2014 YAMAHA BOLT Electrical System Problems

SPEEDOMETER CAN'T BE SEEN WHEN TRAVELING INTO THE SUN OR ANY TIME THE SUN IS AT THE WRONG ANGLE THAT IT CREATES A NON READABLE DISPLAY, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE ALMOST ANY TIME THE SUN IS OUT. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD NOT BEING ABLE TO READ YOUR SPEED AS WELL AS POSSIBLY CAUSING SPEEDING TICKETS. THIS ISSUE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY THE MANUFACTURE WITH A RECALL. SERIOUSLY ISSUE.

BIKE SPEEDOMETER HAS AN ISSUE WHERE THE SPEED DISPLAY IS WAY TOO DIM TO SEE IN SUNLIGHT. IN THE RIGHT SUNLIGHT POSITION, IT IS COMPLETELY BLACK AND IMPOSSIBLE TO READ WITHOUT LITERALLY PUTTING YOUR HEAD INCHES FROM IT AND LOOKING AT IT FAR TOO LONG TO TRY TO MAKE ANYTHING OUT. THIS IS DANGEROUS WHILE IN MOTION FOR OBVIOUS REASONS. THIS HAPPENS ON EVERY RIDE FOR ME AT MULTIPLE POINTS DEPENDING ON WHERE THE SUN IS. EVEN WHEN I CAN SEE THE NUMBERS, IT'S STILL TOO DIM FOR JUST A QUICK GLANCE. THERE MUST BE SOME BADLY ENGINEERED POLARIZED LENS IN THERE. THIS IS POOR DESIGN AND A SAFETY HAZARD JUST TO GET A "BLACKED OUT" LOOK. BY 2015 YAMAHA KNOWS THIS WHICH IS WHY IT'S FIXED FROM 2015 MODELS ON. SOME GUYS ARE EVEN BUYING 2015 SPEEDOMETERS TO INSTALL ON THE 2014 BIKE TO FIX THIS. A SPEEDING TICKET...

AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE DAY THE SPEEDOMETER IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO READ TO TO THE SUN SHINING ON TO IT . IT TAKES YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD AND YOU SOMETIMES HAVE TO USE YOUR HAND TO COVER THE SPEEDOMETER TO SEE THE NUMBERS WITH IN ITSELF IS UNSAFE WHEN RIDING A MOTORCYCLE WHICH COULD CAUSE A ACCIDENT.

CANNOT SEE IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT, DIGITAL DISPLAY DISAPPEARS. FAILURE TO SEE TRAVEL SPEED. WAS PULLED OVER FOR 68MPH IN A 60MPH IN THE AFTERNOON SUN. ONLY A WARNING... BUT NEXT TIME MAYBE NOT SO LUCKY....

WHILE RIDING THE YAMAHA BOLT DURING THE DAYTIME IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO READ THE SPEEDOMETER DUE TO GLARE. I DO NOT KNOW IF IT IS DUE TO THE GLASS OVER THE LCD ITSELF, BUT UNLESS I TAKE MY EYES OFF OF THE ROAD AND COVER THE GLASS WITH MY HAND I CANNOT GET AN ACCURATE VIEW OF MY SPEED. THIS LEAVES ME VULNERABLE TO ACCIDENTS, SPEEDING TICKETS AND MANY OTHER SITUATIONS THAT ARE DUE TO THIS DISTRACTION. I HOPE YAMAHA WILL ADDRESS THIS ISSUE IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.

THE SPEEDOMETER IS UNREADABLE IN MOST DAYLIGHT SITUATIONS. THE GLASS PLATE OVER THE DIGITAL READOUT IS TOO DARK AND REFLECTIVE. ALL ONE CAN SEE DURING MOST DAY RIDING IS GLARE OR A BLACK PANE. IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL WHAT SPEED THE MOTORCYCLE IS GOING SINCE THE SPEEDOMETER IS UNREADABLE. ONE CANNOT JUDGE IF THEY HAVE SLOWED TO REQUIRED SPEEDS IN MARKED "REDUCED SPEED" AREAS SUCH AS CONSTRUCTION AND DANGEROUS CURVES. ONE CANNOT KNOW IF THEY ARE ENTERING TRAFFIC AT A SAFE SPEED OR EXCEEDING THE SPEED LIMITS POSTED. TURN SIGNAL FLASHER IS NOT VISIBLE IN DAYLIGHT, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE DRIVE TO KNOW IF HIS TURN SIGNAL IS ON OR OFF. WARNING LIGHTS ARE NOT VISIBLE IN DAYLIGHT, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE DRIVER TO RESPOND TO ANY POTENTIAL MECHANICAL EMERGENCY SHOWN BY LIGHTS.

