Intent to Recall 2012 XTZ12B/BC (“Super Ténéré”) Models

[lotecredneck]

I received this message a little bit ago............ Don't shoot me, I am only the messenger!

I will post more when I receive the bulletin. I will also post the letter they are going to send out when it becomes available to me. At this point they have issued a "stop sale" to the dealers, so I am assuming they will suggest that the bike probably shouldn't be ridden, but I don't know that for certain. I can't advise one way or the other as to whether the bike should be ridden. Use your own judgement. :-X

More soon.........


Tony

Intent to Recall 2012 XTZ12B/BC (“Super Ténéré”) Models
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. has decided that a defect which relates to motor
vehicle safety exists in certain 2012 XTZ12B/BC (“Super Ténéré”) motorcycles. During
the assembly process on affected motorcycles, the fuel pump O-ring may have been
installed incorrectly in its groove. If the tabs located around the inner circumference of
the O-ring were not seated into the groove properly during pump installation, the O-ring
sealing lip could be pinched and damaged, preventing proper sealing. This could allow
fuel to leak from around the fuel pump mounted under the fuel tank. Leaking fuel could
result in a fire hazard.
A Technical Bulletin with all necessary information will be provided in the near future.
Until then, please suspend sale of any new 2012 XTZ12B/BC motorcycles.
As with all safety recall campaigns, Yamaha will be notifying all registered owners of
affected units by mail.

 

[motocephalic]

ok looking for the details as they become available. Mine runs great though.

 

[Venture]

ok looking for the details as they become available. Mine runs great though.

Yes, but does it leak fuel from the connection to the fuel pump? I don't think a leak would affect how the bike is running. A leak from an incorrectly installed o-ring would probably be very small.

 

[motocephalic]

have not noticed any kind of fuel leak, if it does leak, it is very small. I'm more concerned about down time. It's riding time here! How long will the bike be in the shop? That's my only concern.

 

[GrahamD]

I received this message a little bit ago............ Don't shoot me, I am only the messenger!

I wouldn't shoot you or YAMAHA. YAMAHA has been very up front about things like this to date, and there have only been a few niggles so far.

Agree with Ventre, it won't be anything to do with the engine running poorly or anything, it sounds like a possible fuel weep/leak problem from the bottom of the tank, caused by overstressed Japanese workers installing seals incorrectly, I would say.

 

[Maybert]

My dealer mentioned this to me at the 600 mile service (two months ago). If you smell gas, take your bike in soon.

 

[markjenn]

Tony, thanks for providing such early and timely hard information.

On these new FI bikes, sealing of the interface between the fuel pump assembly and fuel tank is often a troublesome area - other bikes have had issues here and I was on a tour a decade ago when a brand-new K1200 sprang a leak in this area; we nicknamed it the "Exxon Valdez". (Drove it more than six hours in heavy Spanish traffic dribbling fuel and refueling every hour or two; while these sorts of things are fire hazards, its not something to get too terribly worried about.)

The exploded diagram below shows how the fuel pump mates to the bottom of the tank and the likely culprit seal (the one marked "NEW"). This is an easy fix, although, of course, the tank does have to come off. This should be something a dealer could take care of in an hour or two.

If Yamaha says to stop riding the bike, I'll probably interpret that as more a recommendation from their lawyers rather than their technical staff. I will watch for fuel drips and a fuel smell.

All in all, his will be a minor hassle for most of us and generally shows that Yamaha errs on the side of caution in these sorts of things.

- Mark

 

[colorider]

My dealer mentioned this to me at the 600 mile service (two months ago). If you smell gas, take your bike in soon.

Yes, I remember someone mentioning this before here, but there was never any detail.

 

[tomatocity]

So this is for the North American Super Tenere's?

 

[pluric]

My dealer called me as well. Didn't make it sound like a big deal. Just asked me
to look under the tank and check for leaks. I guess they got the memo after delivery.
I've still forgotten to look. :-[

Have not seen any drips or smelled gas.

