2012 Tenere Maintenance vs Known Issues

[Fortech]

Hey there,

My 2012 rolled 31,000 kms (~20K miles) before putting it away for the winter season. I purchased this bike new in 2014 and usually take it on one or two trips per year where i find myself thousands of kms from home. I currently have some time this winter to focus on some maintenance and prep the bike for the upcoming summer season. So far, I’ve just been performing maintenance as per the owners manual. Engine oil, spark plugs, coolant, final drive oil, etc has all been changed as per the Yamaha maintenance intervals.


The purpose of this post is to reach out to the S10 community about other maintenance items not listed in the owners manual. Now that the bike has been in service for many years, I’m hoping other riders with many more miles than I could pass along some tips on where i should focus.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Don in Lodi]

How noisey is the cam chain for the first couple heart beats? That 2012 tensioner would be only addition I would tack onto your list. But that's also usually a little later in life as well, 40-50 thousand miles.
Was your headlight harness one of the few that needed to be replaced?

 

[zxrider11]

I just hit 30,000 miles on my 2014 Tenere, and below are a few maintenance items to think about:

Re-torque steering head bearings.

Check to make sure the swingarm inner rubber plug has not disappeared.

Check rear brake pads every 10,000 miles.

OEM Headlight bulbs seem to burn out at 25,000 miles.

Lubricate shifter linkage and rear brake pedal linkage.

Brake fluid flush, along with clutch fluid.

Check wheel spokes, re-torque.

 

[MIKE R]

Check this out:-

http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=23488.0

Mike

 

[Fortech]

The headlight harness was replaced by the dealership prior to purchase.

I don’t recall any startup noise due to the CCT but am planning to research the procedure and upgrade the CCT. What year Ténéré was it upgraded?

Good call on the fuel filter, I will try and perform this as well the next time I lift the tank.

The steering head bearings were tensioned two years ago as I noticed they periodically felt “loose” while riding on rough terrain. I was planning to clean and grease both the steering head and swingarm bearings, in addition to lubing the splines on the driveshaft (done ~ 15,000 kms ago).

Thanks all for the tips...

 

[Boris]

Might be worth checking/greasing the suspension linkages.

I did mine at the weekend, took about an hour and very straightforward to do.

Tie bar (x2) - 59nm
Lower shock - 49nm

All doable on the centre stand.

 

[greg the pole]

Fuel filter is a part and parcel of the fuel pump. Don't bother. After an absolute beating and 90 thou km...mine was fine.

-Fork oil. https://thetenerist.wordpress.com/2014/10/18/fork-rebuild-v3-0-including-fork-seal-and-bushing/
-Rear linkage, swing arm grease up. They come from the factory bone dry. Depending on how much time you spend off road, you may want to tackle this. It's on my blog somewhere

Nothing really breaks on these bikes. Write up here of what I broke in the six year of owning it. https://thetenerist.wordpress.com/2017/12/17/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-bye-bye-super-tenere-hello-honda-africa-twin/
exert here:
Reliability. Not once has the ST left me stranded. When ever I prepped for a long trip, I checked the oil, kicked the tires (made sure I had enough rubber left for the trip) and off I went. The ST had the following break/wear (major items, out of the ordinary) in six yrs and 90 hard k’s:
Rear drive seal went. Cause: rubber plug fell out that was not glue in place
One blown fork seal
three or four rear brake pads (linked brakes…dusty conditions)
one rear disk. See #3
One complete top end rebuild. Bike started using oil around 60k. Culprit: piston rings and valve seals. Write up here:
https://thetenerist.wordpress.com/2017/03/04/yamaha-super-tenere-xt-1200-top-end-rebuild/
Manual CCT. Didn’t trust the OEM.
Side stand switch died.
Lots and lots of tires. Rears lasted about 8k. Do the math.

 

[HeliMark]

The headlight harness was replaced by the dealership prior to purchase.

I don’t recall any startup noise due to the CCT but am planning to research the procedure and upgrade the CCT. What year Ténéré was it upgraded?

Good call on the fuel filter, I will try and perform this as well the next time I lift the tank.

The steering head bearings were tensioned two years ago as I noticed they periodically felt “loose” while riding on rough terrain. I was planning to clean and grease both the steering head and swingarm bearings, in addition to lubing the splines on the driveshaft (done ~ 15,000 kms ago).

Thanks all for the tips...

I would replace the CCT even if no noise. Really think the bike has only one achilles heel, and that is the CCT on the Gen 1. Mine was not making any excess noise, but I replaced it with the updated one (Gen 2 CCT), and that is no longer a concern for the life of the bike. Looking online, it looks like you can only buy the updated CCT (2BS-12210-01-00). You can go manual also, just depends on your comfort level.

