Nearly 15 years ago, after a couple of episodes in which the gasoline in my '05 tank boiled in the hot desert sun, shooting from the filler opening when I opened it to refuel, I made my own heat shield. I picked up a roll of that shiny aluminum and plastic bubble insulator from Home Depot at very little expense and fashioned a shield to fit under the tank. I made slits to allow passage of the hoses, etc., and formed a little tab in front so that the shield would be secured by the front tank mounting bolts. Over a decade later, it still works at least as well as the factory shield. I still have most of the roll left in case I need to make another.
My mechanic warned that the engine would run hot with the shield in place. At that time, the factory did not put a heat shield under the (Gen. 1) tank. However, there was, and has been no change in the engine temp gauge on the dash. The boiling stopped and there was much less heat on my tender bits. So I guess it works fine. As we know, Yamaha added a heat shield to the Gen. 2 for 2006 and thereafter.
My local shop is the only option within 150 miles, so I have tolerate the little things. Looking back, I can't say that I have ever encountered a repair shop of any kind that hasn't screwed up now and then. Apparently, that's the "state of the art."
I have learned that I need to check the position of my heat shield after any trip to the shop during which they might lift the tank. On one occasion, after a valve check, I found my homemade heat shield wasn't replaced properly and had slipped down near the back of the tank's underside. For that matter, I usually go over the bike to make sure everything is back in place and torqued down after any visit to the shop. I suppose there is a lot of pressure from management for mechanics or their assistants to get things done in as little time as possible, and I have found little errors now and then. Since I am not interested in doing operations much more involved than the regular oil change, I find it is well worth the little effort required. WBill
