Woodruff- It was fine until Yamaha touched it

[Moon]

My 03 WR450F had 230 miles on it with two 2 hour hare scrambles under its belt with no issues. I heard about the fuss on the woodruff key and since the service bulletin came out, I decided to take it to my dealer to have it serviced. I got it back and went to ride it this weekend. 6 miles out down in a creek bed I stalled it from being in too high of a gear. I went to start it and the starter motor just spun. I knew immediately what was wrong and pushed the bike out. Now, was this a coincident? or did the shop make my bike worse? Since they are closed on Monday's I will take it in tomorrow. This is disappointing because I had no failure before I took it to them. Now it has failed and could have possibly damaged something else. But this does show that the fix doesn't work. Either that the shop screwed up. They claim to have lapped it and followed the service bulleting procedures. ?

[endurodog]

I got mine, tried to pull the flywheel and it didn't come to easy, I thought if its that tight I'm not messing with it. I torqed the nut loosened, locktited it and retorqed and I'm calling it good. Got about 200 miles and one enduro on it. If it breaks I will take it in on the warranty.

[sjw]

my dealer says bring it in , the parts are here to fix it.I have over 400 miles on it and it runs just fine with no problems.if I dont take it in how long will it be covered ? say it blows at 500 or 600 miles in 3 or 4 months? anybody have a answer for this ?

[ddialogue]

It seems the majority of the woodruff key failures are happening around 120 miles or sooner. I have 550+ miles on my WR450 and have had no woodruff key issues. My dealer called two weeks ago to notify me of the TSB and I mentioned to him that I had a lot of miles on it without issue. He said to bring in it when/IF it fails as there is no deadline for this TSB. SO, I'm not taking mine in unless it breaks. Good luck with what you decide to do. ?

[Moon]

Dang. I knew I should have left it alone until it broke. I just hope they can get it fixed for good without taking a long time. I need it for a race next weekend.

[Indy_WR450]

Hey Moon,

I got 864 miles on mine. I have not touched the flywheel & woodruff key. I have only checked the torque on the nut a few times. I have lost all the decals, scratched all the plastic, got dirt welded to my header pipe, bent both bark busters, melted my boots to the muffler and this bike just keeps putting out. I am very pleased and I am glad that I have chosen not to fix something that I have proven to be reliable on my bike. ?

[wr250rr]

hey Moon, I am in that Exact posision you were in. Not sure if I should have it done, do it myself, or let it bump. I got about 150 miles on mine including a 2 hour hare scramble, and I haven't had a problem yet. :thumbsup:I was afraid of the exact thing that happened to you. I think you just answered my question. I'm sorry it happened to you. Thank you for posting you expierience. ? BTW, if you dont mind me askin, what vin # do you have?

[foursmoke]

Moon, I also had TBS done without having an actual key fail. I have now put 90 miles on her with no problems as of yet. Maybe it was the dealers repair itself. ?

[Moon]

The last part of the serial number is #01307

[jackalope]

Man, this one scares me!!! Mine is in the shop now! It was running great but I couldn't get that thought to go away ,especially when I was really far from the truck!! Decided to take it in just to be safe!! It's been through two hare scrambles, a euro scramble, and an enduro. Probably over 500 miles.!!WAS running great, hope it only runs better !!! :usa:Oh well, here's to hopin"!!!

[the go-devil]

Are all you guys that are posting your four digit ID # in your signatures going by the # stamped on the boss on the motor, or the last four #'s of your VIN #???

I'm just hoping my bike is real fresh and was assembled after Yamaha figured out they had a problem and started making some dimensionally correct parts again, if in fact this whole thing is a machining flaw.

I tried pulling my flywheel off last weekend to check the taper, although I was using an incorrect puller, I couldn't get that thing loose for anything. Theres no punch mark next to my VIN so I know it wasn't "fixed" at the dealer.

I'm going to run the SOB till it has a problem.

[Indy_WR450]

I think the whole VIN number thing has no correlation. Yamaha may have made a bunch of flywheels that were made over a few days with an incorrect taper tolerance. These parts are not stamped when they were made so they could have ended up on any of the first production runs of the WR450's. If it works dont go ahead and band aid it. Lapping is like a farmer's tractor repair. Yeah it can work, but then again maybe it won't. ?

[Moon]

I'm going off of the VIN that is stamped on the frame steering head. I spoke to my dealer yesterday after they got it apart. They claim the magneto was only making about 50% contact on the shaft. They are ordering a new magneto to see if it has a better taper match. They claim they will check it with ink or something when they get it in. If it does not macth to their satisfaction then they said they would order a new crankshaft half to match up. I should know more Friday and will post an update. ?

[Wrench]

This should be under "It was screwed until Yamaha fixed it" Ours sheared a key in the parking lot after rejetting and lapping "before" starting it. The shop ordered a new crank and rotor, after waiting a month for the rotor we checked the contact patch before lapping and it contacted the complete taper of the new crank so it was not lapped. They had the bike ready in two days. Since the fix it's had about 10 hours of hard practice and a GNCC with no problems so far. We have checked the nut several times and felt well enough to race it. They're some who feel it's the crank and some who feel it's the rotor I don't know for certain which or if both are the problem, but the crank part number is still the same while the rotor has changed. At the SC GNCC I talked to a guy that has broken 3 woodruff keys, The first one after 20 or so miles, the crank was lapped and the key replaced, the second one the rotor was replaced and lapped, the last one after putting on a new rotor and it still sheared so they are going to replace the crank.

[Indy_WR450]

Good feeback Wrench! Thanks. We need more of this insightful information on TT.

[the go-devil]

I second that! This is good stuff to hear that Yamaha is going to these measures to repair it's problem, instead of just jimmy rigging a quick fix. I have a little more peace of mind now. ? :D

[gloft]

I've got close to 200 miles on mine since the Yamaha factory tech did the service and brought the bike back to me for testing. This after shearing 3 keys in 120 miles. So far no more problems! ?

[glenm]

Mine sheared today after having the TSB done. First ride on a fine spring day - 42 miles on bike.

[jackalope]

I finally got back from riding for a week. The shop did the TSB and she purred. I put 250+ miles this past week w/ not a single problem. Seems like a fix so far!!! yeeeea hoooo! This bike is so bitchen!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?