Interested in a 2006 AE but scared of potential issues

[Andy440]

There is nice 2006 AE for sale with 22k miles for $4400 that I looked at but I'm worried about the potential for problems with the Clutch / Shifting. How likely is it some type of problem will eventually occur ?  Is it normal for there to be no issues ? I've read about some of the problems but can't figure out what the chances of having them are. Thanks  

 

[Bounce]

Ask for their maintenance folder. They should have at least a shoe box with:

Receipts for all services (or supplies used with self services). Each receipt should have the date and mileage of the bike when it was done. Receipts for all additional mods should also be there (and with date/miles installed). Anything more detailed or organized than that is a plus.

If they can't be bothered to make a couple of notes on a receipt and toss it in a sack or box, then how much of their required PM did they skip? If they have all that, then you know they did the maintenance as called for, so there's that peace of mind and confidence.

 

[mcatrophy]

There is nice 2006 AE for sale with 22k miles for $4400 that I looked at but I'm worried about the potential for problems with the Clutch / Shifting. How likely is it some type of problem will eventually occur ?  Is it normal for there to be no issues ? I've read about some of the problems but can't figure out what the chances of having them are. Thanks  

Chances for YCC-S problems are very low.

There have been a few recalls on the FJR for various reasons, mostly electrical. There was one for the AE (AS my side of the pond) that was to do with the mounting bracket for one of the actuators, very early 2006s needed it doing, later 2006s were good from the factory. My 2006, purchased in September 2006, was fine.

Although some problems have occurred, they are rare and seem to be random, there's no particular weakness in the system.

As Bounce says above, if the bike has a reasonable service history, the FJR is a very reliable beast in all its guises.

Having said that, you do need to be aware that the 2006 and 2007 models had a very abrupt throttle response when moving from rest, this exacerbates the care needed particularly with the AE during parking-lot manoeuvres. While there are ways to help (PC3 etc, modified throttle tube, re-flashed ECU) it does take practice to get used to it.

 

[12tinker]

very reliable YCCS system so far with mine

check all recalls done by calling a dealer with VIN or ask seller

cut off all those damn spider grounds and solder or crimp

remember to clean lube the brake pedal as sticking causes ABS/shift issues

know how to manually shift in neutral if ever a rare problem so you can roll it

 

[Ray]

I’ve had my 2006 AE since new. Do routine maintenance and have had zero issues 

 

[fastpappy]

I’ve had my 2006 AE since new. Do routine maintenance and have had zero issues 

Same here. Bought mine new in 09. Routine maintenance. My only issue, not being able to ride as much as I wanted to. 

 

[Lou D]

I had a 2006 and I liked it alot. The biggest negative is the throttle response that they are known for. I fixed mine with a power commander and basically gave it more fuel. It ran good after that. I traded it in on a 2016 ES and the rest is like being in heaven. If you have any chance of buying a third gen with the 6 speed, do it.

 

[reddog]

I had a 2007 with 78,000 trouble free miles until I threw it down the road.  No issues ever, change oil, take care of it, and just ride.  Oh and keep it rubber side down.

 

[Diablo1]

Bought my 2006 AE with 38,000 miles on it. Had only 2 issues. Clutch started slipping and this will throw a shift code so the bike won’t shift. The cause was the clutch slave cylinder, which I replaced. The other issue was the ignition switch failure, which is covered by a NHTSA recall. Somehow Yamaha screwed up and told me the recall had been performed, when it wasn’t. I replaced the switch myself. Bike now has 59,000 miles and has been good and reliable outside of these 2 issues.

 

[a.droid]

After wrecking my first AE (07) Picked my second AE (06) a couple weeks ago w 50,000 miles. No concerns at all. Just ride it.

 

[Rolavine]

A few days ago I bought a 2006 AE garage Queen. I've put only a few hundred miles on it. The bad of it, is starting out. In first gear at a stop, the electo clutch is disengaged, and you have to rev the motor to engage it, It's not that easy to get smooth, but I'm leaning how to do that, and there are some slipper revs involved. I also miss being able to glide with the clutch disengaged, like when you not sure if the next light is just about to go green. Because you can't glide, if you take your hand off the throttle you get some engine braking, not a big deal in 4th or 5th.

The good is that shifting once moving is effortless and smooth, and does not require any wrist. Also when you are stopped at say a light, you don't have to hold the clutch in (being in neutral on a conventional shifter makes it harder to go jump  to your pre calculated safe spot. given an emergency to avoid being rear ended. With the AE just rev and go. So far, I think the tradeoffs are nearly equal. Of course, I only ride for fun these days, and I have no need to set any drag race records or smoke other bikers.

