2006 Yamaha XVS1100 Problems

The contact owns a 2006 Yamaha XVS1100 Motorcycle. The contact stated that while riding approximately 60 MPH, there was a loud whining sound coming from the rear of the motorcycle. The contact stated that moments later the rear wheel locked up and the motorcycle became inoperable. The motorcycle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the mid driveshaft within the transmission had fractured and the engine needed to be replaced. The motorcycle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 24,000.

2006 VSTAR WITH 15,750 MILES. WHILE SLOWING DOWN AT APPX 45 MPH, METALLIC WHINING FROM TRANSMISSION STARTED. HAD NEVER HEARD THIS NOISE BEFORE. AFTER INITIAL INCIDENT, ANY TIME I DECELERATED OR DOWNSHIFTED, SAME NOISE WAS MADE. AS LONG AS I WAS ON THE ACCELERATOR, SEEMED RUN FINE. AS SOON AS I LET OFF THE GAS, GRINDING/WHINING STARTED. SPOKE WITH A DEALER, HAD NO CLUE WHAT I WAS DESCRIBING. SHOWED THEM A PAGE FROM THIS WEBSITE, SUDDENLY "HAD HEARD OF" BUT WERE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE PROBLEM. DECIDED THEY WOULD NEED TO TEAR DOWN TRANS TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON. WANTED $1,100 JUST TO DIAGNOSE. SAID IT MAY BE A $100 FIX OR $3K. SEEMS TO BE RELATED TO MIDDLE GEAR SHAFT NUT THAT HAS LOOSENED, BUT NOT BROKEN OFF YET.

The contact owns a 2006 Yamaha XVS1100 Motorcycle. The contact stated that while riding approximately 60 MPH, there was a loud whining sound coming from the rear of the motorcycle. The contact stated that moments later the rear wheel locked up and the motorcycle became inoperable. The motorcycle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the mid driveshaft within the transmission had fractured and the engine needed to be replaced. The motorcycle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 24,000.

YAMAHA V-STAR 1100 MIDDLE DRIVE SHAFT ENGINEERING DEFECT LAST SEPTEMBER, I ACCELERATED FROM A STOP TO A SPEED OF APPROXIMATELY 5MPH. I HEARD A LOUD CLUNK, AND LOST ALL POWER TO MY REAR WHEEL. I PUSHED MY BIKE TO A NEARBY REPAIR SHOP, WHO REPORTED THAT THE MIDDLE DRIVE SHAFT NUT HAD BECOME LOOSE , WHICH CAUSED THE SHAFT TO SHEAR COMPLETELY OFF, IN TURN CAUSING IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO THE GEAR AND THE MIDDLE DRIVE SHAFT. IN ORDER TO REPAIR THIS ISSUE, THE ENGINE CASE WOULD HAVE TO BE SPLIT TO GET TO THE BROKEN ITEM AND REPLACE IT. AFTER SOME AMOUNT OF RESEARCH I FOUND THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM WITH THE MIDDLE DRIVE SHAFT. AFTER GETTING THE REPAIRS APPRAISED AT APPROXIMATELY $2200, I CONTACTED YAMAHA AFTER FILING AN EARLIER REPORT WITH THE NHTSA AND WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS NOT A REPORTED PROBLEM AND THEY WOULD NOT ISSUE A RECALL OR FIX THE DEFECT. IF THIS PROBLEM HAD OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, I WOULD HAVE LOST CONTROL OF THE MOTORCYCLE AND LIKELY BEEN INJURED OR KILLED AS A RESULT.

WHILE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH THROUGH CURVES AND HILLS, WITH VARIOUS LEVELS OF LOAD ON THE ENGINE AND DRIVE TRAIN, A LOUD BUZZING/WHINING NOISE WAS BEING PRODUCED FROM THE ENGINE AREA ACCOMPANIED WITH SPEEDOMETER FAILURE WHEN ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION WERE PUT UNDER LOAD. WHEN ENGINE AND DRIVE TRAIN WERE UNDER NO LOAD (COASTING), THE SPEEDOMETER WOULD OPERATE NORMALLY. INSPECTION OF ENGINE/TRANSMISSION AND FINAL DRIVE FLUIDS REVEALED EVERYTHING TO BE WITHIN SPECIFICATIONS. WHEN THE MOTORCYCLE WAS RESTARTED AND OPERATED AGAIN, THERE WAS NO NOISE PRODUCED AND APPEARED TO OPERATE NORMALLY. THREE MONTHS LATER THE SAME ISSUE PRESENTED ITSELF WITH THE SAME SYMPTOMS, BUT WENT AWAY AFTER INSPECTING THE MOTORCYCLE. TWO MONTHS LATER, THE ISSUE HAPPENED AGAIN AND THE MOTORCYCLE WAS TAKEN TO A MECHANIC. THE MECHANIC DISCOVERED THAT THE NUT HOLDING THE YOKE TO THE MIDDLE DRIVE SHAFT/PINION GEAR HAD LOOSENED APPROXIMATELY THREE THREADS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 (NA) YAMAHA XVS1100 MOTORCYCLE. WHILE RIDING 70 MPH, THE CONTACT APPLIED THE BRAKES TO AVOID A SCHOOL BUS. THE FRONT SUSPENSION WAS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THE CONTACT'S WEIGHT AND HE WAS THROWN 80 FEET IN THE AIR. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES AND RECEIVED MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 12,000.