yamaha silent recall on FZ09 leads to paralyzed rider - fly by wire acceleration

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statsman said:
Remember, we are reading only one side of the story here.
All of the allegations made by the rider who suffered the injures have yet to be proven.
I find it difficult to believe some of the allegations.
A company with the experience of Yamaha not issuing a recall would know (or should know) the result.
Multi-million dollar civil court awards which would dwarf the size of any cost of fixing the problem.
But then again people do stupid things, why not companies?
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actually they did release a recall and fix for owners who complained, and then went on to tell dealers not to tell owners who didn't complain. and herein lies the problem - yamaha intentionally hid the fix. now yamaha can no longer say there was no problem.
 
boyoboy said:
actually they did release a recall and fix for owners who complained, and then went on to tell dealers not to tell owners who didn't complain. and herein lies the problem - yamaha intentionally hid the fix. now yamaha can no longer say there was no problem.
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That does make a difference doesn't it.
 
Bagman said:
IMO, everyone is getting rather off-topic on the root of the article. All this talk over the technicalities of the throttle will likely have squat to do with the outcome of the case.

The suit filed is over the point of proving Yamaha KNEW of A PROBLEM (that could cause a rider injury) and FAILED to notify owners/riders/people - RE: Silent Recall. It's that simple. Had Mr. Cruz KNOWN about the recall/problem he may have not riden that bike that day and become a paraplegic.
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If Cruz had only ridden the bike from the dealership where he bought it to the parking lot where he crashed he would have known of the throttle quirks of the bike, unless he quite literally crashed the bike in the dealership lot having just been given the keys. If he'd put any miles on it on public roads he would have known about the character of the throttle on the bike.

We simply don't know enough: How experienced a motorcycle rider was he? When did he buy the bike and how many miles had he ridden it before the fateful crash? What was he actually doing when he crashed? (a "slow turn" and being thrown hard enough against a curb to break bones do not seem to jive with each other.) I'd like to know what protective gear he had on, a lack of which may have exacerbated his injuries.
 
Bagman said:
IMO, everyone is getting rather off-topic on the root of the article. All this talk over the technicalities of the throttle will likely have squat to do with the outcome of the case.

The suit filed is over the point of proving Yamaha KNEW of A PROBLEM (that could cause a rider injury) and FAILED to notify owners/riders/people - RE: Silent Recall. It's that simple. Had Mr. Cruz KNOWN about the recall/problem he may have not riden that bike that day and become a paraplegic.
Click to expand...
No, the heart of the matter is the technical aspect of the problem. Was it a safety issue or not? That's what we're discussing. Sure they recognized a problem, but not all problems are a risk to anyone's safety.
 
Blackfin said:
If Cruz had only ridden the bike from the dealership where he bought it to the parking lot where he crashed he would have known of the throttle quirks of the bike, unless he quite literally crashed the bike in the dealership lot having just been given the keys. If he'd put any miles on it on public roads he would have known about the character of the throttle on the bike.

We simply don't know enough: How experienced a motorcycle rider was he? When did he buy the bike and how many miles had he ridden it before the fateful crash? What was he actually doing when he crashed? (a "slow turn" and being thrown hard enough against a curb to break bones do not seem to jive with each other.) I'd like to know what protective gear he had on, a lack of which may have exacerbated his injuries.
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Even so, I don't think there's any way a twitchy or jerky throttle could cause a crash unless it was a pretty big surge, and if Yamaha had such a problem everyone would have been complaining and falling off bikes.
 
boyoboy said:
actually they did release a recall and fix for owners who complained, and then went on to tell dealers not to tell owners who didn't complain. and herein lies the problem - yamaha intentionally hid the fix. now yamaha can no longer say there was no problem.
Click to expand...

Again, where did you find this information that Yamaha told dealers not to tell owners? That they hid it.


fastar1 said:
No, the heart of the matter is the technical aspect of the problem. Was it a safety issue or not? That's what we're discussing. Sure they recognized a problem, but not all problems are a risk to anyone's safety.
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Yes.

fastar1 said:
Even so, I don't think there's any way a twitchy or jerky throttle could cause a crash unless it was a pretty big surge, and if Yamaha had such a problem everyone would have been complaining and falling off bikes.
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Logic would say such a problem would have a lot more reports than the one person referenced here so far.
 
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statsman said:
Remember, we are reading only one side of the story here.
All of the allegations made by the rider who suffered the injures have yet to be proven.
I find it difficult to believe some of the allegations.
A company with the experience of Yamaha not issuing a recall would know (or should know) the result.
Multi-million dollar civil court awards which would dwarf the size of any cost of fixing the problem.
But then again people do stupid things, why not companies?
Click to expand...

Addressing the bolded part. Good question. R6 redline anybody?
 
from the lawsuit
""Yamaha knew the throttle on the 2014 FZ-09 was defective and carried a risk of sudden, unintended acceleration, yet did not warn owners and riders,” Edwards alleges. “Instead, it issued a 'silent recall,' instructing dealers to repair the problem only if owners complained"

I'm assuming the law firm has transcripts of all communication.
 
Bagman said:
IMO, everyone is getting rather off-topic on the root of the article. All this talk over the technicalities of the throttle will likely have squat to do with the outcome of the case.

