Highest Mileage Yamaha Super Tenere

[sail2xxs]

Hey Chris, great to hear you're still going strong. On the differential seals... I'm in Mexico now at 30,000 miles, had a seal replaced in San Diego at 22,000. I'm carrying a spare but maybe I should have 2! Looking at your results and mine, there seems to be about 20,000 miles between seals needing replacement. I wonder if this is going to be a wear item? Seal is cheap at $10, and the dealer would have charged me $145 to change it, if it hadn't been covered by extended warranty. Maybe something I need to learn how to do myself!

Hey Trevor! Glad you're having such a good trip! Someday I hope to follow in your tire tracks! TJ and I have joked that it might make sense to swap out the seal every time I get fresh K-60s mounted. This last set has almost 30k miles on it though, so they outlasted the seal. Having watched TJ do the work 3 times now, it seems fairly straightforward, and doesn't take him anywhere near the amount of time the book says it does. I'm sure if I tried it would take closer to book time though!

Safe travels and best wishes,

Chris

 

[sail2xxs]

I don't off road as much as either Sail or DC, but I find it interesting about the diff seals. No issues on mine or the headlight harness so far. How often do you wash the bike, and how? Garden hose, pressure washer, etc? I've never washed mine.

My bike has been formally (soap and water) washed 4 times since I bought it new. The last time in October, and that was only to clean it up enough so my pillion wouldn't get dirty. ;D I use a garden hose with low pressure, no sprayer attachment, Turtle Wax car wash, and microfiber towels. The bike gets informally (water crossings, puddles and rain) washed on a regular basis.

Chris

 

[coastie]

Re: Re: Highest Mileage Yamaha Super Tenere

My bike has been formally (soap and water) washed 4 times since I bought it new. The last time in October, and that was only to clean it up enough so my pillion wouldn't get dirty. ;D I use a garden hose with low pressure, no sprayer attachment, Turtle Wax car wash, and microfiber towels. The bike gets informally (water crossings, puddles and rain) washed on a regular basis.

Chris

Combo and I compared the headlight connections between our bikes and the connector where the harness connects into headlight are very different. He had extra plastic around the metal connector that did not allow him to push it down all the way, so he filed the extra plastic away. When we went to modify mine, the metal sat flush with the edge of the plastic allowing it to push onto the male connector completely. Hopefully mine stays trouble free.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

 

[erenet]

The oil seal issue is very puzzling - none of the three seals showed any nicks or damage, and each started to weep after approximately 20k miles. I do ride the bike offroad whenever I get the chance, and it is not unusual for it to be completely covered in mud by the end of the day. However, the third seal had a relatively "clean" life, which weakened our conviction that the seals were somehow being affected by dirt/grit getting in. In two instances differential oil was on the outer side of the differential, and the 3rd instance it was both on the inner and outer sides. I rode the bike approximately 1500 miles after noting the weeping the third time it happened, and the weep developed into a pea-sized droplet of differential oil which collected at the bottom of the differential.

When you say "3rd instance it was both on the inner and outer sides", can you please tell me if you mean the outer seal page 4-104 #7 ( on the service manual) and inner seal page 4-106 #13 plus the O-ring next to it? Did you change only the outer seal (4-104 #7) the first and second time you did it? I have to do mine and I was wondering if I should just clean it and replace only the outer seal (4-104 #7) for the fist time at 23,000km, 14,290 miles.
On the service manual it says NEW for the coupling gear nut, did you get a new nut when you changed the inner seal page 4-106 #13?
Thanks

 

[~TABASCO~]

Im just thinking out loud.... this is not a set up question..........

For the few guys that have had some leaking / weeping.... what oil where you using in the rear end?


I only ask because, im my experience I have use synthetics for many years. On several bikes I have seen 'wet' areas on the engine that was from the use of synthetics. Its never been an issue. (in my case, that was the cause of the weeping, that's another story)...
I run Mobil 1 full Syn in the rear of my bike, and wondered what the other few guys where using that have had a few issues..... ?

 

[iridemotorbikes]

Im just thinking out loud.... this is not a set up question..........

For the few guys that have had some leaking / weeping.... what oil where you using in the rear end?


