Yamaha Recalls YZF-R1, YZF-R1M in India

Yamaha has announced a recall on YZF-R1 and YZF-R1M superbikes in India too, following a global recall of the flagship superbikes over a fault in the gearbox. The recall was first announced in US and Canada and then extended over the world.

Now, Yamaha's Indian arm, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt Ltd has also issued a statement saying that the recall will be extended to customers in India as well. There are only nine such bikes sold in India so far - 7 units of YZF-R1 and 2 units of YZF-R1M.

"TheYZF-R1 and YZF- R1M has been a significant milestone in the company's history and a lot of thought and hard-work has gone into its establishment and design. We at Yamaha constantly monitor the performance of the vehicles used by our customers as well as the performance of various motor parts. During the extensive study of the products, our parent company Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd., Japan has found a defect, which relates to deformation of transmission gears & breakage which exists in R1 and R1M motorcycles manufactured in the year 2015.

"However, no such problem has been reported from anywhere in India so far but we value our customers and their safety is our prime concern. Therefore, India Yamaha Motor has decided to run a voluntary recall campaign on 9 units of motorcycles which include 7 units of YZF-R1 and 2 units of YZF-R1M. We will be rectifying the error by replacing the transmission with a modified one on a free of cost basis. We at Yamaha ensure that our customers continue to enjoy riding our products. The company plans to begin the voluntary recall exercise today through a factory modification campaign which will be run through the company's authorized superbike dealership network across the country. The customers will be contacted through mail as well as phone calls starting today, to fix an appointment to extend every support through this campaign," said Ravinder Singh, Vice President, Strategy & Planning, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt Ltd.

The recall was originally issued due to a faulty transmission design in which the second gear wheel and pinions in the transmission could break during operation due to extremely high stress, and/or improper shifting, Yamaha had earlier said, announcing the recall. The recall covers replacement of the existing gearbox.