have learned to do all of my own basic maintenance because I don't always have money to burn on certain things. My oil/filter, final drive oil, air filter, coolant, plugs haven't "ever" gone without being cleaned and/or changed... & there are other items such as fork oil, brake fluid, brake pad change that I've gotten help with... so, it's not like there is "no" maintenance going on.

I do thank you guys f/ the input.

Edited to add: I guess that I should say that since I didn't do the 26,000 mile check, I'd expect that I might have to pay for the check & adjust if necessary. I would not expect to pay for the valve guides & labor to fix them & would be in touch w/ Yamaha over that.

 

[quicksilver]

When I took mine in, we all played coy with each other.

I didn't say what the issue was. Maybe valve adjustment, maybe tensioner, maybe something else.

But, I got the service manager and the lead tech to agree something did not sound right.

So, I said, ok, I don't care what it is, make it go away.

I agreed to pay if it turned out to be just a valve adjustment or if they found anything like user abuse.

Otherwise, we were talking some kind of warranty work.

Someboby mumbled something about our first ticker.....

They checked valve shim clearance, which was OK at 20K.

Then they called mama yama for advice and was told to inspect valve guides.

They were well out of spec (big surprise), so Dryer Yamaha (plug for a great service department)

ordered almost everything under warranty without even consulting me. They just made it happen.

Like everyone else, they forgot to order the main head bolts, which are one time use.

That delayed the repair because they did not discover the error until it was time to bolt everything back together.

So, make sure you remind them that they need to get new head bolts too.

But in the end, balance due was zero dollars, even the fluids were free, and everything was righteous.

12K bliss since then....

One issue was I had switched to DexCool and they threw that out and replaced with the green coolant.

If I had thought about it, I would have gladly bought them a new jug to keep me switched over.

Aside from a character chip on the tank, and not knowing how the reassemble the panels correctly

(that is a bitch for rookies), they did a stellar job.

Hope this helps....

 

[HaulinAshe]

When I took mine in, we all played coy with each other.I didn't say what the issue was. Maybe valve adjustment, maybe tensioner, maybe something else.

But, I got the service manager and the lead tech to agree something did not sound right.

So, I said, ok, I don't care what it is, make it go away.

I agreed to pay if it turned out to be just a valve adjustment or if they found anything like user abuse.

Otherwise, we were talking some kind of warranty work.

Someboby mumbled something about our first ticker.....

They checked valve shim clearance, which was OK at 20K.

Then they called mama yama for advice and was told to inspect valve guides.

They were well out of spec (big surprise), so Dryer Yamaha (plug for a great service department)

ordered almost everything under warranty without even consulting me. They just made it happen.

...Aside from a character chip on the tank, and not knowing how the reassemble the panels correctly

(that is a bitch for rookies), they did a stellar job.

You won't find that kind of FJR service from any Yamaha dealer within 300 miles of here.

 

[Randy]

Oh, BTW... did you have the 26,000 valve adjustment done? I haven't as of yet & fully expect then to try to charge me to have one done... although, the tick has been present since around 9,000 miles.

Uh-oh..... Heidi, are you saying your bike has 41K on the odometer, and you never had the 26K valve clearance check performed? AND it's a Ticker?

Wow.... depending on what kind of asswipe your dealer wants to be, you might be behind the Eight Ball on this one, warranty-wise.....

Might be up to the judge to determine under Magnusson Moss??? If it's a ticker as a result of the valve guides, wouldn't it be up to the dealer to prove that the bad guides are a result of not doing the valve clearance check? Could an expert technician say without a doubt that an out of speck valve clearance would result in a valve guide going bad? For the amount of money the dealership would have to pay in legal costs to fight it vs. the amount of money it would cost to do the fix, my guess is that they would end up just doing it.

Additionally, since they have to remove the valves to do the tick repair, wouldn't part of the reassembly process be to set the valve clearance? Especially if they replace the head as they have been doing. Yes? No? Talking out my ass again?

 

[Alex-Gerrit]

I recently purchased a 2004 FJR. I noticed the other day after the bike warmed up, that it was kind of ticking. Not real bad, but like it was low on oil. I checked the oil level, it was fine. If this is the same problem that others have described, do I have any chance to get Yamaha to pay for it, even if I am the 3rd owner and the bike has a little over 17k miles on it?

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

First of all the bikes have a noise all their own. Make sure it is the "tick" first before going through all the trouble. I had my 03 fixed and it was using oil and getting louder at 18,500 miles, diagnosed a ticker under 6000 miles. Search the function for tickers and you will find all that you can read about the problem and remedies. The now drop the header to check for oil that signifies the exhaust valves are bad. Load yourself with info because the dealers are not much help at all.

 

[luvtoride]

I recently purchased a 2004 FJR. I noticed the other day after the bike warmed up, that it was kind of ticking. Not real bad, but like it was low on oil. I checked the oil level, it was fine. If this is the same problem that others have described, do I have any chance to get Yamaha to pay for it, even if I am the 3rd owner and the bike has a little over 17k miles on it?

