Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2014 record →
PINCH BOLTS ON FRONT FORK HAVE LOOSENED (ONE WAS MISSING, ONE WAS 3/4 LOOSE). THE PINCH BOLTS ASSIST IN KEEPING THE FRONT AXLE IN LINE. CAUSED FRONT END WOBBLE. BIKE IS A LITTLE OVER ONE YEAR OLD. NO WORK HAS BEEN DONE ON THE FRONT END TO HAVE CAUSED THE BOLTS TO LOOSEN. THIS APPEARS TO HAVE HAPPENED THROUGH NORMAL RIDING. *TR
THE SPEEDOMETER DISPLAY ON THIS BIKE COMPLETELY WASHES OUT IN THE BRIGHT SUN MAKING IT HARD TO ENSURE ADHERENCE TO SPEED LIMITS. THE USE OF POLARIZED SUNGLASSES OR LENSES MAKES THE VISIBILITY OF THIS DISPLAY EVEN MORE DIFFICULT. *TR
SMOKE COLORED SPEEDOMETER LENS TOO DARK IN BRIGHT SUNLIGHT, ESPECIALLY WHEN WEARING POLARIZED SUNGLASSES. THIS CREATES A HAZARD WHEN ATTEMPTING TO GAUGE SPEED DURING CITY OR HIGHWAY RIDING. *JS
IT IS VERY HARD TO SEE THE SPEEDOMETER DURING THE DAY. ESPECIALLY, WHEN THE SUN IS RISING OR SETTING. IF IT'S THE MIDDLE PART OF THE DAY IT BECOMES DIFFICULT ONCE I HAVE SUNGLASSES ON. *TR
SPEEDOMETER READOUT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO SEE IN SUNLIGHT AND IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE IF WEARING POLARIZED SUNGLASSES. I HAVE TO TAKE MY EYES OFF THE ROAD AND ADJUST MY VIEWING ANGLE TO DETERMINE HOW FAST I'M GOING, THIS PRACTICE FORCED ON ME BY THE DESIGN OF THE ELECTRONIC SPEEDOMETER IS VERY DISTRACTING AND DANGEROUS. *TR
THE FACTORY SPEEDOMETER IS NOT READABLE IS DIRECT SUN LIGHT. *TR
CAN NOT READ SPEEDOMETER IN BRIGHT SUN. SOMETIMES DANGEROUS TO NOT KNOW HOW FAST I AM TRAVELING. *TR
UNDER MOST CIRCUMSTANCES, IT IS HARD TO READ THE SPEEDOMETER. IT REQUIRES SEVERAL SECONDS OF FOCUS TO READ IT THAT COULD LEAD TO ACCIDENTS. *TR
THE SPEEDOMETER ON THIS BIKE IS UNREADABLE DURING THE DAY. THE SMOKED LENS MAKES IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE YOUR SPEED AT A GLANCE AND INEVITABLY WILL RESULT IN A SPEEDING TICKET AND OR CRASH. PLEASE PLEASE FORCE A FIX ON THIS! *TR
UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ THE SPEED ODOMETER. *TR
THE DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER ON THE 2014 YAMAHA STAR BOLT IN COMPLETELY UNREADABLE AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE DAY, BUT ESPECIALLY WHEN HEADING INTO THE DIRECTION OF THE SUN. IT IS AN UNAVOIDABLE ISSUE THAT WILL EVENTUALLY HAPPEN TO ALL RIDES. A REMEDY SHOULD REALLY BE MADE BY THE MANUFACTURER. *TR
SPEEDOMETER IS UNREADABLE IN THE DIRECT SUNLIGHT. KNOWN ISSUE WITH YAMAHA. EVERY BIKE IS BUILT THE SAME WAY AND HAS THE SAME ISSUES. VERY HARD NOT TO GET SPEEDING TICKET WHEN YOU CAN'T READ THE SPEEDOMETER. *TR
SPEEDOMETER IS NOT READABLE WHEN DRIVING IN SUNLIGHT OR ANY LIGHTING CONDITION, UNLESS THE LOCATION IS BARELY DIM OR DARK. ANY KIND OF LIGHT CONTACT WITH THE SPEEDOMETER, IS NOT READABLE AT ALL. WHILE DRIVING I AM UNABLE TO SEE MY CURRENT SPEED, SINCE I GO THROUGH MULTIPLE LOCATION WHERE SPEED CHANGED, AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE AND ADJUST MY SPEED TO THE LEGAL LIMIT. WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN ADDITION IS WHAT GEAR I AM CURRENTLY ON BE ADDED TO THE SPEEDOMETER. THANKS. *TR
