26K Mile Service

[sail2xxs]

My S10 is a couple days away from breaking the 26k mile mark, and despite all my best efforts at planning, I will not be able to make it to the dealer for valve check and all the other good things until closer to 30K. I'm most concerned about going too far past the valve check interval. I'm pretty easy on the bike, and generally keep it between 3000 and 4300 rpm. Am I needlessly worrying?

Chris

 

[HoebSTer]

It's not the end of the world or your engine!!!! The shim under bucket can go out of spec, but it doesn't always happen right at the stroke of midnight.
You are fine!!!! I sometimes wish the manufacturers did the 600 mile valve inspection, only to get a reading of where the valves are. Then come 24 or 30k, check again and compare notes to see how much they have moved. Most will not move for 100k miles. I doubt Nick Sanders even checked his in his first 50k and the internal parts looked brand new!!!

 

[Podman]

My S10 is a couple days away from breaking the 26k mile mark, and despite all my best efforts at planning, I will not be able to make it to the dealer for valve check and all the other good things until closer to 30K. I'm most concerned about going too far past the valve check interval. I'm pretty easy on the bike, and generally keep it between 3000 and 4300 rpm. Am I needlessly worrying?

Chris

Yes

 

[Checkswrecks]

Hi Chris -


You're getting to be one of the higher mileage Teneres I've heard of in the US. The service schedule is there for good reason, but I sure wouldn't worry for a few thousand extra miles if it were mine.


The shim under bucket heads are really similar to what Yamaha uses in most of their line. We had a poll at one point with the FJRs, finding that there'd been a couple that were found tight, but nearly all were still within limits. In fact, people NOT running the FJRs hard were reportedly letting intervals go well into the 30's without major issue. The following is a post from a guy who only retired his first FJR (by which time it was referred to as the Dirty Ol' Whore) that had 213,000 miles on it because he wrecked it and already owned a second:


I met vectervp1 the other day at the local Yammie dealer where he was picking up his FJR after his first valve check. He had 30-something thousand miles on it.

Well, apparently two of his exhaust valves were extremely tight. Caused the mechanic some concern. Enough, that the mechanic told him to bring it back in only 20,000 miles from now. Now this same mechanic has done many FJR valve inspection/adjustments, including three on my FJR and had never seen anything like vectervp1's valves. So it's rare, but the valves can go out of spec.

On mine, he re-shimmed one valve each on the first two inspections (at 27k and 55k). Both times he said they were within spec, but towards the the outer limit of spec, so he centered them. On my recent third inspection (at 87k), all was ok with no adjustments completed.

 

[justbob]

26,000 miles, congrats you may have the highest mileage Super Tenere in the U.S.

 

[pqsqac]

Wow Chris you have been doing some serious riding that explains your low post count.... while we are on here you are out there racking it up great job! ::012::
As far as your valve check you are fine no worries. Yammi builds them strong!

 

[sallydog]

ive been told you probably wouldn't need adjustment anyway. i wouldnt sweat the extra miles

 

[Koinz]

My S10 is a couple days away from breaking the 26k mile mark, and despite all my best efforts at planning, I will not be able to make it to the dealer for valve check and all the other good things until closer to 30K. I'm most concerned about going too far past the valve check interval. I'm pretty easy on the bike, and generally keep it between 3000 and 4300 rpm. Am I needlessly worrying?

Chris

That's great Chris - Any issues beyond the normal stuff we have been hearing about here?

I know, probably won't hear from him for another 26K ::010::

 

[EricV]

Don't stress about the extra miles. It's unlikely those few thousand miles would be enough to do significant damage even if you have some on the tight side. Most likely they will be in spec, though some may be close to the limits. This isn't a FJR, so time will tell if we enjoy the same theme on valves, where they stay in spec for most riders for two or even three intervals before needing re-shim/adjustment.

 

[avc8130]

26k is the longest service interval on any motorcycle I am aware of for valve adjustment. Most are ~12k. Personally, I would make it a priority to get it done before the trip. I would personally feel more comfortable knowing my bike was in its best mechanical condition before departing on a 4k mile trip. Really the check/adjustment shouldn't take more than 1 day down. Find a reputable shop and schedule it precisely. Or, grab a service manual and have at it. Either way, if it were me, I'd be doing it before the trip.

ac

 

[Bigbore4]

FWIW my FJR is ridden hard, I didn't get to that until ~30k miles. All were within the specified limits, I didn't change any. Some were right at the tight limit, but again within limits. Very similar 4 valve shim under bucket design. I would not have any concern were I in your position. I have about 16 k to go however.

The maintenance schedule takes many variables into account, I have no doubt Yamaha Service Engineers considered many scenario's when setting the schedule.

