99-02 R6 ONLY 2nd gear slippage problems - warranty issues

I personally like being able to go out and buy a true racebike for $8K. And GSXR's have worse problems... I can't recall just how many 750's I've known of with messed up trannys. More than the R6's anyway. Then again I know someone with 24K miles on thier GSXR600 and it is fine... And know of another one that blew in 1500 the engine in 1500 miles. and ohhh my Ducati's.. they fall apart on the showroom floor.

I had my tranny covered under warranty when it shouldn't have... After I figured out why it went I felt guilty that I had it fixed under warranty.

maybe their are some legit cases, but 90% of people I see riding R6's grind gears.

Motorcycles aren't "plug and play"... I used to work at a hobby shop and a million morons would bring back their RC cars with fried engines in the first 3 days because they ran them too lean. I just had to explain to them that they just can't lean em out and go WFO. It was a serious hobby with high performance (sensitive) equitment and it had to be used right. At the same time you can't actually expect the engine or car to last over a year with daily high performance use. There are only two sportbike engines I know of that have lasted over mid 20K miles... My old R6 engine (25K when I sold it) and a 2001 GSXR 600 (24K miles) engine... Seen many more engines (honda's, suzuki's, kawasaki's) go between 15-25K. And on my R6 I hit the rev limiter probably 5 times everytime I got on the thing.

I'm not saying manufactures can ignore responsability... But consider your self lucky if your bike actually lasts 20K miles. Maybe 1 out of 100 sportbikes actually see 20K. Don't treat your stuff like crap... don't clutch up wheelies, don't shift 1-2 wheelies... don't rev out first to 15K and crunch the gears going into second. And if your bike does actually reach 20K, be lucky it lasted that long and expect a few problems... Most sportbike motors wont last past 25K.

Ara, I understand what you're saying but I'm not gonna keep going back and forth with you. The purpose of this post is to get this problem covered under warranty, not to argue about weather or not it should be covered. I have the names of over 30 people on this board alone who would disagree with you, so I would apreciate it if you just stopped posting in this topic. If you want to start another thread about this be my guest. You can argue there all day long.

Thank you.

Ara,
Seriously, do you work for Yamaha?

Your reply has some valid points and you have given some isolated examples to back up your arguments, but i strongly disagree with your implications.

Are you suggesting that just because GSXR's and Ducatis have problems then it is OK for Yamaha too?. Well it is NOT.
Especially from Japanese bikes, they have a reputation and an expectation to be reasonably reliable. If I buy a Ducati, I expect to have problems, but I still expect to get them fixed under warranty when appropriate.

I also challenge you on your figure of 90% of all R6 riders grind their gears! What rubbish. And I don't know if you read my original kickoff here, but I know how to change gears, I never grind them, slam them, dump them or short shift them. I don't go near red line. If I did this stuff even some of the time, I wouldn't really have a problem with a gearbox failure or even total bike self destruction. Basically I DO NOT 'treat my bike like shit'.

Are you sure you don't work for Yamaha?

Seriously though, I think you are missing the point here altogether....
Certainly there are riders who cause premature mechanical failure due to their 'riding style' but there seems to be a surprising number of people out there who DON'T mistreat their bike at all, and it is more than unusual to see this type of failure so early on. Think about it, there seems to be a definite trend appearing here, is it just R6 riders who can't change gears? I don't think so. Why doesn't my CBR with 70,000 kms on it have a failed 2nd gear? or maybe I just change gears badly when I'm on the R6....

When it comes to establishing a trend, I see little value in quoting isolated incidents, like the odd weird failure during break-in, or cases of failure due to racing conditions.

Also, your mileage figures... your examples quote 20K odd miles. My failure happened before 20, 000 km's, and Yamaha told me themselves they see it most commonly at 15,000 kms (thats kms not miles). This is definitely a low number.

I suggest that Yamaha, due to the pressures of producing a competitive bike, have sacrificed design integrity in favour of performance to an unreasonable degree.

I refuse to accept that a 'sportsbike' classification mandates that I should have to tolerate a gearbox that is vulnerable to premature failure under 'normal' riding conditions. Why should I, or anyone, have to 'nurse' second gear in order that I don't have to change my tranny's more often than I change my tyres! (and thats not too much of an exaggeration btw)...

Same thing just started happening on my 2000 R6. 10,500 miles, 2nd gear is slipping at 12,000 rpm like clockwork. WTF!!!

Please keep me in loop of what needs to be done to get Yamaha to take responsibility for their product...

topherwilliams@hotmail.com

Thanks Topher, I added your name to the list. I'll keep you updated along with everyone else. We're doing good so far. I have a database set up with everyone's information. I just need a few more people's info. Meanwhile, I'm still working on the .pdf forms.

-Ariah

Great! Thanks Ariah!

In the meantime - how are you guys getting around this? nursing 2nd gear and shifting early? i'm running at Poconos East in a week, and now i can't use my 2nd gear powerband? That's fantastic. Hopefully i'll be running with other R6's with the same problem, so we will all 'hiccup' while exiting slow corners....

This thread has made me question my decision to buy an '03 r6. I might just have to buy the 600rr with undertail exhaust.

=\

Can someone please explain the symptom other than a hiccup! I have a 2000 with about 14,000 on it and I want to know what to look for. I bought it used and I don't know if I am having that problem or not. Thanks!

In summary, here's what happens to mine: 2000 R6 - 10,500 miles.

While getting on the gas in 2nd gear, the bike pulls fine. Then all the sudden, the gear slips. It would be the exact same feeling if you hit a bump and the rear wheel came off the ground under heavy acceleration. You would feel a 'bump' or 'hiccup' and the bike would stop pulling, while the engine would rev to redline and bounce off the rev limiter. Not a fun experience while in full lean....

After having this happen systematically, i've reproduced this problem at 12000 rpm in 2nd gear only. No other gears have this behaviour....

Sounds like it's a common problem at that mileage in 2nd gear at high rpm. Oh yeah, mine's blue. i figured this kinda thing only happened to the slower red's.

-Chris

ok, thanks for that! It dosen't seem like I have that yet and I hope it stays that way.