TK Motorsports

[Cat118!]

ADMIN EDIT: If you are just now reading this thread, please read it in its entirety before replying.

Well I found out what was wrong with my bike and it was NOT the clutch or the transmission. My front sprocket came off!!!!! I dunno about you all but I have never heard about peoples front sprockets coming off. Well when it came off it cause alot of Damage, the Plate Cover is mangled and the bolt striped and the shaft is stripped. The Mechanic that rear geared my bike for the front and the back was TK Motors. When we took the cover off the sprocket pretty much just fell out, there was no Lock bolt. I took it to TK and showed them what happened; he said Yamahas have a tendency to stripped the bolts. Well Miami Mike called 3 Mechanics that he knows one from Coyote, Sunwest and one other, They ALL said that is not true. If a sprocket is put on properly it WILL NOT come off. TK refused to make it right, they wanted to charge me. Miami even tried telling him that this was not wear and tear that the sprocket was not installed right, still TK said if it was put on wrong it would have come off before 2 months. Which is the time frame I had it re-geared. I took my bike to Coyote and they told me the there is no indication a lock bolt was there and a sprocket does not come off if put on correctly it should stay on for years unless removed by someone….. The damage that it did to my bike I am looking at a minimum of 1000.00 to fix it… TK Motors did NOT stand by their work!!!! They did NOT make things right!!!! Miami was more upset than I was and made it know to never do business with them again and that he will not refer anyone to them. Miami loaded my bike back on the truck and we left. And letting you know another person after I told them about TK, their bike has been making sounds and they had there bike re-geared there as well. So he will be looking at his bike. Just wanted you to know that it was a Mechanic that proved they will not stand by their work.

[Filo]

First, the disclaimer: I am neither for nor against TK. I have only had 1 experience there where I bought something. Also, I am not a pro mechanic and have no background as to how often something happens.

Now the story.
I had a 1995 Yamaha FZR 600 that I regeared myself. The front sprocket was held on with a big nut that had a washer that went under it. The washer had a tab that went onto the shaft and two 'ears' that got bent over the nut to hold it in place. I took the thing apart, reassembled it according to the factory manual (including bending over the tabs) and went riding. A few months later, the front sprocket came off and the little washer that was supposed to hold the whole enchillada together was long gone. In my case, luckily, there was no damage to anything other than the threads.

I am not saying TK did do something wrong and I am not saying they didn't. I just know I did what the shop manual said and the thing fell apart.

My $0.02

PS - Sorry your bike is messed up.

[Bueller]

Sorry you had this problem but you are talking about guys that have an excellent reputation for repairing and building bike motors for a great number of MRA racers, so they have more than a little experiance at regearing a bike. I would definately take their word over some dealership mechanic. They are good guys and as long as you don't get real pissy with them I am sure they will try to help you anyway they can.

[ebazyl]

First and most importantly I had a sprocket come of on my '03 R6, twice. This shit happens. Even after I bent the locker washer in 3 places. It is just the nature of the Yamaha.

Talking to the Yamaha Race team technician. They recomend that you so it every 2-3 uses. Most people don't do that. So I started putting silicone on mine (problem went away, even though it s a pain to take it off now). Some R6 racers I talked to safety wire them

My $0.02, Tk is still a decent shop. They had some incompitent help in the form of Terry but that guys is gone now.

[R1chie]

First, the disclaimer: I am neither for nor against TK. I have only had 1 experience there where I bought something. Also, I am not a pro mechanic and have no background as to how often something happens.

Now the story.
I had a 1995 Yamaha FZR 600 that I regeared myself. The front sprocket was held on with a big nut that had a washer that went under it. The washer had a tab that went onto the shaft and two 'ears' that got bent over the nut to hold it in place. I took the thing apart, reassembled it according to the factory manual (including bending over the tabs) and went riding. A few months later, the front sprocket came off and the little washer that was supposed to hold the whole enchillada together was long gone. In my case, luckily, there was no damage to anything other than the threads.

I am not saying TK did do something wrong and I am not saying they didn't. I just know I did what the shop manual said and the thing fell apart.

My $0.02

PS - Sorry your bike is messed up.

My first question would be did you use a torque wrench to make sure it was the right torque. The washer that bends over the nut is designed to prevent what happened to you. In my experinece, there are 4 reasons the nut could come off. The washer has been bent to many times from changing the sprocket, it is defective, it was neglected and not put back ont (the most likely reason) or the nut was not tightened enough which allows slippage. A google search I could find only one instance of this happening. You would think that if it was a problem, more people would post and Yamaha would fix it.

I have never used TK either but have heard good things about them.

But you don't really know what a shop is like until something goes wrong. Do they back up their work or do they try to blame the customer. Good to know your experience. I was going to have some work done there because they have the equipment and experience I could not find in CS but I will hold off and see how you do.

