Yamaha’s YZF-R1 & YZF-R1M recall to affect nine units in India

Yamaha’s flagship litre-class sports motorcycle, the YZF-R1 has had a rough ride in 2015 since its launch.

The Japanese two-wheeler giant had already run into troubles on the Ohlins sourced, electronic suspension fitted at the rear of the YZF-R1M earlier this year. Now, the company is faced with another recall and extended it to the regular YZF-R1 too.

Owners of the 2015 YZF-R1 and the YZF-R1M in US and Canada have discovered that the gearbox on their sports bikes isn’t all that trouble-free. Under aggressive track conditions, the first and the second gear on the YZF-R1 and the YZF-R1M could seize on some motorcycles. This is being attributed to some batches of the gears having some metallurgical anomalies. The company has also responded saying that even the third and fourth gears are prone to stress-related warping.

A gearbox replacement on these superbikes is a highly complex job involving highly qualified technicians and advanced machinery to ensure factory-matching reliability in the long-term. On the YZF-R1 and the YZF-R1M, it would involve disassembling nearly the entire bike and an advanced-stage tear-down of the engine to access the gearbox for replacement. This is why, Yamaha India is pushing the recall through a factory modification programme that owners can avail of through any of Yamaha’s authorized superbike dealers across the country.

Yamaha India have sold a total of nine units so far with seven YZF-R1’s and two YZF-R1M’s. There have been no reports of deformation in the gearbox components from them till date. However, the company is going ahead with the recall voluntarily in the interests of rider safety on their flagship motorcycle.

It has already reached out to owners for replacing the transmissions on their respective superbikes.