Should I Buy An 06?

[dcarver]

I want to buy an 06 Fj but the valve guide problem (TICK) has me very concerned. I don't want to play the game of wondering if/when/where I'll find myself with a very expensive new bike that requires serious intrusional work and not be able to ride because of the associated down time.

Questions are:

1. Has anyone heard from Yamaha if the 06's have been 'fixed'? If not, I'll need to seriously re-consider purchasing one.

2. After new valve guides are installed, what percentage of bikes require re-work for the same problem? e.g. does this fix really last or not?

3. Has anyone seen a copy of the elusive 'Australian TSB' defining the issue?

4. What's the approximate percentage of bikes affected with this problem?

Thanks in Advance,

'A Wannabe FJ Pilot'

 

[teerex51]

dcarver,

1. No official statement has been made by Yamaha on the "tick" question. Either

that it exists or that it has been fixed.

2. I have no information on this. I would guess once you change the valve guides

with different ones, the problem goes away for good. YMMV.

3. See below

4. Some say 1%, others 15%.

Stef

PS: My $0,02. I would not let this stop me from buying it with the YES package. It's a great bike B)

 

[Constant Mesh]

dcarver --

Obviously you can avoid "playing the game" by not buying an FJR. Why be a player if you're that "concerned"?

I doubt anyone outside Yamaha has any info about '06 exhaust valves/guides/stem seals.

The Aussie TSB has never been "elusive".

With a U.S. FJR population of approximately 6,000 units I'd be amazed if more than 200 units have had the valve guide repair. This is a problem rate of 3 or 4 %. And the rate is probably decreasing for each new model. Obviously Yamaha is aware of the problem and they've made incremental changes in the exhaust valves.

An interesting exercise for FJR owners would be to call a sample of dealers in each state and ask how many FJR's they've sold and repaired. A little statistical analysis could be performed and then we'd know just how many tickers have been repaired.

Again, if you're that concerned you should buy a competitor's bike. Why take on additional worry and concern.

 

[Robin]

When Christmas rolls around I will be able to buy a '06 FJR. The Cobalt Blue color is great and the "ticking" problem doesn't concern me unduly because:

A I stand a much better chance of NOT getting a Ticker than getting one.

B I'm going to purchase the Yamaha Extended Warranty.

I've wanted the FJR for a while now and relatively minor mechanical problems that can be corrected won't scare me off. The positive qualities outweigh the negative issues

Robin

 

[weekend rider]

I like your tech sheet you have from Yamaha at least they recongize their is a problem. Hopefully they will find a cure, this requires r&d,donations anyone? I also servced my bike's fluids today and have read in the forum about the engine quieting down when changed from yama lubve oil. Well I am still running dino oil for seveeral thousand more miles than to synthetic. My engine quieted down and could not believe it to be so. running castrol 20- 50. I wonder if yama lube oil formula is screwed up and causes 0r helps cause the ticking and excessive wear? I only have 2400 miles on it now but getting ready to put about 4k on when i leave on fri the 9th.sept.05 will be in the PNW see ya................. :clap: B)

 

[FJRandy]

I'm totally amazed that this question is ALREADY being asked!

We got the first pic only 2 days ago, and you're already asking about a ticking problem on an '06????

Unfrigginbelievable! Look...Go buy a Harley, will ya? :bleh:

 

[JJP XX]

[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

Why worry about something that doesn't exist? If it breaks, have it fixed. If it doesn't, keep riding!

 

[dcarver]

FjRandy,

No, thank you, I already own a Harley, don't need a new one. My 1991 FLHTCU has >85,000 on the clock, ORIGINAL top end, bottom end, and everthing in-between. Except consumables. No issues. Just oil and gas and lots of smiles and miles. Although it did take more hours to get that mileage accumulated than it would have on a FJ...

Oh, I also routinely ride a host of other makes too, American, German, European. I am not a bigot of any one manufacturer; if it has two wheels AND an engine, I'll try it, ride it. Bicycles, NOT!

Don't let the *only* 85k on the '91 HD surpise you; it's only one of several I routinely commute with at over 100 miles / day, rain or shine. They too have similar mileage. To be clear, I am not an IB guy - too many mx injuries over the many years.. can't ride the true crotch rockets anymore due to neck/back issues.