IN ANY CONDITION OTHER THAN NIGHTTIME OR EXTREMELY OVERCAST I CANNOT SEE THE SPEED OR ANY OF THE INDICATOR LIGHTS ON MY YAMAHA BOLT 2014 SPEEDOMETER. *TR

CAN NOT VIEW SPEEDOMETER DISPLAY IN MOST DAYLIGHT CONDITIONS. THIS CREATES A VERY UNSAFE CONDITION REQUIRING THE RIDER TO AVERT EYES FROM THE ROAD AND FOCUS ON SPEEDOMETER FOR 3-5 SECONDS. IN SOME CONDITIONS IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ SPEEDOMETER AT ALL (POLARIZED LENSES ON SUNGLASSES). *TR

LCD SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER IS NOT VISIBLE (DARK) WHEN DRIVING TOWARD THE SUN. UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE SPEED AND OTHER LCD READINGS. THIS CAUSES A DISTRACTION WHEN TRYING TO READ THE METER. THE SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER IS ONLY VISIBLE WHEN SUN IS BEHIND THE RIDER OR AT NIGHT. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT YAMAHA CHANGED THE SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER ON THE 2015 MODEL MAKING IT MORE VISIBLE. *TR

WITH THE SUN SHINING THE SPEEDOMETER TURNS COMPLETELY BLACK MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO READ YOUR SPEED! *TR

THE YAMAHA STAR BOLT SPEEDOMETER IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ IN CERTAIN LIGHTING CONDITIONS. THAT IS, WITH A BRIGHT SUN OVERHEAD. THE POLARIZED GLASS IN THE LCD READOUT BECOMES BLACK, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO READ. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM, ESPECIALLY WHEN I DRIVE THROUGH SCHOOL ZONES. AT TIMES, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO READ THE DISPLAY AND CAN CAUSE ME TO DRIVE AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, ENCROACHING ON THE SAFETY OF CHILDREN. OTHER TIMES, I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO READ THE SPEEDOMETER, RESULTING IN A TAILGATING SITUATION WITH OTHER AGGRESSIVE DRIVERS WHO THINK I'M GOING SLOW ON PURPOSE WHEN IN REALITY, I'M TRYING TO SAFELY NEGOTIATE THE ROAD AT THE CORRECT POSTED SPEED LIMIT AND HAVING TO USE MY 'GUT' FEELING RATHER THAN A CALIBRATED, USEFUL INSTRUMENT (THE SPEEDOMETER). YAMAHA, FIX THIS PROBLEM BEFORE SOMEONE GETS INJURED OR KILLED OVER IT. RECALL, NOT AN UPGRADE AS YOU'VE INDICATED THROUGH THE...

SPEEDOMETER IS VERY HARD TO READ IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT. COULD LEAD TO ACCIDENT OR SPEED VIOLATIONS. NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY. ALSO, YAMAHA KNOWS THERE IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE ON THE 2015 MODELS A SELLING POINT IS "NEW SPEEDOMETER TO CORRECT 2014 GLARE ISSUES." WHY WOULD THEY NEED TO FIX IT IF THERE IS NO PROBLEM. *TR

THE OEM SPEEDOMETER IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ IN DAYLIGHT. *TR

THE SPEEDOMETER ON THE BIKE GOES BLACK IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT AND YOU CANNOT READ IT AT ALL. *TR

THE DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER ON THIS MOTORCYCLE IS UNREADABLE UNDER CERTAIN LIGHTING CONDITIONS. ANGLED SUNLIGHT (MORNING, EVENING WHEN LIGHT IS COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE) CREATES A CONDITION WHERE THE SPEEDOMETER READOUT IS UNREADABLE. THE ONLY METHOD OF MEASURING SPEED IS BY SURROUNDING TRAFFIC. THIS CREATES A DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR MOTORCYCLE DRIVERS, ESPECIALLY ON EXPRESSWAYS AND URBAN ENVIRONMENTS WHERE THE SPEED LIMIT CHANGES BY LOCATION. *JS

THE VEHICLE SPEEDOMETER DOES NOT PERFORM AS NEEDED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO OPERATOR. ILLUMINATION OF SPEEDOMETER DISPLAY IS NOT SUFFICIENT ENOUGH DURING TIMES OF DAY WHERE SUNLIGHT IS BRIGHT. THE SPEEDOMETER IS A DIGITAL DISPLAY BEHIND GLASS THAT APPEARS TO BE TINTED. NO METHOD FOR OPERATOR TO ADJUST OR ANY AUTOMATIC MEANS OF ADJUSTMENT OF READOUT FOR CONDITIONS EXISTS. OPERATORS ARE AT RISK OF INJURY OR DEATH WHEN THE SPEEDOMETER READOUT CANNOT BE READ TO ADJUST THEIR SPEED TO RECOMMENDED SPEEDS POSTED TO SAFELY NAVIGATE DANGEROUS ROADS, RAMPS, CURVES, ROUGH ROAD AND OTHER CONDITIONS. MANY OTHER CONDITIONS EXIST WHERE THE IMPORTANCE FOR OPERATORS TO TRAVEL AT SAFE POSTED SPEEDS IS PARAMOUNT FOR THE OPERATOR'S AND OR THE PUBLIC'S HEALTH AND SAFETY. BECAUSE THIS SPEEDOMETER CANNOT BE READ IT PUTS THE OPERATOR AND THE PUBLIC AT RISK. *TR