[Cat118!]

TK did all the work when we removed the cover there was NO lock Washer... It wasn't just a dealer machanic we asked, Miami Mike knows his bikes and Knows people who know even more who are professional Mechanics. I will take their word over a average Joe Mechanic. My bike was re-geared 2 months ago, and I do not ride that often or that hard. No reason should the sprocket come off. Miami won;t talk crap about a place unless deserved and he said to post and let people know. Which I am and I will

[~Barn~]

I went riding in the canyons with Miami Mike on this one ocassion last year. He didn't wear his helmet, but did have these really slick dirt gloves on...

I'm almost positive that he is more competent, than the guys at TK. You should probably let him do your taxes too, instead of H&R Block.

[R1chie]

I went riding in the canyons with Miami Mike on this one ocassion last year. He didn't wear his helmet, but did have these really slick dirt gloves on...

I'm almost positive that he is more competent, than the guys at TK. You should probably let him do your taxes too, instead of H&R Block.

[Cat118!]

Maimi ALWAYS wears his helmet!!! He is the one who gets on everyone if they don't. I didn't Post this to get negitive back I was posting to give people a heads up..

[Anonymous]

I don't know the specifics on this partcular incident, but I will say that quite literally hundreds of street riders and racers have entrusted their bikes to TK and been happy with the results (myself included). Food for thought...

[~Barn~]

Cat, I understand your frustration, but if you want the pictures of him not wearing his helmet, I'll post 'em.

Nice Honda, decked out like the University of Miami, right?

Half green, the other half orange?

Some U of M stickers on it?

Eitherway, we know that you didn't want negative feedback, but a lot... and I mean A LOT... of us are loyal customers to TK, and it's for a reason. Brian and Bart have been in the industry for longer than you've been alive, their work is top notch, and their business is respected for a reason.

Moreover, their work is constantly being "tested" if you will, by the many racers who they support, build engines for, make repairs for, and otherwise have wrench on their bikes. And these are people who twist their rigs in ways that us simple street riders have nightmares about.

The bottom line, is that none of us are happy that you experienced this, and none of us want you to be mistreated by *any* shop, much less TK. But sometimes shit just happens, and blame can't be so easily pointed. Not to mention the credibility issue here. It just doesn't add up.

And quite honestly... The reputation of all parties involved [Miami Mike and the TK guys], is an out-and-out mismatch.

Regardless, I hope you get your bike repaired and running as soon as possible. By whomever you feel comfortable with. =\

[jahags]

I've had a front sprocket spin off the shaft because of the cheap steel ducati uses for their sprockets. Only use hardend steel sprockets. I bet the Japs use a non- hardened steel too. If you ride hard you need to check your fronts on a regular basis. Losing a front is one of the most dangerous mechanicals that can happen so keep an eye on it.

[Cat118!]

all I know is that my spocket fell off there was no lock wacher and now I'm looking a min of 1G to fix it.

[Filo]

My first question would be did you use a torque wrench to make sure it was the right torque. The washer that bends over the nut is designed to prevent what happened to you. In my experinece, there are 4 reasons the nut could come off. The washer has been bent to many times from changing the sprocket, it is defective, it was neglected and not put back ont (the most likely reason) or the nut was not tightened enough which allows slippage. A google search I could find only one instance of this happening. You would think that if it was a problem, more people would post and Yamaha would fix it.

I have never used TK either but have heard good things about them.

But you don't really know what a shop is like until something goes wrong. Do they back up their work or do they try to blame the customer. Good to know your experience. I was going to have some work done there because they have the equipment and experience I could not find in CS but I will hold off and see how you do.

Yes, I torqued it correctly (assuming that the specs in the manual are correct). Yes, I bent the washer right. Yes the washer was installed. I don't know why it happened and I didn't do a failure analysis. There wasn't even the washer around anymore to look at. It was a race bike and this sort of shit happens. My whole point was to post that this kind of thing can happen. If you "google" this thread, you will find 2 more instances of a sprocket falling off a Yamaha, thus tripling your events in your statistical sample.

Cat, again sorry it happened. You can try to push these guys to fix it. You can take your business somewhere else. It is up to you.