Which is why I love the FJR concept; fast, great handling, more up-right riding position, bags, great looking.... it's all good, and its new! I've always liked the FJ series, all the way back to '84; my best bud had an 84? FJ and I was riding my my 79' Kz1300.. He was very hard to keep in sight and I loved to ride his air cooled FJ. Now my local dealer has a new 05 FJ, I saw it, sat on it, and fell in love again. I truly want this bike to work for me.

I had the same burn for my Kz1300 as I do for the Fj.. too late I discovered that the Kz came out of the factory with out-of-round cylinders. Kawasaki NEVER acknowledged, or fixed this problem. Repair costs? Terrible. Oil consumption? 'Normal' at 1 qt per 150 miles. Eventually, the factory 'advoidance' campaign worked well... they just quit producing the bike, made their profit margin and produced 'new' bikes...

I don't know, maybe I've read waaaaay too much into the FJR valve guide problem.. but it seems to me that after, how many years?, 2,3? that Yamaha would do something more PROACTIVE than just wait for the customers to bitch. Sometimes a simple admittance of accountability and proposed corrective actions solve everything.

The Kawasaki, like the Fj, had a limited audience... the factory knew they would sell every bike produced, not matter what the issues, and therfore did not worry about addressing the issues. It seems like Yamaha is doing better than Kawasaki, in that they are fixing the problem Tick bikes, but why, after all these years, are they still appearing?

It seems to me that Yamaha would be very concerned about guys just like me... Folks who really want to buy the bike but are concerned about a very well documented issue; who may not buy based upon the (lack) of response from the factory.

I am very interested to hear what other FJ owners have to say - is the bike *that* good overall that you would *again* purchase new, even given the chance that you would experience the TICK problem and resultant down time, hassle with the factory, etc?

And I'm especially interested to hear from those who have had to go through the agony of having their bikes fixed.. would you buy again?

Most importantly, I'm hoping that Yamaha is listening... and will step up to the plate and resovle this issue once and for all...

Sincerely,

dcarver

and sorry if I've 'ticked' anyone off (gawd I just can't resist a bad pun) :bigeyes:

 

[Bostonfan2]

Yes,

The bike is that good that I would buy another one even with the possibility of

getting a ticker. It helps knowing if you do they are getting repaired by yamaha

even though theres been no public announcement. Its a bike thats darn near perfect for this type ( ST ) and quite frankly theres not alot of other options out

there, even for more money. I have friends who own the ST1300 , DUCATI ST4,

BMW RT , 1150 and so on...I honestly wouldnt trade this bike for any of them.

Ray

 

[markjenn]

All information we have is that Yamaha considers the issue resolved. They consider the current ticker rates (which they quote as being 0.3%) as acceptable. Their stated plan is to simply fix the bikes that exhibit the problem. No general fix or update.

I'd look at the information here and elsewhere and come to your own assesment of whether the risk is acceptable to you or not. I wouldn't be looking to Yamaha for further changes or assurances that are not likely to come. If you dive into any bike on the internet, you'll find some segment of owners who "Can't believe Honda/Suzuki/BMW/HD/... doesn't fix this terrible problem." So it really is a matter of degrees - it's a judgment call for Yamaha (which they've made), and a judgment call for you.

There is some chance that Yamaha is going to change something on the 06's related to the ticking, but we probably won't know for some time until we can look at the fiche and see what part numbers have changed. So if you want to wait on the 06's, then you could be looking at six-months or longer and it will be years before the 06's have sufficient mileage to try and see if anything changed vs. the earlier models. And even if they do change something, we probably won't have a smoking gun that the change has to do with the ticking problem.

If the ticking is heat-related (I doubt it is), then it is remotely possible that the cooling system changes will have an effect.

- Mark

 

[Ignacio]

1. See the Yamaha site just like everyone else and note there is no note about valve ticking. Any other information you see is speculation.

Blathering on more like this place is a soap box where Yamaha is suddenlgy going to listen to you? Yep, Yamaha just said, "Wait. Somebody just saw the '06 and is asking if the valve ticking issue is fixed. Damn. Stop the assembly lines. We just got caught. We're going to have to fix it now because a FNG brought up the (whisper)tick(endwhisper) issue."

Dude. If you're going to worry about the possibility of ticking and the cheap YES policy isn't enough to convince you.....then you shouldn't buy this bike.

2. Read the ticking archive yourself at https://p083.ezboard.com/ffjr1300ownersassociationfrm29 or search this board. No new news here. Move along.

4. See #2

 

[dcarver]

Thank you all for the responses.

