Well, it finally happened. After trying to convince myself that my tranny wasn't really going out, and that the problem was a worn out chain, my second gear is now gone. 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th are all fine, but 1st to second always gives a false neutral, and when I do get it into second, it grabs a little, but mostly grinds. Cool, huh?!? It must be a feature!

So... Who knows whats its going to cost to get new gears? I heard somewhere that it will be possible to put 2002 gears in a 2001 (Mine is frame #000994).

Anyone got any ideas about what I should do?

 

As for the 2002 gears I heard they won't be available till October.
Depending on when you bought it I would call Yamaha and bitch! Tell them all about the people who have had problems with this and how you know it's a manufacturer defect and see what happens. Good Luck

 

yep, im gonna get the new gears, too. my tranny is fine, but I hear the new gearing is supposed to be better for racing and trail riding.

 

I already tried the "Call Yamaha and bitch" thing when I first thought I had tranny problems. I bought it last september, and all they said was "no warranty? thats too bad."

 

Bet you wish you bought a DS instead.

 

<< Bet you wish you bought a DS instead. >>



Gee, that was helpful. If you ever suffer a major problem with your DS I'll be sure to offer you some helpful advice when you are feeling your lowest.

 

That really blows man. The real kick in the groin is that Yamaha totally fails to support its loyal customers by not taking care of a PROVEN defect in their product. For this very reason my next quad won't be a Yamaha.

Is it too late for you to get the extended warrenty and wait a month then go in and say, &quot;Guess what.....&quot; hee hee

The very least you should get it repaired at cost with no labour charges. Slam your dealer and see if he'll cut you a deal. Worth a try anyways.

 

I gotta tell you guys, with the 2 or 3 minor problems I've had with my 400EX, getting Honda to warranty something is like pulling teeth. Maybe its the dealers that make it so difficult, I dont know. All I know is it sucks BIG TIME when manufacturers dont stand behind their products when they KNOW there is a manufacturing flaw.


You 2001 Raptor owners should work together to write up a grievance letter to Yamaha, with all of your names, addresses, VIN #'s and such, and tell Yamaha if they dont do something for ALL of you that you will sell your Raptors and never buy Yamaha again. The more people on the letter, the better. And you HAVE to make sure you send the letter to the right person in Yamaha. (DONT just send it to customer service)

Then see if Yamaha listens...

 

Is there any warning signs or do you just lose second gear? Why would second gear be a weak link in the transmission? Thanks Chet

 

I first noticed a problem when it felt like my chain was jumping a tooth every few seconds. It just got progressivly worse from there.

The following is from a post I made after I called yamaha customer support:

I did call the 1-800-88-YAMAHA number, and after holding for 5 minutes I talked to some idiot. The only thing I got out of the exchange was that he knew nothing, but gave the impression that they didn't want to help me at all. For example, I asked if they had any service bullitens out for the 2001 raptor, and he didn't even know what I was talking about. So I told him that I was having problems with my tranny, and that many others also had the same problem. Then I asked if Yamaha will deal with these know issues by offering to replace bad parts for free. He then told me that I they deal with problems on a person by person basis. I told him that it was the first time my tranny went out, and that it was going to cost a lot of money, and that others have had the same problem so it wasn't an issue of abuse. He then told me that I could purchase the YES warranty. I told him that I purchased my wheeler last september, and could I still buy the YES plan because of all these problems I was having. He told me NO. So I said &quot;So there's nothing I can do?&quot; And he said &quot;no.&quot;

Oh... and by the way, I would rather push around my raptor than own an oversized tank that looks like a big yellow slug. But thats just my opinion[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]