Ticker Video

[ChrisW]

"Exhaust leak" is what every uninformed Yamaha dealer says when they first hear that noise. AND, IIRC, fjrvtx1300s reported oil usage waaaay into his tick-saga. I seem to remember someone reporting oil film out the back of their exhaust. Thankfully, now that FJR owners on the websites are educated in the matter, most are getting the repair done before the damage gets that far.
[SIZE=8pt] Hmmmm, 8 to go...[/SIZE]

They are taking it in on Tuesday to do a valve clearance inspection. The shop owner was concerned that it had so many miles (39K) on it. The Yamaha Rep gave instructions to do the inspection though. That was the first step last time. They kept the bike and the Rep brought up a new head. Had a closet full of'em apparently.

I suspect it will be the same deal this time. I'm a year out of warranty, and I think the head was replaced just over 12 month's ago, so I'm pleased they are even looking at it for me.

It smelled like oil for the first time this morning after a restart. Warm oil sitting on top of the cylinder I'm sure.

I would have liked to take care of it sooner but I was out riding. Actually, I new it was still a ticker after 4K on the new head. It's got 25K on it now. I think I just wanted to see how bad it would get. It's just unridable now, so I'm looking to get it fixed.

and BTW, I'm normally religious about the maint. I didn't have a lot of time during the rally to take care of it like I usually do. It was treat just to be able to brush my teeth a couple of times over the 7 days.

 

[ChrisW]

They are taking it in on Tuesday to do a valve clearance inspection. The shop owner was concerned that it had so many miles (39K) on it. The Yamaha Rep gave instructions to do the inspection though. That was the first step last time. They kept the bike and the Rep brought up a new head. Had a closet full of'em apparently.

Not real clear on the details yet but the #1 cylinder had zero compression. Something to do with one of the shims for an exhaust valve coming out and getting jammed somewhere. I don't think it caused any damage.

The valves are the "new type" because they have a dot on the.

The valve guides, and valve guide seals are the "old type" so they have ordered new parts.

This is different than last time where they just sent a new head up to the shop. I'm pretty happy with the way Yamaha is dealing with this (on there dime).

I have a lot of trust in the mechanic doing the work. He used to work at the Honda place where I bought my last bike. He has a 99 Bandit 1200 with 115K miles on it to so he likes to ride, and he's a good wrench.

Kind of interesting that I made it 2500 miles home on 3 cylinders. Could have been a BMW rear drive failure. Also interesting that an FJR 900 inline 3 has adequate power for doing a x-country run in about 2 1/2 days.

OK Yamaha, I'm back. At least for awhile.

 

[nusman68]

I am reading this correctly? Your second cyl. head and ticking again? I must say, ChrisW, I am impressed...you have got to be the world's most understanding Yamaha customer. I think I would be, shall we say, 'pissed to the 10th power' if it were my bike. Good luck on the impending fix...keep us informed, please. I 'll be keeping my fingers crossed on my '05 ('cept when shifting, of course! B) )