125cc Judder and lurching stumped a mechanic, can you do better?

[Welsh1da]

Right, bit of a storey to this one, so bear with me.

Back in August I purchased a 2011 Yamaha YBR 125, after extensive reviews commented on its reliability and easy maintenance (as well as everything cheap that comes with owning a 125). It had a full MOT (up till may 2016) and service history, but after 8 months of flawless performance (oil changed regularly, new breaks and new tyres) and a glowing MOT (just over a month ago) my first problem and its a BIG one!!!

After a hot day a cool night invited a quick rip round Penarth, when all of a sudden my bike began violently lurching and juddering me about. Quickly finding a quick fix to this by revving the throttle back n forth, this was only temporary as the lurching and jerking got worse to the point of dangerous.

Pulling over I witnessed as my rev needle purr then dip repeatedly until eventually the engine cut out. Staring off, hoping i'd make it home, the bike continued to lurch and judder (was better at high revs) and cut out when I stopped. Eventually I got home and the bike refused to start again and the engine light kept coming on also.

So I got it looked at by the 'PItStop' in Cardiff where I was told the battery was cooked (because I had a USB charger fitted) and the CDI? was faulty. Labour and parts fitted, I was told that £235 would cover it. Reluctantly, I paid (thought it was a tad expensive) and set off.........only to be greeted with EXACLY the same fault not more than 50 yards from the shop it just got repaired in. The guy said "oh I know what's wrong, probably your valve clearance. I'll do it for free as I should have checked".

So the valves were apparently checked and the following day off I went.......only to be greeted with a 'minor' version of EXACLTY the same fault. Now the bike cuts out intermittently and the lurching and juddering is still there, but somewhat less and confined to 25mph in gear 3 at 3500-4000 revs. going back to the Pit Stop the guy says "oh this could be the clutch being worn causing "clutch gobbing" (he tested it and said it was badly worn), I'll fix it for £120". so this was also paid and I set off again, where for a day or so the bike was fine, but by day 2 it started again but as more minor version of EXACLY the same fault, now the bike doesn't cut out at all (which is good), but still judders and lurches at lower revs when cruising....Consulting the Pit Stop again, the guy now says it must be either the fuel injector or the fuel pump, he can fix this for another £140!!!!.....see where I'm going with this?

As it stands I have left this additional repair outstanding, as if I'm applying throttle and in high revs, the bike is fine, but if I cruise at around 25mph in gear 3 at around 3000-4000 revs, it starts again until I change gear or increase throttle......So.....

From this account I'm looking for a coupe of answers (to those up for the challenge)

1. Does it sound like I'm being conned for unnecessary repairs, as the problem is less each time, but not entirely going away? Bearing in mind that the original fault was a "cooked battery" and faulty CDI, which then went to valve clearance, then clutch and now a possible fuel pump/injector.

2. I haven't the money to float another repair, so is my bike ok to ride like this till I can get some together?

3. Where (other than the Pit Stop) can I get a reputable second hand opinion in the Cardiff/surrounding area.

4. A long shot, any ideas on the actual fault and if its possibly something I can sort myself?

Thanks guys.

[Stu]

these are known for a faulty fuel pump

[eastanglianbiker]

and i wouldnt take it back to a garage that doesnt seem to have a clue and seem to fix bikes by guess work and charging customers even after they havent cured the fault i would of thought any mechanic that works on bikes knows of the ybr fuel pump fault it is that common on them

[rennie]

I would say fuel too!

I have a bit of experience with ybr's (Sue has 1, my lad had1)

Sue's is a pig to start and won't move till properly warm.

I'd steer clear of that place! they don't sound good

[Lumor_uk]

It sounds like he's rinsed you of your money and has finally decided to fix the actual problem.

Don't feel too bad I got taken for a ride by a VW/Audi specialist in Oxford. I was young and naive too. Don't understand why they do it, because I never went back there again and warned everyone I knew not to go there too.

(Oh yeah that part is so common to fail we keep them on the shelf, was just a loose hose that I ended up tightening)

[MR_W]

I'm in Bristol. Tap me up if you want someone with experience to tag along to get it sorted. Happy to come over and lend a hand.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[RantMachine]

I think that as a general rule of thumb you should never get a bike serviced by a place that also sells Chinese bikes. Really says something about how few f*cks they give

I've taken my various bikes to four different places, and the two that sold Lexmoto or Sinnis on the side are the two that shafted me repeatedly when I didn't know any better, using the exact same approach of "guess the fault and charge you regardless".