I say a high percentage of them do. Just on this thread alone gives you a good indicator....about 90% of the people who posted on this thread had iffy ignitions.
I wonder how many people aren't posting because they've never had the problem...
I however, have had this problem with both my Fazers...
I hear you man about people who might be happy and haven't posted here to say so and all I can say to them is this.....
When I had my initial problem a while back, I wasn't even a forum member here. So I did a google to see if it was a trait (in case I buy a second hand one and inherit the same problem) or was I just unlucky, and I was alarmed at how many people had actual problems. It certainly was way too many for me as to be an isolated incident and came to the conclusion that the Fazer ignition is not the best in the world over time.
I have my Bandit 1200 for 10 years now which is nearly the same age as my Fazer but my Bandit has near double the mileage and probably way more usage, and there is not an inkling or hesitation with the ignition lock. I never had to lube it either. I had to lube my Fazer about once every month or so over this winter. Actually, I've owned 3 x Bandit 600s, 2 x Bandit 1200, Vmax, XJR1200, CB400, VL1500, VL 750, GSX250, GL400, Z900, CB1100, XS1100, ZR 1100, ZR750, CBF1100, Magna 750, Virago 1100....and all never had an ignition barrel problem.
Anyway, thankfully I just sorted the ignition
lock problem thanks to Lewis. Lewis said he had to push his key in a forward position so I gave that a go with no joy. However, I chanced pushing it in a backward postion then, and it worked.
Seems to me like the is some sort of "play" that happens inside the barrel over a period of time. The main "on-off" is fine when lubed at very regular intervals for the time being, but i'd suspect I will have to push the key in a backward motion for this too eventually. One thing for sure is that I won't be getting a second hand barrel unless I can test it myself.