 

[TNWalker]

This problem surfaced this summer at the Dealer where I ordered my Tenere. There was 1 other Tenere ordered at the same time as mine and it had this leak issue before the bike was delivered to it purchaser. Just a side note.... It was a Blue one... Mine was the Black one and it did not have this issue .... Black rules ! Blue Drools ! j/k ::022::

 

[Tremor38]

I've had my tank up a few times; once for wiring some accessories, and a couple of times just for curiousity's sake. Not a hint of even a seep from the fuel pump. Nice heads up from Yamaha though.

 

[tomatocity]

So the recall is only to check for leaks and repair if necessary?

 

[tc9988]

I received this message a little bit ago............ Don't shoot me, I am only the messenger!

I will post more when I receive the bulletin. I will also post the letter they are going to send out when it becomes available to me. At this point they have issued a "stop sale" to the dealers, so I am assuming they will suggest that the bike probably shouldn't be ridden, but I don't know that for certain. I can't advise one way or the other as to whether the bike should be ridden. Use your own judgement. :-X

More soon.........


Tony

Intent to Recall 2012 XTZ12B/BC (“Super Ténéré”) Models
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. has decided that a defect which relates to motor
vehicle safety exists in certain 2012 XTZ12B/BC (“Super Ténéré”) motorcycles. During
the assembly process on affected motorcycles, the fuel pump O-ring may have been
installed incorrectly in its groove. If the tabs located around the inner circumference of
the O-ring were not seated into the groove properly during pump installation, the O-ring
sealing lip could be pinched and damaged, preventing proper sealing. This could allow
fuel to leak from around the fuel pump mounted under the fuel tank. Leaking fuel could
result in a fire hazard.
A Technical Bulletin with all necessary information will be provided in the near future.
Until then, please suspend sale of any new 2012 XTZ12B/BC motorcycles.
As with all safety recall campaigns, Yamaha will be notifying all registered owners of
affected units by mail.

the way I read this is: if someone was about to buy an S10 that was in stock , on the floor, the dealer could not sell it until the TSB is received from Yamaha at some undetermined time in the future (obviously soon). Is that correct?

 

[whisperquiet]

It was my bike and thread that had this problem when delivered and serviced.............it delayed my bike delivery by about 10 days.

Details here:

http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=1443.0

 

[GrahamD]

That's what I like about this site..The personal touch and that includes YAMAHA.

 

[markjenn]

So the recall is only to check for leaks and repair if necessary?

The fact they're issuing a recall and holding up bikes before delivery would indicate to me that there is more to it than just checking for a leak. My guess is that the affected VINs will have their fuel pumps removed and since Yamaha specs that the o-ring should be replaced with removal of the fuel pump, the TSB will almost certainly spec that the o-ring is to be replaced.

What has probably happened here is that it has taken Yamaha a couple months to go through the reports from the field of leaks and build enough of a trend to identify that the problem isn't isolated to a bike or two and that there is some defect in the part and/or assembly process that resulted in bikes that are prone to leaks. Certainly if your bike isn't leaking, there is a good chance it won't leak in the future, but Yamaha feels the risk of a future leak, even if it is not leaking now, is unacceptable.

This is all just reading the tea leaves about how these things usually go - the definitive answers will come down in a week or two when the TSB is issued.

- Mark

 

[Scoop47501]

I was told this yesterday while at Obermeyer Yamaha in Jasper, In..
The tech came out into the show room and told me about it. They sold three Teneres and one leaked as soon as he put gas in it. The leak was bad enough to spill on the floor so they had to remove the tank and fix it then and there. The o ring was not in the groove all the way.
Scoop

 

[rem]

Sort of on topic .... OUCH !!!


http://www.calgarysun.com/2011/10/24/harley-davidson-to-recall-over-300000-motorcycles

 

[vnp514]

I received this message a little bit ago............ Don't shoot me, I am only the messenger!

I will post more when I receive the bulletin. I will also post the letter they are going to send out when it becomes available to me. At this point they have issued a "stop sale" to the dealers, so I am assuming they will suggest that the bike probably shouldn't be ridden, but I don't know that for certain. I can't advise one way or the other as to whether the bike should be ridden. Use your own judgement. :-X

More soon.........


Tony

Thanks for the info Tony!!

Pete