EricV
Riding, farkling, riding...
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First off, the bike is fixed now and back in my garage, ready for many thousands more miles of riding.
A little pre-amble to describe why I wasn't in a position to just take the bike to the dealer when I first noticed an increase in timing chain noise. Sorry for the long post, but I hope that the info will help others.
My wife and I planned a month long, 8k mile trip to Alaska/Yukon for last June/July. Prior to the trip the S10 was at 74k miles and the prior valve adjustment had been done on schedule with some shim adjustments. My prior FJR was very stable in terms of valve shim changes, so I was confident that waiting until I got back for the valve check/adjustment was no big deal. I had always had some rattling on start up, especially cold starts, so did not have the CCT issue on my mind. At that point, only one failure had occurred and it appeared to be more due to the owner-maintenance instead of a failure of the CCT unit itself.
We had a great trip, but during the latter half of the trip I began to notice that the rattling of the timing chain on cold start ups was more pronounced and lasting longer. I attributed some of this to simply being parked outside in cooler weather, as the bike stays in the garage at home when not ridden. During the last week of our trip, the timing chain rattling became loud enough and lasted long enough that I began to worry about the issue stranding me if it failed/slipped, and decided that I would likely be getting that replaced when I had the dealer check the valves for the scheduled 78k mile check interval, which would be overdue at 82k. I had previously suffered 3 CCT failures on the FJR, and it got very, very loud before one of those changes, but never slipped, so perhaps I was lulled into less concern because of that previous experience. Our route was not thru any major cities for the last leg, so having a dealer look at it would have put us a ways off our planned route, which was not very flexible due to hotel reservations.
We made it home w/o any drama and had a fantastic time. I called the dealer and scheduled an appointment for a valve adjustment and to have them look at the CCT due to the noise on start ups. A couple of days later, (the day before the appointment), I washed both bikes, (the first ever actual wash for the S10), as they were pretty filthy from all the unpaved road riding and rain we'd been thru and then changed the oil/filter. After the oil change, I went to fire up the bike to circulate the fluids and intended to allow it to fully warm up before shutting down. I pressed the starter and the bike just caught, and died with an odd but slight metallic "snap" sound. (in hindsight, I should have stopped at this point and towed it to the dealer)
I tried cranking the bike again w/o any success in it starting. Being familiar with the classic Yamaha 'hard start', and having experienced that on both my FJR and the S10, I thought perhaps this was the only problem and it would feel foolish to take it to the dealer to only find out it started fine for them, so I went though my normal routine for a hard start, WFO on the throttle and gave it a good long crank with the starter... upon which it back fired, loudly, with a cloud of smoke from under the tank. Uh-Oh, that's not good, thinks I. So I turned off the key and the following morning I called a tow service to pick the bike up and deliver it to the dealer. That was July 19th. No service dept on Saturdays, so the actual service write up occurred on Monday the 21st of July.
What with the attempts to start the bike, I missed my appointment time on Friday, so I ended up calling the two truck for the following morning. No service dept on Sat, so the dealer was not able to tear into the bike until the following Monday. Monday they pulled the tank, and immediately noticed that the throttle bodies were separated from the head. The back fire had literally blown them off the intake. They removed them and pulled the spark plugs to examine with a scope. They quickly determined that things were not good, seeing marks on one piston from valve impact. They then pulled the valve cover and verified that the cam timing was off, and that the timing chain had slipped, causing a valve/piston interference. At this point, they both notified me, and Mother Yamaha as I was still under warranty, (4 year YES plan). It took over a week for the warranty claim rep to approve them to tear it down more, which included pulling the motor from the frame, removing the heads, cylinders and pistons from the rods. At that point they were able to determine the level of damage to the engine.
The damage was an impacted piston, two bent valves, (one intake, one exhaust), and they were concerned about some error codes and intended to replace the timing chain tensioner and chain as well. Because of the extent of the damage, and the real question of was there any more damage, specifically the bottom end, crank bearings, etc, due to the piston/valve impact, they discussed this with the regional rep that happened to stop buy around that time. A recent water craft warranty claim with a similar level of repair had resulted in Yamaha sending them a crate motor in stead of authorizing a repair to the existing motor. Because of these factors, they submitted a warranty repair request for everything they felt was suspect on the engine. They believed, at that time, that the response from Yamaha would be to send a crate motor, and possibly to send my motor back for examination.