THE SPEEDOMETER DISPLAY ON THIS BIKE COMPLETELY WASHES OUT IN THE BRIGHT SUN MAKING IT HARD TO SEE THE SPEED YOU ARE TRAVELING. WITH ADDITION IN NOT BEING ABLE TO READ THE SPEEDOMETER YOU HAVE ISSUES SEEING ANY INDICATOR LIGHT (BLINKER, FUEL LIGHT ETC..) THIS COMPLAINT COMES FROM ALL YAMAHA BOLT OWNERS. *TR

THE SPEEDOMETER DISPLAY ON THIS BIKE COMPLETELY WASHES OUT IN THE BRIGHT SUN MAKING IT HARD TO SEE THE SPEED YOU ARE TRAVELING. WITH ADDITION IN NOT BEING ABLE TO READ THE SPEEDOMETER YOU HAVE ISSUES SEEING ANY INDICATOR LIGHT (BLINKER, FUEL LIGHT ETC..) THIS COMPLAINT COMES FROM ALL YAMAHA BOLT OWNERS. *TR

SPEEDOMETER IS VERY DIFFICULT TO READ. REQUIRES TILTING MY HEAD UP OR DOWN AND/OR LEANING FORWARD OR BACK TO BE ABLE TO READ EVERY TIME, REGARDLESS OF SUN ORIENTATION. TURN SIGNALS AND THE ODOMETER HAVE THE SAME ISSUE. THIS ISSUE REQUIRES THAT I TAKE MY EYES AND CONCENTRATION OFF OF DRIVING TO BE ABLE TO READ THE SPEEDOMETER. THE ISSUE IS MORE PRONOUNCED WHEN WEARING SUNGLASSES AS I ALWAYS DO WHEN RIDING. THIS IS MADE EVEN WORSE BY MY HELMET'S BUILT IN VISOR WHICH I USE OCCASIONALLY. THIS OCCURS EVERY TIME I RIDE THE MOTORCYCLE. *TR

THE SPEEDOMETER DISPLAY ON THIS BIKE COMPLETELY WASHES OUT IN THE BRIGHT SUN MAKING IT HARD TO ENSURE ADHERENCE TO SPEED LIMITS. THE USE OF POLARIZED SUNGLASSES OR LENSES MAKES THE VISIBILITY OF THIS DISPLAY EVEN MORE DIFFICULT. *TR

IT IS VERY HARD TO SEE THE SPEEDOMETER DURING THE DAY. ESPECIALLY, WHEN THE SUN IS RISING OR SETTING. IF IT'S THE MIDDLE PART OF THE DAY IT BECOMES DIFFICULT ONCE I HAVE SUNGLASSES ON. *TR

THE SPEEDOMETER ON THIS BIKE IS UNREADABLE DURING THE DAY. THE SMOKED LENS MAKES IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE YOUR SPEED AT A GLANCE AND INEVITABLY WILL RESULT IN A SPEEDING TICKET AND OR CRASH. PLEASE PLEASE FORCE A FIX ON THIS! *TR

UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ THE SPEED ODOMETER. *TR

THE DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER ON THE 2014 YAMAHA STAR BOLT IN COMPLETELY UNREADABLE AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE DAY, BUT ESPECIALLY WHEN HEADING INTO THE DIRECTION OF THE SUN. IT IS AN UNAVOIDABLE ISSUE THAT WILL EVENTUALLY HAPPEN TO ALL RIDES. A REMEDY SHOULD REALLY BE MADE BY THE MANUFACTURER. *TR

SPEEDOMETER IS UNREADABLE IN THE DIRECT SUNLIGHT. KNOWN ISSUE WITH YAMAHA. EVERY BIKE IS BUILT THE SAME WAY AND HAS THE SAME ISSUES. VERY HARD NOT TO GET SPEEDING TICKET WHEN YOU CAN'T READ THE SPEEDOMETER. *TR

