Hey Guys!

Thank you so much for all the help you've given me since I've purchased my bike some 20 days ago. Being new to the dirtbike scene, the information enclosed here has been invaluable. I love my YZ! She's great! But I am extremely disappointed with the mechanical "difficulties" experienced outside of what appears to be caused by "thumpin'".

Yamaha is one of the premier dirtbike manufactures in the world. The company has proven itself a race industry leader time over. But with that reputation comes the responsibility of standing behind a product when issues develop that are clearly beyond the scope of "operator trouble or abuse".

I've heard a lot of you stating your displeasure about lubes, sprockets, hubs, gear boxes, clutches, engine failures, etc.

I too am starting to experience the "clutch rattle" and now Im becoming afraid to even push my bike to any limit. I should not have to be afraid like this. Nor should I have to spend $5400.00 on a bike, and spend another $800 - $1500 on upgrade accessories right away. I think Yamaha needs to address the issues that have been outlined in this forumn. Too many of us have legitamate complaints.

Now, I realize Im a rookie, and that you are going to experience some issues with the bikes, that require extra maintenance. I am not opposed to that. IM LAUGHED AT BECAUSE I HOSE HER DOWN, WASH HER WITH SOAP, CHANGE OIL EVERY USE, LUBE ALL CONNECTIONS/CHAIN. CHECK THE SPOKES, CHAIN, CLUTCH, THROTTLE, AND TOP OFF THE FLUIDS EVERY TIME I FINISH RIDING. I too spend about 2 2 1/2 hours in maintenance for every ride I take, and I've only been out about 7 times. But the maintenance is half the fun and I've learned alot about my bike.

My point is this: A MANUFACTURED VEHICLE, WETHER IT BE A DIRTBIKE OR A MOTOR VEHICLE HAS CERTAIN EXPECTATIONS WHEN IT IS DRIVEN OFF THE LOT. I EXPECT A QUALITY PRODUCT, NOT ONE THAT IS "LOADED" WITH POTENTIAL PITFALLS.

YAMAHA NEEDS TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES WORLDWIDE.

WHY IF THERE ARE SO MANY GEARBOX ISSUES WITH BROKEN GEARS ARE THE 2000 426'S NOT RECALLED?

WHY IF THERE ARE SO MANY CLUTCH ISSUES WITH SHEARED PINS, AND LACK OF OILING ARE THE 2000
426'S NOT RECALLED?

WHY IF SO MANY HUBS AND SPROCKETS ARE EXPLODING ARE THE 2000 426'S NOT RECALLED?

WHY DOESN'T YAMAHA EXPLAIN TO THE OWNER THAT THE BIKE SHOULD BE TORN DOWN PRIOR TO USE TO BE ADEQUATELY LUBED. I WOULD HAVE NO ISSUE HERE IF I WERE TOLD! I NEVER KNEW UNTIL I READ "THUMPERTALK" !

WHY DOESN'T YAMAHA EXPLAIN THAT THE CRANKCASE BREATHER HOSE SUCKS AIR AS WELL AS BLOWS AIR. ARE THEIR ENGINEERS ABSENT OF THE FACT THAT QUITE OFTEN THE BIKES SEE MUD?

WHY HASN'T YAMAHA ADDRESSED THE CRACKED FUEL TANK ISSUES?

WHY IS YAMAHA USING SUB-STANDARD FORK OIL?

WHY CAN HONDA REPAIR THEIR BIKES ( BEYOND WARRANTY ) IF A KNOWN DEFECT CAUSED SUBSEQUENT DAMAGE TO OTHER PARTS AND YAMAHA SAYS " OH WELL! "

The issue is RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. OUR LIVES MATTER MORE THAN MONEY!

I am inviting anyone who has a serious, documentable issue with Yamaha to either enter a reply into this message or email me.
I would like to see how many of you have issues, and what we can do. If the United States National Traffic Safety Board can order a recall of cars, why not dirtbikes, when they pose a serious threat to life, due to mechanical defects?

