Klaus Kannemann sent a message to Hiroyuki Yanagi that said:
Dear Mr. Hiroyuki Yanagi,
my name is Klaus Kannemann from Germany. I am 62 years old and I am driving a motorcycle for 44 years now. Over the year I am driving between 12.000 and 15.000 kilometers. Since 2001 I am driving a Yamaha FJR 1300 and I have always been very satisfied with these machines.
On 3rd July 2018 I bought the new FJR 1300 AS (RP28) and the motorcycle makes an excellent impression, but there is one thing that is disturbing me a lot:
The speedometer shows 100 km/h, but in real it is only 91 km/h. The faster I drive the greater is the difference to the real speed. The price of the motorcyle is more than 20.000 Euros and it cannot be that there is such a great discrepancy to the real driven speed.
The former motorcycle models showed a tacho deviation of 3 % to 4 %, which is acceptable, but 10 % are really too much.
I already got in contact with Yamaha Motors Germany regarding this problem and pointed out the § 57 point 3 of the German StVZO, which says:
âA deviation of 10 % can be based on a defect, especially if the deviation is more than 4 %. According to the German law § 57 point 3 StVZO a deviation of 4 % may be acceptable.â
From Mrs. Kathrin Richter, Warranty Department Sales Support Group Germany I received the information that the tolerance range of the Yamaha models does not base on the national StVZO but on the international regulation ECE-R39 and that allows a tolerance range of 10 %, there is no malfunction.
With this information the matter was finished for Yamaha Germany.
In Germany we have a FJR Community with about 2400 members and 5 % to 7 % of them are driving a Yamaha FJR RP23 or RP28. The remaining members do not want to pay 20.000 Euros for a motorcycle with a tacho deviation of 10 %, visible during every ride.
Some of the members even suppose that this deviation is intended to hide the fact that the mentioned maximum speed of 245 km/h can no longer be reached.
This fact does not correspond to your Corporate Philosophy, which says:
âOffering new excitement and a more fulfilling life for people all over the world
Yamaha Motor strives to realize peoples' dreams with ingenuity and passion, and to always be a company people look to for the next exciting product or concept that provides exceptional value and deep satisfaction.â
Or your Brand Slogan:
âIntroducing Yamaha Motor's brand slogan, "Revs your Heart".
Empowered by a passion for innovation,
we create exceptional value and experiences
that enrich the lives of our customers.â
Dear Mr. Yanagi I cannot understand, that Yamaha would accept that such an excellent motorcycle would loose market shares because of apparently poorly programmed chips regarding the speed measurement.
Just for your information: The motorcycles of your german competitor have a tacho deviation of maximum 3 %.
As I found out during my research this is not only a problem at the FJR but also at many other new Yamaha models like the MT09, Ténéré etc.
I would like to draw your attention to this fact and I am looking forward to your answer with great interest.
Yours faithfully
Klaus Kannemann
Germany, 49406 Barnstorf
Auf dem Ahlhorn 27
