Frustrated beyond belief!


B

bjs045

New Member
Bikes been in the shop for 37 days now. I experienced some power loss off the start. Turns out it was a defective spark plug that fried! Now there's an almost constant ticking noise. Sounds like valves or rocker arms to me. Dealer said it may be the cam chain tensioner so it was replace. Apparently the R1's have had this issue so one was ordered.

I went to pick the bike up today. Rode less than 100m and I could hear the ticking still. Took the bike back for service less than 1hr after picking it up.

Time line:
July 17th - took the bike in.
July 22ish - Dealer was finally able to duplicate the issue.
July 29th - Issue was determined bad spark plug. Precautionary step to replace cam chain tensioner. Part was ordered.
Aug 16th - Part was received. (must have shipped from japan /sarcasmoff)
Aug 17th - Tried to pick up the bike but wasn't finished. Two hours then I can take it home. (Told them to hold on to it and actually test ride it to see if its safe)
August 23rd - Showed up at dealer. Found bike outside filthy with a huge scratch on tank. (not deep, can be buffed out easy). Manager is looking at it now and they will be calling Yamaha for answers. Manager said he doesn't think the ticking is mechanical..........................................................

Can anyone shed some light.

I have number and address to a California Lemon Law Lawyer. I'm going to be talking to them tomorrow.
 
Yeah, dude. The hotter/longer I ride, the louder it ticks. It's cool - it just does that.
 
My R6 ticks pretty good since the day I got it. Most all Yamahas tick. Some more on cold, some more after they get hot. It is generally the cam chain tensioner but its not a problem. You can get a manual tensioner and that usually solves the (non)issue. My FZ6R ticked as well.

Google "yamaha tick" and have fun.
 
I really hope its this "yamaha tick" but all 3 mechanics (including the manager) said its unusual noise. I'm assuming they already know the "yamaha tick" sound and that's why they are still working on it
 
bjs045 said:
I really hope its this "yamaha tick" but all 3 mechanics (including the manager) said its unusual noise. I'm assuming they already know the "yamaha tick" sound and that's why they are still working on it
Click to expand...

Maybe they don't ride yamahas...
 
bjs045 said:
I really hope its this "yamaha tick" but all 3 mechanics (including the manager) said its unusual noise. I'm assuming they already know the "yamaha tick" sound and that's why they are still working on it
Click to expand...

Get a vid up of it if ya can. If it is abnormaly loud then ya, it could be a prob maybe. Valve clearance?
 
After they changed the spark plug issue, did you get your power back? I understand your concerns. Sometimes when I hear the ticking, I think my oil is low or bad gas...but it's just the engines normal design. I don't think I could go 37 days without riding....gotta be killin' you.
 
man thats the noise i keep taking back to dealer for,,they keep looking at me like im crazy and say what noise,seems like it has gotten worse lately but i have service order that says no problem in engine soo im gonna keep putting miles on it and see what happens.It does seem louder on hot days drives me crazy....
 
Dang. That's a long time for the bike to be out of service. I'd definitely consider the lemon law route. Be aware though, even with lemon law, in many states all you get is the depreciated value of the bike! :(
 
*sorry for the long wall of text! but here's an update*


Well I got the bike back Friday night after 47ish days at the shop. I test road the bike for 2hrs on So. Cali highways doing about 150 miles LOL. Got stuck in miles long traffic on the 405fwy. I knew it was bad since people were sitting on their hoods smoking cigs. After lane splitting all the way to the front, saw about 10 cops cars and a ghetto bird overhead. Once I got a clear view I saw a Shoei helmet on the ground and a R6 or R1 burnt to a crisp with about 6-7 cars smashed up with debris every where! My heart dropped and all I could think of was if the rider was alive or not. Definitely not what I needed to see after 47 days off.

About 45 mins later I was cruising and noticed the bike wasn't handling right. Yup...rear tire was flat. F.M.L!! is all I said...

Next day went to the dealer bought a matching rear tire BT016! (view my gallery to see what happened to my front tire!). Put another 150 miles on it! Man I'll tell you all right now....the bike handles so much better with these tires. Screw them touring tires!

