NHTSA Complaint #10413140 — 2007 YAMAHA ROAD STAR

RECENTLY TOOK DELIVERY ON A BRAND NEW, DEALER CARRYOVER YAMAHA XV1700 ROADSTAR. FUEL SPEWS OUT OF THE CARBURETOR AREA ONTO A HOT ENGINE, EXHAUST, AND MY RIGHT TROUSER LEG. PROBLEM HAS OCCURED 7 TIMES IN 600 MILES. CONDITIONS OF REPEATABLE EVENT: 1) AMBIENT AIR CONDITIONS 90 DEGREES F OR GREATER; 2) FUEL IS REGULAR UNLEADED GASOLINE OCTANE 86 OR HIGHER WITH NO MORE THAN 10% ETHANOL AS PER YAMAHA OWNER'S MANUAL CHAPTER 3 PG 8; 3) BIKE IS RIDDEN FOR A PERIOD OF AT LEAST 30 MINUTES UNDER AFFORMENTIONED CONDITIONS; 4) BIKE IS ALLOWED TO REST FOR AT LEAST 7 MINUTES; 5) ATTEMPTED TO RESTART. AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH VIA NHTSA'S OWN WEBSITE ARFC.ORG AND VARIOUS USER GROUP FORUMS SUCH AS ROADSTARCLINIC.COM I HAVE LEARNED THAT THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM IS QUITE PREVALENT WITH CARBURETED ROADSTARS IN HOT WEATHER CONDITIONS. MY DEALER CONTACTED YAMAHA AND WAS INFORMED THAT ALTHOUGH THE COMPANY IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM NO FIX IS AVAILABLE. YAMAHA'S SERVICE REPRESENTITIVE ACTUALLY BLAMED THE PROBLEM ON POOR QUALITY FUEL AND RECOMMENDED THAT A FUEL ADDITIVE BE USED. FUEL USED IN MY CASE HAS MET ALL THE MINIMUN STANDARDS SET FORTH IN THE YAMAHA MANUAL. IF I NEEDED TO RUN A "SPECIAL" FUEL OR ADDITIVE YAMAHA SHOULD CHANGE IT'S MINIMUM STANDARDS. BOTTOM LINE: FUEL BLOWING OUT THE CARBURETOR ONTO A HOT ENGINE, HOT EXHAUST PIPES, AND MY TROUSER LEG PRESENTS A SAFETY ISSUE BEYOND BELIEF. TO MY KNOWLEDGE YAMAHA HAS SPENT YEARS DENYING THE PROBLEM AND ALLOWING UNSPECTING DEALERS AND CONSUMERS TO UNSUCCESSFULLY TRY FIX AFTER FIX. MANY ROADSTAR OWNERS JUST FIX IT THEMSELVES. HAVING SPOKEN AND CORRESPONDED WITH SEVERAL MASTER MECHANICS AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS EACH ONE HAS AGREED THAT THE PROBLEM IS DUE TO A DESIGN FLAW. I AM NOT A MECHANIC AND DEEM IT OUTRAGEOUSLY UNREASONABLE TO BE EXPECTED TO FIX SUCH A POTENTIALLY SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE MYSELF. AT MINIMUM NHTSA NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE THIS SITUATION. I IMPLORE YOU TO DO YOUR JOB AND DO IT SOON. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 5