[brian38]

Well I found out what was wrong with my bike and it was NOT the clutch or the transmission. My front sprocket came off!!!!! I dunno about you all but I have never heard about peoples front sprockets coming off. Well when it came off it cause alot of Damage, the Plate Cover is mangled and the bolt striped and the shaft is stripped. The Mechanic that rear geared my bike for the front and the back was TK Motors. When we took the cover off the sprocket pretty much just fell out, there was no Lock bolt. I took it to TK and showed them what happened; he said Yamahas have a tendency to stripped the bolts. Well Miami Mike called 3 Mechanics that he knows one from Coyote, Sunwest and one other, They ALL said that is not true. If a sprocket is put on properly it WILL NOT come off. TK refused to make it right, they wanted to charge me. Miami even tried telling him that this was not wear and tear that the sprocket was not installed right, still TK said if it was put on wrong it would have come off before 2 months. Which is the time frame I had it re-geared. I took my bike to Coyote and they told me the there is no indication a lock bolt was there and a sprocket does not come off if put on correctly it should stay on for years unless removed by someone….. The damage that it did to my bike I am looking at a minimum of 1000.00 to fix it… TK Motors did NOT stand by their work!!!! They did NOT make things right!!!! Miami was more upset than I was and made it know to never do business with them again and that he will not refer anyone to them. Miami loaded my bike back on the truck and we left. And letting you know another person after I told them about TK, their bike has been making sounds and they had there bike re-geared there as well. So he will be looking at his bike. Just wanted you to know that it was a Mechanic that proved they will not stand by their work.

Cathy, Brian from TK.

Couple of things....

Bart looked at the bike yesterday and was giving you rough ideas as to what the problems were with trying to repair it. He did not work on your bike that original day as I personally did all the work so his being non-committal on the solutions are understandable. We did not have a chance to really discuss any solutions since you guys decided to take the bike away.

When I worked on your bike we did everything we could to keep the cost down including using your parts for you. When I removed the front sprocket nut the threads were already damaged and I replaced the nut (with the lock washer) using a nut off a blown motor of Glen Consers.

In hindsight maybe I should have mentioned this at the time but due to the fact that Yamaha uses a very fine thread and very few of them it just seemed that the old nut had worn out the threads on the nut. The threads appeard fine on the output shaft.

I am human and can and do make mistakes from time to time. I also own and race Yamahas so I know how the countershaft works. The bike went out of here with the nut and lockwasher properly installed.

That being said, we are definately willing to help with the situation. While I will not replace the motor for free we can try to drill and tap the output shaft for a bolt similar to the honda's setup. This I will do at no charge. Please feel free to contact me to discuss it further.

I also understand why some dealers have not ever seen problems with these nuts. How many of you actually use a dealer to change sprockets?

We do stand behind our work and will do so in this case up to what we did. We will even help with situations beyond our control.

I am open to all the flaming you want fire away!

Brian
TK Motorsports

[~Barn~]

"I'll help tap it..."

Uh huh... I'm sure you will...

[R1chie]

Well I found out what was wrong with my bike and it was NOT the clutch or the transmission. My front sprocket came off!!!!! I dunno about you all but I have never heard about peoples front sprockets coming off. Well when it came off it cause alot of Damage, the Plate Cover is mangled and the bolt striped and the shaft is stripped. The Mechanic that rear geared my bike for the front and the back was TK Motors. When we took the cover off the sprocket pretty much just fell out, there was no Lock bolt. I took it to TK and showed them what happened; he said Yamahas have a tendency to stripped the bolts. Well Miami Mike called 3 Mechanics that he knows one from Coyote, Sunwest and one other, They ALL said that is not true. If a sprocket is put on properly it WILL NOT come off. TK refused to make it right, they wanted to charge me. Miami even tried telling him that this was not wear and tear that the sprocket was not installed right, still TK said if it was put on wrong it would have come off before 2 months. Which is the time frame I had it re-geared. I took my bike to Coyote and they told me the there is no indication a lock bolt was there and a sprocket does not come off if put on correctly it should stay on for years unless removed by someone….. The damage that it did to my bike I am looking at a minimum of 1000.00 to fix it… TK Motors did NOT stand by their work!!!! They did NOT make things right!!!! Miami was more upset than I was and made it know to never do business with them again and that he will not refer anyone to them. Miami loaded my bike back on the truck and we left. And letting you know another person after I told them about TK, their bike has been making sounds and they had there bike re-geared there as well. So he will be looking at his bike. Just wanted you to know that it was a Mechanic that proved they will not stand by their work.

Cathy, Brian from TK.

Couple of things....

Bart looked at the bike yesterday and was giving you rough ideas as to what the problems were with trying to repair it. He did not work on your bike that original day as I personally did all the work so his being non-committal on the solutions are understandable. We did not have a chance to really discuss any solutions since you guys decided to take the bike away.

When I worked on your bike we did everything we could to keep the cost down including using your parts for you. When I removed the front sprocket nut the threads were already damaged and I replaced the nut (with the lock washer) using a nut off a blown motor of Glen Consers.

In hindsight maybe I should have mentioned this at the time but due to the fact that Yamaha uses a very fine thread and very few of them it just seemed that the old nut had worn out the threads on the nut. The threads appeard fine on the output shaft.

