My R1 Thread :D

[abhishek.murdeshwar]

The new head can take anywhere between 3-60 days, depending on whether "stock" is available in Singapore/Japan/Europe, in that order.

Oh thats sad Akhil...i wish they would get the spares soon this time around..! Cannot see a R1 lying in the garage and dust settling on it..!! Pls take this matter to the higher officials...dont let them sleep this time...

[Aparajith]

Fresh update: The head was opened up today. I had no idea that the repair work will be started today, and they came in the morning and left in a few hours.

So, they opened her up, discovered that the inlet valve was jammed, and the valve stem had run itself through to a small bit. This is the description of the technician, and I couldn't get an accurate picture from what he said. The failed part(s) have been taken by Yamaha, so I have no clue what they look like. Being a hands on guy, this is very frustrating for me.

Because the damage is so intense, they are now recommending a new head itself. The head will be ordered tomorrow and I will be pushing them to get the bike up and running by this week.

Will go tomorrow to have a look at my engine all opened up

The new head can take anywhere between 3-60 days, depending on whether "stock" is available in Singapore/Japan/Europe, in that order.

Akhil a few questions here. Why are they doing this job so slowly and step by step man? Once u open up the engine cant they just find out what all is gone, what all needs to be replaced, order it all in one shot and replace them all? How tough is that? I mean, this is seriously pathetic yaar. Now a new head is needed. After 30 odd days and a new head assembly has arrived, they will open it again and discover a new bolt is needed and order that separately? What are they seriously up-to? And how many more times are they going to open up that poor R1's heart? If all this estimation, calculations had been completed when they opened up the engine first time, all issues could have been solved in one shot with delay due to spare parts arrival alone!

P.S: This should be physically, mentally and monetarily draining for u man!!!

[rossiter]

@Apar: Tell me about it. I've been talking to people within Yamaha from the last 12 hours putting pressure on them and trying to put across the same point. The head could have been opened ages ago and this could have been sorted out back then.

First of all, I had to conduct the diagnostic process myself, they were not on hand to sit and spend time with the bike to find out what's going on. And things were taken seriously only after my compression test results. Until then, I was told that it was OK to ride, and it may be bad injectors or plugs.

Now, a new cylinder head has been ordered, and it's going to cost a bomb. Almost 50k I believe! And it's going to take ages to arrive..

As of now, I'm only worried about establishing a warranty claim. There's no way they can get away with blaming it on the fuel or me, which is what they're trying to do. I know of many Aussie spec 07/08 R1s which have had the EXACT same problem, and Yamaha Australia has quietly replaced all the damaged parts under warranty without a fuss.

[Aparajith]

Thank God ur knowledgable!!! If it were someone who just heeds to the SC words....(God save u)

Probably if the issue had been diagnoised earlier the head would not have got damaged so much!!!! And how did this issue crop up on the other R1's? Any root causes or just manufacturing defect?

[Old Fox]

Fresh update: The head was opened up today. I had no idea that the repair work will be started today, and they came in the morning and left in a few hours.

So, they opened her up, discovered that the inlet valve was jammed, and the valve stem had run itself through to a small bit. This is the description of the technician, and I couldn't get an accurate picture from what he said. The failed part(s) have been taken by Yamaha, so I have no clue what they look like. Being a hands on guy, this is very frustrating for me.

Because the damage is so intense, they are now recommending a new head itself. The head will be ordered tomorrow and I will be pushing them to get the bike up and running by this week.

Will go tomorrow to have a look at my engine all opened up

How can an engine with a jammed up inlet (that grinds itself to a small bit) still keep running albeit with some mere 'misfiring'??
Was it from the same cylinder that had lost compression?
Did they mess up with the dis-assembly and bend a valve stem or something in the process?
The willingness to change the entire head points towards probable warpage. Which could be either a serious manufacturing defect or ham-handed dis-assembly.

So many questions and they just took of with the parts....strange.

This is hard decision time for you Akhil. You would be very right in pushing them for quickly getting the bike back on road.

Akhil a few questions here. Why are they doing this job so slowly and step by step man? Once u open up the engine cant they just find out what all is gone, what all needs to be replaced, order it all in one shot and replace them all? How tough is that? I mean, this is seriously pathetic yaar. Now a new head is needed. After 30 odd days and a new head assembly has arrived, they will open it again and discover a new bolt is needed and order that separately? What are they seriously up-to? And how many more times are they going to open up that poor R1's heart? If all this estimation, calculations had been completed when they opened up the engine first time, all issues could have been solved in one shot with delay due to spare parts arrival alone!

P.S: This should be physically, mentally and monetarily draining for u man!!!

