2006 Yamaha FJR1300A Problems

I COMMUTE ON MY MOTORCYCLE NEARLY EVERY DAY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THIS IS THE REASON I HAVE A MOTORCYCLE. MY WORK START TIME IS AT 5:30AM SO I COMMUTE TO WORK IN THE DARK YEAR ROUND. I ALSO TRAVEL A SECTION OF ROAD THAT TAKES ME THROUGH A 6 MILE CANYON THAT HAS NO STREET LIGHTING SO THE ROAD IS COMPLETELY DARK AND HAS MANY TURNS WHILE TRAVELING AT NEAR THE 65MPH SPEED LIMIT. TWO WEEKS AGO WHILE TRAVELING THIS SECTION I FLIPPED THE HEADLIGHT BRIGHTS SWITCH WHICH CAUSED MY HEADLIGHTS TO GO COMPLETELY OUT. FLIPPING THE SWITCH BACK TO NORMAL LIGHTS DID NOT TURN THEM BACK ON. AFTER A FEW SECONDS THE LIGHTS CAME BACK ON. THIS HAPPENED THREE TIMES DURING DOWN THE CANYON AND TWICE MORE UNTIL I GOT TO WORK. I WAS VERY LUCKY I DIDN'T CRASH OR GET INJURED. LUCKILY, A CAR WAS POSITIONED A LITTLE AHEAD OF ME WHICH ALLOWED ME TO KNOW WHERE THE ROAD WAS DUE TO THE CAR'S TAIL LIGHTS. I WAS ABLE TO RIDE HOME IN THE DAYLIGHT. I TESTED THE HEADLIGHTS AT HOME AND FOUND THAT A RELAY WAS BUZZING SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE CAUSE. UNFORTUNATELY, SWAPPING FOR A DIFFERENT RELAY DID NOT FIX THE ISSUE. I EVENTUALLY LOCATED A CONNECTOR WITH A SPIDER GROUNDING POLE THAT HAD A BURNT MARK. TAKING IT APART SHOWED THE CAUSED. ONE OF THE WIRES NO LONGER HAD GOOD CONTACT DUE TO AN OVERLOAD OF THE CONNECTOR. I'M ATTACHING A PICTURE. THERE'S A RECALL DUE TO ANOTHER ONE OF THESE CONNECTORS AND IT WAS COMPLETED A WHILE AGO. MY RECENT ISSUE IS NOT ADDRESSED BY NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 11V-338. MY FAULTY CONNECTOR IS S6 NOT THE S4 FROM THE RECALL. I'VE READ THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH THE SAME CONNECTOR AND IF FUTURE RIDERS HAVE A SIMILAR PROBLEM AS MINE WE ARE CERTAINLY LOOKING AT A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE.

HEADLIGHTS FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING AS THIS OCCURRED WHILE UNDERWAY AT NIGHT. THE DEFECT OCCURRED IN WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE S6 SPIDER - A SPIDER BEING A GROUND WIRE COLLECTOR CIRCUIT ON THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE HAS ALREADY BEEN RECALLED FOR OTHER SPIDER FAILURES, BUT THE SPIDER AFFECTED BY THIS PROBLEM WAS NOT AMONG THE ONES DEALT WITH. *TR

BIKE LOST HEADLIGHTS (AGAIN). I'VE HAD ELECTRICAL FIXES UNDER RECALL AND THIS CONTINUES. HAD IGNITION REPLACED, GROUND FAULT WORK DONE, ENTIRE WIRING HARNESS REPLACED AND NOW IT HAS LEFT ME STRANDED AGAIN WITHOUT LIGHTS. THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION TO LOSE YOUR HEADLIGHTS. ITS A KNOWN RECURRENT PROBLEM WITH THIS BIKE. HIGH BEAM INDICATOR STAYS ON, STRANGE FLASHING TURN SIGNAL INDICATORS REMAIN ON, NO WINDSHIELD MOTOR CONTROL, NO HEADLIGHTS, NO HIGH OR LOW BEAM. YAMAHA NEEDS TO COME UP WITH PROPER FIX FOR THIS DANGEROUS SITUATION. A QUICK READ ON THE FJR1300 FORUM SHOWS THIS RECURRENT PROBLEM IS HITTING MANY.

