Bike is running and shifting like new again after a 2nd transmission failure. I had 3rd gear strip out and chip some teeth last year. I rebuilt it myself and it last about a year. I had a race last month, I knew I was going to come up a bit short so I landed throttle on. As soon as I landed I knew the gear was toast. This time the gear actually grenaded, literrally. It also stripped out a few teeth on the other 3rd gear it mates to. It also scored my cylinder and piston, chewed up my case. It's all together and running great now. Hear is a pic of the destruction. I noticed the replacement gear is made differently. It isn't as "hollow" with all those holes, its completely hardened metal. Maybe yamaha knew this was a problem?

What year bike is this?
My friend blew 3rd gear in his '01 right through the bottom of the case:eek:

This is a 2001

is that acomon problem with the older bikes? should i worry about it? mines an 05'

I rouned of my3rd gear on my 06 after one year.

motoninja141 said:

that aint good! I was planning on racing the bike for the rest of this year, and getting an 07 yz250f. I really like the yamaha bikes and even though this 01 has been somewhat unfaithful, I figured I'd give them a 2nd chance. If your 06 already ate up 3rd gear that deters me away some more. I'd rather deal with some valve issues, like the honda and other bikes are supposedly known for, than having to split the cases every year for transmission issues.

I split the cases on my 05' for another issue not transmission related and there were no problems in the transmission or with the gears.

When I rebuilt the 01 with a good 100 hours on the motor, the tranny looked brand new.

My brother also has a 01 with a boatload of hours on it and has never touched the tranny.

Either operator error, improper setup after a rebuild, or just a weak link in the bike (which would be rare)