It took over three weeks for the Yamaha warranty rep to respond. The claim was red flagged and he wanted some specific parts inspected in specific ways and a sensor checked due to the error codes and voiced the suspicion that the sensor was to blame instead of the timing chain tensioner. The rep also had a big, fat tizzy fit over them wanting to replace the timing chain because it was worn. (if any of you have read your YES warranty contract, you will see that wear is clearly specified as not covered under the warranty. This resulted in a bit of a conundrum. No, the timing chain was not broken... but there is no specification in the FSM for checking the timing chain to determine if it has stretched, or any way to tell if it's in or out of spec. The warranty rep could also not determine any spec by which to tell if the chain was in or out of spec. It's not an expensive part, but it would be foolish at best to re-install it, considering the extent of other repairs.
It took the tech a day to do the requested inspections and take measurements, pictures, etc. It took the dealer service writer a couple of days to re-write the claim in a verbiage that would avoid the red flags previously mentioned. Then it was re-submitted. At this point, no one knew what the warranty rep's response would be, and no repairs could be made until that info was on hand. No parts could be ordered under the claim. No progress of any kind could be made w/o the warranty rep's go ahead and specific approval of what parts would be covered and what direction the repair process would take.
Week after week went buy w/o any response from the warranty rep, (in Michigan, fwiw). Every week I would stop by the dealer to inquire about progress. Every week the service writer would PM and call the warranty rep asking him to respond to the claim so that they could order parts and make progress. None of the PMs were replied to, calling took 45 minutes on hold in the Yamaha phone system, only to get voice mail, where upon the service writer would leave a message requesting clarification. After four weeks of this, and while I was actually there, listening, with the phone on speaker, the service writer at the dealer managed to get thru to the warranty rep in MI. When asked if he had received the PMs thru the Yamaha warranty claim system, he replied "Yes, I got them." followed by dead air... My service writer asked him to respond to those questions and could they start the repair, etc. "Oh, I need you to send me all the bad parts first for examination here."
Soooo, the dealer boxed up the damaged parts and shipped them to Michigan. A couple more weeks went by, with the service writer PMing and Calling every week, as the parts only took a few days to arrive in MI. No response. A week later, the warranty rep finally answers the phone and when asked about the claim and if he had examined the parts, replied something to the effect of 'that must be what's in that box on my office floor'. It took another couple of weeks for the warranty rep to actually look at the parts, then he sent a list of approved parts to the dealer for the repair. The list included only one piston, but two sets of rings, two intake valves, but no exhaust valves, some guides, seals, the timing, (cam), chain tensioner and some gaskets. The dealer called me and asked me to swing by so they could discuss what the warranty rep had given them.
I went down to the dealer after work and the service writer and I went over the list of parts. He was not happy about the incorrect list, in that at minimum, one exhaust valve and one intake valve were needed, but they were not authorized to order an exhaust valve, only two intakes, which didn't make any sense. And the pistons come with rings, it not being possible to order just rings for one piston. Plus they still wanted to replace the timing chain, which was still a matter of contention due to a lack of specs and method by which to determine if it was good or bad. At this time I let the service writer know that, worst case, I'd pay for the second piston and timing chain rather than have them put the motor back together with one new piston and one old piston and a worn timing chain.
It took many more PMs and calls to the warranty rep before he came back with a revised list, which did finally include the timing chain and two pistons, an exhaust valve and intake valve, all new valve stem seals, damper chains, etc. Over the phone, the warranty rep still insisted that they would only cover one piston, and that it was possible to order only rings, despite the p/n that he listed resulted in a piston and rings being ordered. When they got this list, the dealer service writer immediately gave it to the parts guy and had him order all of the listed parts ASAP. He then called me and left a message asking me to come down to the dealer.
I went to the dealer and the service writer went over what had transpired and the list of parts. Letting me know that while the warranty rep had said on the phone he would only allow one piston to be covered under warranty, but two sets of rings, the list of parts he sent them within the Yamaha system included two pistons, etc. He warned me at this time that I might still have to pay for one piston, but that he ordered everything on the list immediately and they intended to submit the final claim with all those items. Understand that until the final paperwork is approved, the repair order can't be finished as they don't know what the customer has to pay for, Vs what Yamaha is going to cover.
It took only a week to get most of the parts in, but the CCT itself was by this time back ordered due in part to this issue occurring to a couple of other S10 owners, and the preventative orders that forum members made. The dealer ended up sending the head out to have the valves swapped and all of the valve lapped in, new guides, seals, and any minor damage repaired. They also began to re-assemble the motor, doing what they could while they waited for the CCT. This included a '14 clutch basket that I had scored on the "special pricing". I had lucked out to seeing that info on the forum during my trip and it finally came in while the bike was at the shop waiting for warranty approval. The CCT finally came in at the end of October.
