RoadVitals

1998 Yamaha FZR600 Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
2
Latest May 19, 2004
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Oct 1, 2001

What this page shows

Our database holds 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1998 Yamaha FZR600. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–2 of 2

Electrical
Filed May 19, 2004

CONSUMER PLACED KEY IN THE IGNITION OF MOTORCYCLE TO START IT. WHEN CONSUMER REMOVED THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION MOTORCYCLE WOULD STILL BE RUNNING. CONSUMER DROVE THE MOTORCYCLE TO DEALER, AND MECHANIC INFORMED CONSUMER THAT MOTORCYCLE WAS OPERATING NORMALLY. *AK

NHTSA ID
10073888
Incident
May 19, 2004
Electrical
Filed Oct 1, 2001

THE IGNITION SWITCH ON MY 1998 ROYAL STAR WILL CUT OUT AT INTERMITTENT TIMES CAUSING THE ENGINE TO STOP RUNNING. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME ABOUT 8 OR 9 TIMES NOW SINCE THE 1ST OCCURANCES (5) ON 9/15/2001. THE MOTORCYCLE IS STILL UNDER FACTORY WARRANTEE AND A REPLACEMENT IGNITION SWITCH IS ON ORDER BUT I FEEL THAT THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE. WHEN A MOTORCYCLE ENGINE STOPS RUNNING AT SPEED THERE IS A SUDDEN DECELERATION THAT COULD CAUSE A RIDER TO LOSE CONTROL OF THE MOTORCYCLE. IF THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER OCCURS WHILE ATTEMPTING A PASSING MANEUVER IT COULD RAPIDLY RESULT IN A SERIOUS SITUATION WHERE THE CYCLIST HAS NO POWER TO MANUVER AND IS FACED WITH ONCOMING TRAFFIC. I WAS (ALMOST) IN THIS TYPE OF SITUATION WHILE TOURING THE GREEN MOUNTIANS IN VERMONT ON 9/15/2001. I LOST ENGINE POWER 5 SEPARATE TIMES DURING THAT TRIP, TWICE WHILE ON MOUNTAIN ROADS WITH NO SHOULDER TO COAST ONTO AND TRAFFIC RIGHT ON MY REAR FENDER. THE ONLY WAY TO RESTART THE ENGINE IS TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL, TURN THE INGITION KEY OFF/ON AND THEN PRESS THE STARTER BUTTON. TRYING TO DO THIS WHILE SUDDENLY LOOSING POWER IN FULL TRAFFIC IS TRICKY EVEN FOR AN EXPERIENCED CYCLIST. COMPOUNDING IT WITH THE LOCATION OF THE IGNITION SWITCH (LOW FRONT LEFT FORK) REQUIRING THE RIDER TO REACH DOWN AROUND THE FUEL TANK MAKES FOR A VERY HAIRY SITUATION. IN MY RESEARCH ON THIS COMPONENT I HAVE FOUND THAT YAMAHA IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND HAS REDESIGNED THE IGNITION SWICH ASSEMBLY. BUT THEY WILL NOT REPLACE IT UNTIL AN OWNER ACTIVELY REQUESTS THAT IT BE DONE AND I DO NOT KNOW IF THEY WILL REPLACE THE SWITCH IF THE MOTORCYCLE IS OUT OF WARRANTEE. SINCE THE ROYAL STAR LINE OF MOTORCYCLES STARTED IN MODEL YEAR 1996 AND CAME WITH A 5 YEAR WARRANTEE THE ISSUE OF OUT OF WARRANTEE REPLACEMENT MAY START TO COME TO A HEAD. I BELIEVE THAT THIS PROBLEM SHOULD BE A RECALL AND NOT LEFT UP TO THE FATE OF THE CYCLISTS. I WAS FORTUNATE, OTHERS MAY NOT BE....

NHTSA ID
752768
Incident
Sep 15, 2001

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .