Anyone else with a leaky bike???

[ShortstackRN]

My new FZ8 already has to go to to the shop doctor!

After only 400 miles the valve cover gasket, the head gasket and the engine plug all started leaking oil!!! Lucky for me I do some side work for a guy who was a Yamaha engineer for 20 years. He took a look at it and found it was grossly OVER filled with oil from the factory. I even had several ML of oil pooled in my air box! He advised I drop the oil and put in the correct amount and see if the decreased engine pressure would allow the gaskets to seal. I cleaned the air box and sides of the engine really good but she is still leaking! Dealership gave me a hassle about warranting it since I changed the oil myself and denied it was overfilled when it left the showroom... after a few phone calls that got resolved. Yamaha themselves do a good job of standing behind their product... dealerships... not so much!
Has anyone had a similar situation????
Thoughts and discussion please! This is the first bike I have ever had do this out of 15... so I was a bit annoyed with the service manager for trying to make it look like I didn't know my head from my tail about motorcycles...

 

[lothodon]

if the gaskets are saturated you'll have to have them changed to stop the leaks the 'right' way. they will be weak and more prone to even more leaking and possibly tearing.

 

[highoctane]

At any sign of leakage after only 400 miles it would have been dropped off at the dealer i bought from and told them to fix it call me when its ready. id tell them to hash it out with yamaha

 

[Deleted member 438]

Mine looked liked it was a litle damp around the valve cover for the first 1000 miles or so, but it's all good now. My cbr f4 also did the same around the valve cover, but it was just the valve cover. Maybe you should have have measured the oil that you drained from engine 'cause your case seems extreme.

 

[mano1192]

At any sign of leakage after only 400 miles it would have been dropped off at the dealer i bought from and told them to fix it call me when its ready. id tell them to hash it out with yamaha

Agreed, I would not take crap after 400 miles period. But then again you did your own oil change, so if I understand them making a case against you. I dont know why you guys do it yourselves, its only $60 to have my dealer change it, well worth it as its only twice a year anyway.

Speaking of what are the miles you should have the oil changed at? I have 3000 miles so far, only had the breakin change, what do you guys usually go between changes? I also live in the desert and beat the hell out of the bike as its a daily commuter.... sorry for thread jack holmes

 

[Hereward]

Mine looked liked it was a litle damp around the valve cover for the first 1000 miles or so, but it's all good now. My cbr f4 also did the same around the valve cover, but it was just the valve cover. Maybe you should have have measured the oil that you drained from engine 'cause your case seems extreme.

Adsactly the same here, and yeah it started to clear up after about 1k on about 1.3k now and the "weaping" or dark staining has halved in size (only about an inch on right hand side left clear now) and is far less visable, I simply put it down to the thicker run in oil and thus higher preasure. I was concerned at first but didn't see any oil loss or increase in staining.

Things I did notice during run in was excesive chain tension which amplified the llight crank gear change snatch, after service chain was set to normal tension and that snatch is not noticable at all now. Lack of power was another issue, again simply high preasures due to run in oil and a "tight" motor, as time goes on and the engine is losening up the responsiveness of the throtle and engine has increased noticabley. As an example at 800 miles a section of road I regularly use (motorway sliplane up hill) saw the bike get to 85mph by the top, today with 1.3k on the clock I backed off 100 meters from the top doing 90mph........

 

[djcecil]

Speaking of what are the miles you should have the oil changed at? I have 3000 miles so far, only had the breakin change, what do you guys usually go between changes?

book says every 4000 miles, a filter every other change. i cheated and got my certification to work on motorcycles and have a service manual for the fz8, so i don't pay labor and don't void warranty by being a "home mechanic".

 

[DownhomeMoto]

Ok quick question? Where does it say that only the dealership can service your bike? it's jut like a car, you can do your own maint. just keep records of them. If you do have issues with your bike and the dealer will not cover in under warranty because you didn't pay them an over rated amount to have your oil changed, then they have to prove that you caused the damage. They just simply can't say Oh sorry you didn't pay us to do it...sucks to be you. And if they do then you fight them, and call Yamaha. Besides Yamaha pays for the repair anyways.

There is a reason that Yamaha gives you a owners manual.... That shows you how to change your oil, adjust your chain, lube and adjust your cables, and change your air filter.

 

[Hereward]

If trhe fault is a direct result of a missed service issue say something came lose and broke because it wasn't checked on the post run in service because the owner did it then your screwed. The problem with service is that it's preventative maintance not just swaping out the oil..........the guy who dose the service is doing them day in day out, he can see issues before they are a problem and fix it without you even knowing. I service X-ray equipment from little automatic film processorrs to full blown CT scaners, I take the covers of I look at it I ppput the covers on, I then stick some equipment on it to test the output, radiation and timers.........To watch me or another engineer do this you'd be easily fooled into thinking were doing nothing.......just changing the oil.......put as an example a lose terminal on a power supply, takes 2 seconds to check and tighten, but if it's not done it could blow a board worth thousands. It's the same with bikes, by all means service them yourself but only if your compitent and have the service manuals, the user handbook is for routine user maininence and thats it, It dosn't even cover the basic error codes or how and when to change say the oil and springs in the front forks or the life expectancy of the cat, valve clearance? type of grease for the swing arm pivots and when to change it?
The initial service is the most important and I would strongly advise against anyone missing it, if the bike has a problem and it's not covered in the user handbook then get the yamaha dealer sort it for free under warranty, what may seem obvious, rear wheel not alighned and be easy to fix, may in fact have an underlying issue which has caused it which could be dangerous if not addressed, the misalighned wheel could be an issue with the swingarm for example.

I'll get of my soap box now, but last word, "if it's under warranty, get the experts to fix it for free"

 

[djcecil]

they still make soap boxes?

 

[hypo]

they still make soap boxes?

saw one on American Pickers last week...

 

[djcecil]

hahahahhaahaha, too funny...........

 

[ShortstackRN]

Got the bike back Tuesday and so far so good, 150 miles later and no further leaking. Thanks for all the input everyone.

 

[ibeme1]

What did the dealer determine the issue was from?

 

[Coolslice]

Please tell me this is an isolated case! I just traded my Ducati because it was leaking oil from both valve covers and the dealership told me it was an issue with the oil filter and didn't want to fix it on their extended warranty that they sold me. I went back to Yamaha to get away from such issues, but being as how the dealership where I bought the FZ8 is the same dealership where I bought the 1098 (and traded it back in), I'll be damned if I have my bike serviced there.

I don't care how many times I change the oil. It's not like it's an engine rebuild, it is a simple maintenance item. If my bike leaks oil at any time during the 4 year warranty plan, Yamaha and my dealer are fixing it for free to my satisfaction. Otherwise, they can explain it to my attorney why they are refusing warranty coverage.

I've never had an issue with ANY Yamaha product I've owned, though.

 

[12marsFZ8]

Please tell me this is an isolated case! I just traded my Ducati because it was leaking oil from both valve covers and the dealership told me it was an issue with the oil filter and didn't want to fix it on their extended warranty that they sold me. I went back to Yamaha to get away from such issues, but being as how the dealership where I bought the FZ8 is the same dealership where I bought the 1098 (and traded it back in), I'll be damned if I have my bike serviced there.

I don't care how many times I change the oil. It's not like it's an engine rebuild, it is a simple maintenance item. If my bike leaks oil at any time during the 4 year warranty plan, Yamaha and my dealer are fixing it for free to my satisfaction. Otherwise, they can explain it to my attorney why they are refusing warranty coverage.

I've never had an issue with ANY Yamaha product I've owned, though.

I just hit 1000 miles and noticed the leak too. I took it in and the dealer said had I taken it in for the 600 mile service a re-torque of the bolts would have fixed it, the 600 mile service is $200! I just went to my owner's manual for the 600 mile service and did it myself. I told them it didn't matter, if oil leaks from the valve cover thats NOT normal. Hopefully i hear from them tomorrow. This never happened on my 07 R6. A call to Yamaha may happen in my near future.

 

[jcocker03]

I noticed mine has an ever so slightly darker line coming down from the head gasket, almost looks like oil leaked and then was wiped off. Just a slightly darker discoloration that I don't think was there when i bought the bike. Oil has never leaked from it though.

As far as going to dealerships for oil changes i'll pass on that. The only person I trust working on my vehicles is myself. Use the $ saved to buy better oil and filter.

 

[switch263]

So, I don't know where this attitude of "You can't do your own maintenance" comes from. As was mentioned earlier in this thread, just do it on time, and keep records as proof (receipts too). There was a class action lawsuit in the 60s (maybe 70s?) against GM I believe over this EXACT issue. It is ILLEGAL for them to try to void your warranty for doing your own service. Period, end of story.

I do all my own work on my vehicles, and likely will continue to do so. I refuse to pay the exorbitant dealership markup for crap like oil changes. "Only" $60 for an oil change? I gave LESS than $25 for all the materials and it took me 15 minutes. And 10 of that was trying to get the oil filter off as it was monstrously over-tightened from the factory.

 

[FZER]

Agreed, I would not take crap after 400 miles period. But then again you did your own oil change, so if I understand them making a case against you. I dont know why you guys do it yourselves, its only $60 to have my dealer change it, well worth it as its only twice a year anyway.

Speaking of what are the miles you should have the oil changed at? I have 3000 miles so far, only had the breakin change, what do you guys usually go between changes? I also live in the desert and beat the hell out of the bike as its a daily commuter.... sorry for thread jack holmes

Mano you answered your own question. You live in the desert and beat the hell out of the bike. You should be changing the oil a bunch. Honestly, I wouldn't go a mile over 3000 with the heat and riding you do. I change mine at the end of summer whether I've put 3000 miles on my bike or not. It's a personal thing for me, lubes the motor and tranny. Check out shell rotella synthetic 5w-40. Very good and very cheap. Most people I know if they do a track day that oil is gone the next day too.

 

[DLSGAP]

I noticed the same thing on mine today. Did the first service myself. used the correct amount of oil per the book. seems to be slightly seeping from the valve cover on the left side. gonna keep a very close eye on it to see if it continues.

and the rotella is great stuff.. been using it for a while in bikes. 21 bucks for the gallon, and 5-7 for a filter (one thats much better than the paper one yamaha sells) sure beats the prices at the dealership. And I intend to track this bike like i have my last 3, and I will be changing the oil every after every track day i do... that gets frickin expensive at the dealer