The day after the CCT came in, the engine was finished and re-installed in the frame. The next day the remaining plethora of parts were re-installed on the bike so it could be fired up and test run. Everything went fine and the bike was fully repaired. I had previously told them not to worry about my electrical farkles, not wanting to pay additional labor for that, and with the intent to clean up some of the wiring that had been done over time as farkles were added.
So great, the bike is finished, finally! But I can't pick it up because the warranty rep still hasn't finalized the warranty repair request. W/o that, the dealer can't add up my costs Vs what is covered under warranty. It took two more weeks before that happened, all the while the finished bike sat at the dealer.
I ended up paying for the following items: Air filter, oil filter, coolant, oil and spark plugs, plus an hours labor for the clutch basket swap, which I expected, as aside from pulling the cover, they didn't need to get into that area for the other repairs. My total bill was $197.27 including sales tax. They discounted the parts I paid for as well, which I appreciated. The covered warranty cost was $1541.59.
November 15th, 17 weeks after I dropped it off, I was able to pick up the bike and ride it home. All in all, the dealer really went to bat for me and I am pleased with the service writer pushing the warranty rep, calling and PMing weekly, sometimes multiple times during the week all through the process. I am not pleased that a two week process took 17 weeks because of the warranty rep not responding in a timely manner and giving the dealer clear info and instructions from the beginning about what he needed in order to process the claim.
A few things I was not happy about at the dealer level, and things others should clarify and perhaps personally inspect if they have an extended repair:
My bike sat outside for 4 months at the dealer. I was told it was under cover, and perhaps it partially was. However the back of the bike was in daily sun and my pelican case and a few other items showed significant color bleaching from the sun. The bike was clean when I dropped it off, but after months of sitting and some heavy rain events, (I live in the desert, 110F+ in the summer, torrential fall rains occur), it wasn't clean when I picked it up. Now, don't get me wrong, they were going to wash it when I picked it up, but I ran around to the back of the dealer and stopped the wash boy with his pressure washer before he did any damage. Between the loose electrical connections and him obviously not having a clue at what not to aim the high pressure stream of water at, I'm thankful to have stopped him. Still, it wouldn't have been that difficult to have someone wash the bike before I came to pick it up.
They did keep my Russell Day Long seat inside the shop, so no sun fading on that, but that meant that the under seat tray was open to the weather too. My registration paperwork and everything in the tray was both sodden and sun baked, destroying the paperwork. As it happened, my annual registration was due while the bike was at the dealer, and did not require inspection this year, (every other year in UT), so I had a new registration page and the other insurance paperwork was easily re-printed, but still annoying.
My battery was never removed from the bike, just the negative cable removed and set aside. Never the less, after four months of sitting, the battery had gone completely flat. they did charge it up on a desulfating charger, (Optimate III, the same as I use at home), but it shows weak and isn't going to come back to where I feel I can trust it for trips. I ordered a Yuasa YTZ14S to replace it. ($129 w/free shipping off Amazon)
I've been too busy with work and the Christmas season to dive into the bike and take care of the farkle wiring. And only just ordered the battery, so have not ridden the bike since the ride home from the dealer. I can't really say how it runs or rides other than it felt normal. I expect the '14 clutch basket to eliminate the 3000-4000 rpm vibes I experienced under load, but otherwise I have a fresh top end and it should be fine for a long time. I don't yet know if the timing chain rattles on cold start up still, or is quiet now with the new design CCT. My original CCT allowed rattle on cold start ups from the day I rode it home.
That's my story. I wanted to wait until the repairs were complete to share the whole thing, not wanting to create any potential problems during the warranty by info I posted. I have posted in other CCT threads mentioning some details of my failure, but not the story from start to finish. If you have questions, feel free to ask them. This thread is in part to share this info with the forum so the nature of my CCT failure is out there to warn others, as well as simply to give me a little closure on the whole thing. It also serves to document another failure, of which there have been at least 3 that I am aware of.
Should you experience a noticeable increase in the loudness or duration of timing chain rattle on cold start ups, I strongly urge you to have it looked at by the dealer in short order. During this increased loudness, I would also suggest you not change the oil before having it looked at. I believe that due in part to the oil change and an empty motor when I went to start the bike, that the delay in building oil pressure may have allowed the timing chain to slip, due to the lack of oil pressure at the CCT.
