First ride 2012 S10 impressions

mountainmaxman

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Aug 16, 2019
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Labrador, Canada
Hey guys, I flew out and bought it used from a dealer and drove it 2230km hime. I have had bikes all my life mostly dual purpose Yamaha's then the FJR1300 and i found I miss the dual sport so Im keeping the FJR and bought the S10 :) anyhow i must say i was very impressed with it overall, great for cruising high speeds on the highway, great for switchbacks and it turns so sharp. then for the 200km section of dirt road i was pleased overall with the handling and traction but I do have one complaint and I hope I can fix it with some adjustments. I get some bad handlebar shake (tries to shake my hands off the bars) when hitting washboard dirt road areas even at low to moderate speeds. I will make another post after searching for this afterwards. The fuel economy is good at lower speeds but higher highway speeds the low fuel light came on at 312km and took 16 litres seems a bit low to me but maybe it's not. I also feel a little vibration when accelerating in any gear at any lower rpm, maybe this is normal for the twin as im coming off single and 4 cylinder engines. Overall very happy. If anyone can comment on any of these please do so. Thanks :)
 
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HeliMark

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Dec 18, 2013
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995
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Tennessee
That distance isn't too bad. Mine will turn on about 330 km(ish). The higher speed, of course the less mileage. This is a big bike that isn't as streamlined as the FJR. Probably the biggest influence is your right wrist. The more fun, the less mileage.
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2019
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Rochester, NY
Adjusting your suspension should help with those washboards on dirt. I would send my ECU into Anthony to have flashed with your choice dependent on riding style. I bought my MY 13 just a few weeks ago. The previous owner had the ECU flashed in conjunction with a 2 Brothers exhaust. The bike is very quick in S mode with better vibration reduction over stock. The T mode is very gentle but I wish that I didn’t have to be so careful with the clutch upon starts. Starting in T mode, while smooth requires getting some vibration as I have to accelerate turning and there is a small section of the power band that vibrates much more than the rest. I do think it’s the nature of the parallel twin as I noticed much different vibrations when I tried the Kawasaki Versys and the Triumph Tigers triple in both the 800 and Explorer 1200XC.

I definitely love the S10 as everything else is fine and the price was much less than half of what the 1200XC would have cost. Even the 800 XCt was double the price of this lightly used S10. Plus no extras save an crash guard and the niceties of the 2019 stuff like standard heated grips, TFT dash and cruise control.

Glad you enjoyed your right.


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SHUMBA

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Joined
Dec 29, 2018
Messages
1,242
Location
ONTARIO, CANADA
Hey guys, I flew out and bought it used from a dealer and drove it 2230km hime. I have had bikes all my life mostly dual purpose Yamaha's then the FJR1300 and i found I miss the dual sport so Im keeping the FJR and bought the S10 :) anyhow i must say i was very impressed with it overall, great for cruising high speeds on the highway, great for switchbacks and it turns so sharp. then for the 200km section of dirt road i was pleased overall with the handling and traction but I do have one complaint and I hope I can fix it with some adjustments. I get some bad handlebar shake (tries to shake my hands off the bars) when hitting washboard dirt road areas even at low to moderate speeds. I will make another post after searching for this afterwards. The fuel economy is good at lower speeds but higher highway speeds the low fuel light came on at 312km and took 16 litres seems a bit low to me but maybe it's not. I also feel a little vibration when accelerating in any gear at any lower rpm, maybe this is normal for the twin as im coming off single and 4 cylinder engines. Overall very happy. If anyone can comment on any of these please do so. Thanks :)
The Tenere has very good fuel economy at the lower speeds. I'm getting approximately 4.8 litres per 100 km. Translation about 48-50 mpg. If you want to dawdle along at 80 kph or 50 mph fuel burn would be about 4 liters per 100 km.
The 2018 I ride has a current display of the fuel burn.
Now if I push it and ride at higher speeds, say, 135 kph, then the fuel consumption rises to about 6.5 litres per 100 km.
The range varies depending upon your speeds. One additional factor, I have a Yamaha tall windscreen and it produces additional drag. Remember drag increases as the square root of the speed and the power required increases by a cube value.
Someone please chime in here and provide an better explanation about drag, power, with increased speeds.
SHUMBA