So anyways...this loud "Ticking" still comes around every now and then. I still don't believe its "Fine", as the dealer says. My bike never had this chain tick before the defective spark plug issue. I can consistently hear this "chain tick" now. This other "Ticking" that is louder, like i mentioned is sporadic. As someone suggested, I'll try and get a vid of it. The best way I can describe this louder "Ticking" is valve chatter and it's louder when clutch is engaged under load. Someone mentioned gas, I used Cheveron 91 octane. I'm also familiar with the noise bad gas will make, although the sound is similar wouldn't it be constant?

Now some insight from a friends step dad who was the VP of ***** motorcycles america (retired)...if I recall all details correctly...he said modern chain tentioners are hydraulic and they work off of oil pressure. If an air bubble was present, the result would be much like air in brake lines, hence the loose chain which would cause noise. If the air bubble is reoccurring than theres a leak some where. There are different ways a manufacture designs passage for the oil to the tentioner. Some are milled into the block and others use tubes(exterior/interior?). He wants me to find a diagram/blue print of our motor. Speaking of which...anyone have one? LOL.

Now...spark plug cause/effect issue. During the mechanics test rides he did mention that the top end felt restricted. RPM range from 9 to redline roughly. As I mentioned in another thread after the break-in-period sluggish at high RPM, but after repeated freeway runs it got better, accept for first gear. If anyone recalls all I could reference it to was the difference between running a built honda motor with stock exhaust to straight headers(exhaust flow). Now since this is my first street bike I always thought this was the nature of this detuned older r6 motor. Well the dealership did something cause that restriction is gone now. The bike rips to from the power band all the way to redline. Anyone have insight on this? I'm thinking that spark plug was defective since the get go and basically not spraying enough gas at high RPMs. And if so, I'm worried about what other issues this may have cause to the motors efficiency/longevity.
 
I know the fuel injectors make a ticking sound and so could the fuel pump.

I wonder if you could isolate the ticking noise with a stethoscope.

Sorry about your luck, that is a bummer.
 
Ref: Your mention of the burned up Yami...did you ever catch what happened on the news? You have me curious.
 
well it happened again. 1300 miles later and the same event happened. Power loss, almost lost idle while at a stop, bike sound like a moped (cylinder down). This time it was less than 5mins after I exited the freeway. Took the bike straight to the dealership. Again no check engine light. Dealer asked what type of gas I was using which prompted my other post on Cheveron 91 w/techron.
 
As I remember, the lemon law requires the vehicle to be brought into the dealer 3 times within a year for the same problem and it still isn't fixed. You have problem #1...loss of power and plug changed, Problem #2 loud tick. You will have to bring it back in 2 more times for the loud tick and not get it fixed to use the lemon law.
I broke my bike in like I stole it. I beat the shyte out of it. I figured if it was gonna die, I wanted it dead fast. I even took it to 115 with less than 300 miles on it. I changed the oil at 100 miles (dirty as heck) to Motul and again at 300 (dirty) and again at 600 and again at 1200 and went to full Amsoil synthetic. I changed the K&N oil filter after each oil change. I did pretty much a track bike break in and get this...it shifts perfect and there is no tick. Power is 100%, no smoke or any other issues.
I personally think the Yamaha tick develops due to the bike being babied...
 
California's Lemon Law presumes that a motorcycle is a lemon if the vehicle:

  • Does not conform to the manufacturer's express warranty
  • Has substantial defects affecting the use, safety or value of the vehicle
  • Has manufacturer's defects that occurred during the first 18 months from the original owner's delivery date or the first 18,000 miles on the odometer (whichever period ends first) unless your vehicle is covered by a longer warranty; if you have a longer warranty, Lemon Law protects you for the entire warranty period
  • Has been taken in four times for the same problem or if it has been out of service for 30 days due to a series of unrelated problems; or if the problem is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, the vehicle has been taken in two times for repair
  • The manufacturer has been notified of the need for repair, if your owner's manual states that notification is required
 

Dang BJ... Sorry to hear about all the issues =(. You should definitely try a different gas station for gas, and maybe a different dealership or service shop? Hope you either get it fixed soon or get your $ back and can get a working bike.

I'm at 1500 miles, so hope I don't have any issues down the road too...
 
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