How I Tamed My Yamaha’s Moody Morning Blues
Let me share with you a tale of adventure, mystery, and a touch of mechanical melodrama involving my 2023 Yamaha XSR900 motorcycle, which, just when I thought it had reached enlightenment at 7,000 km, decided to throw a tantrum.
A Warning Light and a Warranted Fix
After a routine service at a Yamaha dealer (which was just as well, as I discovered soon enough), a warning light flickered to life, heralding the beginning of the saga. The Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) turned out to be the culprit, necessitating a replacement under warranty.
However, this is where the plot thickens, or rather, chokes. Post-surgery, my bike began to exhibit the temperament of a temperamental teen. The engine, acting like a diva on a cold morning, started choking and stalling at the mere suggestion of acceleration (5-10% throttle, to be precise). Picture this: riding through a roundabout, and suddenly, the engine decides to take a nap, leaving me in a precarious dance with gravity, turning rides into impromptu balancing acts.
Back to the dealer I went, where the team was as puzzled as a group of philosophers at a physics conference. Several visits ensued, with the bike spending a few sleepovers at the dealer. To their credit, the team was patient and genuinely tried to crack the case. But it was through my own observations that I deduced the issue was linked to the bike’s temperature, particularly when it was feeling chilly. I shared this revelation with the dealer, who confirmed that yes, indeed, the engine was acting like a moody teenager in the morning.
This was particularly disturbing since the bike was purchased brand new in 2023!
Enter a Yamaha Motor Australia Service Representative, who, after inspecting my bike, acknowledged the problem but delivered a solution that could only be described as a plot twist in a comedy: wait for a software update that hasn’t been written yet! And in the meantime, I was advised to warm up the engine for 5 minutes before each journey, essentially turning my motorcycle into a high-maintenance celebrity that needs its morning coffee before facing the day.
After hearing this, I couldn’t help but wonder if the next software update would involve a magic spell or a ritual dance to get the engine in the mood. I mean, who needs modern technology when you can just wait for an update that’s still in the realm of science fiction, right? And, oh, the brilliant advice to warm up the engine for 5 minutes – because nothing says “cutting-edge technology” like treating your bike like a vintage kettle that needs to whistle before it’s ready to ride.
Fair Trading to the Rescue
Feeling like I was in a David vs. Goliath scenario, I turned to NSW Fair Trading for help. After some time Yamaha Motor Australia responded with what can only be described as a corporate shrug, essentially saying, “We’ve checked; no error codes found; a warm-up is a normal practice; the bike is operating as intended.”
They seemed to completely overlook the glaring fact that stalling isn’t part of any motorcycle’s standard operating procedure at any temperature.
With persistence on my part and a helping hand from Fair Trading, a mediation session was arranged. It felt less like a showdown and more like a calm, friendly, business-like meeting. Present were a Fair Trading representative, Yamaha Motor Australia Customer Relations Manager and myself, while Yamaha mechanics worked on the bike next door.
After some mysterious adjustments in the workshop next door, I got the nod: ‘Your bike’s ready.’ I took it for a spin, and bam!—it was like the stalling, sputtering beast had been replaced with its long-lost twin who actually likes to work. Smooth, responsive, and suddenly in the mood to cooperate. Who knew my bike just needed a little behind-the-scenes magic?
From Cold Starts to Smooth Rides
The secret? The Customer Relations Manager explained that they had adjusted the TPS to a higher setting, hoping this would better align with the non-adjustable Accelerator Position Switch (APS), potentially smoothing out the cold start mixture issues.
(OK… so SOMETHING could have been done after all?)
In the following weeks, I kept a close watch, and lo and behold, the issue had vanished into thin air. The bike felt rejuvenated, smoother, and happier, with the throttle responsive at all temperatures.
I’m now back to enjoying my XSR900 and am thrilled with how the bike behaves. But the journey there was less than smooth. For months, Yamaha’s stance was that the only fix was the warm-up routine, essentially to treat the bike like a vintage car that needs time to wake up, while ignoring the actual issue.
The conflicting messages from Yamaha Motor Australia, through the dealer, were like trying to solve a puzzle in the dark: sometimes it’s carbon buildup, other times it’s a software update, or perhaps it’s just my riding style?
Apparently, ‘nothing could be done’—until Fair Trading stepped in, and only then Yamaha Motor Australia reluctantly rolled up their sleeves and found the fix they claimed didn’t exist.
I’m grateful to the dealer for their patience and help, to Yamaha Motor Australia for finally fixing the issue, and to NSW Fair Trading for being the voice of reason.
While I’m back to loving my XSR900, this whole saga has left me thinking – next time, I might choose a bike brand that doesn’t need a gentle nudge (or a corporate shove) to care about its customers.
Update: March 2025
The Great Yamaha Flip-Flop
Update – March 2025: The plot thickens! Back in February 2025, Yamaha Motor dropped a worldwide recall bomb for the MT-09, MT-10, XSR900, Tracer, and Niken (2021-2025) — a recall spanning tens of thousands of bikes that might fall prey to a pesky TPS glitch. Yep, a faulty TPS and ECU pairing that can choke engines at will. Sound familiar? Yamaha Motor Australia, who once claimed my stalling was “as intended,” must’ve been reading from a different manual.
I called my original dealer — sure, there’s a recall, but my XSR900 isn’t on the list. Maybe because its TPS was already swapped? Fair enough. Then, another plot twist: the next day, the repair dealer rings: “Recall’s on — want that TPS replaced?” You bet I did, along with an ECU flash.
So the TPS was swapped (again), the ECU updated, and now my XSR900’s roaring like the beast it was born to be. Fingers crossed Yamaha’s done flipping the script.
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