 

[markjenn]

I'm with the majority here - 26K is a somewhat arbitrary judgment on Yamaha's part as the best compromise between service expense and risk of a valve going enough out of spec to cause an issue, such as shortened valve life. Pushing it out 15% is just increasing the risk a slight amount. I think the risk is high enough not to let it go indefinitely, but I don't think it matters much whether you do it at 20K, 25K, 26K, or 30K. It's like oil changes... you need to do them, but being off +/-20% probably isn't significant.

- Mark

 

[sail2xxs]

Thanks for the info on your experiences with the FJRs! I'm trying to get timing figured out to do the valves sooner rather than later, but part of the planning process for the job involves getting a day off work, and having the engine be "overnight cold". This all means it has to happen on a Monday, and the next two are toast.

As for issues with the bike thus far, I've had a loose spoke on the rear wheel, cooked headlight harness connector on the right hand side, and a final drive seal oil leak a few weeks after some rather intense time in the mud back in February. All three issues were quickly and efficiently taken care of under warranty by Romney Cycles. Other than that, my clutch lever gets a bit sticky once in a while, but a squirt of Jigaloo takes care of it. Replaced the rear brake pads at about 24K, fronts are still in good shape. I'll post pics of the headlight connector and final drive seal when I get a couple minutes.

One thing I have noticed from riding the bike in dirt/gravel/mud is that the holes in the brake rotors fill with gunk pretty quickly. Once I get back to pavement, I spend a couple minutes cleaning them out with a twig

Chris

 

[avc8130]

Sometimes you just have to take them out of service for a day or two to treat them to the attention/rest they deserve.

ac

 

[sail2xxs]

Just to follow up on this, Romney Cycles did the 26k service on my Tenere yesterday at 27,538 miles. The cvalve check was uneventful - no adjustment needed!

Valve clearance intake: .005"
Valve clearance exhaust: .009"
changed spark plugs and air filter (2 of the plugs were somewhat worn)
flushed brakes and clutch (plenty of air in both)
steering head bearings were totally loaded with grease and looked very happy

One interesting thing to note was that there was some water in the airbox - probably from some water crossings a couple weekends ago. There are two small drain plugs at the front of the airbox, however, they are inaccessible unless you raise the fuel tank. A third, large drain is at the left rear of the box, and is also more or less inaccessible without raising the tank. A couple minutes of tinkering during the service straightened this out. ;D

Pics attached. The plugs from the airbox fit nicely into the two small black hoses, and the cover for the larger drain at the rear of the box also was a good fit. The entire setup was under 10 minutes work with the tank already up, and cost about $6.00 in parts. The hoses for the two small drains now exit just above the top of the AltRider crashbar cross piece, and the large hose fits neatly at the back end of the RideOnADV bashplate.

If you want to do a similar modification, part numbers/names are:

Small black hoses: 2 hose 90445-088C5-00
Big drain hose: clear vinyl fuel line 3/8 x 25'

Chris

 

[EricV]

I guess I'm not getting why you added hoses to the drains. I would think they would be more likely to clog from the inside, but the hoses are now a entry point at a lower level than before. And why cap the larger hose? I suppose you will see water in it now, but it can also fill up and can't drain. Wasn't that the original point, to allow water to drain?

 

[sail2xxs]

I guess I'm not getting why you added hoses to the drains. I would think they would be more likely to clog from the inside, but the hoses are now a entry point at a lower level than before. And why cap the larger hose? I suppose you will see water in it now, but it can also fill up and can't drain. Wasn't that the original point, to allow water to drain?

Eric,

I think I did a poor job explaining what was done, and why. The hoses were added to the drains because all three of the drain plugs are inaccessible without raising the tank. All three hoses are capped off - the plugs from the 2 forward drains on the airbox now plug the two forward hoses, and the cap plug that was on the rear drain is now on the rear-most hose. Now it is an easy matter to pull the plugs and drain if needed - but no new entry point has been created, just a more accessible exit point.

Chris

 

[EricV]

Eric,

I think I did a poor job explaining what was done, and why. The hoses were added to the drains because all three of the drain plugs are inaccessible without raising the tank. All three hoses are capped off - the plugs from the 2 forward drains on the airbox now plug the two forward hoses, and the cap plug that was on the rear drain is now on the rear-most hose. Now it is an easy matter to pull the plugs and drain if needed - but no new entry point has been created, just a more accessible exit point.

Chris

Ok, I understand. The drains are normally plugged at the airbox, so now they are still plugged, but where you can get to them as desired w/o lifting the tank. Thanks.

 

[mingo]

What did the dealer charge you for the 26,000 mile service?

 

[sail2xxs]

About $260; I had a $50 Yamaha coupon for filling out online survey, which helped.