Just hit 70,000 miles, and soliciting maintenance opinions

B

ballisticexchris

Guest
As far as replacing the chain and sprockets and crank all at once , go ahead and waist your money if you want but I can't see any wear on my sprockets or crank. I'll probably put in another new chain next time I adjust the valves so I won't have to mess with it till around 400,000.
When you had it apart what was the measurement of the sprocket wear? Or did you just eyeball it? Strange that the chain would stretch so much to the point of running out of adjustment at such low miles.

The rear shock was rebuilt by Norwest Suspension at 44,000 miles. I overhauled the front forks at 67,000 miles.
I would recommend a full rebuild on the shock and at the very least oil change/bushing wear check on the forks.
 

RCinNC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2014
Messages
2,816
Location
North Carolina
If you read my original post, you'll see that I did replace the fork seals, dust caps, bushings, and o-rings when I did the fork service. This was done at 67,000 miles. The fork oil was replaced at the same time. The rebuild of the rear shock by Norwest Suspension was a full rebuild, including a new spring better suited to two up riding.
 
B

ballisticexchris

Guest
I figure 3,000 miles is a good time to do the oil change on the forks while your shock is fully rebuilt. 23,000 miles on a shock is a lot. Typical suspension service on a street ridden bike is every 10,000 miles. I know my Ninja fork bushings were shot at less than 10,000 miles. And the Elka shock was in need of service at just over 10,000 miles. Another choice would be to go another 7,000 miles and do them all at once. Then you would have 30,000 miles on that shock......

It's all about what you are willing to put up with. It's amazing how well a bike feels with regular chassis and suspension service.
 

Checkswrecks

Ungenear to broked stuff
Staff member
Global Moderator
2011 Site Supporter
Joined
Mar 7, 2011
Messages
11,489
Location
Damascus, MD
My valves clearances needed adjusting at the first 26000 mile check. No wonder he had to buy two of them.... ;)
We've had a number of members do the first valve check late and find little to adjust. I usually do my own work but do have somebody I trust enough and have been super busy so finally just took mine in at 33,000 miles. One exhaust needed to be re-shimmed.

RC - As you know, these things are essentially 2 wheel cars and you do stay to the MX schedule so I'd suggest keep on keeping on till there's a reason to suspect a closer look is needed.
 

RCinNC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2014
Messages
2,816
Location
North Carolina
RC - As you know, these things are essentially 2 wheel cars and you do stay to the MX schedule so I'd suggest keep on keeping on till there's a reason to suspect a closer look is needed.
I tend to agree, Checkswrecks. I'm a believer that too much maintenance can actually cause more issues than it solves; every time you tear something apart to replace a part that really doesn't need to be replaced, you statistically increase the risk of damaging something else. I'm thoroughly convinced of the reliability of the S10, but I also know that most motorcycles never see anything like the sorts of mileage we put on our cars, and as our bikes approach a milestone of 100,000 miles, it gets tougher to find examples of other bikes that have hit that point and what sorts of failures (if any) these higher mileage bikes have experienced. Mostly I was looking for those weird little consistent idiosyncrasies that plague some bikes but that rarely get encountered because the bikes don't usually reach the sorts of mileages where the problems become observable. It's usually something like a seal in a final drive, or a bearing, or an electronic component; they're fine for a rider who puts 20,000 or 30,000 miles on a bike over its lifetime, but they start to fail with some consistency at maybe 80,000 miles. I guess one example for our particular bike was the CCT on the Gen 1 models.

That was pretty much the gist of my post; to see if there was any sort of consistent component failure encountered among the guys on here who've gone past the six figure mileage point, so I could address it before it sidelined me while I was in the middle of a trip. I know it's impossible to anticipate every part failure, and even a brand new part can fail, but if say five or six guys with high mileage S10s told me that they had a final drive seal fail after 100,000 miles, that would be something I'd put on my "probably ought to do that sooner than later" list.
 

cyclemike4

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2016
Messages
815
Location
ky
I used to really be a stickler for keeping up with things on the bikes and cars and other things around the house. I still do all the maintenance that has to be done and i keep it on a timely schedule. Some things like pulling the swing arm and re greasing or checking valves i tend to let go. It may come back and bite me in the butt some day and it will be no ones fault but my own. I have an old 89 FJ1200 that has about 180000 miles on it. Even though it was easy to adjust the valves i found it was a waste of time going in there very much. I have more demands on my time than i used to and i am a lot slower than i used to be and i tend to need rest now. So things get put off. I have been lucky the last 3 bikes i have had seem to be rock solid reliable. that is something i need. they have all been way more dependable than my 4 wheeled vehicles. I bought a new truck in 2002 that will never see a 100000 miles. It just stays broke down. Been that way from day one. Thank you Yamaha! Oh i have been told the trucks stay broke because they never get drove. ha ha.
 

