2004 Yamaha XVS1100 problems

Filed Apr 19, 2014 · Electrical, Transmission · 52,000 miles · GA

I have a 2004 vstar 1100 custom (xvs11000) with 52,000 miles. I started hearing a whining noise coming from the transmission when I would down shift (similar sound you hear when backing up in a manual transmission car). Soon after the noise started the speedometer quit working. Just as I was getting reading to pull into the gas station up ahead (about .5 miles) to check on it I heard what sounded like loose ball bearings just running around in the transmission. Needless to say I stopped immediately. Took the bike down to the local dealership/service shop and was given a quote for $5200. What ended up happening is the nut on the end of the middle gear shaft had sheared off the end of the shaft and bounced around in the u-joint. That's what had made the terrible noise. In the same process it destroyed the speed sensor and warped the cylinder (part of the swing-arm) that houses the u-joint. Luckily the nut did not lodge itself inside u-joint and cause the bike to lock-up. This is clearly a problem that yamaha knows about, because the new middle shaft they have as a replacement part is made slightly different and is much stronger. Yet they refuse to admit it to us stranded bikers that are having to come out of pocket thousands of dollars for what appears to be a manufacturers defect. It clearly has happened to bikes with only a few hundred miles all the way on up. This could very easily cause fatalities if the rider is doing highway speeds and transmission seizes.