The letter, below, was mailed 09.10.05. To date, no response has been received. I will post any reply that is received. Thanks ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---- Serge Zoritch Address deleted Canada 09-09-22 Takashi Kajikawa President & CEO Yamaha Motor Co. LTD 2500, Shingai,, Iwata, Shizuoka 438-8501, Japan Konnichiwa, I am a long time customer of Yamaha motor products, having owned five Yamaha motorcycles over thirty-five (35) years. The reason I am writing you this letter is because of my most recent Yamaha motorcycle purchase. In 2004, I bought a new FJR1300 and all of the available Yamaha accessories. This was my dream motorcycle come true. A short while ago I took that motorcycle to a Yamaha dealer in Salmon Arm, BC, to have them diagnose a loud ticking noise coming from the engine. I assumed it to be something that required an adjustment. A few days later I received a telephone call from the service manager (XXXXXXXX) of that dealership and was told that the exhaust valve guides were failing and that it would cost about thirty five hundred dollars ($3,500) to repair. The gentleman explained that he had called the local Yamaha Representative who explained that it is a known design flaw in that year of FJR1300 motorcycle. Apparently the dealer's service manager asked the rep. if Yamaha would cover the some or all of the cost of the repairs, seeing as it was a manufacturerís flaw. The rep's reply was that the motorcycle is five years over the warranty period and that, had the failure occurred within two years of the warranty, Yamaha would have covered it. I should add at this time that the motorcycle now has just over 17,000 km. The motorcycle is in pristine condition, has been dealer serviced, according to the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual, and has been garage stored for six months of the year, every year, since it was bought. The winters where I live are harsh enough to make motorcycle riding dangerous. Having found the local Yamaha rep's response unacceptable, I called Yamaha's Canadian headquarters in Toronto and talked to a two people in the customer service department. I asked both of them if they thought it reasonable to expect a twenty thousand dollar motorcycle to have a motor life expectancy of 17,000 km? Neither of them would answer the question and kept on repeating that it is five years over the warranty period as if it were some kind of mantra. This letter is an appeal to your sense of fairness. I refer to your Management Principles from the 2009 Yamaha Corporation Fact Book. ìWe strive to achieve our corporate mission by adhering to three principals. #1. Creating value that surpasses customerís expectations. We must remain keenly aware of customer's evolving needs, in order to provide them with quality products and services of exceptional value that surpass their expectations. We can and will earn a fair profit by making all-out efforts to satisfy our customers.î (The other two principals refer to management objectives.) I ask you: - Do you think it reasonable to expect a $20,000 dollar motorcycle to have a motor life expectancy of 17,000 km? Is this a reasonable expectation? - Does it sound like my expectations have been surpassed? - Is this an example of your definition of either quality products or services? - Is this really an all-out effort to satisfy me as a loyal Yamaha Motor Product customer? I await your response. Sincerely yours, Serge Zoritch P.S. The motorcycle was parked in my garage for almost three years (I had seizures due to a brain tumor.) The tumor was removed in Feb. 2007 but I could not drive for two more years as I continued with more seizures. This accounts for the low mileage. The seizures are now under control and I would like to ride my motorcycle. S.Z. Cc: Yamaha newsgroups
Disclaimer alert.... "Ignore here, what you've already heard" Although I also own an FJR, it's not of the same vintage as yours. I've only read of this condition which, apparently are known as "tickers". I'm not at all familiar with Yamaha warranty operations, and cert- ainly not with any of their Canadian operations. "Yada"... "Yada"... "Yada"... "Blah"... "Blah"... "Blah"... But, there are many FJR owner groups on the web. Here are just a few of which I'm aware: http://www.fjrforum.com/ http://fjr1300.info/index.html http://www.fjrowners.ws/ http://www.fjriders.com/forum/index.php http://www.fjrtech.com/ Personally, I follow the FJR Forum. But, only because that is where I started. They're all great, detailed, helpful, etc. So, the condition you describe is generally known as a "ticker". You're already aware of this problem, but I've referenced some of the relevant articles from the Forum regarding the topic, here: http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=121976&hl=ticker http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=120746&hl=ticker http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=120576&hl=ticker http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=119675&hl=ticker http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=117600&hl=ticker http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=119358&hl=ticker http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=118447&hl=ticker http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=118327&hl=ticker http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=118251&hl=ticker http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=118075&hl=ticker And, the general search result on "ticker" is here: http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//inde...h_in=posts&result_type=topics&hl=ticker&st=25 I suggest you do some reading on the Forum or any of the other groups to gain as much dealer/manufacturer ammunication as possible. Additionally, I'm sorry that you're having such difficulty. That really can sour an otherwise great experience with the bike. And, grand congratulations for your surgical recovery. It seems like those problems were very serious. Glad that you're better. Good luck on your research.
As its already out of warrantee I would get a good workshop manual, a set of tools, source the bits and have a do myself. You can probably dismantle it yourself 'take photos' get a auto engineer to pop out the valve guides, then press the new ones in, (if it is guides that is? ) if its goosed anyhow your not losing much. Betcha can get help from the Yamaha boards if its a common problem. all the best.