The clutch basket can be replaced with the Gen 2 version if the vibs are bothering you. It is not a failure item.

Mark

 

[Fortech]

Did you replace the CCT yourself?

If somebody could provide a link to a well written “DIY” I would appreciate it. If nobody has a recommended link I will perform a search when the time comes and hope I can find one in which Photobucket has not messed with the images.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Absolutely everything mentioned has plenty of descriptive threads, we try to keep things somewhat organized as a resource, and the search function will pull them up. To give you this one as an example, start here and use the search box:

http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?board=78.0
Answers will be constrained to the Power & Exhaust sub-forum if you search within that forum.

Now type in "cam chain tensioner" and you should get 70 threads to pick from, several of which have "how-to." Despite what I write in the next sentence, it'll do you good to look through some of these. Changing the CCT isn't hard and doesn't need to take long if you are aware of what others have come across.


This will be one of them and follow the link to Greg The Pole's blog from Reply # 14:
http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=21005.msg321928#msg321928

 

[Don in Lodi]

My understanding for the "dry" swing arms is that it's a different type of lube, more permanent, not a wet washable lube.

 

[greg the pole]

My understanding for the "dry" swing arms is that it's a different type of lube, more permanent, not a wet washable lube.

right...they use that white lithium grease...that I was at first confused about... ::025::

 

[nga]

Fortech, thanks for starting this thread. I had/have some of the same questions for my 2012 (purchased in Jan '13).

At the 26,400ish mile mark, I had the following done: changed spark plugs, replaced the CCT, new valve cover gasket, tensioner gasket, greased the swing arm bearings, changed front and rear brake fluid, changed the clutch fluid, valves were checked and I had one exhaust out by 1,000ths of an inch, oil and filter change, final drive gear oil changed, and antifreeze changed.

Now, I've got 39,500ish miles on my 2012 and plan to do the following: change front and rear brake fluid, change the clutch fluid, oil and filter change, final drive gear oil change, flush and replace radiator fluid, change the fork oil, change front brake pads, re-torque steering head bearings, check spokes/re-torque if needed, put some sealant on the swing arm plug, replace front tire, and get a new battery (probably the YTZ14S).

Can anyone think of anything else I should do?

Thank you.

 

[ace50]

Fortech, thanks for starting this thread. I had/have some of the same questions for my 2012 (purchased in Jan '13).

At the 26,400ish mile mark, I had the following done: changed spark plugs, replaced the CCT, new valve cover gasket, tensioner gasket, greased the swing arm bearings, changed front and rear brake fluid, changed the clutch fluid, valves were checked and I had one exhaust out by 1,000ths of an inch, oil and filter change, final drive gear oil changed, and antifreeze changed.

Now, I've got 39,500ish miles on my 2012 and plan to do the following: change front and rear brake fluid, change the clutch fluid, oil and filter change, final drive gear oil change, flush and replace radiator fluid, change the fork oil, change front brake pads, re-torque steering head bearings, check spokes/re-torque if needed, put some sealant on the swing arm plug, replace front tire, and get a new battery (probably the YTZ14S).

Can anyone think of anything else I should do?

RIDE IT! ::26::

 

[nga]

RIDE IT! ::26::

I know, I need to get with it! ::001:: ::26:: I've haven't rode since last November, just been tired of the cold and wetness.

 

[Berg_Donk]

Not common, but there have been a few frame breakages here in Oz, including mine. I chose to repair rather than replace, and could be worth beefing up as a preemptive measure. Probably applies to Gen 2s too. They go where the fairing mounts to the steering head.

 

[nga]

Not common, but there have been a few frame breakages here in Oz, including mine. I chose to repair rather than replace, and could be worth beefing up as a preemptive measure. Probably applies to Gen 2s too. They go where the fairing mounts to the steering head.

Thanks Berg_Donk, I will look at that part of the frame as well.

 

[greg the pole]

I did break the plastic sub frame that holds the headlight, and speedo.
It didn't help that i had a six inch ridgid mounted to it

 

[Checkswrecks]

There's a lot of weight and plastic hanging from that frame bracket, but as Berg_Donk notes, not too many have broken.

 

[greg the pole]

There's a lot of weight and plastic hanging from that frame bracket, but as Berg_Donk notes, not too many have broken.

YEP..that and off road work can be that much harder on it. I noticed it on a trip, tie wrapped it all together and finished up the trip without issue