WJBertrand

Ventura Highway
Joined
Jun 20, 2015
Messages
4,516
Location
Ventura, CA
I've recently exceeded 72,000 miles on my 2015 ES. I've tried to check the valves every 26K per the book but usually end up late, so the second check (which required some shim replacements, unlike the first check) wasn't done until 58K. That means I should check them again at 84K - if I don't procrastinate. I don't have any additional maintenance planned before that mileage point unless I notice a problem. I've changed plugs and air filter each time I do the valve check. I also replaced the CC tensioner at the second valve check, just because Yamaha had updated the part number again. I've done two brake/clutch fluid flushes (including cycling the ABS pump on the second flush). I've just recently serviced the forks for the first time with new bushings, seals, wipers and oil. I would like to service the rear shock with at least an oil change but I'm reluctant to turn it over to a suspension shop as I am hearing variable information on experience with the ES shock, I don't have the means to recharge the gas myself and am not sure what the spec is. Oil and filter have been changed every 5K using full synthetic Castrol Power 4T 10w-50 and a Mobil 1 M-108 or 108A filter. I have changed the final drive lube every other oil change. The bike is running great and is not using any oil between changes.

72K doesn't feel like advanced mileage to me after putting 150,000 each on my previous ST1100 and ST1300. Both were mechanically sound at that point, though the ST13 developed an electrical gremlin that caused misfiring that I could not fix. That's when I moved on to the Super Tenere.
 
B

ballisticexchris

Guest
What do you consider typical suspension service and where did you get this 10,000 mile figure from ?
Typical service includes replace all wearable parts, bushings, seals, oil, shims, etc. 10,000 mile figure comes from personal experience with degraded suspension. Also suspension shop I have been using since the 90's recommends this. For most of us it's a simple thing to check for fork bushing wear when the wheel is off by seeing if the fork tubes rock. I have yet to see any street bike go much over 10,000 miles and not have any play in the forks.
 

Madhatter

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2013
Messages
3,846
Location
buda texas
RCinNC , congrats on reaching that milage ..... in my six years on my gen 1 I managed half that and that was riding almost every day. had my new '19' for 5 months and just over a 1000 ..... going to take awhile for me.
 

RCinNC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2014
Messages
2,816
Location
North Carolina
Thanks Madhatter. Sometimes it doesn't seem like I ride a lot, then I realize that my almost six year old bike has 70,000 miles and my 13 year old Camry only has 115,000. I put about 2500 miles on my car in the past year, and about 12,000 on the Yamaha lol.
 

cyclemike4

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2016
Messages
815
Location
ky
I put over 15000 on my Super T last year and about 3 months ago i changed the oil in my truck. It had been 18 months and only 600 miles on the last oil change. Yep i am racking them up on it.
 
B

ballisticexchris

Guest
Thanks Madhatter. Sometimes it doesn't seem like I ride a lot, then I realize that my almost six year old bike has 70,000 miles and my 13 year old Camry only has 115,000. I put about 2500 miles on my car in the past year, and about 12,000 on the Yamaha lol.
There is something to be said for peeling off those kind of miles on a bike. I have never got much over 35,000 on any of mine before they were sold. Whats amazing is hearing story after story of high mileage Super Tenere's with very little maintenance. In all honesty, you probably can do what you are doing and get another 100,000 miles out of it.
 
Joined
Jun 26, 2019
Messages
92
Location
Manchester UK
its what made me get rid of my 1200GSA 7 yrs ago

rob
My main priority when deciding on the S10 was reliability and the ability to service it my self, as you know it’s really simple to do and not over engineered like a Beemer. When I did the test ride it just seemed to be right for me and I preferred it over the GS, it just ticked so many boxes. I just love this bike.
 

Cycledude

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
3,998
Location
Rib lake wi
Does anyone know what the actual improvements were on the upgraded Tenere cam chain tensioner ?
My Goldwing currently has 550,000 miles On the original cam chain and tensioner. The valves were adjusted once at 50,000 miles, they were checked a few more times but never needed any adjusting.
 
R

RonH

Guest
Whoever came up with the "Replace camchain when sprockets are worn as a set" has never ridden long miles on an engine. The sprockets on the camshafts never show wear. The chain will eventually wear, but not the sprockets. Just replace the chain if needed. I doubt it needed until at least 150,000 miles with the hyvo chain.
 
B

ballisticexchris

Guest
Whoever came up with the "Replace camchain when sprockets are worn as a set" has never ridden long miles on an engine. The sprockets on the camshafts never show wear. The chain will eventually wear, but not the sprockets. Just replace the chain if needed. I doubt it needed until at least 150,000 miles with the hyvo chain.
It is in the Super Tenere service manual. Please don't shoot the messenger. It is your choice what you want to do. As stated, a lot of guys replace just the chain. I myself would not replace anything until the sprockets have reached their wear limit. In the Super Tenere service manual there is no service limit for just the chain.

As long as you have a good OEM CCT I'm willing to bet you get many more miles without coming close to the measured wear between the sprockets. If you are running a manual CCT then all bets are off as the chain will sometimes stretch beyond the limit of the adjuster. It's just the nature of manual adjusters.

And heck no I do not have bragging rights of keeping bikes for long 100,000+ miles. I have put the miles in. Just not on one machine. I'm excited with this bike because I can see it will easily take me into retirement.
 
R

RonH

Guest
Sorry, didn't mean to say you were the one who came up with the "replace the chain when sprockets are worn", but fact is the sprockets don't wear. Sprockets on an old 1972 motorcycle with chain drive, yes, the sprockets wear along with the drive chain and easy to see. I progressed past 1972 and insist on shaft drive, so that issue is no longer an issue. Nobody has ever had a camshaft sprocket wear that I have ever heard of.
 

WJBertrand

Ventura Highway
Joined
Jun 20, 2015
Messages
4,516
Location
Ventura, CA
What is the wear limit on the sprockets, how is it defined, and how do you measure it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Top