In just the few hundred miles I had a mechanical issue with the AE shift. When I shifted up with the foot shifter (I don't think I'm every going to use that crazy hand stuff) it stayed up and didn't fall back down. So when I went to shift up nothing happened, but I could shift back down. When you shift up with the foot the lever falls back down on it's own, and you can feel it touch the boot. So, once I figured this out, I wiggled the shift with my boot when it was stuck up and it came back down. Yesterday, wanting to go riding (heck it's a new toy!), I just sprayed some WD40 under the cover and it hasn't happened since. But this is a good thing to note when you are riding it, that the foot shifter gives you some feedback of returning to the active shift position. This feedback is kind of cool cause the darn thing shifts so smoothly you can't really feel anything, and with earplugs in I can't hear the rev changes so well.

Before I bought this bike I thought about the extra complexity, but heck if I was worried about that I'd still be banging out the back roads on my highly modified Suzuki Savage (a vintage 1950 experience). Yamaha has some great engineers, trust them!

 

[mcatrophy]

I don't think I'm every going to use that crazy hand stuff

That crazy hand stuff is so much easier than using your foot. Just extend your forefinger, flick the switch forwards or backwards, it soon becomes natural and so much easier than moving your foot about.

in 15 years of ownership of YCC-S FJRs, I've probably used the foot lever maybe a dozen times, and then only to see if it still works. 

 

[allrider]

A few days ago I bought a 2006 AE garage Queen. I've put only a few hundred miles on it. The bad of it, is starting out. In first gear at a stop, the electo clutch is disengaged, and you have to rev the motor to engage it, It's not that easy to get smooth, but I'm leaning how to do that, and there are some slipper revs involved. I also miss being able to glide with the clutch disengaged, like when you not sure if the next light is just about to go green. Because you can't glide, if you take your hand off the throttle you get some engine braking, not a big deal in 4th or 5th.

The good is that shifting once moving is effortless and smooth, and does not require any wrist. Also when you are stopped at say a light, you don't have to hold the clutch in (being in neutral on a conventional shifter makes it harder to go jump  to your pre calculated safe spot. given an emergency to avoid being rear ended. With the AE just rev and go. So far, I think the tradeoffs are nearly equal. Of course, I only ride for fun these days, and I have no need to set any drag race records or smoke other bikers.

In just the few hundred miles I had a mechanical issue with the AE shift. When I shifted up with the foot shifter (I don't think I'm every going to use that crazy hand stuff) it stayed up and didn't fall back down. So when I went to shift up nothing happened, but I could shift back down. When you shift up with the foot the lever falls back down on it's own, and you can feel it touch the boot. So, once I figured this out, I wiggled the shift with my boot when it was stuck up and it came back down. Yesterday, wanting to go riding (heck it's a new toy!), I just sprayed some WD40 under the cover and it hasn't happened since. But this is a good thing to note when you are riding it, that the foot shifter gives you some feedback of returning to the active shift position. This feedback is kind of cool cause the darn thing shifts so smoothly you can't really feel anything, and with earplugs in I can't hear the rev changes so well.

Before I bought this bike I thought about the extra complexity, but heck if I was worried about that I'd still be banging out the back roads on my highly modified Suzuki Savage (a vintage 1950 experience). Yamaha has some great engineers, trust them!

Garage queens usually need some TLC to bring them back to the living, and ignore this if its been covered already. Here's the list of mods i did to my 07ae. The clutch may be dry at times when you leave it sitting too long, but that can/will resolve itself with miles. Lube up those hand and foot controls. Be sure the recalls were done on those ground spiders and ignition. If the tires are older than 6 years you might want to be careful or just replace them.  There were a few things we did to those to make the throttle smoother.  A G2 throttle tamer, relieving the throttle spring one turn, and the Barbarian mod which is a modification to the ECU where you switched a wire so you could modify the throttle/fuel mix off idle right on the dashboard. An Ivan flash of the ECU might solve these issues as well.  Call him first to see if you can avoid all the other stuff if he flashes your ECU. You will get some added ponies from Ivan.

 

[Rolavine]

That crazy hand stuff is so much easier than using your foot. Just extend your forefinger, flick the switch forwards or backwards, it soon becomes natural and so much easier than moving your foot about.

in 16 years of ownership of YCC-S FJRs, I've probably used the foot lever maybe a dozen times, and then only to see if it still works. 

As my Father used to say in his own Sexist way, 
"If everyone liked the blond the redhead wouldn't do any business!".

OK, I'll try it, lol!

 

[mcatrophy]

OK, I'll try it,

Other options include:

  Finger to change up, thumb to change down (the Yamaha way, but I always seemed to blow the horn instead of changing down);

  Finger to change up, foot to change down (I didn't see the point of this, it's so easy to just use the finger, involving the foot feels clumsy by comparison);

Or any other combination you care to try, whatever hair colour works for you. 

