Guys, last night I went out to meet my friends and travelled some 10 kms and parked the bike at about 8:30. At 11:30 we decided to return back, I put in the key, the dash came on, the tachometer did its round till 12k RPM, but the bike did not start when I thumbed the starter. Every time I pushed the starter, the bike tried to crank, for a second, but then the dash went off and restarted (like it has been turned off by the key and then on again). Then began the diagnostics. My first thought was that the battery died. It has been 4.5 years and battery life is around 5 years. So I checked the horn which sounded strong and clear, the headlights and indicators turned on with usual brightness. No problems at all, but the bike won't crank, no matter what I did. I would go Krrr for less than a second and then the dash would restart.

This was first time in all these years that my bike, gave me any trouble so I was worried. But I was with my buddies so I had support. One of them suggested to use the age old method of pushing the bike in gear and releasing the clutch. I was not sure if it would work on a FI bike, but it was midnight and I had no other option or idea in my mind. So I decided to give it a go, my friend pushed it and I released the clutch in first gear and the bike started and settled into idle as if nothing was wrong. It was really late and the bike was on, so we decided to leave and check in the morning. I went home, parked the bike, switched it off and then on again and thumbed the starter and the engine started without any hitch. repeated it several time and every time it would run like it had been doing for the past years. I was really confused, so I went to bed and decided to check in the morning. The bike started without any issues again today morning, no problems at all.

Have you guys any idea, what is wrong?

Oil's don't have a shelf life per se, but they do degrade upon usage. An untampered oil can be used as long as the seal is not tampered and the oil clean from dust, dust which is oil's enemy. Now that you've already covered 2600 kays, unless you plan to store it without usage for months without cranking the engine, an oil replacement won't be necessary. As long as you ride the bike a few kilometers irrespective of the weather, your oil can be replaced after another 2k easily.

Cheers!
VJ

Hi Guys,

I own a March 2014 R15V2 and I have a query.
I used to get my bike serviced at every 3 months as directed by Yamaha, and the bike would run anywhere between 2k-3k kms in that 3 month interval. But then I moved to a new city and for the past 2 years my office is hardly 2 kms and the daily run is hardly 5 kms. So I stopped servicing the bike every 3 months because it would have run less than 1k kms and I thought it would be waste of good engine oil and my hard earned money. Rather than sticking to fixed interval, I serviced it every 3k-3.5k kms which would take anywhere between 6-9 months, depending on how many weekend rides I did.

Now this year I rode even less due to heavy rains and bad Himalayan mountain roads. The bike was last serviced on 16 October 2017 and it has only run 2600 kms since then. The oil level is good, and to my untrained eye it retains its viscosity. The color has turned slightly from golden to brown. Now we have severe winters for the next 4 months and I think it will take another few months for the bike to finish its 3k kms (May 2019 I expect).

I want to know if I should change the engine oil which is a year old but not used? Or can I keep using it till it completes 3k kms.
I am not sure if engine oils have en expiry date or best before date. Thanks in advance.

Thank you so much for your trouble brother. I really appreciate it.
A few more queries :

1. Is the original screw that holds the brake lever, long enough to hold the metal strip as well?? or did you have to change it with a bit longer screw?
2. Any other precautions I have to take in installation?

Thanks again.

Sorry for the delay. Please find the attached pics...

Guys, I want to install a simple mobile holder to use the Google maps, on the handle bars of the R15 V2. The most common ones available online are the clamp type, where you tighten it on the round handle bar securely. But I have noticed, that there is no space on the racing clip-ons on the V2, to put the holder.

Can you guys please let me know how you guys manage the phone holder? Are there any other types of holders specially made for racing clip-ons?
Pics would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Guys, I want to install a simple mobile holder to use the Google maps, on the handle bars of the R15 V2. The most common ones available online are the clamp type, where you tighten it on the round handle bar securely. But I have noticed, that there is no space on the racing clip-ons on the V2, to put the holder.

Can you guys please let me know how you guys manage the phone holder? Are there any other types of holders specially made for racing clip-ons?
Pics would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Yes Yamaha!!! Great one bro thanks for your reply.

The Odo is nearing 30 thousand kms. I don't ride as much as I would like to. My office is less than 3kms, so the daily run is about 6 kms. Add to this weekend meet-up with friends, which again is less than 50 kms.
But I do weekend tours of about 400 kms to my hometown, which is a mix of straight highways and Himalayan mountain roads (Chandigarh to Dehradun). And the bike is really awesome in all conditions.

Nothing changed or replaced till now. Except for the regular servicing after every 3 to 3.5 thousand kms and usual consumables. Brake pads, brake fluid, Coolant and engine oil. A truly fill it and forget it bike.
Replaced left side rear view mirror - kids playing cricket broke it off with a direct hit from the ball.

