Yamaha parts issues?

[cornerslider]

Has anyone on here noticed a problem with the Yamaha parts supply pipeline?  I have three (3) Yamaha R3's, and an FZ-07. I love Yamaha, but I'm growing frustrated with parts availability. One of my R3's is a "salvage/crashed" bike that I'm building into a track bike for my wife. I bought it in late November 2020, and thought it would be a fun project to do over the winter. I'm glad I started early!!! It's been a struggle to get anything from Yamaha. I understand that we are living with COVID-19..... That doesn't mean Yamaha doesn't have an obligation to its customers to supply us with parts? I think we all know that's where they make most of their money. I hope my situation isn't the new normal? Has anyone on here experience the same frustrations that I have?

[Yakko Warner]

I had an off and ordered new parts to make the bike pretty again.  If Partzilla did not stock the part, I think they order it from Yamaha, who send it to Partzilla, who send it to me.  And there were instances where Partzilla's in stock estimates were 2-3x longer than stated.

It may not be Yamaha's fault.  Cargo ships are backed up at ports.  Parts might literally be sitting off shore, waiting to be unloaded.

Port Delays Leave Cargo Ships Stranded off U.S. Pacific Gateways

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More than 40 cargo ships with tens of thousands of containers aboard were lined up waiting to get into the...

 

[shinyribs]

My local hasn't been able to get handlebars...any handlebars...for over 6 months now. Shits crazy.

[Pursuvant]

Yamaha is having supply chain slowdowns, I have seen more BOrder status stuff this off-season, speedshop told me same thing

[seven]

Yeah I think this is not just a Yamaha thing, car parts can be the same way. It is just luck of the draw if the part you want in available in some warehouse close to you or at least in the same country and if not, who knows when you will get it. So very frustrating but I wouldn't blame the brand...not yet at least.

[fivepointnine]

R3/MT03 parts are almost impossible to get new right now.  I had some parts on order for my wifes MT03 (the parts on order were identical to the R3 parts, same part #'s) and I eventually had to cancel them and order off ebay when they popped up.  I left the parts on order for 3 months and the last update was "backorder with no estimated date". 

[sansnombre]

It's related to pandemic and worldwide shutdowns, etc. With current rate of declining new cases and increasing vaccine availability, things should begin to change in the next quarter or two.

Seeing it in the bicycle pipeline as well - both parts and full bikes are hammered, esp low-end parts. Also,  electronics as well - CPUs, Vid cards, DRAM.

Oddly, NOT seeing it in Husky parts. I have a Svartpilen that I've modified up a bit and haven't had any issue getting OEM parts or aftermarket.

[cornerslider]

Thank you for all that replied. I try not to blame the brand, but it's all I have experience with at the moment. Hopefully, it turns around soon-

[Pursuvant]

12 hours ago, sansnombre said:

It's related to pandemic and worldwide shutdowns, etc. With current rate of declining new cases and increasing vaccine availability, things should begin to change in the next quarter or two.

Seeing it in the bicycle pipeline as well - both parts and full bikes are hammered, esp low-end parts. Also,  electronics as well - CPUs, Vid cards, DRAM.

Oddly, NOT seeing it in Husky parts. I have a Svartpilen that I've modified up a bit and haven't had any issue getting OEM parts or aftermarket.

What's your quick overview of the Svartpilen? I tried to give that husky a go but stories about the on board computer completely going belly up chased me away. Ended up later on the Yam XSR7. I always like the path less taken bikes, raced a husky250wr like it was a motocrosser in texas late 80's where all the competition was from the Orient. You knew you outrode and outsmarted bikes like kx250 when you trophey'd on the wr, cause it lacked motor an suspension advantages

[klx678]

I will say shipping through USPS has really slowed since April, but is picking up a bit.  Even now their 2-3 day priority has dropped back to 4-5 days.  Overseas is not predictable.  I had one package to the Netherlands took over 90 days, some to Australia went over 60 days.  Right now Australia is going around a shade under 60 days.

As for the manufacturer pipeline, remember most had major shut down time in manufacturing of ALL parts, not just the bikes.   I would bet they are using amost all of their incoming parts in assembly of new product.  That may pinch the supply of purchase of individual parts only.   So figure everything is attributable to the pandemic responses to gain control over the disease.  If I remember right Japan got hit particularly hard.

I will also comment that if the Husky production is still in Sweden, it very likely never shut down as that was what they did.  I don't know if there will be any slow down, since their "herd immunity" wasn't working particularly well in controlling the pandemic, but probably not much.

 

[sansnombre]

10 hours ago, Pursuvant said:

What's your quick overview of the Svartpilen? I tried to give that husky a go but stories about the on board computer completely going belly up chased me away. Ended up later on the Yam XSR7. I always like the path less taken bikes, raced a husky250wr like it was a motocrosser in texas late 80's where all the competition was from the Orient. You knew you outrode and outsmarted bikes like kx250 when you trophey'd on the wr, cause it lacked motor an suspension advantages

I'm mixed. The engineering and design is not up to Jap standards, I'd say, and they put a lot of attention into looks and style that I would have rather they put into perf and eng.

Suspension is OK, not bad, not good. Definitely rideable. Very stout frame, not sensing any flex or issues with it. Brakes are acceptable, but I'd like more in the front. I put a high friction pad set in the front and that helps, but only one disk.

Motor is mixed. It's a big single and does not like to be lugged and will not pull under 3k in 4,5,6. Very lean per factory and very throttled intake. Mid-range pulls well and I don't flog it yet - motor too tight. I have a PCV and have opened up the intake, and that has helped a lot. I have an appt to take it to 2WDW for a full tune once I get a few hundred more miles on it. That should really help.

