2014 Yamaha Bolt problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Electrical System (23) · Vehicle Speed Control (21) · Electrical System: Instrument Cluster/Panel (19)
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
65 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Electrical System 2013-07-08 · campaign 13V298000 · 3,900 vehicles
Defect: Yamaha Motor Company (Yamaha) is recalling certain model year 2014 XVS950CU (Bolt) motorcycles manufactured March 2013 through June 2013. Slack or sag in the wiring harness may allow it to contact the exhaust manifold causing the wires to melt, and possibly short circuit.
Risk: If the wires short circuit, the fuses will blow which may cause the engine to stall. An engine stall while riding, increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Yamaha will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the wiring harness and secure it away from the exhaust. If the wiring harness is damaged, it will first be replaced. The recall began on August 2, 2013. Owners may contact Yamaha at 1-800-962-7926.
Service bulletins (1)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Equipment Adaptive/Mobility 2015-05-11 · TE-M-2015-006 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
yamaha mc: information on discontinuation of suspension oil rt-43 used for certain models and replaced by an ultra high performance m1 suspension oil. no model or years listed. *pe
What owners report
2021-04-30 · Visibility/Wiper · 4,500 mi“vehicle meter is dangerously dim. not visible during daylight due to glare. only 2014 yamaha bolt models encounter this issue. the speed can not be determined while riding nor any other information displayed on the meter.…”
2020-10-23 · Steering · 6,500 mi“death wobble- steering instability at 35-45 mph. this could be fixed by the manufacturer by using tapered steering bearings…”
2018-09-07 · Vehicle Speed Control“speedometer can't be seen when traveling into the sun or any time the sun is at the wrong angle that it creates a non readable display, which happens to be almost any time the sun is out. this is a safety hazard not being able to read your speed as well as possibly causing speeding tickets. this issue needs to be addressed by the manufacture with a…”
2017-03-20 · Exterior Lighting“speedometer can't be seen when traveling into the sun or any time the sun is at the wrong angle that it creates a non readable display, which happens to be almost any time the sun is out. this is a safety hazard not being able to read your speed as well as possibly causing speeding tickets.…”
2017-01-27 · Steering · 1,950 mi“my concern is the death wobble the bike has when at speeds around 45 mph.…”
2017-01-02 · Vehicle Speed Control · 4,700 mi“during the day or when the sun is bright i can not see the speedometer reading. its digital and there isn't much contrast so i cant see how fast i am going. this is a safety hazard and should be recalled. this can cause me to check my speed for longer periods of time and can cause a speeding violation or accident. this happens when in motion or st…”
2017-01-01 · Vehicle Speed Control · 3,000 mi“bike speedometer has an issue where the speed display is way too dim to see in sunlight. in the right sunlight position, it is completely black and impossible to read without literally putting your head inches from it and looking at it far too long to try to make anything out. this is dangerous while in motion for obvious reasons. this happens o…”
2016-08-17 · Vehicle Speed Control“while driving my 2014 yamaha bolt r spec, the speedometer does not illuminate at night and is nearly impossible to read during sunny daylight hours. this causes the driver to take his or her eyes off of the road for an extended period of time in attempt to read the speedometer to remain at the posted speed limit. this increases the chances of a m…”
2016-04-09 · Exterior Lighting · 2,300 mi“when riding the yamaha bolt towards the sun, the speedometer is impossible to read. because of the positioning of the speedometer, and the graphic interface that is used, it is impossible to read. this has caused me great difficulty while riding. if i cannot read my speed accurately, i have no idea of my rate of travel. this is a safety issue and p…”
2016-03-25 · Electrical System · 12,800 mi“at certain times of the day the speedometer is next to impossible to read to to the sun shining on to it . it takes your eyes off the road and you sometimes have to use your hand to cover the speedometer to see the numbers with in itself is unsafe when riding a motorcycle which could cause a accident.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.