Someone asked for a forumn in one of the other questions, well here it is.

Please, serious replies only. Yamaha is a major corporation and won't take us seriously if we can't substantiate our facts.

Thanks everyone!

Thumpers Rule!

Randy
YZ46 Kicks!

[This message has been edited by YZ426 Kicks (edited 09-16-2000).]

I agree with you ......
I to am afraid to push my bike to the limit fearing these problems... and I hate to think I wasted 5899 on this thing.....

YZ 426 kicks

How many of these problems have you had personaly with your bike, other than some clutch clatter

Doug

Quote

Hey Doug!

Here is what I personally have experienced in the past 20 days:

1. Constant overheating, blow-by through the radiator. No matter how fast I went, and shutting the bike down when I stop, she'd throw her anti-freeze all over the place.

2. Bright Cherry Red exhaust pipe from the manifold to the joint for the muffler by the kick swing arm. This was explained to me as shotty, thin walled construction of a stock pipe. Mark from 2 Dads Racing helped me determine the bike was jetted wrong. I brought the bike to my local dealer where I purchased it, after some arguments, and although they claim they never rejetted it, the bike runs different then when she was brought in...The anti-freeze blow by has settled down too.

3. Crank Breather line-This one really made me angry.

No where does Yamaha explain, or express in the owners/shop manual that the crankcase breather hose blows and SUCKS air into the block. I got stuck in a 2 foot nasty mudhole full of water and silt. Hence you know where the water and silt went. I praise my God in Heaven that no damage was done. It took 3 cases of oil, and flushing to get it all out.

NOW I ASK...HAS ANY YAMAHA ENGINEER RIDEN A 2000 YZ426F? HAVE THEY RIDEN ANYWHERE THAT WASN'T A CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE. I THINK ITS SAFE TO SAY, THE MAJORITY OF US SEE MUD, DEEP AT PLACES, SOMETIME IN OUR RIDINGS.

THIS HOSE ALSO PICKS UP SAND, DUST, YOU NAME IT...

No where did Yamaha explain or express that the lube direct from the factory is inferior. NO ONE AT THE DEALERSHIP EXPLAINED TO ME TO TEAR THE BIKE DOWN TO LUB EVERYTHING. NONE OF THE MAJOR DIRTBIKE MAGAZINES, WHO, WHERE I APPRECIATE THEIR PUBLICATIONS, RUN REALISTIC ARTICLES FOR AMATUERS ( RO0KIES ) LIKE ME WHO EXPLAIN WHAT TO DO TO NEW BIKES.

So, I've run my bike with the inferior lube, and fork oil, like above, and am hoping that no damage was done.

**** IT WAS ONLY BECAUSE OF THUMPERTALK THAT I LEARNED I NEEDED TO DO THIS! ****


My clutch rattles louder than the motor and slips when first starting off. No matter what I do to adjust the clutch cable, she slips when first starting off.

Getting into 1st, or finding neutral is extremely difficult and delicate.

I too will be switching to the Hinson Basket.


What Im afraid of:

1. Pushing the bike to any limit.
2. Am I setting myself up for damage with this clutch
3. How much damage is being done to the swingarms, etc. because of this inferior lube.
4. Hubs, sprockets, and chain.
5. Sending my gearbox and engine to the moon.


Now Im not paranoid, but when one person states a problem, you read and take note, two people and your ears perk up and eyes open. When multiple people start screaming about the same issues, you take notice and start to wonder. You are all more experienced than me! The one who denies wisdom is only a fool. I ride far less aggressively than most, but what would happen if I do ride harder?

Should I have to worry about sending clutch parts into the engine because of shoddy craftsmanship?

Should I have to worry about my gearbox blowing up in the middle of a jump because of faulty craftsmanship/poorly manufactured parts, locking the rear wheel, and coming down possibly injuring me, or killing me?

Should I have to incur hundreds of dollars for subsequent repairs to affected parts because of another units poor manufactured quality?