HEADLIGHTS FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING AS THIS OCCURRED WHILE UNDERWAY AT NIGHT. THE DEFECT OCCURRED IN WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE S6 SPIDER - A SPIDER BEING A GROUND WIRE COLLECTOR CIRCUIT ON THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE HAS ALREADY BEEN RECALLED FOR OTHER SPIDER FAILURES, BUT THE SPIDER AFFECTED BY THIS PROBLEM WAS NOT AMONG THE ONES DEALT WITH. *TR

RIDING ON HWY WHEN ALL POWER LOST LEAVING ME IN THE DARK (2 DIFFERENT TIMES). ALMOST RAN OFF ROAD DUE TO INSTANT DARKNESS IN RURAL AREAS. 2 TIMES SWITCH HAS BEEN REPLACED, WAITING TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN AGAIN IS VERY DISHEARTENING. *TR

WHILE GAINING SPEED UP ON RAMP TO THE FREEWAY ALL POWER SHUT DOWN ON THE BIKE. I PULLED TO THE SIDE AND CYCLED THE IGNITION SWITCH. I THEN WIGGLED WIRES BELOW THE SWITCH AND WAS ABLE TO START THE BIKE. IT DIED THREE MORE TIMES BEFORE I REACHED HOME. EACH TIME MOVING THE WIRES WOULD ALLOW POWER TO RETURN. *TR

WHEN OPERATING THIS VEHICLE AT ALTITUDES ABOVE APPROXIMATELY 5,000 FEET THE THROTTLE BECOMES UNRESPONSIVE. ENGINE POWER BECOMES UNPREDICTABLE AS SLIGHT THROTTLE INPUTS GENERATE LESS POWER. WHEN THROTTLE INPUT IS FURTHER INCREASED, POWER IS DELIVERED ABRUPTLY LEADING TO A LOSS OF CONTROL. AS YET, I HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED A CRASH DUE TO THIS CONDITION BUT CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN COMPROMISED AND OPERATION HAS BEEN UNSAFE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. *TR

PURCHASED A NEW 2006 YAMAHA FJR1300 MOTORCYCLE. THE THROTTLE ACTION IS EXTREMELY QUICK AND STIFF, SO MUCH SO THAT APPLYING THROTTLE IN TURNS CAN CAUSE OVER ACCELERATION AND POSSIBLE LOSS OF CONTROL. IT IS ALSO A PROBLEM IN TRAFFIC AND STARTING OUT, BUT TURNS PRESENT THE LARGEST DANGER. YAMAHA STATES IN THEIR ADS THAT THEY "IMPROVED THE THROTTLE ACTION" IN 2006 BUT THEY HAVE MADE IT VERY DANGEROUS FOR ANYONE AND PARTICULARLY A NEW RIDER WHO MAY NOT BE AS SMOOTH. I HAVE OWNED 12 MOTORCYCLES AND HAVE BEEN RIDING FOR 30 YEARS. I FEEL THIS IS A GROSS OVERSIGHT ON YAMAHA'S PART. *NM

CURRENT METZLER Z6 TIRES THAT CAME STOCK ON A 2006 YAMAHA FJR 1300A SHOWED RUBBER CRACKING ALL AROUND THE EDGE OF BOTH SIDEWALLS. THIS WAS A ONE YEAR OLD TIRE WITH 5000 MILES ON IT AND HAS BEEN STORED INSIDE. BEING A FRONT TIRE, IF IT WAS TO FAIL, TREAD SEPARATION, THE CONSEQUENCES COULD BE DEADLY. METZLER DID NOT PROVIDE SATISFACTORY HELP OVER THE TELEPHONE. I WILL HAVE TO REPLACE THIS TIRE ON MY OWN TERMS. THIS WA S A DANGEROUS PRODUCT AND IT WAS NOT BEING DEALT WITH. *AK