I truly appreciate each and everyone, everything from 'go for it' to otherwise. Come to think of it, there hasn't been an 'otherwise'..

Warchild? Whatcha think, big guy? You've had intimate experience with this issue.. as I have read from the 'other' postings...

and.. this is the greatest site ever..

Thank you one and all..

 

[zorkler]

yea i had the same thoughts before i purchased the 05 ................. boy what a mistake i would of made if i did not buy this bike and purchased something else . also i never test rode the bike and second the first time i ever saw a fjr was on the showroom floor a 2005 . i think its that good . but you have got to ride it to really get the feel of the whole package .

 

[Warchild]

is the bike *that* good overall that you would *again* purchase new, even given the chance that you would experience the TICK problem and resultant down time, hassle with the factory, etc?

Okay, I'll tell you my experience: I had a 2004 ABS model that I took delivery on in August, 2003. I put 34,000 miles on the bike that first year. It ticked like a bastard, ticked so bad at the end of the 2004 Utah 1088 endurance rally, that it was turning heads a block away at the incredibly loud ticking sounds.

It was repaired under warranty, but the "magic" had gone out of my love affair with that bike, so I sold it off that October.

That is to say... I lost confidence in that particular FJR. But not the marque itself.

So.... not two months later, I bought the salvage rights to a wrecked 2003 FJR (totalled in a deer-strike) with only 8K on the odometer:

and rebuilt it into the bike you see here:

These photos were taken last winter. I am now approaching 30,000 miles on this machine, and it runs absolutely perfectly.

Go get that '06, dcarver. Seriously.

 

[XLR8]

dcarver,

Nobody knows the answer to your question. However, I think your question is perfectly valid. As a potential buyer you are ready to hand over some hard earned cash and you don't want a lemon or a bunch of problems. I think this is a normal expectation.

Personally, I find the ticking issue to be complete bullshit. WTF? I have to buy an extended warranty in case this thing starts ticking? Ridiculous. Customers should not have to do such things. So I hope it will be resolved.

I'll tell you this though. It's a damn fun machine. So I'd probably take the advice above. If you think you won't be so paranoid that it will ruin your experience I think you'll have a great time.

-r

 

[deagle]

Dcarver-

Your questions and concerns are perfectly valid. I also find this whole ticking issue unacceptable.

My personal breakdown: The bike is fantastic with two minor problems (heat and vibes) that not all riders experience, and are just characteristics of the bike. I believe the tick will be a greater problem as more miles are put on the bikes. Not everyone puts 15,000 miles a year on these. Yamaha IS fixing them, but damn, not a good problem.

Some people find the ticking problem a mere annoyance. Personally, I'll be pretty upset when I lose 3 weeks of riding and my engine gets torn apart (even Warchild, who was a huge supporter of the platform dumped his after repair).

On the plus side: The engine and riding position are excellent for those that want performance without the sport bike pain. It is very stable and the sidebags are awesome. The electric windshield ROCKS! Besides the tick, it has been DEAD RELIABLE. Man, they came so close.

 

[Warchild]

(even Warchild, who was a huge supporter of the platform dumped his after repair).

And immediately got another one. Let's not forget that little detail.

 

[deagle]

And immediately got another one. Let's not forget that little detail.

And had that one ticked at 14,000 miles like the first one, you said you would leave the platform for good.

There's been more than a few people that have had multiple FJR's (different years) and had the tick develop in both bikes. I doubt I will put myself in that situation. Most likely I will give Yamaha the chance to fix it right. If it ticks again, then I'll trade it in, take a huge hit at the dealership, and buy something else, even if doesn't fit me as well as the FJR. My Yamaha hat will be for sale cheap.

 

[gryphon68]

First, a question, have ANY 2005's experienced the ticking problem? Some us have only had ours a couple months, but maybe there are some early delivery '05 owners who have racked up the big miles would like to report back.

Second, an observation about what the 'fix' may have been. When Warchild had his head redone, and extensive analysis done on the old and new parts. There was a visual difference in the new parts (another grove on the top) which should make no difference mechanically and I think we all assumed was there to signify the new part. The one thing that really could no be evaluated was the initial hone pattern of the old vs. new parts. So I put forward that, possibly, Yamaha did address this issue at some point with an impoved hone pattern, on a guide that in all other respected seems identical, to improve the guide wear. I believe this change would be on all '05 models . . . .

Comments?