Yeah ok @Ankey , a good brief on your experience !!

What's about your odo reading and did you faced any major issues / parts changed ?

Yeah thanks for the info , will do with patience [emoji106]

Regarding to the stop and go traffic it's been a headache with any of the bikes but few commuterish bikes also gives the wrist pain , I had wrist pains with Fz in traffic andso omitted it for buying !

I am 5'6 ft tall and weigh about 50 kgs. I have heard that The V2 can be a little bit cramped for a rider above 6 feet. Different riders different experiences.

As an owner of a 4.5 year old V2, I would say - give it time and spend more time on saddle. The pains will become less and less and in a few months, on an open road you will totally forget about the pains and aches.

However in Jams and stop and go traffic, and no matter how much you get used to the R15, you will have aches in an hour long traffic jam. I once travelled a distance of about 30 kms in a traffic jam on first gear with radiator fan buzzing for the whole 3 hours. At the end my left hand was transformed into a claw and I had back ache for next 3 days.

The popular advice is to relax your hands and grip the tank with your thighs to ease the wrist and shoulder pain. But as you spend more time on the saddle, you will realize that gripping the tank with thighs and letting hands loose with light grip on the handle bars don't really work as advertised. You see, thighs are also muscles, just like your arms and shoulders. And just like your arms and shoulders, they get tired soon and start to ache. So you will have to keep switching between putting the load on your hands and shoulders while resting the thighs and vice versa. I do weekend rides of about 400 kms very occasionally and this cycle of distributing the load every few minutes have served me well for the past 4.5 years.

Of course it goes without saying that being physically fit and active helps lot. I'm a skinny guy weighing about 50kgs, but I'm really fit. You don't have to join the gym or do anything special, but a few minutes of core strengthening exercises will help a great deal. Search youtube for 10 minute abs workout and do at least 1 set once a day. I started a while back and now I do two sets 2 times a day.


Regarding getting a second hand R15. Its sad to state but the truth is bikes like R15 and Duke are mostly bought by roadside Romeos who rev the nuts off it right from the first day, do stunts on them and after a year of abusing, realize that the spares, maintenance and even regular servicing is really costly (as compared to their commuter bikes) and then they decide to sell it off. Such bikes are nothing more than a headache for the second owner. I would advice you to save a bit more and go for a brand new one. If you insist on getting a second hand one, try to find out as much as you can about the bike, check the service records. A good and responsible owner will never miss a service. Take it to authorized service center and get it checked. Find out the condition of internals. Then, and only then go for the second hand one.

I am 5'6 ft tall and weigh about 50 kgs. I have heard that The V2 can be a little bit cramped for a rider above 6 feet. Different riders different experiences.

As an owner of a 4.5 year old V2, I would say - give it time and spend more time on saddle. The pains will become less and less and in a few months, on an open road you will totally forget about the pains and aches.

However in Jams and stop and go traffic, and no matter how much you get used to the R15, you will have aches in an hour long traffic jam. I once travelled a distance of about 30 kms in a traffic jam on first gear with radiator fan buzzing for the whole 3 hours. At the end my left hand was transformed into a claw and I had back ache for next 3 days.

The popular advice is to relax your hands and grip the tank with your thighs to ease the wrist and shoulder pain. But as you spend more time on the saddle, you will realize that gripping the tank with thighs and letting hands loose with light grip on the handle bars don't really work as advertised. You see, thighs are also muscles, just like your arms and shoulders. And just like your arms and shoulders, they get tired soon and start to ache. So you will have to keep switching between putting the load on your hands and shoulders while resting the thighs and vice versa. I do weekend rides of about 400 kms very occasionally and this cycle of distributing the load every few minutes have served me well for the past 4.5 years.

Of course it goes without saying that being physically fit and active helps lot. I'm a skinny guy weighing about 50kgs, but I'm really fit. You don't have to join the gym or do anything special, but a few minutes of core strengthening exercises will help a great deal. Search youtube for 10 minute abs workout and do at least 1 set once a day. I started a while back and now I do two sets 2 times a day.


Regarding getting a second hand R15. Its sad to state but the truth is bikes like R15 and Duke are mostly bought by roadside Romeos who rev the nuts off it right from the first day, do stunts on them and after a year of abusing, realize that the spares, maintenance and even regular servicing is really costly (as compared to their commuter bikes) and then they decide to sell it off. Such bikes are nothing more than a headache for the second owner. I would advice you to save a bit more and go for a brand new one. If you insist on getting a second hand one, try to find out as much as you can about the bike, check the service records. A good and responsible owner will never miss a service. Take it to authorized service center and get it checked. Find out the condition of internals. Then, and only then go for the second hand one.