I did err about the carbs on the early Caponord. I had forgotten that even the 2001 was injected. My bad.
It's been over a decade since I last read about someone putting out a fire on one and wow, I've seen perhaps 4 on the road in 18 years. I think I've see about that many Aprilla dealerships too!
This bike is a very heavy beast!!
Compared to what else in it's class? and then we load them up. Insignificant differences on the Big Trailies. If Guzzi shows up with a 500 lb, 1200cc bike, people will take notice, but the whole class of big trailies are heavy. Especially the shaft driven contenders.
The poor reliability issues with the ST are too long to list.
You seem to be listing them fine.
Owner maintenance issue. Yes, we were more ignorant because the bikes were new to the market, but so were the dealers.
There have only been perhaps 6-10, (I am one of the first), and the high mileage guys made it possible for everyone else to be aware of the problem, and Yamaha to address it by updating/changing the CCT. Now, nearly everyone knows to swap the original Gen I CCT before the 52k valve check service interval.
driveshafts snapping and leaving riders stranded
I've been here since '11 and never heard of a drive shaft snapping. Nor on the FJR forum in over a decade and millions of rider miles. Got documentation for a failure?
electronic shorts causing fires
What? Two?! and both under questionable conditions.
Again, two? Other clutch basket swaps were for improvement, not due to failure.
The list goes on. Hell I have less than 2,000 miles on mine and have already experienced the foot peg mount getting bent!! For no reason other than the bike tipping over.
LOL, I have 130k miles on two different Super Tens and have tipped over and dropped my bike in a wide variety of conditions w/o a bent footpeg mount. Just because you're un-lucky doesn't make it a flaw. 600 lbs, do the math. If it hits wrong, things bend or break. Got any crash bars? I've had good crash bars and skid plate on my Super Tens from very early on. It prevents the possibility of some damage that might otherwise occur w/o them.
Yamaha is well known for the poor build quality of it's machines.
Riiight. That's why I put 160k miles on a FJR and 109k on my Gen I and bought another Gen II.
Almost forgot the 12k on a FZ1 before that while I was waiting for my FJR.
Only reason I bought mine is because it was cheap. You truly do get what you pay for.
Sounds more like you bought yours because you wanted something else you couldn't afford.
OTOH, you can buy a BMW GS or 1290 KTM and get a problem free bike that will last well over 100,000 miles with nothing more than oil changes and clean air filters. Both of those bikes set the gold standard when it comes to cheap easy to get parts and bulletproof reliability. Yamaha is initially cheap but parts are very hard to obtain and very expensive!!
If you believe that, you are very misguided or simply lack experience with either brand. I currently have a '16 GSA, (twice the cost, not twice the bike), in the garage and her last bike was a F650GS that cost us more than the price of the bike in repairs, thankfully under an extended warranty, aftermarket, because BMW won't offer extended warranties for their bikes. The GSA has an unlimited aftermarket warranty, because I know it will break down catastrophically, it's just a matter of when. Usually slightly after the 36k mark or just before is when things start going south, sometimes fast.
KTMs suffer from a host of problems, notoriously the firmware upgrades that strand the bike at the dealer and airbox leakage that 'dusts' the cylinder walls and leads to early engine compression failures. They have gotten better, but these issues still exist. Never mind the laughably short maintenance intervals compared to some other brands.
Actually you are going crazy!! I too Have the ES and I'm very disappointed. Soft suspension and nothing but wrenching on this POS since I brought it home!!
Do tell. 2000 miles and "nothing but wrenching"? My first ride of my current bike was a bit over 1k miles. I changed the oil/filter when I got it home and checked the spokes.
Sorry but I call BS on the high milage Wing!! Honda Gold Wings are well documented as a throw away bike after just a few years. You would be lucky to get 50,000 miles on a Gold Wing. 4th gear failures happen around that time.
Again, you either lack knowledge or are severely un-lucky. I know literally dozens of GL1800 riders, including two GL1800s in this household that my wife owned and put over 100k on each w/o any failures. I know others that had the frame recall too, but have never heard of 4th gear failures except a couple isolated cases and the GL1500 failures.
For a reliable touring machine that goes 300,000 miles plus, Harley Davidson Electra glides are the only real choice for a touring bike that gives trouble free miles. You can't be serious picking unreliable shaft drive over a silky smooth belt driven machine. And lets not forget the sound system and loud exhaust. Nothing like an open pipe Harley snapping the throttle, and blaring the music at lights to let you know why they are truly the best made bike out there!!
Harley makes a fine machine, for what it is. Don't hot rod it and it will crank out mile after mile. That said, $10k of engine work and you won't be up to the Hp of a stock bike from many other manufacturers. And most of the truely high mile HD guys have replaced a lot of 'parts', like engines..., but "it's still the same bike!".
Thanks again Tommy for setting these guys straight with your honest and candid facts!! BTW, you can't go wrong with the Aprilia!! My brothers 50CC scooter has over 10,000 miles on it and still running strong!!
Wow, 10,000 whole miles? My Chinese 150cc scooter has over 30k miles with only a piston change.
Thanks for the satire post ballisticexchris. Well done. If you're not happy with the Super Tenere, sell it and buy something that you like better. Next time do a longer test ride or more research so you're not so disappointed.
