We have an 05 Yamaha Venture with a Motorvatiopn Royale sidecar put on at Motorvation spring of 08. We have never had any trouble. We got the rig out last weekend for the first time this year and noticed a radiator leak. We called the dealer (under warrenty), took the sidecar off and ran it to them this AM. They have already called and said that the frame was flexing from the sodecar and caused the fan shroud to tear up the back side of the radiator- NOT covered under warrenty- $1000.00! HAs anyone ever heard of this? Any info would be helpful.
Thnks
Beth
Beth,
I think you are being taken for a ride.
No way this was caused by the sidecar, but they do have an out since Yamaha doesn't recommend installing a sidecar or any other assessory that they don't sell.
Try another dealer and don't mention the sidecar. Many aren't that Chicken Sh** !
Lonnie
Beth:
I agree with the poster above. You are being taken for a ride. Per the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act, any non-OEM modification cannot void the entire warranty, and only voids the warrantable repair if the modification is the cause of the failure.
Remove the sidecar and the mounts, take the bike to another dealer and DO NOT MENTION the sidecar.
I don't know why some dealers are so quick to blame warrantable repairs on another component. They get paid for the work through the manufacturer, and the manufacturer should be paying for the repair unless it really was due to some inappropriate modification.
Also, most motorcycle manufactures will list all sorts of things that "void" your warranty. While they may make such an assertion, it is not necessarily true.
Hopefully there is another dealer nearby.
Good luck with the repair.
Well I just got my bike back from the dealer- unrepaired. They were very nice and showed us what they think happened and why. They made a pretty convincing arguement that it was the front mount of the sidecar that bent the bracket holding the fan causing it to rub on the radiator. They couldn't say if it was a one time hard hit (can't recall any) or if it was an ongoing flexing and rubbing. We're considering taking all the brackets off and going to another dealer but that leaves us with another issue. If that is in fact what happened- what should we do about the future? I've talked to Mary at Motorvation and she couldn't believe it. That may be something we need to take up with her. Anyone else out there have a Yamaha Venture? Any ideas from anyone will be appreciated.
Beth
Certainly talk to your sidecar supplier. If the sidecar mounts really were the cause, then you obviously need to fix that first. Also, if the mounts were indeed the cause, then Yamaha has no obligation to conduct the repair for you under warranty.
If it is not clear what the cause was however, then they may go ahead and do the warranty work for you. If you go to another dealer, I would still remove the hack and its mounts from the bike.
Got any pictures?
Will get some tomorrow when we get into it.
Thanks
I wanted to let you all know that we got the bike apart this weekend and of course the problem was totally unrelated to the sidecar- of course! A weld on the fan housing failed and rubbed on the radiator. The dealer should have repaired it under warranty- but wouldn't. Luckily we can repair the weld and have the radiator repaired for less then $100.00.
Thanks for all your help and info.
Beth
