2004 Yamaha YZF-R1

I HAVE A 2004 YAMAHA R1 THAT WOULD IDLE DOWN TO 500 RPM AND THEN SHUT OFF WHILE BIKE WAS IN MOTION. THIS HAPPENED MANY TIMES UNTIL THE BIKE WOULD NOT RUN FOR A MILE BEFORE SHUTTING OFF. THE ONLY WAY TO SHUT THE BIKE BACK ON WAS TO TURN THE KEY COMPLETELY OFF AND THEN TURN THE BIKE BACK ON. I TOOK THE BIKE TO HEYSER CYCLE IN LAUREL, MD. THEY REPLACED THE TPS SENSORS WITH NO RESOLVE. THEN FINALLY REPLACED THE ENTIRE SET OF THROTTLE BODIES WHICH SEEMED TO CURE THE PROBLEM.. THIS WAS REPLACED IN MARCH OF 2005. I HAD APPROX. 11,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. THE PROBLEM HAS RECENTLY COME BACK WITH APPROXIMATELY 22,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. IT IS BACK IN THE SHOP WAITING FOR ANOTHER SET OF THROTTLE BODIES UNDER WARRANTY. *NM

2004 YAMAHA R1 WILL OCCASIONALLY SURGE ERRATICALLY WHILE RIDING AND VERY OFTEN STALL, USUALLY DURING LOW TO NO THROTTLE CONDITIONS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT STARTED TO MANIFEST ITSELF WHEN I BOUGHT THE BIKE WITH 1,000 MILES AND HAS PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN WORSE AND I AM NOW AT 2,500 MILES. THIS IS A DANGEROUS CONDITION IN THAT THE STALLING WILL OFTEN TAKE PLACE WHILE APPROACHING A TRAFFIC LIGHT, STOP SIGN, OR CORNERING DURING SLOWDOWN. VEHICLES FROM BEHIND DO NOT REALIZE THE BIKE HAS STALLED, AND SOMETIMES WANT TO KEEP ON GOING INTO THE BACK OF YOU. ITS A NUISANCE AND DANGER NOT ONLY TO THE RIDER OF THE MOTORCYCLE, BUT TO THE OTHER VEHICLES OCCUPANTS AS WELL. FROM THE PROGRESSIVE STATE OF THIS PROBLEM THAT I HAVE SEEN THUS FAR, I FEAR WHAT LIES IN THE AHEAD MILES. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THE PROBLEM ASAP BEFORE IT CAUSES A DEATH, SERIOUS INJURY, OR OTHER PROPERTY DAMAGE. I MYSELF HAVE BEEN LUCKY AND AVOIDED A FEW CLOSE CALLS DUE TO THIS ISSUE. *NM

ON FEBRUARY OF 2004 I PURCHASED A BRAND NEW 2004 YAMAHA YZF-R1 FROM AN AUTHORIZED YAMAHA DEALER IN COVINA, CA. RECENTLY, I WAS RIDING THE ABOVE-MENTIONED MOTORCYCLE ON A RURAL HIGHWAY WHEN SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT WARNING STALLED. THE BIKE LOST ALL POWER AND THE REAR TIRE LOCKED UP SENDING THE BIKE INTO A REAR WHEEL SKID, I WAS ABLE TO PULL THE CLUTCH IN AND RECOVER CONTROL OF THE BIKE. I PULLED ALONG SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TRIED TO REGAIN MY COMPOSURE AS I HAD ALMOST CRASHED. I DECIDED TO CHECKED THE BIKE OVER, I LOOKED FOR OBVIOUS LOSE WIRES OR CONNECTIONS AND FOUND NONE. I CHECKED THE GAS LEVEL AND I HAD OVER HALF A TANK OF FUEL REMAINING. I TRIED CALLING MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP BUT THERE WAS NO CELL PHONE SIGNAL IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA. HAVING NO OTHER RECOURSE, I RELUCTANTLY DECIDED TO RIDE THE MOTORCYCLE HOME. ON THE WAY HOME THE MOTORCYCLE STALLED TWO MORE TIMES IN LESS THAN A 15-MILE DISTANCE. THANKFULLY I WAS ABLE TO ADJUST MY RIDING TO COMPENSATE FOR THE STALLING. A FEW DAYS LATER I LOADED THE MOTORCYCLE IN THE BACK OF MY PICK-UP TRUCK AND TOOK IT TO A LOCAL YAMAHA DEALERSHIP. I DESCRIBED THE PROBLEM TO THE LEAD MECHANIC WHOM SEEMED PERPLEXED BY MY DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM. I TOLD THE MECHANIC THAT I WAS A MEMBER OF AN ONLINE FORUM, WWW.R1-FORUM.COM, AND THAT I HAD READ OF OTHER YAMAHA R1 OWNERS WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS. HE AGREED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE PROBLEM. THE MECHANIC GAVE THE BIKE A CURSORY LOOK AND DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG THAT HE COULD DETERMINE. I EXPLAINED TO THE MECHANIC THAT OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FORUM HAD CRASHED BECAUSE OF SIMILAR PROBLEMS AND THAT I WAS CONCERNED. I PLEADED WITH HIM TO CALL YAMAHA MOTOR CORP. TO SEE IF ANYONE ELSE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS OR IF THEY HAD ISSUED A SAFETY WARNING OR ANYTHING SIMILAR. I HAVE NOT HEARD ANYTHING BACK FROM THE DEALER AND I HAVE TRIED TO CONTACT THEM SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT THIS ISSUE.