The 'rocket science syndrome' Apar. The sad part is that even the 'certified' specialists are affected by it. I dont understand why these 'trained' people are so hesitant of working on these bikes with confidence. A sad state really.

Edit: Then it IS a manufacturing defect...and they have the temerity of trying to blame you. Thats a typical desi' approach. Stick to your guns Akhil. And if needed, we can give them some really in-depth analysis and incident chronology as regards their 'efficient' after-sales service.

[abhishek.murdeshwar]

As of now, I'm only worried about establishing a warranty claim. There's no way they can get away with blaming it on the fuel or me, which is what they're trying to do. I know of many Aussie spec 07/08 R1s which have had the EXACT same problem, and Yamaha Australia has quietly replaced all the damaged parts under warranty without a fuss.

This is serious thing..!! How could they just put the blame on you or the fuel...if im not wrong the R1 is recommended to run on 91 Octane or higher fuel...and im sure that you have followed that...!! And does the fuel quality play such a vital role to screw up the HEAD of any engine..? First off all the yamaha people have delayed so much...and over that they try to put the blame on the customer..!! this is not accepted Akhil...!! Just write a thanking note to the company officials in japan/India..about how good their after sales service is...and what you get after paying 12 Lacks on a machine..!! Im sure..yamaha would only loose their valued customers in the future if they continue this..!!

[TheRedPill]

.............
I know of many Aussie spec 07/08 R1s which have had the EXACT same problem, and Yamaha Australia has quietly replaced all the damaged parts under warranty without a fuss.

Yup there is a manufacturing defect in valves and head in 07 models. It seems other 07 models had the same problem where the valves got jammed and whole head needed a replacement.
Akhil you shouldn't let them blame it on the fuel used alone because poor quality of fuel can't cause this kind of damage to the head and valves.

[rossiter]

Thank God ur knowledgable!!! If it were someone who just heeds to the SC words....(God save u)

Probably if the issue had been diagnoised earlier the head would not have got damaged so much!!!! And how did this issue crop up on the other R1's? Any root causes or just manufacturing defect?

I know.. I am not sure what would have happened if this had happened to someone else. And given the circumstances, I am glad it did not.

I am no one to guess whether it is a manufacturing problem, assembly problem, or metallurgical issue with the valves. Yamaha is best placed to answer that, and they are aware of it, because they have changed parts in Australia under warranty.

How can an engine with a jammed up inlet (that grinds itself to a small bit) still keep running albeit with some mere 'misfiring'??
Was it from the same cylinder that had lost compression?
Did they mess up with the dis-assembly and bend a valve stem or something in the process?
The willingness to change the entire head points towards probable warpage. Which could be either a serious manufacturing defect or ham-handed dis-assembly.

So many questions and they just took of with the parts....strange.

This is hard decision time for you Akhil. You would be very right in pushing them for quickly getting the bike back on road.




The 'rocket science syndrome' Apar. The sad part is that even the 'certified' specialists are affected by it. I dont understand why these 'trained' people are so hesitant of working on these bikes with confidence. A sad state really.

Edit: Then it IS a manufacturing defect...and they have the temerity of trying to blame you. Thats a typical desi' approach. Stick to your guns Akhil. And if needed, we can give them some really in-depth analysis and incident chronology as regards their 'efficient' after-sales service.

OF, I've no idea what's happened to the parts. I only have a second hand account of the damage on the parts. I am asking for access to the parts, and am awaiting a reply.

It's a good thing I documented the diagnostic process, right from day one here on xBhp. I have the posts, time and date stamps and I have printouts ready in case things get ugly

This is serious thing..!! How could they just put the blame on you or the fuel...if im not wrong the R1 is recommended to run on 91 Octane or higher fuel...and im sure that you have followed that...!! And does the fuel quality play such a vital role to screw up the HEAD of any engine..? First off all the yamaha people have delayed so much...and over that they try to put the blame on the customer..!! this is not accepted Akhil...!! Just write a thanking note to the company officials in japan/India..about how good their after sales service is...and what you get after paying 12 Lacks on a machine..!! Im sure..yamaha would only loose their valued customers in the future if they continue this..!!

It's in the pipeline man.

Yup there is a manufacturing defect in valves and head in 07 models. It seems other 07 models had the same problem where the valves got jammed and whole head needed a replacement.
Akhil you shouldn't let them blame it on the fuel used alone because poor quality of fuel can't cause this kind of damage to the head and valves.

Exactly Sumit. Prabhu told me you've been doing your bit about this. Thanks buddy

I just hope Yamaha India gets around to accepting this. Let's see.

First and foremost, the SC is pushing to get the head ASAP. They want to get the bike on the road, which is a very welcome intention. Then they've promised complete support to push for a warranty claim. Am glad that there is a sense of fairness prevailing there, otherwise things would have been an uphill battle for me.

