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Who has taken the %$@!?(& thumb wheel apart?


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Mine was very tough to use for the whole time I owned it, 2 1/2 years, and finally would not work at all. I took it apart some and lubed it which did no good. It was stuck so badly that I could press as hard as I could and it would not go in (click to select). I had it replaced under warranty and the new one is great. The way it should have been from new. https://www.partzilla.com/product/yamaha/B1J-83963-00-00?ref=0a619e88951a81b1664f10a7da717f020795ab99

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I have talked to my dealer and 2 others and they claim they have few complaints about the thumbwheel. I find that very hard to believe. But, I wonder how many of us here have that thumbwheel on our bikes and how many have trouble with it if it works at all. I have tried pushing from all angles but will try what petshark suggests just to be sure. I will also try penetrating oil despite that being contrary to my thinking. What the heck! So far Detox5, dry silicon lube, lithium spray, nothing has helped. Replacing the rh switch cluster with a new one is no guarantee the new one will work any better. As for rh vs lh side I will settle for a switch cluster that works! The jumping to Menu from what you want to reset or turn on is extremely aggravating!

Yamaha employees must have bikes with the wheel and most of them can't work any better for them. Haven't called Yamaha yet but will soon.

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Seems like it is a feature that generally frustrates but not so many warranty claims against it.  Read something recently where mfg focus on warranty claims as items that need attention.  Looking at some of the changes to the new Tracer 9 GT think they also listen to what folks are saying - sometimes.  

I'm going to have to try what @petshark says.  On my long trip I refueled at least once a day and sometimes 3 or 4 times, always resetting trip odometer, fuel consumed and mileage.  Pressing without a glove on was usually harder.  Turning the heated grips on or off while riding can be a hassle particularly if on a winding or busy road.  I use the wheel a lot to scroll thru miles since filled, mileage and fuel consumed.  I use all 3 for my mental estimates of how far I can go before needing to stop for gas as well as the Gamin info on cities ahead which shows gas stops.  Even here in the south were gas stations are frequent it can be handy to know I can skip a gas station and go to the next one.  On my trip the most I put in was 4 gallons and was in a somewhat remote location but from past experience had confidence that I could get there.

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Today on the way out I tried the thumbwheel on grip heaters several times with no result except for one time, shocked me so much I hit the wheel again and lost it, could not get it to flash again. Then I tried again and got the cumulative mpg to flash and got it zeroed out. never could bet the grip icon to flash, nor the trip a/b miles. Had to hold the wheel pushed firm to ever get from the damn menu back to the main display, and from the menu screen the display went to maintenance scheduling, very difficult to get out of that. Many times I had to turn the key off and back on to get out of menu. Think tomorrow when I have more time I will spray the Deoxit let it sit several minutes and then blow compressed air into the cluster around the left side of the thumbwheel. Can't hurt, except I sure don't want to mess up the start/stop switch!! 

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16 hours ago, TomTracer said:

Today on the way out I tried the thumbwheel on grip heaters several times with no result except for one time, shocked me so much I hit the wheel again and lost it, could not get it to flash again. Then I tried again and got the cumulative mpg to flash and got it zeroed out. never could bet the grip icon to flash, nor the trip a/b miles. Had to hold the wheel pushed firm to ever get from the damn menu back to the main display, and from the menu screen the display went to maintenance scheduling, very difficult to get out of that. Many times I had to turn the key off and back on to get out of menu. Think tomorrow when I have more time I will spray the Deoxit let it sit several minutes and then blow compressed air into the cluster around the left side of the thumbwheel. Can't hurt, except I sure don't want to mess up the start/stop switch!! 

I'm no chemist but I wonder if you're not creating an unpredictable agent by combining all these products. It sure sounds worse than it ever was on mine.

Taking it apart and starting from scratch with clean parts would be the safest bet IMO.

Edited by petshark
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Does anybody know if replacing the cluster of Start/Stop thumbwheel switch is easy to do? I am wondering if it is possible to detach the unit from the cables at the unit-side or that you have to replace the whole unit including the cables that run down. Looking at the unit at the bar it doesn't seem to be possible to detach the unit from the cables but maybe when detached from the bar?

Edited by About2break
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22 hours ago, petshark said:

The second part of this success story is something I read here at some time:

Put your thumb low on the wheel and imagine pushing up instead of straight forward. I think it took a while to get the right feel but the roll-instead-of-push action hardly ever happens anymore and I often use it while riding. I also reset the trip 1 and fuel parameters every tank of gas.

Just tried this, indeed the wheel is easier to push!

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I thought about that. Read the product labels, not MSDS's though. No obvious negative impacts. If I take the cluster apart that should indicate something. Point well taken petshark, thx.

1 hour ago, petshark said:

I'm no chemist but I wonder if you're not creating an unpredictable agent by combining all this products. It sure sounds worse than it even was on mine.

Taking it apart and starting from scratch with clean parts would be the safest bet IMO.

 

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1 hour ago, About2break said:

Does anybody know if replacing the cluster of Start/Stop thumbwheel switch is easy to do? I am wondering if it is possible to detach the unit from the cables at the unit-side or that you have to replace the whole unit including the cables that run down. Looking at the unit at the bar it doesn't seem to be possible to detach the unit from the cables but maybe when detached from the bar?

Early on in this thread RandyM posted a photo of his partial disassembly of the cluster. The thumbwheel looks innocent enough in his photo but we all know how those innocent things can turn into big messes. All the parts fiches I have seen show the cluster and wire harness as one unit, and no detail of the thumbwheel is shown. It's plug and go so if the connector for the harness isn't buried and hard to reach it should be an easy replacement. Might try to look for someone parting out a wrecked bike, I have not done that yet.

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Mine works fine and is reliable, it's just really, really annoying to use.  @petshark is right, there's just a very specific angle you've got to push it at to get it to work right.  Sadly, that's not a very intuitive angle for me at least at the angle my controls are at.  

I've not complained to a dealer - and I imagine most don't - because what would be the point?  What's the dealer going to do, if it does work but is just a bad design? 

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TODAY IT WORKED!!??!! As far as I can tell I did nothing different but I got the trip odo's zeroed, the total gallons consumed, and was able to turn on/off/and adjust the grip heater settings. No idea what changed. So for the moment I call a truce on myself about complaining. Thanks for everyone's patience. 

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Think I know what I was doing. With key on, after scrolling to the icon I wanted to reset or turn on/,off I was not quick. I was holding in the thumbwheel, and not releasing.it quickly. It works with a quick push and release. The half push reset the item. Others having the same problem I did may check their technique. Hope this helps others. 

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So... I have been so disappointed in that thumb wheel I have been tempted to work on designing a 3 button replacement that just replaces the wheel.  3 Buttons are all it needs to be.   I am trying to get my hands on a take off control so I can work on some designs and not mess with my bike

 

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