I don't think so, and I don't think any of you should have to have YOUR LIVES, YOUR MONEY, OR YOUR FAMILIES ( IF YOU HAVE ) UPSET BECAUSE OF YOUR POSSIBLE INJURY, DEATH, OR UNEXPECTED MAJOR EXPENSE.

This is about RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

I WANT THESE ISSUES NIPPED IN THE BUD BEFORE I EXPERIENCE THEM. I WANT TO SEE RESTITUTION TO EVERYONE WHO OWNS A 2000 YZ426F WHO HAD TO SEND TIME, EXTRA MONEY, AND BLOOD TO REPAIR/UPGRADE THEIR BIKES TO HOW THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN STRAIGHT FROM THE FACTORY.

If I abuse my bike or I push it beyond its limits, I ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. THE REPAIRS FALL ON ME!

Thanks for replying!

God Bless!

Randy

YZ426 Kicks

YOU SAID IT ALL, ( BUT THEY WILL NEVER RECALL) !!!

Yes we need to send Yamaha a message, but we really need to send it to the whole industry. Lack of lube and poor Jetting are a problem throughout the motorcycle industry.
Most manufactures believe you will read your book and change your oils, your jetting and inspect and lube all your bushings per your manual. I agree though, your bike should be almost ready to ride when you pick it up.
If you really want to know who I think is most to blame, the dealers. Delaers charge you a set-up fee, which includes taking the bike out of the crate and putting the front wheel, front fender and handle bars on, (I know I got my 99 in the crate). What they should be doing is adjusting the bike for you and your riding style. as well as checking and setting the jetting for local conditions.
We need to get the phone numbers, e-mail and regular address for all major manufactures and let them know we aren't going to pay 5 grand plus on bikes that need $200 - $2000 dollars in "hop-up parts and maintence stuff" to make them right.

------------------
Derwood,
trapped in IL.
I've escaped! I'm heading back to Cali and beautiful Jawbone and Glamis......
99YZ400

Just my $.02

I agree that Yahmaha needs to perfect some things, and maybe a national awareness letter would help. But I doubt it. We have to remember, in this time of high performance low maintanence society we live in that it was not always like this. I also agree that the money we have all put forth to buy what we think is the "superior" dirt bike is quite absurd. But we did it. I also believe that for this kind of money we should get lifetime warranty, 100,000 hour maintainence intervals, fuel injection with 4 or 5 redundant jetting processors monitoring altitude/conditons for perfect jetting at all times. Electronic suspension should also be used with touch settings at any given moment of the day depending on where we are riding.
We all know this technology exists, but it is not practical for a production bike that takes the abuse most of us lay upon these things....... I am not trying to make excuses for any vehicle manufacturer, but Chevy (my other favorite) has an average of 1.5-1.7 problems on each of their new cars. Hundi has something like 3 problems per vehicle. The bottom line is that we expect more from our bikes than others have in the past. I think it would be safe to say that if these new "hyper" four strokes have not came out we would still be riding some form of two stoke mx'er. And this is what I am thankful for. Anyone who has been involved with bikes for a long time would still appreciate what Yahmaha has done for the motorcycle community. And if you think back let's say 15 years..... The 2000 YZ426 would indeed be what we would have put on a pedistal and called "the perfect bike". We can bet in another 15 years our bikes would be set aside and there will be a new generation of bikes that will blow this thing away. You can aslo bet that it will have some hangups............
Take care and enjoy what we have now.
Tim

Hey Guys!

I appreciate your comments. Please understand, I am not out to hunt Yamaha down, or discredit them for what's happening with the 2000 YZ426F's. I love my bike, its a blast to ride, and despite what I've encountered, she's been there for me. I'm just a little concerned about all these things happening to the model and I am not JD Rockefellor where I can just throw $2000.00 more into a bike to replace "stock" parts that should be a little more reliable. I agree, all mechanical devices are going to have quirks, and kinks. Its a given, man made it, so its gunna have its moments. But I have a hard time swallowing gear boxes, hubs, sprockets, clutches shattering because of faulty craftsmanship. Why should I or any other respective YZ owner have to pay to have those parts replaced unless either A: Their riding style definitely caused the issue, or B: They wanted to upgrade anyway.

