[Cosmo]

Allright, after reading the post below about the poor fellow w/the oil-munching R1 I felt obligated to begin what will most assuredly be a looooong thread.
Lezeehere...$11k on a new bike, and it's sucking half a quart a week. There are two possible culprits in my mind:
1. No offense, but the dude didn't break in the bike right. Babied it for 75 miles, than ran it up to redline in all six gears for 34 days in a row. This is the MOST probable culprit.
2. But then again, I've been reading an awful lot lately about Yams w/bad rear wheels/cush drives, steering head bearings (although all those wheelies don't help D) )

So, it brings the question to mind; is all of this just pure coincidence, or is Yamaha starting to get sloppy? Don't get me wrong, for my next bike (prolly around the end of this year) an R1 was in the running. It's gotta be an open-classer. I'm a tad over 200lbs and I like mean, rip your face off acceleration. A 750 ain't quite cuttin' it no more. But w/all the probs that Yams are having lately, I'm starting to get a little wary about buying a Yam. Reminder...this is not a Yam-slam thread. I'm not biased against any real bike. (Harleys Suck) I'd ride a Yam, or a Honda, or a Kaw as well as my Suzook any old day. It's just that w/all the different brands represented on this forum, how come we don't hear about Honda probs, or Kaw probs as much as Yam probs? Just a question.....QUESTION OF THE MONTH MATERIAL? Cheers.

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Cosmo
'97 Katana 750

 

[chris_y2k_r1]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Aril, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Cosmo:
It's just that w/all the different brands represented on this forum, how come we don't hear about Honda probs, or Kaw probs as much as Yam probs? Just a question.....QUESTION OF THE MONTH MATERIAL? Cheers.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I will answer this question very seriously
because I think it is a good and valid
question. First of all lets get this out of
the way...

If your PRIMARY concern is overall QUALITY
by a *&**ing Honda. Period. I love Honda
quality... No manufacturer in the world can
touch Honda quality. I'm not fond of the
Honda looks or the riding position right
now but they ARE great bikes.

The wheel thing is an isolated incodent. This
could have happened to any manufacturer
because nobody makes there own wheels but it
happened to Yamaha. Now the way they are
dealing with it is a G*D D**N joke. It's
wrong. But I think there is MORE FOCUS on
Yamaha right now becuase of the popularity
of the R1 and R6 and EVERYONE who doesn't
own one is tired of hearing about it. Frankly
I'm tired of defending Yamaha and I'm tired
that they make themselves hard to defend.

- BUT -

truth is, if you don't like something and
it's in your face everyday (R1,R6) if you get
a chance to through dirt back you are going
to. That's why you hear more mud flung at
Yamaha than any other brand right now.I don't
think that Yamaha has any bit worse quality
than Suzuki or Kawi.. (Honda above em all).
Actually I had worse expiriences with my
Kawi's than any other bikes.

I ****ing love my R1... Most incredible
machine to reside between my legs ever. It
makes me feel like I can be Gary Rothwell
if I persue it (and if I had a $10,000 year
budget for tires) The R6 was the same way.
Before I got the R6 which was last year, my
9th year of riding... I could do crappy
wheelies and baby endos... When I got the
R6 I could launch bomb wheelies and do 40ft+
rolling endos. I won't even mention what I
was doing to my friends last year when we hit
the twisties... (CBR600F4 excluded here)
The BIKE brought the rider out of ME. It all
depends on what you want from a motorcycle. I
will compromize a little quality (Honda) for
asthetics and raw performace edge feeling,
but I can rebuild stuff when it breaks too.
To each his own.

My view bro...

Take it easy Cosmo.


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[This message has been edited by chris_y2k_r1 (edited June 19, 2000).]

 

[VYPIR]

My R6 is starting to give me some sh**. I have the mystery leak with the oil, and recently have discovered that the radiator hoses are CRAP!!! My steering head bearings come loose all the time as well (a day after haing them tightened too)(no I don't do wheelies all over the place either). Don't get me wrong, I am in love with this machine. i just wish it would stay together.
Now that I think about it, I guess that is the price to pay for pushing the hell out of it!