Alex, I believe that if you do indeed have ticking that there is a chance that Yamaha will fix it. Is it going to be an easy road? Probably not. Really, really... probably not. Actually, I seriously doubt it'll be easy. Do you have the YES plan(Yamaha Extended Service)? THat might make your road a little easier.

First, try to definitely detect whether you've got a ticker or if the engine is just making normal noise. There is a sound byte of an advanced ticker tacked at the top of this posting area. Although, this particular bike is in advanced stages, it'll give you an idea of the sound to look for. Think tapping steak knives on a table.

Another way is to compare your bike w/ another FJR.

I myself have been around quite a few of these type bikes & knew for sure that the noise my bike was making wasn't good.

As Feej-Weej says, arm yourself w/ info. As much as you can find. It took me a month of in and out of my dealer w/ valve adjustments, etc before they took me seriously. I firmly believe that because I am a woman, I'd know nothing of my bike. That was a wrong assumption on their part... & in my own time I ended up proving that I did know something. It took some patience, though... but my bike is officially being fixed right now.

Good luck to ya' sir,

Heidi

 

[Alex-Gerrit]

Hey Heidi, no I do not have a Y E S plan. I bought the bike from a private owner. Is it to late for me to try and buy a Y E S plan? Not sure what the prerequisites for that are. I noticed the bike does get somewhat louder during warm up. Listening to some of the sound clips, it sounds like I have a ticker. Does anyone have any names of Yamaha representatives they have worked with, regarding this problem?

 

[Charlie Hoss]

Heidi,

I distinctly remember you said you had a mechanic friend check the valve clearance at approx 26K miles and they were all within spec. You just forgot to get him to give you a receipt since there was no charge.

I doubt that the damage found in a "ticker" would be the same as damage from improper valve clearance. It would be hard to prove that lack of valve adj would cause the valve guide wear.

I also doubt that even at 42K the valves would be "that far" out to cause any problems.

In other words, these two problems are not related.

Like quicksilver said, play it coy. You'll be ok. Any chance they'll get it fixed in time for EOM? Good Luck.

Charlie

 

[luvtoride]

Hi Charlie, it wasn't me who had their valves checked at 26,000 w/ no receipt. Actually, I didn't have my check/adjustment done until 41,000 miles. Not good, I know but my wallet very often designates what I can & cannot do. I'm thinking that like you said, the problems aren't related.

It took me quite a bit to get this goin' on. I went into it armed with a lot of information. It's being fixed. The parts are in, the bike is torn down, etc.

I better have it back b4 EOM!!! Well, that is just wishful wishing right now. The manager of my dealer thinks that, depending on the machine shop's schedule, I may possibly have it this weekend... although I'm not holding my breath.

Alex, I don't have a specific person for you to speak with. I called Yamaha & spoke w/ someone... don't even remember her name. What that person did tell me that before any report will be taken by Yamaha, there has to be a reason for the report. First step, take the bike to the dealer. See what happens. If you aren't satisfied, that is when Yamaha will step in.

As I can see it, having your dealer watching your back is the best way to get this done by Yamaha. It took me a month of back and forth trying to get them to recognize the problem. & then the original tech that worked on the bike screwed stuff up... things like reinstalling panels. I pegged the problems & came back to the manager, discussed my problems with him to let him see that I know what I was talking about.

It also didn't hurt that an '05 was sitting 25 feet away from me that didn't tick & I could have the manager listen to both bikes.

He then came back to me about the noise coming from the exhaust area. He could hear it but had no explanation for it. I said to him... tell me this, why didn't that other FJR w/ the same engine sound the same as mine. He couldn't answer me.

It was then I was more firm about telling him that I think that I may know what the problem is, how it was diagnosed, what problems the valve guide wear causes, etc. I asked him to please contact the regional representative for Yamaha & go from there.

Next thing that I knew they were dropping the headers to look into the exhaust ports for unburnt oil leaking past the seals & guides. What did they find? oil... apparently, quite a bit of it.

Somewhere on here there is advice for the person that thinks that they might have a ticker. I have a copy of it but got it off of a friend who also had his bike repaired. Do a search to see if you can find it.

And good luck. There have been bikes that were fixed out of warranty. I figure that those folks could give you better advice on how to handle it.

Heidi

 

[weekend rider]

That is exactly right what C Hoss said valve adjistment does not make your bike a ticker.

In my book Luvtoride you being a woman and having your knowledge of bikes and being a rider makes your even better than most men with mechanical skills. You have my vote that you will succeed.

In my field of work I have seen and talked to several good women engineers. The last tech class I had there were several in the class and a whole lot more knowledeable than myself and we got along very well.There was no upmans ship on anyones part.

Good luck and kick some ass if needed

 

[Scab]

Yeah, yeah, Heidi, just no outrunning me like the last time we rode, okay?