Im sure, as I learn more about this sport, that I too would start to bolt on the extra's to tweek her performance. But not out of the gate! That's a little much!

As approaching Yamaha goes, the last thing is to threaten them with civil action. This is a last desparate result if our cries are not heard. Diplomacy, and appealing to a sense of fairness are the right way to go. But one voice hear, and the other there isn't going to make a difference. Remember, if we, the consumer, aren't here, then where is Yamaha, and if we don't look after the youngsters of the sport, then the sport will die. Just as I depend upon your wisdom to help make sound decisions as to what to do, and not to do to my YZ, so shall I pass on to the next newer member of our fraternity.
This is how the sport grows.

Remember, protect the young, and the old remain strong!

Again, Im not out to get Yamaha, or to rip them apart. But I do think some eye brows should be raised...no?

Thanks again! I do appreciate my YZ for what she is...A Mud Sliggin', dirt thumpin', hard runnin' animal!

God Bless!

Randy
YZ426 Kicks

Civil Action ! You are new to the sport and have only owned the bike for 20 days and you say civil action and that your not trying to bad mouth Yammi in the same breath, especally since you HEARD ! some stories of problems on a new group from people you dont know or even know if they own a bike. Man if I was a Yammi rep I might be knocking on your door a wanting to talk about slander. I've been racing an abusing my 426 for some time now and it hasn't missed a beat. A lot of the problem stories that you hear about 426's and other bikes , if you dig deep, you'll find out alot of them are brought on by there owner. Example, My last bike was a KTM with the juice clutch it worked perfect but ! a friend of mine had nothing but problems with leaks and he bitched and bitched about the clutch, after talking with him I found out he took it apart just to SEE HOW IT WORKED, OK myself I have seen two rear hubs explode but both were on a race tracks and I dont know the details so I wont use them as examples to bad mouth the bike , because there are to many owner realated problems that might have brought on the problem not responcible to Yammi. ( no maintance, wore chain, and parts, prior damage etc. etc). I have owned alot of brands of bikes over the years, Red , Blue, Yellow, and Orange,not one has come jetted right and each one has had there problems (alot major)but they are RACE bikes, not foo foo bike and have been treated like race bikes so I dont bitch . The 426 has been one of the best bikes I've owned and almost the most maitance free bike I've raced. By the way yami didnt make you sit in two feet of water they gave you MORE than enough power to ride through. The 426 isnt perect but I'd buy another one

Doug

First off, Tim you rock. You need to bring yourself and your very abused 426 out to Cali., so I can show you some real hillclimbs to fall down on. Just kidding.

Second, no Civil actions, not unless you want to ride around on old style DR's, XR' s and TW's. We would knock the industry back thirty years. Look what happened to Honda after they made some three wheelers. Now they are scared to make a real quad.

Third, yes you bought the wrong bike, I thought the same thing after my first ride. Now I would only trade for a '01 426.....

Ride hard and do your maintenance!!!!! If you can't, find some who can!

------------------
Derwood,
trapped in IL.
I've escaped! I'm heading back to Cali and beautiful Jawbone and Glamis......
99YZ400

Quote

Hey Doug!

Im sorry you are so offended by the above statements. If you reread you will see that I am in total favor of diplomacy and tact when dealing with Yamaha on the issues at hand. I am agreeing with the other riders who expressed the same feelings. A civil action may bring results up front, but would be completely disasterous for the sport.

* NO WHERE HAVE I SLANDERED OR SLAMMED YAMAHA

* NO WHERE HAVE I TOLD ANYONE TO STAY AWAy
FROM THE YZ426F OR ANY OTHER YAMAHA
PRODUCT.

* NO WHERE HAVE I STATED THAT YAMAHA IS
INTENTIONALLY PRODUCING A DEFECTIVE
PRODUCT.