SPEEDOMETER IS NOT READABLE WHEN DRIVING IN SUNLIGHT OR ANY LIGHTING CONDITION, UNLESS THE LOCATION IS BARELY DIM OR DARK. ANY KIND OF LIGHT CONTACT WITH THE SPEEDOMETER, IS NOT READABLE AT ALL. WHILE DRIVING I AM UNABLE TO SEE MY CURRENT SPEED, SINCE I GO THROUGH MULTIPLE LOCATION WHERE SPEED CHANGED, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE AND ADJUST MY SPEED TO THE LEGAL LIMIT. WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN ADDITION IS WHAT GEAR I AM CURRENTLY ON BE ADDED TO THE SPEEDOMETER. THANKS. *TR

PURCHASE NEW YAMAHA BOLT(XVS95CEGY) ON MY WAY HOME I COULD NOT SEE THE DIGITAL LCD SPEEDOMETER WHEN TRAVELING WITH THE SUN SHINING ON IT. I UNDERSTAND YAMAHA HAS KNOWN OF THIS PROBLEM SINCE THE BIKE WAS MADE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE BY CONSUMERS IN 2013. IT IS A DEFINITE TRAFFIC HAZARD TO NOT BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR SPEED IN SCHOOL AND HOSPITAL ZONES ALONG WITH GETTING TRAFFIC CITATIONS FOR SPEEDING. I CALLED YAMAHA AND WAS TOLD THAT YAMAHA WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT WAS NOT AWARE OF A FIX FOR THE PROBLEM ACCEPT TO PURCHASE ACCESSORIES THAT MIGHT MAKE THE PROBLEM BETTER. *TR

THE LCD DISPLAY ON THE SPEEDOMETER IS NOT VISIBLE WHEN DRIVING DURING THE DAY, ESPECIALLY IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT. I CAN'T READ MILES PER HOUR (MPH) OR ANYTHING ELSE ON THE LCD DISPLAY WHICH I FEEL IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

THE SPEEDOMETER FACE LENS DOES NOT ALLOW THE DIGITAL SPEEDO DISPLAY TO BE CLEARLY VISIBLE WHEN DRIVING INTO BRIGHT SUNLIGHT. THIS IS A COMMON COMPLAINT AMONG BOLT OWNERS. *TR

THE DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER ON THIS MOTORCYCLE IS UNREADABLE UNDER CERTAIN LIGHTING CONDITIONS. ANGLED SUNLIGHT (MORNING, EVENING WHEN LIGHT IS COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE) CREATES A CONDITION WHERE THE SPEEDOMETER READOUT IS UNREADABLE. THE ONLY METHOD OF MEASURING SPEED IS BY SURROUNDING TRAFFIC. THIS CREATES A DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR MOTORCYCLE DRIVERS, ESPECIALLY ON EXPRESSWAYS AND URBAN ENVIRONMENTS WHERE THE SPEED LIMIT CHANGES BY LOCATION. *TR

THE OEM LCD SPEEDOMETER BACKLIGHT IS NOT PROPERLY DESIGNED AND UNDER MOST CONDITIONS WHETHER IT BE DURING DAYTIME, NIGHTTIME, SUNLIGHT, CLOUDY SKIES, RAIN, SNOW, TUNNELS, IN A GARAGE, WHATEVER THE CONDITIONS, THE LCD DISPLAY CAN NOT BE SEEN. MOST OWNERS OF THE BIKE KNOW THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM, HAVE DISCUSSED IT AMONGST THEMSELVES, SOME HAVE SAID THAT YAMAHA IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE (HEARSAY). I WANTED TO ADD TO THE ONLY THREE COMPLAINTS HERE IN THE NHTSA (SAFECAR.GOV) SITE AND ONLY HOPE THAT ALL OF THE OWNERS FOLLOW SUIT SO THAT YAMAHA CAN TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION TO CORRECT THIS DANGEROUS SITUATION ASAP. THIS IS NOT A, "WE WILL WAIT AND SEE" PROBLEM. IT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED, ANALYZED BY THE YAMAHA ENGINEERS AND A PERMANENT FIX ISSUED BY YAMAHA. OR, ARE WE WAITING FOR AN ACCIDENT TO OCCUR BEFORE THIS ISSUE IS LOOKED INTO? *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 YAMAHA BOLT STAR MOTORCYCLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN DRIVING IN SUN LIGHT, IT WAS HARD TO READ THE SPEEDOMETER. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER. THE DEALER STATED THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO TO REMEDY THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75.

I LOVE THE MACHINE, HOWEVER, AT NIGHT, YOU CANNOT SEE THE SPEEDOMETER. IT DOESN'T LIGHT UP, AND THE NUMBERS ARE HARD TO SEE. WHICH COULD BE A SAFETY CONCERN NOT KNOWING HOW FAST YOU ARE GOING, ESPECIALLY ON A MOTORCYCLE. *TR

WHEN HEADING INTO THE SUN THE SPEEDOMETER IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE, ALL YOU SEE IS A BLACK CIRCLE. THIS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS SINCE YOU CAN NOT TELL YOU SPEED AT ALL. *TR