Very lightweight, esp after removing exhaust cat and fender - I'm prob 330-340lbs. I have the "commuter" model (Svart), so it steers a little more heavy in the twisties than does the cafe model (Vit). That said, I like it - very steady, does what I want without getting hinky. Love the power to weight ratio - it flies.

Horribly geared from factory. HAD to change to a smaller CS sprocket and many have increased the main sprocket as well. Really, really bad. But dropping the CS sprocket got me in the ballpark, but it needs another high gear to be really worthy of the highway. Comes with a quickshift, but I'm not sure about it. I HATED it at first, but have tuned it to my liking and will likely use it more once I figure out where to use it. I'm old school and it's hard to change this one.

Instrumentation is bad. Odd. Not very useful. The computer is VERY finicky and often will tell you something is wrong when it's not, sometimes locking out functionality. Very sensitive to battery charge!

Rubber is ok. A compromise that is not bad.

Mine came new with a bad battery. I had to trailer it back to the shop to get it checked out and replaced, as the behavior was erratic and couldn't be sure it was battery. It was. Nonetheless, I had to change it AGAIN in less than a year. Sucks. Warranty issues with a chronic leaking hydraulic clutch slave cylinder (a big issue that they haven't fixed and many have gone aftermarket). And they had a bad gas tank that was recalled. They took months to resolve it and had many people on the sidelines for a long time while they solved it. Rollout took forever - I still haven't got mine replaced. Basically it was leaking gas onto the engine! So they thickened the plastic and reduced an already small volume in the tank. I have seen other warranty issues related to leaking radiator, sidestand sensors, and a few other less common ones. In short, some aspects of design and quality control is bad.

Most of their bolt heads are torx with a hex outside. But many do not have enough clearance around the head to use the hex, so you are stuck with the torx - not my favorite. And the clearance issue is just lame design.

Eng is so lean, the headpipe turns a glowing red during longish idles, but the PCV helps that a lot.

Overall, I'd not buy it again if I knew about the troubles, but I've put a lot of time and $ making it better, and I really like it at this point. I just bought an expensive speedo as well, and I plan to put a small fairing on it too. Then get it painted. After this and getting it to the dyno, I think I'll love it.

Great fun to ride, a little tall in the saddle though. It rips because of the power/weight ratio.

I guess that's it. Any specific questions, throw them out.

Cheers.

[mjh937]

Thanks for the great review @sansnombre .  I sat on one of those at the dealership and the seat shape and my shape were not compatible.  Just sitting on it was painful so I had no desire to ride it.  It is a good looking bike though. 

[Pursuvant]

3 hours ago, sansnombre said:

it rips because of the power/weight ratio

Thx for that great quickview from somebody who knows the bike. I'm  remembering the fuel tank leak intake issue now...

But that power to weight ratio, and thumper motor, I want them to do well. They were owned (I think I remember) Cagiva then dumped to KTM? Hoped KTM would step in and tighten up quality control & longer term the engineering, I want that Husqvarna name to be a thing again just because yes

[klx678]

Few singles pull beneath  3000-3500 rpm.  My SR would buck and kick if opened up at 3000 rpm.  My KLX650 wouldn't do much better.  They both worked well from 3500 up.  So your comment about not pulling clean does not surprise me.   

[sansnombre]

19 hours ago, klx678 said:

Few singles pull beneath  3000-3500 rpm.  My SR would buck and kick if opened up at 3000 rpm.  My KLX650 wouldn't do much better.  They both worked well from 3500 up.  So your comment about not pulling clean does not surprise me.   

Agreed. I figured it would be this way due to the very large single-piston displacement, and it was true. I can handle low power at low revs or a generally unhappy situation in those revs, but this one is really hesitant. It basically tells you to F off and bucks and vibrates. There is no using it down there, so you make accommodations.

I'm still thinking after the 2WDW it will be better to a degree with a dialed-in AFR, but the final drive ratio made it really, really bad.

I had an XL250 long ago that I sleeved out to a 305 and put a big carb on it, and it pulled pretty well from down below.

But I was really spoiled with the FZ07 I sold two years back - once I mod'd it, it pulled like a tractor from ~2k. No issues and just gutted it out. Was absolutely fantastic for around town. There too I had a 2WDW tune, and that made all the diff in the world.

[sansnombre]

20 hours ago, Pursuvant said:

Thx for that great quickview from somebody who knows the bike. I'm  remembering the fuel tank leak intake issue now...

But that power to weight ratio, and thumper motor, I want them to do well. They were owned (I think I remember) Cagiva then dumped to KTM? Hoped KTM would step in and tighten up quality control & longer term the engineering, I want that Husqvarna name to be a thing again just because yes

My understanding is that the engine is the KTM motor and that somehow KTM and Husky are now co-owned, one of the them acquired the other.

Yes, I remember the husky MX bikes of long ago, and they were monsters. Not sure if they still are, but they have some room to grow on the street. I personally think they spend too much thinking/resources on style and not enough on making sure it is optimized engineering/design. There is some aftermarket upgrades that make a difference and a couple of shops specialize in tuning, so there is some help. But the leaking tank thing and the chronic slave cylinder issue is just a joke. They haven't changed the design, they just swap out the slave cylinder when yours starts to leak. This is shameful. I've read several people with multiple swap outs, and they usually go aftermarket to clear it up for good, otherwise you can get stranded as your clutch is gone.

And they originally charged ~$12k for this thing, which is f'n outrageous. Never would do that. But massive discounts, and I picked mine up new for ~$8.5k.

[robbo10]

Seems like a good bike to borrow.