* NO WHERE HAVE I STATED THAT YAMAHA IS
KNOWINGLY PRODUCTING A DEFECT PRODUCT
AND IS IN TOTAL DISREGARD FOR LIFE AND
PROPERTY.

All the statements made, are from compilations of other experienced riders, and the issues I have had myself.

As far as hearing things, how is the sport supposed to grow if people do not interact with one another? According to your logic, everyone is either a liar or full of bunk. How do I know your not pulling my crank? I don't. But I do know this:

GOD GAVE ME THE WISDOM TO DISCERN THE TRUTH AND RESPONSIBLE FROM THE FALSE AND IRRESPONSIBLE.

TO DENY WISDOM IS COMPLETE FOOLISHNESS!

Everyone, even the new kids, in this forumn has something to offer. If the senior memebers of this sport do not speak out, and talk to the new kids on the block, then this sport, let alone every other pasttime, is doomed to failure.

Are you Doug, so experienced, that you forgot what it was like to be rookie? Are you so experienced, that you know it all too? Well, Im not! I depend on experienced people, like you, who will offer up their knowledge and experiences to help educate and feed the young. If y'all didn't do that, then we'd go backwards. Thank God, from what I can see, the sport is strong!

Maybe you have a mechanical background. Maybe your family has motocycle history in it. Maybe all your friends when you grew up were into motocross. Did you ever consider you may have a fortunate advantage?

Well I don't have that. All I had to go on was the dirtbike mags who listed rave reviews on the YZ426F and didn't mention in the least any type of mechanical difficulties. None at least that are being experienced now. All I had to go on was the dealerships, who, with no disrespect, are focused on one thing: SALES. All I had to go on were manufacturer web sites, and catalogs who offer stats and statistics. All I had to go on was frustrating nights on the internet trying to do web searches for places like THUMPERTALK and got porno and other stupid stuff instead.

Am I sorry I bought my Yammie? Absolutely not! Despite the issues, I am enjoying her. But please understand, this sport can and is very intimidating. I don't have a club near me nor a group of riders, so Im on my own. This is it....THUMPERTALK IS MY FAMILY WHEN IT COMES TO LEARNING.

Im not JD Rockefellor, nor do I have Team Yamaha in my backyard. I can't afford $800.00 gearbox repairs, or higher engine repairs on a constant basis.

I don't believe in frivilous civil suits. I believe in settling things like men, and that a handshake and a mans words counts more than anything. I want to be an asset to this sport, not detract from it.

As far as my riding style goes, my getting stuck in the mud was not because I stopped, its because the bike dug to China! I don't know what the terrain is like in your neck of the woods, but I find it hard to believe you've never been stuck before. And I didn't design the crankcase that way, Yamaha did.

I THANK THE LORD NO DAMAGE WAS DONE TO MY ENGINE.

Remember, you too were new to this, and you too got your share of bumps, bruises, and embarassing momemnts. I can laugh now, but at the time it was hard. I had to abandon her in the bog to get help. Try leaving your YZ alone and wonder if she's there for you when you come back...

Again, Im sorry if I offended you, or anyone else out there. Im proud of my Yamaha, but what y'all are saying is intimidating.

God Bless!

Randy
YZ426 Kicks

By the way, I went from the TT-250R, to the YZ250F, to the YZ426 when I was choosing my bike. I liked what Yammie had to offer so much I kept going up!

Huuuummmmmm would you share with us how you like the yz250f I think we would all like to know. Your one lucky guy to have had one.
Doug

Quote

Hey Doug,

What I meant is that my original purchase was going to be the TT250R, then I looked at the YZ250F ( documentation/pictures only )and what she offered, and decided to wait upon delivery for January, 01 when my dealership was going to get its first. Then learning more, I liked the YZ426F even better, and that was available at the time. So after doing what research I could, I decided to by her. Again, Im no Yammie basher, and I enjoy my bike. If I didn't I would have already sold her. I have no intentions of that!