 

[Rolavine]

Garage queens usually need some TLC to bring them back to the living, and ignore this if its been covered already. Here's the list of mods i did to my 07ae. The clutch may be dry at times when you leave it sitting too long, but that can/will resolve itself with miles. Lube up those hand and foot controls. Be sure the recalls were done on those ground spiders and ignition. If the tires are older than 6 years you might want to be careful or just replace them.  There were a few things we did to those to make the throttle smoother.  A G2 throttle tamer, relieving the throttle spring one turn, and the Barbarian mod which is a modification to the ECU where you switched a wire so you could modify the throttle/fuel mix off idle right on the dashboard. An Ivan flash of the ECU might solve these issues as well.  Call him first to see if you can avoid all the other stuff if he flashes your ECU. You will get some added ponies from Ivan.

All good advice, thanks. 

I know it had the ignition, cause it has two keys. I fixed my gen one ignition, before the recall, after the bike died on me. Have electronic skills and soldering iron!

Did the mods help with the take off on the AE. I'm getting used to the stock setup and it seems predictable, but requires different throttle skills than a normal clutch bike. I was even able to slip the clutch a bit while stopped pointing uphill while waiting to make a left turn on to traffic. I ride like a pussy who wants to live, I've get plenty of ponies, just a shortage of balls, lol. Note: old men do not bounce well!

One general comment on the state of almost all current bike stock handgrips is that they are way too small for me. It's like they are designing bikes for petite girly hands. Both FJR's I've owned have stiff throttle springs and holding with the small leverage provided by tiny grips is a pain. I wrap them in Bicycle bar tape creating a nice sort of a rounded grip, you used to be able to buy these grips (called tity grips before the age of PC), but I've found yanking grips off a modern bike to be courting problems. I tape up the bicycle tape to hold it in place and then heat shrink some large diameter heat shrink over it to hold it in place. Finish the job by scoring the heat shrink, lightly, with a wire brush to create a higher frictional surface. You should adjust the bicycle grip tape to your desired shape, but I try and make it large enough, so I can just rest my right hand on it to hold the throttle open. I don't even understand how anyone larger than Thumbelina can stand the stock corncobs for more than a few miles. I've spent a lot of time on pedal bikes and even there I use three rolls of bar tape on each side!

 

[mcatrophy]

I used a strip of inner tube rubber, held in place with plastic wire-ties.

(Click on image for larger view)





No diameter increase, but much easier to grip.

You can also try for the throttle spring unwind (helps by reducing the throttle tension, but can result in throttle not shutting properly), also consider an after-market cruise control (I fitted the Audiovox CCS100, my fitting pictured here, warts and all).

Now I have a Gen 3 it's no longer an issue. 

 

[fastpappy]

All good advice, thanks. 

I know it had the ignition, cause it has two keys. I fixed my gen one ignition, before the recall, after the bike died on me. Have electronic skills and soldering iron!

Did the mods help with the take off on the AE. I'm getting used to the stock setup and it seems predictable, but requires different throttle skills than a normal clutch bike. I was even able to slip the clutch a bit while stopped pointing uphill while waiting to make a left turn on to traffic. I ride like a pussy who wants to live, I've get plenty of ponies, just a shortage of balls, lol. Note: old men do not bounce well!

One general comment on the state of almost all current bike stock handgrips is that they are way too small for me. It's like they are designing bikes for petite girly hands. Both FJR's I've owned have stiff throttle springs and holding with the small leverage provided by tiny grips is a pain. I wrap them in Bicycle bar tape creating a nice sort of a rounded grip, you used to be able to buy these grips (called tity grips before the age of PC), but I've found yanking grips off a modern bike to be courting problems. I tape up the bicycle tape to hold it in place and then heat shrink some large diameter heat shrink over it to hold it in place. Finish the job by scoring the heat shrink, lightly, with a wire brush to create a higher frictional surface. You should adjust the bicycle grip tape to your desired shape, but I try and make it large enough, so I can just rest my right hand on it to hold the throttle open. I don't even understand how anyone larger than Thumbelina can stand the stock corncobs for more than a few miles. I've spent a lot of time on pedal bikes and even there I use three rolls of bar tape on each side!

As for the AE throttle, the secret is to retrain your right hand to ease on the throttle to find the sweet spot rather than feathering the clutch. Not difficult but takes a little while since you need to create new muscle memory. As for the grip diameter I like the Grip Puppies. They feel much better and help with any vibration also inexpensive so if you decide you don't like them not a big investment and easy to install. Just my $.02. 

 

[allrider]

Love grip puppies. 

I would feather one of the brakes in tricky situations starting off.