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You get the best thrills on two wheels!

[This message has been edited by VYPIR (edited June 19, 2000).]

 

[Cosmo]

Well said, Chris. Very well said. That's what I like about this forum vs. others that I've seen: the maturity. There's no reason why reasonable adults can have a logical discussion about things. Thanks for not taking any of it personally 'cause none it of was meant to be. Feel 'da luvvvvvvv!!!! BTW, I agree about the wheel thing; could've happened to any of the Big 4 since they all use the same mfg. company for their wheels!

------------------
Cosmo
'97 Katana 750

 

[chris_y2k_r1]

VYPIR - You bastard, shut the hell up man...
I had it covered bro! (Joking man...)

Yeah my R6 head stem went loose after 5000
miles and I tightended it up and never
bothered me again until it was gone.

As far as radiator hoses.. Dude Paaaleeeze,
are you trying to find problems here man???

Cosmo, if you really want to know what people
think of their machines and the problems that
they have had, start a thread and ask
everyone to post what they've got and the
problems if any that they've had. You'll
get your answer there.

(VYPIR - Spare me the ribbing OK??)

Later,
Chris


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[rr31]

I know that many will probably think that I beat the [email protected]#$ out of my R1 and did not follow proper break-in protocal.

But actually, I babied the bike like a delicate flower until 3,000 mi. Really. Now the bike sucks down 1/2 quart per 2,000 mi. I conclude that "break-in" is not critical.

Don't get me wrong - the bike still has increadible performance and makes me smile every time I twist my wrist.

I have found out that most R1 owners have claimed significant oil consumption - and no loss in performance. I guess that all R1's just plain burn oil.

 

[El Diablo]

Well, anyway, we now know the R6 is a rugged little bike (Said the R6, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."):
http://www.cyberphilly.com/r6/bbs/messages/170.html

------------------
--2000 VTR1000F Super Hawk

 

[mashuri]

Wow...My '99 R1 has had NO problems. I haven't had to tighten anything. It doesn't burn oil. The bearings, cush drive and wheels are all fine. She's dynoed at 132 RWHP. Everything works great and I couldn't be happier.

------------------
1999 Blue/White YZF-R1: 2 Bros. C4 exhaust, Dynojet jet kit, timing tricker, dyno-tuned by Graves
2000 NBM/Lt Oak int/Blk top C5 Convertible - MN6, Z51, A&A Exhaust, C/R X-pipe, Corsa tips, !CAGS

 

[VYPIR]

I did mention that I still love my bike. I will not let a few little things like that bother me too much. All I have to do is go to the garage and look at her -- all is forgotten. "Sigh"

Anyway I wouldn't settle for any other bike. Not even an R1.



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You get the best thrills on two wheels!

 

[RCjohn]

Kyle,

Good point on there being so many bikes and being treated differently.

The modern sportbikes(even Ducatis ) are quite reliable considering what "we" put them through.

------------------
Ride Hard!

John

 

[chris_y2k_r1]

RR31 - Bro seriously with what you said about
babying for 3000k, go buy regular car oil
for your bike. Change the oil and give it
a good workout for 1000k... I bet your
problem might go away... Escpecially if
you are running synthetic.. The bike may not
yet be broken in.

I know I beat my R1, and as said by I think
Mashuri, I couldn't be happier with it.
Actually I had an AWESOME ride in.

Let me say, I hope you all don't think I am
bragging but I am catching (for the first
time ever) some mean ass stand up wheelies
in second gear... It feels great!


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[madmax]

I was reading these posts about oil consumption and it's not clear what may be causing the loss. Is it possible that it's not being burnt - instead maybe the oil is being lost through the crankcase vent? I guess that ultimately the oil will find it's way back to the combustion chamber that way, but that would be a better alternative than bad rings or valves. I've heard (or read in the manual?) that long high-speed stretches will cause the oil loss through the vent.
Just a thought. In any case it would obviously be something the dealership should be held accountable for...