Im finding there's a lot more to this sport under the surface...just like an iceburg, no, the polar ice cap.

Randy

Sorry Randy
The way its worded I was wondering

last post on topic

Doug

This is for Randy:

Randy, I will post this in both of the forums on this issue.

But for this, all I can say is that anyone out there that is bashing Randy for his inexperience in the sport and his curiousity behind the problems that are documented, shame on you. I have been in this sport since 1979 and I've seen every troubling year of every manufacturer on just about every model since then. I have lived and breathed this sport for 21 years, and I'm only 32. But, I too was very wet behind the ears as I came though the racing ranks.

So, with that, I will say that my 426 woes with my gearbox failure and having to upgrade parts that cost big bucks just because of possible future problems is very upsetting. I raced Honda 2-Strokes since '85 and have done so up until last year. I've seen Yamaha come from the dumps to producing some of the finest motorcycles around. Why do you think I switched? My brother had a 98 and 99 400, and after riding both of those my mind was made up. I figured, they made so many changes from the 98 to 99 and then many from 99 to 00. There were no major problems with the 400's, truly all I heard was that they were bullet proof. With that I figured I would be pretty much out of the woods from serious 'first year' defects. Not So! Anyone of you guys or girls out there can say "your going to have your share of failures" in every model year of any manufacture is correct. BUT, the amount of failures and the consistency of the failures is way too common for my tastes. A stray clutch failure, a stray gearbox failure, or a stray hub failure are common. Yes, it does depend upon a case by case basis. But a majority of failures that I'm hearing about are from you all that say you change your oil every ride and do the necessary maintenance. Well, this may or may not be true, but I know it wasn't true with everyone that owned and still owns a 400. No consistent major failures there that I'm aware of. I personally can't ride my 426 with any confidence now. My brothers is now making the same chain/gearbox noise that mine made prior to exploding 4th gear. And no, the c/s sprockets aren't turned around backwards and there is the specified chain tension that I've seen throughout the industry. I maintain my bike like a girl would her Barbie Doll set. I'm maticulous about everything and I too do oil changes with exteme frequency. I ride motocross and I'm at the A level, so I don't pussie foot around on the bike. I ride it hard and expect it to perform well with the necessary maintenance just as it was designed to do. When I go out for a day of riding after all of the necessary maintenance, I want to know that I can hit the big doubles and the uphill triple without having "possible failure" in my vocabulary. I NEVER, EVER, EVER, had that feeling with my Honda's. I'm not saying that the 426 is a bad bike. It's an awesome bike, when it is working like a competition motorcycle is designed to work. But, if I made two more turns when my gearbox failed, I would have hit a 60 foot tabletop that could have ended with serious injury or death.

This sport is in my blood and I will love it till the day I die, but I won't take unnecessary risks in an already risky sport. In my opinion, Yamaha should be inquiring into these cases and Yamaha should be accountable for numerous failures in a given year of manufacturing if there are more failures deemed acceptable. It was posted in MXA or Dirtbike that Yamaha will have 50 of 5000 (1%)clutch failures for the YZ426's. Since there were 5000 produced, then 1% is acceptable in the eyes of corporate. Well, in my opinion, I believe there are many more than 50. Our forum will find that out hopefully. And for any other major failures, I personally would like them brought to the surface at least to make Yamaha aware of this problem and to make the future of the sport safer.

For all of you that had luck with getting Yamaha to replace your failed 426's, then your fortunate. But, understand, it's not necessarily about repair and replace here. I could really care less about the 800.00 that I put out for my gearbox failure. Do you think I'd be more confident if Yamaha paid for it? NO. I won't continue to ride my 426 because of what I talked about before, Possible Failure. If they made the necessary changes to the 01 model, then I want an 01 model. The only way I'd keep this thing even though I love the way the bike feels, etc... is if I had a 01 motor. I know what your thinking, "Well, why don't you just sell your 00 for an 01." Well, then I'm turning my cheek on whoever buys this possible time bomb, and that's in my opinion of course. How would I feel if they called me two weeks from the date of purchase saying, "The gearbox failed, or the tank is leaking, or the hub decided to explode....?" I wouldn't feel very good and the only way to solve this is to have Yamaha take some action in this matter. How can any manufacturer instill the trust and longevity of customer satisfaction in the consumer when ignoring certain issues. Some of you say, no way Yamaha will recall.....Yea, that's because they have to admit fault. I'm not saying they are in fault, but if enough evidence is brought to light, maybe that can be determined. So...


