Heat Shield cracking. What did or should Yamaha do about it

[hd_yamaha]

(I believe this might have been a topic last year. If so I am sorry. )
My brothers, nephews and I have a total of 6 03 RX1. We love the sled but we all have the same problem. The heat-shield in the tunnel area has cracked.
So we called our dealer about it. He said Yamaha does not see this as a problem. They acknowledge that ice can buildup in this area and cause this. The dealer suggested we call Yamaha. So we did and Yamaha said it will pay for the part but only a 1/3 of the labor. The dealer has agreed to pay 1/3 and we will have to pay 1/3. To me and my brother this is BS.
The sleds are still under warranty.
I believe this is a design flaw and we should not have to pay a dime for it to be fixed.
Anyone else experience this problem if so what did you dealer do about
it

Jim

 

[RX-1snow]

I bought 03 RX-1 this year with 700 kms and noticed heat sheild rattle . I immediatly jacked up the rear with the suspension dropped and belt removed . I had a freind blip the throttle and immediately saw the tail end of the mid heat sheild vibrating like mad and striking the pipe above . This was where the rattle was coming from. Not a single rivet was loose at that point as I checked each of them with vise grips. I proceeded to remove the 2-3 inch section with a dremel tool cut off disc. I havent had a problem since. I did not check on warranty as I read on other posts that it would not be covered . I find Yamaha have a hard time swallowing that they might have a fault with one of their products.

 

[RX-1MAN]

Mine was cracked early last season with only 900 miles. Dealer replaced the whole exhaust section under the tunnel with new under warranty. This was over a $500 part. Said the heat shield wasn't sold separately. A Yamaha tech came and looked at it as they said they hadn't heard of this issue. I noticed the new part was not beefed up in the area of the rivets where it cracked. I questioned my dealer about this and he said if Yamaha has alot of problems with this item they would probably do something different during manufacture. I keep a close eye on it, I've put 2,600 miles on it and so far so good. If it does crack I'll take it back, four years of warranty left for me. :lol:

 

[jmcrxone]

I think yamaha should pay the whole thing. :evil:

 

[KbxSrx]

KbxSrx

get a hold of your rep. They are the guys that will help you the most, generally dealers will not go to bat for you from what I have heard on here. I really like my local dealer, OJ's Yamaha is the place I will deal forever.

 

[snowman]

My dealer told me thats it's ok to remove the whole thing and i did,no problems yet and no rattle

 

[Frostbite]

Add me to the list. Mine was broken too. I went to add the White Knuckle QC-1 exhaust and found it cracked badly. I did my best reapir on it and frankly I'm a little afraid to look back under there. I will look and try to remember to report back. PB

 

[Viper34]

Remove all the shields and grind off the brackets..you don't need them.

 

[Mighty]

Do you suggest the same for us Warrior guys?

 

[Convert]

Remove all the shields and grind off the brackets..you don't need them.

So why are they there? mine rattle also if they are not necessary why did Yamaha put them there in the first place?

 

[Viper34]

They are there as a heat shield, but basically an over kill. Basically to avoid excess heat from getting to the track if someone were to let their RX-1 idle for a hour, but before that would happen the machine will shut off..so what I am trying to say is they are not necessary

 

[airboss]

I have a 03 RX-1, and the rear heat shield cracked last season. I held off on the repair until this fall, when the dealer replaced it under warranty. Dealer claimed that the reason the shields crack is due to loose rivets. I believe that someone else posted that they had replaced their shields and used screws instead of the rivets. If mine cracks again this year, I'll probably take it off and not replace it.

 

[Convert]

Ok I'll buy that especially with decent snow but what about if there's not much snow could it be an issue or do you think yamaha purposely put extra money into a part that was'nt needed :? Personally i hate the rattle just wondering if i should have my dealer remove them or replace I did'nt buy this extended warranty for nothing.

 

[RX-1MAN]

I don't think it was put there as a heat shield as heat goes up :!: . I believe it is protection from something coming off the track, like a stud or rock and hitting the exhaust pipes. Also, they don't crack because of a loose rivet. They crack because there is too large of an area of metal being supported by only one rivet in several spots down the middle. When they built it, they should have put angle or channel straps running across it. That way one rivet in several spots would have worked fine. :idea:

 

[dpcrxone]

I want to say that our dealer recommend that we call Yamaha because he has had several broken heat shields and Yamaha won't warranty them because they believe it is not a design flaw. When I called Customer Service in Calif they researched the issue. They called me back the next day and stated that because we own 16 Yamaha sleds and 5 Yamaha bikes they will cover the cost of the parts and 1/3 labor. They called our dealer and he will cover 1/3 of the labor. This leaves 1/3 for us to pay. After talking with HD Yamaha and my other brothers and nephews I am calling California back to have them cover the last 1/3. WE all have the 5 year warranty. That is why we bought it. I think everyone should let their dealer know about this issue. Then maybe Yamaha will fix it right for all of us.