The suit filed is over the point of proving Yamaha KNEW of A PROBLEM (that could cause a rider injury) and FAILED to notify owners/riders/people - RE: Silent Recall. It's that simple. Had Mr. Cruz KNOWN about the recall/problem he may have not ridden that bike that day and become a paraplegic.
Click to expand...

No the real question is whether this is a safety issue that requires a public recall, or is this a performance modification to address certain characteristics that certain riders find less than desirable. If it is the former, how many other accidents occurred that could be attributed (in full or in part) to this flaw (like audi & toyota). If the answer is hardly any, then it is more likely the latter and then the question falls to the rider. Was he hooning around or otherwise riding beyond his ability.
 
boyoboy said:
from the lawsuit
""Yamaha knew the throttle on the 2014 FZ-09 was defective and carried a risk of sudden, unintended acceleration, yet did not warn owners and riders,” Edwards alleges. “Instead, it issued a 'silent recall,' instructing dealers to repair the problem only if owners complained"

I'm assuming the law firm has transcripts of all communication.
Click to expand...
Haha no, they just make up the most self-serving description of the problem that they can imagine. It doesn't have to be based on an iota of truth. Seriously.

I guess lawyers aren't subject to defamation lawsuits when filing a claim, I dunno.
 
boyoboy said:
from the lawsuit
""Yamaha knew the throttle on the 2014 FZ-09 was defective and carried a risk of sudden, unintended acceleration, yet did not warn owners and riders,” Edwards alleges. “Instead, it issued a 'silent recall,' instructing dealers to repair the problem only if owners complained"

I'm assuming the law firm has transcripts of all communication.
Click to expand...

"Edwards alleges" Note the bolding. Allegation. Everybody knows the FZ09 was jerky in the beginning, that information went thru the community like wildfire. As a result re-cammed throttle tubes became available aftermarket. I'll bet Edwards ​is gonna sound like a FOX broadcaster any day now.
 
boyoboy said:
from the lawsuit
""Yamaha knew the throttle on the 2014 FZ-09 was defective and carried a risk of sudden, unintended acceleration, yet did not warn owners and riders,” Edwards alleges. “Instead, it issued a 'silent recall,' instructing dealers to repair the problem only if owners complained"
Click to expand...

First, you are taking the injured lawyer's language as fact as well and that tends to be very misleading. I see lots of potential spin there. Things such as "silent recall", "problem", and "only if" are likely to be contested by Yamaha and for good reasons.

And even more so, terrible reading comprehension. That quote is not equivalent at all to what your saying, that
(yamaha) went on to tell dealers not to tell owners who didn't complain. and herein lies the problem - yamaha intentionally hid the fix.
Click to expand...
A≠B
 
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Like I said in my earlier post it was a tsb not a recall to fix the throttle on fz-09's. If you google search fz09 tsb the actually paperwork is one of the first images to come up and it's from September 2014, they didn't hide anything and it wasn't a safety recall just a drive ability issues and they had a fix.

A a guy crashed his bike and was looking for a way to sue and there you go. Happens everyday unfortunately but really not a big deal.
 
inreb said:
"Edwards alleges" Note the bolding. Allegation. Everybody knows the FZ09 was jerky in the beginning, that information went thru the community like wildfire. As a result re-cammed throttle tubes became available aftermarket. I'll bet Edwards ​is gonna sound like a FOX broadcaster any day now.
Click to expand...

I would think Mr Ewards is going to search out those who had a fix done to their FZ09's, and ask them why they went to the dealer. All he will need is for some riders to say "because it was difficult to control at low speeds"
 
blackcamaro said:
Like I said in my earlier post it was a tsb not a recall to fix the throttle on fz-09's. If you google search fz09 tsb the actually paperwork is one of the first images to come up and it's from September 2014, they didn't hide anything and it wasn't a safety recall just a drive ability issues and they had a fix.
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Yes, nothing was hidden. The new fuel map update was well known. I don't even own the bike and I knew about it. It was even reported in magazines.
 
kwtoxman said:
First, you are taking the injured lawyer's language as fact as well and that tends to be very misleading. I see lots of potential spin there. Things such as "silent recall", "problem", and "only if" are likely to be contested by Yamaha and for good reasons.

And even more so, terrible reading comprehension. That quote is not equivalent at all to what your saying, that
A≠B
Click to expand...

ok then
 
fastar1 said:
Even so, I don't think there's any way a twitchy or jerky throttle could cause a crash unless it was a pretty big surge, and if Yamaha had such a problem everyone would have been complaining and falling off bikes.
Click to expand...

I'll respectfully ask you to consider an opposing view. I think a small jerk at the wrong time could catch a rider off guard where the weight of his arm/body, especially riding one handed while leaned back, could roll the throttle back unintentionally. Maybe he's got his body twisted craning to look over his shoulder w/e. Not saying it's the Piano companys' fault at that point.
 
kwtoxman said:
Yes, nothing was hidden. The new fuel map update was well known. I don't even own the bike and I knew about it. It was even reported in magazines.
Click to expand...

"The throttle was touchy/snatchy. Thousands of these bikes were sold and there has been no pattern or evidence of a big problem." kwttoxman

i dont think the two above quotes from you are equal, would you check the math for me?
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