I am human and can and do make mistakes from time to time. I also own and race Yamahas so I know how the countershaft works. The bike went out of here with the nut and lockwasher properly installed.

That being said, we are definately willing to help with the situation. While I will not replace the motor for free we can try to drill and tap the output shaft for a bolt similar to the honda's setup. This I will do at no charge. Please feel free to contact me to discuss it further.

I also understand why some dealers have not ever seen problems with these nuts. How many of you actually use a dealer to change sprockets?

We do stand behind our work and will do so in this case up to what we did. We will even help with situations beyond our control.

I am open to all the flaming you want fire away!

Brian
TK Motorsports

This is the sound of people trying to help you Cat. Replacing the engine is a unreasonable expectation. They sound willing to work with you and if you chose not to allow them to at least try, then the ball is in your court. If there are many people that are happy with the work with these guys do then people respect that If you are the only problem customer that post and they publicly state they are willing to resolve the issue then it sounds like they run a good business.

A bike shop dropped my brand new r1 tighening the chain, they resolve issue replacing some plastic but people are human and bikes do sometimes break. Good luck with your situation. Also most places are more willing to help a customer that is understanding and treats them with respect. Guns a blazing attitude generally has the reverse effect.

[Cat118!]

thank you and I will

[trackaddict]

That being said, we are definately willing to help with the situation. While I will not replace the motor for free we can try to drill and tap the output shaft for a bolt similar to the honda's setup. This I will do at no charge. Please feel free to contact me to discuss it further.
(to quote Brian)

i think this statement from Brian says it all.....good guys, honest business, with good and fair customer service.

[Ytry2]

First and most importantly I had a sprocket come of on my '03 R6, twice. This shit happens. Even after I bent the locker washer in 3 places. It is just the nature of the Yamaha.

Talking to the Yamaha Race team technician. They recomend that you so it every 2-3 uses. Most people don't do that. So I started putting silicone on mine (problem went away, even though it s a pain to take it off now). Some R6 racers I talked to safety wire them

My $0.02, Tk is still a decent shop. They had some incompitent help in the form of Terry but that guys is gone now.

I safety wire mine on question, don't you check your chain? ie lube it before you ride? Things that make you go hummmm

[swademaster]

People make mistakes. I'm not saying this was or was not TK's fault, but after dealing with Brian and Bart, I would find it hard to believe they would not admit to messing up. So far these are the only guys that I have found that could fix my bike right and will not take it any where else.

After getting my engine back a couple weeks ago and putting it back in, I had a coolant leak. I called Bart to ask him about it and he knew what the problem was right away. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he felt bad about it and told me to order the parts and he could get it fixed the next week. I fixed it myself and discovered that it wasn't any of his wrong doing.

The only complaint that I had was it took a little longer than expected for my engine to get reassembled. But I do realize that this happened right before race season started and they were very busy. It was worth the wait because now the enging is running better than ever before.

[Cat118!]

hummmm you already asked me that and I answered you already.. yes I check my chain... everytime I ride no, but often yes.

[R1chie]

First and most importantly I had a sprocket come of on my '03 R6, twice. This shit happens. Even after I bent the locker washer in 3 places. It is just the nature of the Yamaha.

Talking to the Yamaha Race team technician. They recomend that you so it every 2-3 uses. Most people don't do that. So I started putting silicone on mine (problem went away, even though it s a pain to take it off now). Some R6 racers I talked to safety wire them

My $0.02, Tk is still a decent shop. They had some incompitent help in the form of Terry but that guys is gone now.

I safety wire mine on question, don't you check your chain? ie lube it before you ride? Things that make you go hummmm

I do not lube my chain at all. I debated with a friend that lubing a chain was nessisary in the dirt bike world. He said O ring chains should not be lubed and the lube only gathered dirt and wore out the chain and sprocket faster. Also the chemicals in the lube prematurely broke down the rubber o-ring. I started with new oring chain and sprockets, never lubed it and one of my bike still has the chain and sprockets going for 5 years of hard work. Needless to say, I lost the debate.

I am now experimenting on my street bike. 7k so good so far. The chain and sprokets are the cheapest wear parts on the bike so if it wears out prematurely then I will buy new one and try lube. Otherwise it is an easy choice, do nothing and check for sprocket and chain wear.

My only concern was that the heat generated at higher speeds would destroy the orings and wear out the chain but has not happened yet. This is the reason I asked the question in another post, how long the average chain and sprockets last on the street and track. The answer was your milage may vary. I will let you know how it goes.

[FZRguy]

I just converted my FZR to 520 chain/sprockets. I used a new lock washer and torqued the nut to spec. I bent the lock washer over on one side of the nut. Should it be bent over on two sides (the factory one was bent over on just one side)? Also, how about some red Locktite for added security? I don’t know how to safety wire the nut.