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[rr31]

Hey MADMAX--
Yeah, you are right! I have never noticed a problem with consumption until this passed weekend when I took a 150 mile highway ride at an average speed of about 80 MPH. I'll bet that you are right! let's see if I loose any more oil. Where did you read about that oil problem?
Rick

 

[DoubleAught]

I remember Honda had problems with it's early V4's eating camshafts. Kaw had problems with soft intake valves on its 600 Ninja motors, and soft bushings in the early ZX11 transmissions. Suzi had problems with stators in it's GS series motors, as well as bad clutch baskets.Remeber the recall of the GSXR750 for possible piston/head interference? BMW had problems with machined splines somewhere in the driveline of it's RS series. Ducati had problems with wheels that would bend if you ran over a cigarette butt. These things happen. Oil can get out through a seal, in which case you have a puddle on the floor, or through the breather system, in which case you'll have a lot of oil in the airbox. If this seems to be the case, you may want to consider adding a catch tank between the breather & airbox, if possible. Oil drawn into the motor tends to burn on the back of the intake valves, producing deposits which decrease the engines' breathing ability.

------------------

 

[madmax]

Rick -
I'm not sure where I read/heard about the crankcase vent stuff. I'm pretty sure that I read it in my owner's manual/shop manual. I really notice the oil consumption if I push the bike - like you said the road trips that stay at/above 80mph will really cause me to add about 1/2 a quart when the day is done. I'll check around and get you the source of the info - I'm sure you'd rather hear about it from the factory versus "I heard it from this guy who heard it from somebody at the shop..."

------------------

 

[chris_y2k_r1]

The crankcase breather goes directly into
the airbox, if this IS the case then you
will find a 1/2 quart of oil in the air box.
Now I could be wrong, it is possible that
the carbs suck in the oil and burn it up
but if that is the case you will have
nasty fouled plugs... You can easily check
by taking a look at the airbox and the
plugs... I really don't think you are going
to find that this is the case, RR.

I am telling you man I beat my R1 to some
degree and it burns NO oil. Either it's
a little loose which doesn't really mean
anything or it's not truley broken in yet.


------------------
It's nice to have one of the biggest...

[This message has been edited by chris_y2k_r1 (edited June 20, 2000).]

 

[rr31]

Actually, yamaha does plate their cylinder walls with ceramic. It says so on their R1 web page. Maybe my piston rings are not seated yet?

Hey Chris - how many mile do you have on your R1? How many miles have you gone between oil changes?

Rick

[This message has been edited by rr31 (edited June 20, 2000).]

 

[chris_y2k_r1]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Aril, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rr31:

Hey Chris - how many mile do you have on your R1? How many miles have you gone between oil changes?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well initially at 600 then again at 3600.
I have just under 5000k on it now. Break in
was basically followed but I wouldn't say
it was a soft break in, I was on the hard
side of break in.


*SORRY*
I thought Yami MIGHT coat the cylinders
but I was on the "I don't think they do
side." Sorry for the bad info...



------------------
It's nice to have one of the biggest...

 

[Guest]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Aril, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by chris_y2k_r1:

*SORRY*
I thought Yami MIGHT coat the cylinders
but I was on the "I don't think they do
side." Sorry for the bad info...

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Why would coated cylinders preclude you from boring? Couldn't you just bore through it and go conventional?



------------------
Pete
Email: [email protected]

 

[RCjohn]

We the sportbike riders have kindof push the big 4 to this reliability situation. We(in general) want lighter more powerful machines. As the Power to Weight ratio goes up the reliability goes down for a given price range. Yamaha and Suzuki have been putting out some of the lightest most powerful machines over the last few years. Their reliability has suffered. I imagine that the new GSXR750 will have some problems. That thing has to be close to the ragged edge. It has awesome power and performance for a stock bike.

Let's face it, Honda has enough money to overcome things like this. I can't believe that they are making much money on the 929 and RC 51. The 929 is not putting out the horsepower that was originally predicted. If it were then you would probably start hearing of some problems from it.

As for Ducati, I don't know how one of the most expensive makes can also be one of the most troublesome. (That was for Paul)

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Ride Hard!

John