Steering linkage Inteference With Aluminum Boot Retainer

[Nice Rumble]

I had my machine up on my lift and heard a scraping sound and felt resistence when turning the handlebars left and right. I opened the cowl and looked for the source of the problem. What I found was the steering linkage is hitting the aluminum retainer that holds the rubber boots on the belly pan. The left side is more of a problem than the right but both sides have clearance problems. I have zero miles on the machine and the rod has already worn a groove in the aluminum. When the linkage comes in contact with the aluminum it offers resistance to turning. It's not a problem when going straight but get real, I need full range of steering. It actually lifts the piece of aluminum away from the rubber when the bars are turned. I can't believe Yamaha would allow such poor quality control. After spending $8000 this is totally unacceptable. This is a brand new sled and should never have come off the assembly line this way.
Check your sleds and let me know if anyone else has this problem. I'm on the phone with my dealer first thing Tueday morning.
Top bar is the linkage, bottom is the sway bar. Notice the wear just below the bar.

 

[Thumper1000]

Sounds like something got bent in shipping or setup.

 

[Turbo Tim]

Set it back dowm on the ground and look again , it only hits when you have your ski's off the ground ................and you can't steer anyway when your ski's are off the ground ......

 

[Nice Rumble]

I think you are right RXHALLER. I came to the same conclusion while thinking about it last night. I think it's a simple situation of weighting and unweighting the suspension. Although my RX-1 with unweighted front suspension did not have clearance problems. I will go out to the shop and put it on the floor and see if it still touches. Stay tuned.

 

[Nice Rumble]

RXHALLER was right. When the suspension is unweighted it allows the linkage to rub on the bulkhead. When it's properly weighted there are no clearance problems. This is the first machine I've had that had done this. No big deal, just don't turn the bars when it's on a lift.
I take back what I said about Yamaha's quality control, it is still the best.