WHEN RIDING BIKE IN SUNNY CONDITIONS, TOWARDS THE SUN, THE SPEED INDICATOR IS UNREADABLE. *TR
THE DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER ON THIS MOTORCYCLE IS UNREADABLE UNDER CERTAIN LIGHTING CONDITIONS. ANGLED SUNLIGHT (MORNING, EVENING WHEN LIGHT IS COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE) CREATES A CONDITION WHERE THE SPEEDOMETER READOUT IS UNREADABLE. THE ONLY METHOD OF MEASURING SPEED IS BY SURROUNDING TRAFFIC. THIS CREATES A DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR MOTORCYCLE DRIVERS, ESPECIALLY ON EXPRESSWAYS AND URBAN ENVIRONMENTS WHERE THE SPEED LIMIT CHANGES BY LOCATION. *TT
SPEEDOMETER TURNING BLACK IN THE SUN. *TT
DURING BRIGHT LIGHT CONDITIONS, THE DIGITAL DISPLAY SPEEDOMETER BECOMES UNREADABLE. THIS PROBLEM CREATES BOTH A SAFETY RISK AND POSSIBLE LEGAL ISSUES FOR THE OPERATOR AS A RESULT. *TT
UNABLE TO VIEW SPEEDOMETER DISPLAY IN CERTAIN DAYLIGHT CONDITIONS. *TT
THE SPEEDOMETER IS DARN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO READ IN CERTAIN DAYLIGHT DRIVING SITUATIONS. THIS CAN BE A SAFETY HAZARD BECAUSE OF NOT KNOWING YOUR SPEED AND SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME LOOKING DOWN AND NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE ROADWAY. *TT
PURCHASE NEW YAMAHA BOLT(XVS95CEGY) ON MY WAY HOME I COULD NOT SEE THE DIGITAL LCD SPEEDOMETER WHEN TRAVELING WITH THE SUN SHINING ON IT. I UNDERSTAND YAMAHA HAS KNOWN OF THIS PROBLEM SINCE THE BIKE WAS MADE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE BY CONSUMERS IN 2013. IT IS A DEFINITE TRAFFIC HAZARD TO NOT BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR SPEED IN SCHOOL AND HOSPITAL ZONES ALONG WITH GETTING TRAFFIC CITATIONS FOR SPEEDING. I CALLED YAMAHA AND WAS TOLD THAT YAMAHA WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT WAS NOT AWARE OF A FIX FOR THE PROBLEM ACCEPT TO PURCHASE ACCESSORIES THAT MIGHT MAKE THE PROBLEM BETTER. *TR
THE LCD DISPLAY ON THE SPEEDOMETER IS NOT VISIBLE WHEN DRIVING DURING THE DAY, ESPECIALLY IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT. I CAN'T READ MILES PER HOUR (MPH) OR ANYTHING ELSE ON THE LCD DISPLAY WHICH I FEEL IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. *TR
THE SPEEDOMETER FACE LENS DOES NOT ALLOW THE DIGITAL SPEEDO DISPLAY TO BE CLEARLY VISIBLE WHEN DRIVING INTO BRIGHT SUNLIGHT. THIS IS A COMMON COMPLAINT AMONG BOLT OWNERS. *TR
WHEN RIDING INTO THE SUN THE SPEEDOMETER IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ. *TR
THE DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER ON THIS MOTORCYCLE IS UNREADABLE UNDER CERTAIN LIGHTING CONDITIONS. ANGLED SUNLIGHT (MORNING, EVENING WHEN LIGHT IS COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE) CREATES A CONDITION WHERE THE SPEEDOMETER READOUT IS UNREADABLE. THE ONLY METHOD OF MEASURING SPEED IS BY SURROUNDING TRAFFIC. THIS CREATES A DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR MOTORCYCLE DRIVERS, ESPECIALLY ON EXPRESSWAYS AND URBAN ENVIRONMENTS WHERE THE SPEED LIMIT CHANGES BY LOCATION. *TR