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EricV

Riding, farkling, riding...
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Glad you had a nice ride on the way home from picking up your new to you bike. :)

The low fuel light typically comes on about where yours does. 23 liter tank, still usually 6 liters of useable fuel in the tank when reserve comes on. Gives you plenty of warning to get fuel. ;)

You don't say how many kms your new to you bike has. Gen I Super Tens, (10-13 model years), suffer from vibrations under load in the 3-4k rpm range as they get higher miles on them. Some simply don't notice it. Others start to notice it somewhere between 50k and 80k kms. The solution is to change to the Gen II clutch hub, (Primary Driven Gear in Yamaha speak). It uses polymer bumpers instead of springs and eliminates the vibration under load from the worn clutch Primary Driven Gear. This isn't a super difficult job, but requires a clutch tool and impact wrench along with a torque wrench to re-tighten the nut. The clutch cover gasket often can be re-used, but may tear. The nut can be re-staked, but is supposed to be replaced with a new one each time it is removed. The following parts would be ordered to do the job:

Primary Driven Gear Comp - 2BS-16150-00-00
Nut - 90179-20007-00 (can sometimes be re-used)
Ring - 2H7-16385-00-00 (can sometimes be re-used if care is taken during removal)
Gasket, Crankcase Cover 2 - 23P-15461-00-00 (can be re-used if cover comes off w/o damaging gasket, which is often the case)

These parts cost approximately $350 USD plus shipping. The main cost is the Primary Driven Gear at approx. $300 USD.

Nothing bad will happen if you don't change the clutch hub to the newer design. It's very rare for them to fail, it just has the vibration. I did change this on my '12 at around 133k kms and felt it was a big improvement.

On the bar wag on washboard gravel road. This could be something as simple as the steering head bearings needing to be re-torqued. It's common for them to come loose over time and wear. To do this right it requires an inexpensive tool and a torque wrench. There is a process for doing this that requires torquing the lower spline nut to 52 Nm, then loosening it slightly, then re-torquing to 18 Nm. The top hex nut under the rubber plug on top of the upper triple tree has a torque spec of 130 Nm and is commonly found loose on new bikes after some break in miles. If it hasn't been addressed, this could also be the case on your new to you bike.

If you do this or have it done, it's a good time to clean and grease the steering head bearings too. A little more work, but worth while. Yamaha tends to use minimal grease throughout the bike. I believe there are some write ups on the forum on doing this service.

Hope that helps.
 

Cycledude

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Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
3,997
Location
Rib lake wi
Yes the Tenere is definitely a vibrator with pretty lousy low end torque but most owners on this forum are in love with the twin. Seems like all the ADV bike manufacturers are in love with twins.
I wonder if maybe your spokes need adjusting, bought my first Tenere used from a dealer that claimed to have done all the work for the previous owner and wow the rear wheel was waaaay out of alignment !! I had to take the wheel to a pro to get it right.
 
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beastie

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2019
Messages
38
I had an FJR in the shed for about 6 months after I got the '11 S!0. Never rode the FJR once after the S10 arrived. It's both surprising and fulfilling how one of these things can be punted along.
About the fuel. You had 7 litres left,so,approximately 135km left in the tank. Can't remember,but that must be around the same as the FJR for fuel range. Mine will do 4.6l/100kms if ridden sensibly,6.5 if ridden hard. We don't have the long straight roads down my way so speeds are lower,but gear and throttle abuse is fairly high. Washboards; tyres,tyre pressure/condition,front suspension settings/condition,head bearings or looseness thereof. Tyres do make a fair difference on these bikes. My bike has 85k on it,I don't notice the vibes too much so have nothing to offer there. Grease any pivot,spline etc you can find too,can't hurt at all.
Overall,these are great bikes. The fun part is sticking it where it doesn't belong and having sportbike riders coming over to see 'what's been done to it'. Don't get me wrong,it won't get close top speed,but on sharp nasty corners with sub par roads these things are a threat,and they hate that.
All the best with the new bike,you'll come to love it,believe me.
 
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