I WAS RIDING AROUND FOR ABOUT AN HOUR, CAME TO A STOP LIGHT TO WAIT FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE. STOP LIGHT CHANGED SO I PROCEED ACROSS INTERSECTION. I WAS ALMOST ALL THE WAY ACROSS INTERSECTION WITH THE CLUTCH LEVER FULLY RELEASED BY THIS TIME AND THROTTLE PARTIALLY OPEN WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE BIKE STALLED, I SLID FORWARD ON THE SEAT AND MY "LOWER" REGION SLAMS THE GAS TANK DUE TO ENGINE BRAKING. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED IN THE CLUTCH LEVER TO COAST. I WENT FROM 7-10 MPH TO ABOUT 2 MPH IN A SPLIT SECOND. I WAS AFRAID OF BEING REAR ENDED BY THE VEHICLE BEHIND ME SO I LOOKED IN MY REARVIEW MIRROR TO SEE THE GRILL OF AN EARLY MODEL MERCEDES DIVE FROM HARD BRAKING. LUCKILY THE MERCEDES DRIVER WAS A GOOD JUDGE OF DISTANCE AS I NEVER HIT THE BRAKES HENCE NO BRAKE LIGHTS. I DIDN'T TURN MY HEAD TO LOOK AS I WAS STILL TRYING TO MAINTAIN MY BALANCE CRAWLING ALONG AT ABOUT 2 MPH AND TRYING TO PUSH THE STARTER BUTTON TO RESTART THE BIKE. MY BIKE WOULDN'T START. I THEN CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP BECAUSE OF NO MORE FORWARD MOMENTUM. I TRIED TO START IT A SECOND TIME AND THANKFULLY IT STARTED. THIS SITUATION HAS HAPPENED TO ME TWICE NOW. ON THREE MORE OCCASIONS, MY BIKE WOULD STALL WHEN DISENGAGING THE CLUTCH AND SHUTTING THE THROTTLE TO PREPARE FOR A STOP. I SEARCHED THE R1-FORUM TO SEE HOW MANY OTHERS WERE INFLICTED WITH THIS PROBLEM AND FOUND THAT MANY OF THE FORUM MEMBERS HAD SIMILAR IF NOT THE SAME PROBLEMS AS I DID. I AM CURRENTLY NOT RIDING MY R1 UNTIL I CAN GET IT TO THE DEALER. I TALKED TO MY DEALERS SERVICE WRITER AND HE KNEW ALL ABOUT THE PROBLEM! I ONLY SEARCHED FOR THIS PROBLEM WITH THE R1'S BECAUSE MY FRIEND HAS CRASHED TWICE BECAUSE HER BIKE CUT OUT ON HER IN MID TURN, ONCE MAKING LEFT TURN AND ONCE MAKING RIGHT TURN. SHE IS LUCKY, SHE ONLY SUFFERED BRUISES. HOW CAN YAMAHA KNOW ABOUT THIS PROBLEM WITH REVISIONS OF A FAULTY THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR AND NOT DO A RECALL!? UNACCEPTABLE!! *JB

THE 2004 YAMAHA R1 STARTS SHAKING AND BACKFIRING. WHEN THE CLUTCH IS PULLED IN THE ENGINE DIES. ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS WHILE RIDING THE ENGINE HAS STOPPED RESULTING IN MANY NEAR CRASHES. THE ONLY WAY TO FIX THE PROBLEM IS TO TURN THE KEY ON AND OFF AGAIN. THIS BIKE IS UNSAFE. THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS FROM MANY PEOPLE AND YAMAHA IS DOING NOTHING. *NM

I HAD MY 2004 YAMAHA R1 REPEATEDLY LOSE POWER WHILE OPERATING IN THE SUB-7000 RPM RANGE. THE MOTORCYCLE WOULD BACKFIRE, SPUTTER, AND THEN LOSE POWER. THE FAILURE FIRST APPEARED WITH APPROXIMATELY 7000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. THE FAILURE WAS CORRECTED BY REMOVING THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSORS AND CLEANING THEM WITH CONTACT CLEANER. THE CLEANING WAS DONE APPROXIMATELY 2500 MILES AGO AND THE FAILURE HAS NOT REAPPEARED. *JB