THE OEM LCD SPEEDOMETER BACKLIGHT IS NOT PROPERLY DESIGNED AND UNDER MOST CONDITIONS WHETHER IT BE DURING DAYTIME, NIGHTTIME, SUNLIGHT, CLOUDY SKIES, RAIN, SNOW, TUNNELS, IN A GARAGE, WHATEVER THE CONDITIONS, THE LCD DISPLAY CAN NOT BE SEEN. MOST OWNERS OF THE BIKE KNOW THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM, HAVE DISCUSSED IT AMONGST THEMSELVES, SOME HAVE SAID THAT YAMAHA IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE (HEARSAY). I WANTED TO ADD TO THE ONLY THREE COMPLAINTS HERE IN THE NHTSA (SAFECAR.GOV) SITE AND ONLY HOPE THAT ALL OF THE OWNERS FOLLOW SUIT SO THAT YAMAHA CAN TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION TO CORRECT THIS DANGEROUS SITUATION ASAP. THIS IS NOT A, "WE WILL WAIT AND SEE" PROBLEM. IT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED, ANALYZED BY THE YAMAHA ENGINEERS AND A PERMANENT FIX ISSUED BY YAMAHA. OR, ARE WE WAITING FOR AN ACCIDENT TO OCCUR BEFORE THIS ISSUE IS LOOKED INTO? *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 YAMAHA BOLT STAR MOTORCYCLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN DRIVING IN SUN LIGHT, IT WAS HARD TO READ THE SPEEDOMETER. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER. THE DEALER STATED THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO TO REMEDY THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 75.
WHEN RIDING INTO THE SUN THE SPEEDOMETER IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ. IF THE SUN IS BEHIND YOU OR AT NIGHT THE SPEEDOMETER IS OK. *TR
I LOVE THE MACHINE, HOWEVER, AT NIGHT, YOU CANNOT SEE THE SPEEDOMETER. IT DOESN'T LIGHT UP, AND THE NUMBERS ARE HARD TO SEE. WHICH COULD BE A SAFETY CONCERN NOT KNOWING HOW FAST YOU ARE GOING, ESPECIALLY ON A MOTORCYCLE. *TR
WHEN HEADING INTO THE SUN THE SPEEDOMETER IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE, ALL YOU SEE IS A BLACK CIRCLE. THIS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS SINCE YOU CAN NOT TELL YOU SPEED AT ALL. *TR
THE SPEEDOMETER IS UNREADABLE DURING THE DAY UNLESS THE SUN IS DIRECTLY SHINING ON IT. IT IS FINE AT NIGHT. *TR
THE SPEEDOMETER ON MY YAMAHA BOLT IS ILLEGIBLE IN WHEN THE SUN IS SHINING ON IT CREATING A HAZARDOUS SITUATION ON THE ROAD FOR ME AND OTHERS. *TR ## VIN FAILED ##
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 YAMAHA BOLT MOTORCYCLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER EXHIBITED DARK COLORS AND WHEN DRIVING UNDER THE SUN, THE SPEEDOMETER COULD NOT BE READ BECAUSE IT WAS TOO DIM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. NO REPAIRS WERE MADE TO THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 100.
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2014 Yamaha Bolt → · Every Bolt year → · How the figures are calculated →