More on my spoke ordeal

[Super08]

I bought a new S10 a couple weeks ago. After only a couple of rides and just over 400 km I had a rear spoke come off and wrap around the rim and tire when it hit the swingarm. Luckily it happened just as I had gotten home and was putting my bike into the garage so it only hit the swingarm/driveshaft twice before I stopped it and I found the nipple was laying in the driveway where I stopped to open the garage door.
I contacted the dealership and told them what happened and they were surprised and said it is definitely warranty and would contact Yamaha. I had by bike booked in the following week for its first service and they said they would have the spokes in by then. I straightened out the spoke the best I could, put it back on and torqued the rest of the rear spokes, all of which were loose. The front spokes were all tight.
Fast forward to yesterday when I rode my bike down for service to the dealer 250 miles away. No problems with any spokes coming loose since I torqued them. The dealership did the service and replaced the damaged one and rechecked the torque again which was found to be good. When I paid the bill the service rep said Yamaha wouldn't pay for the damaged spoke on my bike. They stepped up to the plate on their own and paid for a full set of spokes to replace the one on my bike out of their own pocket. This is from a smaller size dealership. Excellent service and the morals to do the right thing for the customer even when Yamaha wouldn't. So this is a big shout out to E&S Motorcycles in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. What they did speaks volumes to me and I thank you. ::012::

 

[maximus_flavius]

I'm suprised Yamaha wouldn't warranty that. Good on the dealer for taking care of it.

 

[greg the pole]

Hi Super 8.

I lost three spokes in one ride way back at 20k. Since my bike was a US import, my dealer did not go to bat for me (full set of spokes). I got some spares from one of the forum members if memory serves.

Besides torquing the spokes, cross tie them, and use the weakest green loc tite on the nipples. I've had zero issues since (65k) I do check them from time to time.
Scroll to the bottom of the blog post below:
https://thetenerist.wordpress.com/2013/11/10/fork-rebuild-v2-0-steering-head-grease-up-and-front-rim-grease-spoke-tigtening/

 

[Super08]

I cross tied the damaged one until it could be replaced just in case it broke after being bent and then hammered back straight. When I get time I may buy a bag of ties and do them if I see any start to get loose again.

 

[Nikolajsen]

Very strange :
I also bought a new S10 this spring, and I had about 4000 km. on it, before I read about the problem with loose spokes in this forum.
I did check min as soon as I read about it, but none of them were loose ::012::

 

[WJBertrand]

Sounds like more of a positive experience than an "ordeal" good on your dealer.


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[DryRider]

Can anybody tell me how I should check mine and what is needed. Thanks

 

[Checkswrecks]

Can anybody tell me how I should check mine and what is needed. Thanks

People have extensively given this in the #1 sticky on the Wheels & Tires section of the forum.
http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?board=74.0
::008::

 

[greg the pole]

I cross tied the damaged one until it could be replaced just in case it broke after being bent and then hammered back straight. When I get time I may buy a bag of ties and do them if I see any start to get loose again.

once torqued, and the green loc tite is used, they will likely never let go. The ties are insurance only.
btw...my wheels are true, even though I hammer on them all the time

 

[yoyo]

I'm sure on of pre delivery checks is to torque down the spokes which clearly was missed by the dealer but they've redeemed themselves so all is good.

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[corndog]

The spokes may be fine at delivery and loosen early on as they take a set and wear into the coated rim. My 2013 lost a nipple (saw spoke hanging) at around 100 miles and I got lucky and saw it when I stopped. It must have fallen off right as I stopped. Re-torqued when I got home and one more time around 10,000 miles. They were fine up to 40,000 miles when I totaled it.

My replacement 2015 Tenere never had a spoke loosen up, but I have paid more attention and re-torqued once so far. I have zip tied the spokes on both wheels, although the front was more for show.

 

[Cycledude]

Quite surprising to read that Yamaha would deny a warranty claim for a broken spoke on a nearly brandnew Tenere with only 400 kilometers on it !

 

[GunNut37086]

This is 100% pure speculation, but my guess is that the spokes are to be tightened as part of the dealer prep and/or user maintenance. In fact, I wonder if anyone at the Yamaha factory where the bike is made ever even touches a wheel.

There's probably a list of things that dealer prep includes, like spoke tightening. That would explain Yamaha's refusal to cover it and a dealership's willingness to step up and take care of it. Again, just a guess.

 

[Defekticon]

I'm sure this topic could be a thread of it's own, but it's rather infuriating that I've read more warranty threads where Yamaha refuses to pay, or negotiates a settlement that leaves the owner with a big fat bill at the end. A warranty isn't something I want to haggle over when I take it to the dealer for service. I've only got 13k on my bike, and no mechanical issues thus far. I have the 5 year YES warranty. I'm starting to think it's more useful as toilet paper....

I do recognize that good experiences rarely get posted, it's a small market for the S10, and the negative posts garner more attention. That's not an excuse, Yamaha PR should be cruising this forum and ADVRider on a daily basis for their own reputations sake. Auto manufacturers do it, and it's working well for them.

 

[RonH]

I doubt Yamaha asks the dealer to check spokes on a brand new bike, so it is surprising not considered a warranty issue. I check mine every oil change and never worry a bit about the spokes. There may be more to the story here than we have read. Spoke coming loose in a couple hundred miles is very unusual to say the least.

 

[AwesomeUsername]

This exact thing happened to me right after my first service on mine. Spoke came lose, didn't do any damage...this time.

Took it to the dealer, pretty sure they did nothing but put a new one in there. Didn't check the wheel etc... Several thousand miles later right before my next service interval, rear spoke comes loose. I don't hear it, I'm going freeway speed, music through my Bluetooth headset. It ends up spinning back there, grinding a 1/4 inch notch out of my rear swing arm, ovalling the hole it was in, grinding down the rounded edge of the rim, and scratching the hell out of my yoshimura. I was pissed. Having never owned a spoked wheel mc before, I always requested they check the spokes at service, wasn't aware I should be checking them myself too.

Took it to a different dealership (St boni Yamaha for you MN peeps), and they replaced everything under warranty. Rear swing arm, rear wheel, even my yoshimura exhaust. They are now zip tied and I've, knock on wood, had zero issues.

 

[Super08]

Not much I can add to the story. I bought a new bike which I only had out for three rides and at the end of the third ride a spoke came out and wrapped around the rim/tire as it passed through the swingarm. With only a little over 400 km/250 miles a person shouldn't have loose spokes. It was only rode on the street as well. Either way the dealership made sure no expense was incurred by me and I am happy. I now have just shy of 2,000 km on it with no further issues. I have rechecked the spokes a few times and everything is staying tight.