I can't agree with Randy more in what he said in the first post on this topic. He's right on with everything. You have my full support. My offer to start a separate web page about this still stands. You can e-mail me at ziggieg@aol.com.

Thanks for listening thumper crowd,

Daveyg

I'm a ktm owner and thank God after reading this.I just tripped on to this post because a friend of mine has a spankin brand new '02 426 that's overheating and I told him I'd get on thumper talk and see what I could find.WOW!
Anyone know about this over heating problem?
By the way, did Yamaha ever get the message?

[ February 26, 2002: Message edited by: Old Stroker ]

I have a 2000 426 and think it is an excellent bike! I ride my bike fairly hard and race (harescramble) frequently. It's been in two feet of water, 100 degree weather in tight tracks for 2 hour races and a ton of other nasty things. Not one problem yet. If you look at some of the posts about jetting, keep note of all of the elevation differences. It would be hard for them to produce a high performance bike that is jetted for everyplace and every temp on the planet! Jets are cheap. Buy some. As far as holding up, try doing this stuff on a snowmobile. If you do, I hope you have a deep pocket book!

Anything that is mechanical has the potential to break. I have raced YZ-F's since they first came out at the end of 97 and have NEVER had any mechanical problems.

Anything that is mechanical has the potential to break. My compressor seized after about 10 hours, my car had to have the alternator replaced, etc, etc. If you don't want a high performance dirtbike that has the potential to break, then sell it.

If we only lived in a perfect world......

Ernie

Anything that is mechanical has the potential to break. I have raced YZ-F's since they first came out at the end of 97 and have NEVER had any mechanical problems.

Anything that is mechanical has the potential to break. My compressor seized after about 10 hours, my car had to have the alternator replaced, etc, etc. If you don't want a high performance dirtbike that has the potential to break, then sell it.

If we only lived in a perfect world......

Ernie

Stroker,

Dang, you had me worried there for a bit, I thought Randy was back.

Anyway, in my limited experience with both bikes, the Yamaha is actually less prone to overheating than the KTM 520 in slow going. If you change the cap to 1.2 (atmospheres or whatever) or greater then it isn’t even close, I think Yamaha is being a overly conservative with the 1.1. But I still have the stock cap, at 4k ft elevation at that, and have never ever had my bike overheat (if it had sufficient coolant). In short, in wide open spaces like I ride (SW dez) overheating is a non issue, even in temps well over 100 deg F.

Please do not take offense, but if you are going to base a seven-thousand dollar decision on a six month old internet bulletin board rant then you are not likely to continue to be pleased with your purchase.

I have seen very few anecdotes about problems endemic to this bike, and all of those were with fourth gear and counterbalancer drive gear on ’00 bikes. I haven’t heard a reputable peep out of the many ’01 and ’02 owners about any problems whatsoever.

IMO ol’ Kicks was a bit over the top with his complaints about problems that I’m not at all certain ever really existed.

Finally, I would not argue with you if you called my ’00 YZF 426 a lemon, the tranny did grenade, but in well over 200 hours on two bikes that is the only real problem I’ve had that I didn’t have a hand in. My ’01 has been flawless for all of its approx 60-80 hours.

The main problem with the internet is you can’t get a good handle on the worthiness, or complete lack thereof, of someone’s opinion until you dig a little deeper, or read between the lines. There aren’t many others like this here on TTalk, but the post(s) that started this thread is one of those that you should not take at face value.