But. I am really concerned about buying a bike used and out of warranty that may develop the ticking issue which the dealer won't deal with. It seems like a crap shoot. I know internet is not reflective of all bikes and it is a small percentage but every forum has a few of these.
Is there anyway to know if the bike has had the repair or worse may need it?
It's pretty much a roll of the dice TomBo ! Most are ticking by 10K if they're destined to do so, some small percentage tick later in life ( my 04 started at
26K ), and there some bikes over 80K that don't tick at all. B)
The dealer should be able to tell you if t's been repaired. He'll run the VIN through Yammie and it'll give the bike history, or if it's a non Yamaha dealer get the VIN and call Yamaha Cypress for the history.
To check if it needs the repair invest in a mechanics stethescope, they're cheap, ( or if your a shade tree mechanic ,, a really long screwdriver and put your ear on the handle ), listen to both sides of the motor at the head. Both sides should sound about the same, ( the right side, as your sitting on the bike , may be a little noisier as the cam chain is on that side ). If the left side ( clutch side ) is a LOT noisier, it may be developing the Tick.
Remember Yammie has picked up the tab in the USA of fixing all tickers for free. If your in lust for the bike, sounds as if you are , buy it, rack up 5K ASAP, and if it does not tick by 14K, your odds are pretty good it's a non ticker, then you can sleep at night !