Well I finally got ahold a yamaha, been talking to them about svs. Just like I thought they would do...It's not yami's fault, nothing is wrong with the motor. It's the rider. I explained that I have ridden V twins for 25 years and never had to keep pumping addatives in the gas to keep them running, here's what they told me. First, you have to ride harder.. You have to go by the bulletin about the oil amount being lowered. I said I've been doing the 4 qt. oil change since last year. They said NO.. the bulletin that came out in feb. say.. yamaha has changed thier mind.. we now only want 3.1 qts. in the bike. I was not aware of this change and niether was my local stealership..go figure. They also said yami has recommending a new 'hotter' plug that was in the same bulletin, but he couldnt tell me what plug it was, niether could the stealership. Seems to me we are just thier 'running experiment' ...thier little mice on the street. doing thier job for them. they wont admit they screwed up a little. Just keep waitin' for info from us.. when they get enuf they change things. Didnt know if anyone else had heard about the 3.1 qt oil change. Oh yea... even though this has been going on since last Aug... when I mentioned that I put the cobra pipes on..'3 WEEKS AGO'.. they said, THERES YOUR PROBLEM.. those pipes. Well you stupid son of @%$&#%^^&%$%. ... sorry. I just cant believe the crap they give ya. Done venting. BTW, report has been made online to the safety thingy I went blank.. this happens in my old age every now and then. Have a good one guys and girls.

It was the same thing for the Knock and transmission issues. Nothing new here.

3.1 qts eh! Never heard of that one. Maybe it will be ... 'don't add any oil' soon. In that case, should they not be sending a notice to all owners of this change? Are they still not libel in not providing this information and which in turn causes damage?

You're right about the "they wont admit they screwed up a little. Just keep waitin' for info from us.. when they get enuf they change things." That's probably where the hotter spark came from. I remember it being discussed on the Forum as a possible cure for the Knock. They are grabbing at straws and it shows.

If they worked for me they'd be out the door with their 'I didn't do anything wrong' attitude.

BTW .... where's the bulletin?

Doc

The real issue here is that Yamaha has not warned owners about these issues. Failure to warn makes them negligent. If my owners manual states 4.3 US quarts and I use less then I am considered to be operating against the advice of the manufacturer. If the manufacturer changes the requirement they have an obligation to advise the owner of the change. A service bulletin to the dealer IHMO would not rise to the level of an advisory to the owner unless the Dealer were then responsible for notifying the owner of the change in specification. As for blaming modifications for the problem, Yamaha would have to provide proof that the modifications caused the problem, and that it was not a manufacturing defect. I believe most of us can make a strong case that practical experience has taught that the settings used are as close as possible to optimum including numerous Dyno runs and exhaust gas analyzer inputs.
Yamaha is looking at the entire population of Road Stars and the issue is only in a small percentage of the bikes. It would be interesting to know the actual numbers of SVS occuring in stock bikes compared to modified bikes. In either case if Yamaha has found that stock settings, or service guidelines require a change to avoid serious damage or potential injury they need to advise the owners. While I do not have the problem, at least not yet, this is a serious issue and perhaps we all need to contact Yamaha on mass to voice our concern. Then if they do not want to make adjustments we can go to the media, and the governmental agencies for redress.

I was wondering if this problem is for the 2004 and up Road*. I may be misinformed but I don't recall seeing this as a issue with the 1600's. If I am correct maybe it can be used as more evidence the changes made to the 1700's is the problem.

Is there any way to get a copy of the bulletin that tells us to use just 3.1 quarts of oil and go to a hotter plug. Thanks

Hey Doc,Yami probabley put the report in their shorts
That way it can be changed Quicker.

Flatpockets wrote:
Is there any way to get a copy of the bulletin that tells us to use just 3.1 quarts of oil and go to a hotter plug. Thanks

I am not aware that one exists but it could be 'hot of the press' info.

A hotter plug is used if you want the motor to run hotter (which you can do by leaning it out). But NGK recommends against running hotter plusgs regularily. From the NGK site .... "An engine that has poor oil control can sometimes mask the symptom temporarily by running a slightly hotter spark plug. While this is a "Band-Aid" approach, it is one of the only examples of when and why one would select a hotter spark plug."

Doc

Greysnake wrote:
Hey Doc,Yami probabley put the report in their shorts
That way it can be changed Quicker.

So we have another quick wit in the group.

Doc

I find it interesting that Yamaha markets the Roadstar as their most customizable bike, and even encourages customization (think the Star calendar), yet as soon as you customize your bike even a little, they wash their hands of you with regards to product support.

Knock on wood I have not had any trouble with my 2004, but I am so glad for the clinic, where I know I can come for answers when I need it!

Akela wrote:
I find it interesting that Yamaha markets the Roadstar as their most customizable bike, and even encourages customization (think the Star calendar), yet as soon as you customize your bike even a little, they wash their hands of you with regards to product support.

For the chrome parts it's OK, but for the SpeedStar parts, such as the exhaust .... "For closed-course race application only"

Doc<br><br>Post edited by: DocShadow, at: 2007/05/16 12:57