2007 Suzuki VZR1800

In late 2020 while in a turn on the interstate while in 2nd gear the motorcycle jolted like it slipped on ice. The second time it happened is when I attempted to accelerate to 3rd gear the bike shuddered like it was not getting gas. Not being able to provide gas caused the vehicles behind me to swerve into the other lane. After 8 months of the bike sitting at another Suzuki dealer because they said they had to rip out the engine I towed the bike to a dealer over 700 miles away. That dealer said it was the clutch plates. They replaced the entire clutch system at my cost and the problem remained immediately upon picking up the bike. The same dealer now says it’s the gears and they have to replace them which means approximately another month at the dealer. The bike had not been inspected by any other agency. There were no warning lights of any kind. The RPMs never changed when the issue occurred. I called USA Suzuki and they said they’ll call me back. They never did. I will now have to get an attorney because Suzuki has a failed mechanical part they claimed they fixed years prior but the same thing is happening with the new models.

The contact owns a 2007 Suzuki VZR1800. The contact stated that while riding at approximately 35 MPH, the motorcycle independently shifted from 2nd gear to neutral. In addition, while shifting from 1st gear to 2nd gear there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the motorcycle. The contact mentioned that when the motorcycle shifted into neutral, the speed decelerated causing the motorcycle to stop in the middle of traffic. The dealer was not contacted. The motorcycle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 13,500.

MAJOR LOSS OF POWER TO THE GROUND. MAINLY IN SECOND GEAR IF I OPEN THE THROTTLE TO ANYTHING ABOVE SAY 20% TWIST OF THE WRIST THE RPMS GO UP BUT BIKE WONT GAIN SPEED WHILE ALREADY DRIVING. CLUTCH DOES NOT SHOW SIGNS OF BURNING UP AND ALL SEEMS NORMAL THERE. IVE ADJUSTED IT PER SUZUKI'S MANUAL AND FOLLOWED THEIR UPDATED METHOD VIA SERVICE BULLETIN THE NEXT TIME I MADE ADJUSTMENT. IN ALL GEARS I GET THIS SLIPPING SENSATION TOO WHERE THE MOTORCYCLE FEEL LIKE ITS DRAGGING OR NOT PICKING UP SPEED ALONG WITH THE RPMS WHENEVER I TRY TO USE SOME OF THE BIKES STRONG POWER WHILE ALREADY DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS POTENTIALLY CAN PUT ME INTO A DANGEROUS SITUATION WHERE I CANNOT PICKUP SPEED TO AVOID ANOTHER VEHICLE NEED BE AND PLUS IT JUST PLAIN OLD TAKES THE CONFIDENCE AND FUN OUT OF RIDING THIS MACHINE I SPENT A LOT OF HARD EARNED MONEY ON. SHIFTING INTO SECOND GEAR IS ROUGH AND DIFFICULT AT TIMES. I ALWAYS SHIFT IN LOW RPM (4K RPM) AND EASE ON THROTTLE FOR ALL GEARS TO NOT ABUSE IT. THE GEAR INDICATOR I HAD INSTALLED NO LONGER SENSES WHAT GEAR I AM IN MORE TIMES THAN NOT. I SUSPECT THE SHIFT FORK FOR SECOND GEAR ALONG WITH THE GEAR ITSELF TO BE BADLY ENGINEERED AFTER GATHER INFO ABOUT THIS ISSUE ON THE M109ERS.COM FORUM. THINKING THE SECONDARY DRIVE MIGHT BE WORN OUT WHEN I DON'T ABUSE THIS BIKE. THIS BIKE HAS ALSO HAD A TERRIBLE "STUTTER" IN FIRST GEAR WHEN DRIVING FROM A STAND STILL THAT I NOTICED GOES AWAY WHEN YOU PARK THE BIKE WITH THE HANDLE BARS TURNED TO THE RIGHT TO STAND UP THE BIKE MORE UPRIGHT (MORE OIL GETS TO THE CLUTCH STACK) 24000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER, THIS IS THE THIRD BIKE I HAVE EVER PURCHASED OUT OF THE 5 IN MY LIFETIME. WILL BE FILING A COMPLAINT AGAIN ONCE I HAVE MORE INFO AND DOCUMENTATION.

I ALMOST DROPPED MY BIKE TODAY EXPECTING TO ACCELERATE INTO A TURN WITH NO SPEED WHILE THE BIKE IS JUMPING VIOLENTLY. WHEN RELEASING THE CLUTCH THE BIKE JUMPS VIOLENTLY AND MAKE SIT HARD TO CONTROL AND TAKE OFF AND IN RESULT BLOCKING TRAFFIC FALLING OFF BIKE AND POSSIBLE GETTING HIT BY ONCOMING TRAFFIC..THIS CAN CAUSE A CAR ACCIDENT RESULTING IN SERIOUS INJURY AND MOST LIKELY DEATH ON A MOTORCYCLE. IT RENDERS THE VEHICLE ALMOST UNCONTROLLABLE. CONTACTED SUZUKI AND THEY SAID THIS PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN AN ISSUE AND THEY HAVE NOT HEARD OF IT. I TOLD THE PERSON ON THE PHONE THAT THERE IS A SITE THAT HAS HUNDREDS OF ACCOUNTS OF THIS ISSUE AND HE SAID THAT WE SELL THOUSANDS OF THESE BIKES AND WE HAVEN'T HEARD OF THIS PROBLEM AND HE CAN NOT GO BY WHAT'S PUT ON THE INTERNET. I SUGGEST WE ALL CALL SUZUKI AND GIVE THE VIN NUMBERS AND MAKE THIS A REAL ISSUE. *TR

WAS ON MY 2007 SUZUKI M109R AND SITTING AT A LIGHT I WAS MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN AFTER LIGHT TURNED GREEN. AS I MADE THE TURN I WENT TO SHIFT INTO SECOND GEAR AND IT WENT INTO SECOND GEAR THEN SLIPPED BACK INTO NEUTRAL CAUSING ME TO LOSE MY CONCENTRATION AND ALMOST HITTING CAR NEXT TO ME. I AM A MEMBER OF THE M109RIDER MESSAGE BOARD AND HAVE FOUND THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS MOTORCYCLE HTTP://WWW.M109RIDERS.COM/FORUMS/SEARCH.PHP?SEARCHID=865572 THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE DUE TO IT HAPPENS WHEN A RIDER IS STARTING TO ACCELERATE (POSSIBLY LIKE ME IN A TURN OR MERGING INTO TRAFFIC) AND IS LIKELY TO EVENTUALLY CAUSE EITHER A SERIOUS ACCIDENT WITH INJURIES OR POSSIBLY DEATH. *JS