[strider]

Glad to see the final 5 or 6 lines....looks like Yamaha India havent completely lost it yet...praying that the One shall soon see some tarmac...

[Cycofz6]

Akhil Buddy, I have been reading this thread since long and so sad to hear about this man. I think there is a general problem with the Yamaha service all over I am saying this because I am riding an FZ6 in Abu Dhabi for about a year and a half. Things were good initially, and I enjoyed the bike thoroughly and even now I do. I got my first service done and all went well again, revved her up and she was happy and myself as well. After 3500 km i had the second service and on my way back home, i heard a weird howl from the engine side. Got home and immediatly called back and they casually said, the chain might be tight, Ok...now dont you know the exact chanin tension, i asked. 'Please ride it for sometime and see if it fades away". I did that and nothing changed. Did some googling and got advise that a tight chain can create hell lot of problems for the engine. Probably the alignment on the swing arm might be disturbed, it shoud be perfect on both sides or else a sound (humm) might be noticed. Took her back again, this time. the best mechanic was on vacation...oh damn..i thought. Then they came up with another thing that the bearing might have been damaged. What???? a 4000 km bike and the main bearing gone?????. Is this a chineese yammie..i looked under it to see if ' Made in Japan' was still written on it. Finally they changed the bearing and in that process they scratched the whole bloody swing arm and the rim too...asked them to paint it again and got her back.. the problem (howl ) is still the way it is, nothing changed. it gets evident at high speeds. its not the engine coz once it gets over 50 kmph, if i dipress the clutch the hum is very evident. The forums says its the alignment. I tried to make them understand and nothing goes into their head. so i left it as it is, I dont know what damage it will do to my engine. Now i am waiting for the mechanic who went for vacation...so pathetic. I understood one thing. In this part of the world Bike = HONDA. Their service is the best as far as i know. Both on the infrastructue side as well as the trained technican side. Unfortunately, Honda does not import their similar FZ6 kinda (CB1000R) bike here. So I am left with no option. Sorry guyes, bear with me if i posted at the wrong place. I hope Akhil solves his problem soon and compared to him mine is a silly issue. Good luck buddy..!!

[Aparajith]

Any updates on ur R1's head or are they still screwing things in ur head???

[svjhonda]

So much for an 'official superbike' backed with insurance, spares, service and 'complete peace of mind'.

BTW anybody tried finding out about other 08 models sold through Yamaha India? Whether they face similar problems?

And thank god for xbhp. I presume Yamaha officials do dig through threads here. Hope good sense prevails, because Rossiter's not the careless kind who'd damage his own bike.

[rossiter]

@Cycofz6: Thanks for the support man. I guess the level of support a customer gets is heavily dependant on the level of support Yamaha's officials in that country choose to give.

@svjhonda, @Apar: The update is as follows:

This thread is being followed by Yamaha. I met with the relevant people from Yamaha when they were here for the Ride Tech event here in Bangalore on Sunday. They are trying hard to salvage the situation with my engine. The head was not in stock in Singapore, which is their regional distribution centre, and so they airlifted the head from another region. As on Sunday, it was in Singapore, and they are expecting the head to arrive in Delhi within the week, following which it will be hand carried to Bangalore. Bottom line: Yamaha is taking this up as a high priority, and I can see some action happening.

So, after it is here, the new valves, head etc, will go on and lapping will also be carried out. This will be done by hand here in Bangalore, and has to be done right for the valve to seat properly the whole 360 degrees. They have allocated about a day for the assembly, another day for me to ride it and satisfy myself, and another day for any adjustments/post-assembly modifications.

I will be on hand to see the whole thing done, but I will not be allowed to take photos. So I cannot share this with the rest of you guys.

As for other bikes having this issue, there have been numerous owners reporting this problem in the US, and mainly in Australia, where the bikes sold here have been brought from. In both countries, Yamaha have replaced all the parts, done everything without a question, under warranty. Which obviously means they are aware of this issue, and are taking responsibility. I only hope Yamaha here does the same, which at the moment hasn't been completely promised to me.

There have been some grey market bikes here which have had this issue as well.

All in all, a traumatic experience. I'm now in the 3rd month of being separated from Phwoar, and I can't wait to get back on the seat, with all the cylinders firing.

Will keep updating as and when things happen.

[svjhonda]

Thats positive. I do see light at the end of the tunnel.

Well, what else, some more days of endurance, and the phoenix will rise from the ashes!

[Aparajith]

^^Thats good news. Some real good news!!! Hopefully the parts are covered under warranty and u do start riding the bike before completing 100 days of separation!!!!