2007 Yamaha Road Star

THE CARBURETOR PUKES GAS ONTO THE HOT ENGINE AND EXHAUST WHEN STOPPING AND SHUTTING OFF THE MOTORCYCLE ON HOT DAYS AND WHEN THE ENGINE IS HOT. I HAVE HEARD CASES WHERE THE MOTORCYCLE HAS CAUGHT FIRE. THIS CONCERNS ME VERY MUCH!! THE YAMAHA REPS SAY THAT THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS AND THEY HAVE NOT PROVIDED A FIX OR RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE. THIS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A SAFETY ISSUE! AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED A LONG TIME AGO!! THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME I RIDE THE MOTORCYCLE WHEN THE WEATHER OR MOTORCYCLE IS HOT!

GAS PUKES OUT OF THE CARBURETOR ONTO HOT MOTOR AND HOT EXHAUST PIPES AND HAS TROUBLE RESTARTING BECAUSE OF FLOODING. THIS IS VERY PREVELANT BUT NOT ISOLATED TO HOT SUMMER DAYS LEAVING PUDDLES OF GAS ON THE MOTOR AND THE GROUND UNDER THE BIKE. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AS AN OWNER THE BIKE COULD CATCH FIRE WHILE IN TRAFFIC SHOPULD IT STALL OUT AND AS A BISTANDER THAT COULD BE SMOKING A CIGARET AND DROP IT ON THE GROUND (I DO NOT SMOKE). THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED ISSUE BY ANY MEANS SINCE READING SEVERAL INTANCES ON THE ROADSTAR FORUM LIST AND ON THE WEB BY MANY REACCURANCES. THEY HAVE MANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE FIX BUT SHOULD BE BACKED BY YAMAHA. AS FOR YAMAHA THEY SHOULD STAND BEHIND THE PRODUCT AND ISSUE A RECALL TO ALL OWNERS THAT EXPERIENCE THIS HAZARD.

THIS HAS HAPPENED FOR 2 YEARS ALREADY AND EVERYTIME I TAKE IT TO GET IT FIXED THEY SAY THAT'S JUST THE WAY THE BIKE IS. BUT EVERY SUMMER I RIDE THE BIKE AND ITS HOT IT JUST SHUTS DOWN AND WHEN I GO TO RESTART IT POURS GAS ALL OVER THE PIPES AND WONT START. I HAVE HAD TO TOW IT SEVERAL TIMES. IT WONT DO IT IN THE SPRING BUT WHEN TEMPS GET 80 AND ABOVE IT WILL DIE OUT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 YAMAHA ROAD STAR MOTORCYCLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MOTORCYCLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING WHEN DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. THE MOTORCYCLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO PERFORMED A DIAGNOSTIC BUT WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE A FAILURE CODE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND ADVISED THAT THEY WOULD CONTACT THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 48,000.

RECENTLY TOOK DELIVERY ON A BRAND NEW, DEALER CARRYOVER YAMAHA XV1700 ROADSTAR. FUEL SPEWS OUT OF THE CARBURETOR AREA ONTO A HOT ENGINE, EXHAUST, AND MY RIGHT TROUSER LEG. PROBLEM HAS OCCURED 7 TIMES IN 600 MILES. CONDITIONS OF REPEATABLE EVENT: 1) AMBIENT AIR CONDITIONS 90 DEGREES F OR GREATER; 2) FUEL IS REGULAR UNLEADED GASOLINE OCTANE 86 OR HIGHER WITH NO MORE THAN 10% ETHANOL AS PER YAMAHA OWNER'S MANUAL CHAPTER 3 PG 8; 3) BIKE IS RIDDEN FOR A PERIOD OF AT LEAST 30 MINUTES UNDER AFFORMENTIONED CONDITIONS; 4) BIKE IS ALLOWED TO REST FOR AT LEAST 7 MINUTES; 5) ATTEMPTED TO RESTART. AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH VIA NHTSA'S OWN WEBSITE ARFC.ORG AND VARIOUS USER GROUP FORUMS SUCH AS ROADSTARCLINIC.COM I HAVE LEARNED THAT THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM IS QUITE PREVALENT WITH CARBURETED ROADSTARS IN HOT WEATHER CONDITIONS. MY DEALER CONTACTED YAMAHA AND WAS INFORMED THAT ALTHOUGH THE COMPANY IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM NO FIX IS AVAILABLE. YAMAHA'S SERVICE REPRESENTITIVE ACTUALLY BLAMED THE PROBLEM ON POOR QUALITY FUEL AND RECOMMENDED THAT A FUEL ADDITIVE BE USED. FUEL USED IN MY CASE HAS MET ALL THE MINIMUN STANDARDS SET FORTH IN THE YAMAHA MANUAL. IF I NEEDED TO RUN A "SPECIAL" FUEL OR ADDITIVE YAMAHA SHOULD CHANGE IT'S MINIMUM STANDARDS. BOTTOM LINE: FUEL BLOWING OUT THE CARBURETOR ONTO A HOT ENGINE, HOT EXHAUST PIPES, AND MY TROUSER LEG PRESENTS A SAFETY ISSUE BEYOND BELIEF. TO MY KNOWLEDGE YAMAHA HAS SPENT YEARS DENYING THE PROBLEM AND ALLOWING UNSPECTING DEALERS AND CONSUMERS TO UNSUCCESSFULLY TRY FIX AFTER FIX. MANY ROADSTAR OWNERS JUST FIX IT THEMSELVES. HAVING SPOKEN AND CORRESPONDED WITH SEVERAL MASTER MECHANICS AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS EACH ONE HAS AGREED THAT THE PROBLEM IS DUE TO A DESIGN FLAW. I AM NOT A MECHANIC AND DEEM IT OUTRAGEOUSLY UNREASONABLE TO BE EXPECTED TO FIX SUCH A POTENTIALLY SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE MYSELF. AT MINIMUM NHTSA NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE THIS SITUATION. I IMPLORE YOU TO DO YOUR JOB AND DO IT SOON. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 5