[Teh_K]

For what it's worth to those who don't know, the throttle on the Kats are hard-cabled directly to the carbs (which are mechanical by design). So if the cable snaps, the carb throttle plates (butterflies) will close via springs and you'll roll to a stop. So, no worries (aside from being stranded)

The friend w/ the Yamaha is totally lucky he wasn't injured more - get him to put on a helmet a.s.a.p. :P

[87vert]

The friend w/ the Yamaha is totally lucky he wasn't injured more - get him to put on a helmet a.s.a.p. :P

and teach him to cover the clutch

[The CyberPoet]

For breaking in your engine, a single long haul on the highway is perfectly acceptible as long as you constantly vary your speed and RPM's and pull off to a complete stop (not shut-down, but in neutral with no load on the engine) every exit or two...
This is why the suggestion of doing the same route on back roads (county/state roads rather than interstate superslab) makes sense -- the roads themselves will cause you to involuntarily change speed as you come across tight turns, red lights, etc.
In my opinion, a long varied-throttle ride would be the best (definitely beats the people who only ride it a few miles at a time during the break-in process -- you want the engine up to full operating temp each time it fires up during the break-in cycle).

As for the oil changes, I'm one of the strongest proponents of doing them frequently during the break-in cycle. The metal shavings that come out of the engine and transmission during this period will be the single largest source of engine wear that your bike will see in the next several years, and the faster you get those shavings out, the less damages they can do. I normally change the oil at 50, 150, 300 and 600 miles... At the 600 mile mark, I normally drop the oil pan itself and clean it out (you'd be amazed at how many long pieces of metal get trapped down in those honey-comb patterns at the base of the oil pan on the 98+ Kats). At 600 miles, I also do the factory-recommended valve adjustment procedure.

sad news my one of my friends just bought a 2006 yamaha fz6 yesterday... while rideing out of the parking lot from what i understand the throtle cable broke and the engine redlined and he fliped the bike 4 times totaling it

The YZF-R6 has the new fly-by-wire throttle system, but the FZ6 still uses a traditional dual-throttle cable system like the 98+ Kats (one to open the butterflies, another to force them closed)...

And the TPS system on the FZ6 wouldn't cause the problem you described either (for how to replace & set the FZ6 TPS, see: http://www.sportbikes.net/forums/sho....php?p=2229422 ).

So, no matter how I slice it, it would seem that it was rider error (esp. if it worked well enough to ride it to work in the first place -- it means it wasn't cabled backwards). I can't imagine the dealership buying it back because of rider error, but if they do, he's both one lucky SOB and just earned that bike a new rep in the trade (I've never seen that happen on a new dual-cable throttle system before -- one cable would have to jam and the other would have to snap at the same time)

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[DreKat]

Personally I say ride it home on the freeway but if you can pull off into some small towns every now and then just ride around for a few minutes just for a change in rpm. Then you should be fine. Your not the first person to buy a bike that doesn't live next door to the dealership. When you first get the bike let it warm up for a few minutes before riding it home.

[Bigbody45]

i think you should be fine also. but make sure afterthat to hit a bunch of blocks so you can run through your gears.

[MarkGodfrey]

understand now thanks for the advice oh yah sad news my one of my friends just bought a 2006 yamaha fz6 yesterday rode it to town to show it of to his co-workers while rideing out of the parking lot from what i understand the throtle cable broke and the engine redlined and he fliped the bike 4 times totaling it he had only minor injurys 10 stitches to the chin "no helm" and a broken finger ... the good news is he contacted yamaha and they offerd to pay for the damages includeing hospital bill and bike repair + pay off the loan on the bike! lucky him..... so if you want a free bike just tamper with the throtle cable cut your chin open and break a finger and complain about it!


Sorry to hear about your friend .. I work in Orthopedics and it isnt the first time I have heard of Yamaha and throttle problems .. 8( ...