I only ask because, im my experience I have use synthetics for many years. On several bikes I have seen 'wet' areas on the engine that was from the use of synthetics. Its never been an issue. (in my case, that was the cause of the weeping, that's another story)...
I run Mobil 1 full Syn in the rear of my bike, and wondered what the other few guys where using that have had a few issues..... ?

Oil question.......... Man you just opened the flood gate for all the former BMW guys to chime in!!!! LOL

 

[~TABASCO~]

Oil question.......... Man you just opened the flood gate for all the former BMW guys to chime in!!!! LOL

Sh@t ! NO oil debate. Lol

 

[erenet]

For the few guys that have had some leaking / weeping.... what oil where you using in the rear end?

I've been using Yamalube SAE 80W90 in the rear end at every motor oil changed, I have a new bottle of Motul SAE 75W90 full Syn that was going in on the next oil change. I can't find Mobil 1 full Syn around here.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Last spring TJ at Romney told me my seal showed evidence it had leaked in the past, but was not leaking while he was looking at it then. He suggested at some point I should get it replaced, but said I did not need to rush. Clearly I haven't rushed. That bike now has 19K miles. From what I'm seeing I guess I should expect to see some leakage soon.

 

[GreggB]

In one of the answer to this question the name Nick Sanders came up, his trip on a super tenere is one of the reasons I went and got mine . Check this link out Nick Sanders - The Incredible Ride - Title sequence

 

[Jap_STi_3]

Well I've just tipped over the 27,000 mile mark with just one issue a new cam chain tensioner fitted after picking it up from the 24,000 service. The shop owner heared the racket and called me as soon as I got home to bring it back in and fit the tensioner under warranty.

Other than that all good. Oh and Mr T is 17 months old now.

By the end of the year that will be 100,000 miles on three bikes in 3 & half years. ::021::

 

[carrot]

im only at 16000 miles only problem was new fork seals sense i only wash bike every 4000 miles . i also run yamalube 80-90 change every 8000 miles with no oil leaks.

 

[88millimeter]

Well i didnt purchase the bike with 10k miles but i did buy Rexford's S10 with 1800 miles, it wasn't cheap ( compared against the bikes i have purchased before) heck its the most expensive vehicle i own now, but it is in great condition with a lot of high quality farkles. New S10 owner right here wot, wot.

 

[SpenceS10]

Im just thinking out loud.... this is not a set up question..........

For the few guys that have had some leaking / weeping.... what oil where you using in the rear end?


I only ask because, im my experience I have use synthetics for many years. On several bikes I have seen 'wet' areas on the engine that was from the use of synthetics. Its never been an issue. (in my case, that was the cause of the weeping, that's another story)...
I run Mobil 1 full Syn in the rear of my bike, and wondered what the other few guys where using that have had a few issues..... ?

Tabasco, I was just thinking the same thing. And as a former BMW guy who has changed every seal on his GS, synthetic oils have been known to get by some seals. The BMW shop always ask me if I was running synthetic, which I did untill the leaks popped up, then switched back to regular oils, but the leaks remain. I hope the Tenere is not one of those as I plan to run synthetic in the rear as well as the engine soon!

 

[~TABASCO~]

Ive been running full synthetics in the engine and rear. I started changing it all out at 150-200 miles... I have had NO issues or 'weeps' at all...

 

[SpenceS10]

Ive been running full synthetics in the engine and rear. I started changing it all out at 150-200 miles... I have had NO issues or 'weeps' at all...

That's good to hear, I plan to switch over when I change oil and filter next time.

 

[~TABASCO~]

I don't want to start any ridiculous "oil thread" , but JFYI Ive been running Rotella full syn (blue bottle) the whole time up front and Mobil 1 LS in the rear... No issues... After "washing" out both ends a few times with an oil changes, in the first few thousand miles, I now run my synthetic 6-7-8 K before changing.. I have 7K on the current oil and its still golden in the window...... I will change it again, when I get my bike back together and out on the road... Get'er all ready for some hard core ADV riding again... im READY !

 

[s10moose]

Bringing a thread back from the dead... I would like to hear some updates to the highest mileage tenere?

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Paging Chris (sails2xs), you have a call.

 

[s10moose]

I think I seen chris bike for sale back in January or February. The bike had about 130k miles and was at a dealer in Virginia or Maryland