Also, during the time where you are aware of the louder timing chain noise on start up, should the bike just catch, then die. DON'T CONTINUE TO CRANK THE MOTOR! Just turn the key off and get it towed to the dealer. Another rider experienced that, where the motor just caught, then died, and he searched the forum, then PM'd me asking about my experience. I gave him that advice, which he followed. His timing chain had slipped, he did get a new CCT, but had no valve damage!
I will never know that if I had left it alone after the initial failure to start instead of continuing to crank it, if I would have had valve/piston damage or not, but it's a lot better to pay for a possibly un-necessary tow than to wait weeks for a repair.
At this point, Yamaha France is suggesting Super Tenere owners replace the CCT at the 52k service. No one has had a failure at low miles, only well above that 52k mile figure. I think that the proactive replacement at 52k is very safe and an excellent way for others to avoid having a CCT failure and damage. If you have some noise on start ups, but are low mileage, don't stress about it. Next time you're at the dealer, have them listen to it, and do paperwork to document it, but it's likely exceedingly safe to leave it alone until that 52k valve check/adjustment service. If the dealer wants to replace it sooner, go for it if warranty covers it, or for your peace of mind, but don't stress over some noise.
Thanks for reading along.
A little pre-amble to describe why I wasn't in a position to just take the bike to the dealer when I first noticed an increase in timing chain noise. Sorry for the long post, but I hope that the info will help others.
My wife and I planned a month long, 8k mile trip to Alaska/Yukon for last June/July. Prior to the trip the S10 was at 74k miles and the prior valve adjustment had been done on schedule with some shim adjustments. My prior FJR was very stable in terms of valve shim changes, so I was confident that waiting until I got back for the valve check/adjustment was no big deal. I had always had some rattling on start up, especially cold starts, so did not have the CCT issue on my mind. At that point, only one failure had occurred and it appeared to be more due to the owner-maintenance instead of a failure of the CCT unit itself.
We had a great trip, but during the latter half of the trip I began to notice that the rattling of the timing chain on cold start ups was more pronounced and lasting longer. I attributed some of this to simply being parked outside in cooler weather, as the bike stays in the garage at home when not ridden. During the last week of our trip, the timing chain rattling became loud enough and lasted long enough that I began to worry about the issue stranding me if it failed/slipped, and decided that I would likely be getting that replaced when I had the dealer check the valves for the scheduled 78k mile check interval, which would be overdue at 82k. I had previously suffered 3 CCT failures on the FJR, and it got very, very loud before one of those changes, but never slipped, so perhaps I was lulled into less concern because of that previous experience. Our route was not thru any major cities for the last leg, so having a dealer look at it would have put us a ways off our planned route, which was not very flexible due to hotel reservations.
We made it home w/o any drama and had a fantastic time. I called the dealer and scheduled an appointment for a valve adjustment and to have them look at the CCT due to the noise on start ups. A couple of days later, (the day before the appointment), I washed both bikes, (the first ever actual wash for the S10), as they were pretty filthy from all the unpaved road riding and rain we'd been thru and then changed the oil/filter. After the oil change, I went to fire up the bike to circulate the fluids and intended to allow it to fully warm up before shutting down. I pressed the starter and the bike just caught, and died with an odd but slight metallic "snap" sound. (in hindsight, I should have stopped at this point and towed it to the dealer)
I tried cranking the bike again w/o any success in it starting. Being familiar with the classic Yamaha 'hard start', and having experienced that on both my FJR and the S10, I thought perhaps this was the only problem and it would feel foolish to take it to the dealer to only find out it started fine for them, so I went though my normal routine for a hard start, WFO on the throttle and gave it a good long crank with the starter... upon which it back fired, loudly, with a cloud of smoke from under the tank. Uh-Oh, that's not good, thinks I. So I turned off the key and the following morning I called a tow service to pick the bike up and deliver it to the dealer. That was July 19th. No service dept on Saturdays, so the actual service write up occurred on Monday the 21st of July.
What with the attempts to start the bike, I missed my appointment time on Friday, so I ended up calling the two truck for the following morning. No service dept on Sat, so the dealer was not able to tear into the bike until the following Monday. Monday they pulled the tank, and immediately noticed that the throttle bodies were separated from the head. The back fire had literally blown them off the intake. They removed them and pulled the spark plugs to examine with a scope. They quickly determined that things were not good, seeing marks on one piston from valve impact. They then pulled the valve cover and verified that the cam timing was off, and that the timing chain had slipped, causing a valve/piston interference. At this point, they both notified me, and Mother Yamaha as I was still under warranty, (4 year YES plan). It took over a week for the warranty claim rep to approve them to tear it down more, which included pulling the motor from the frame, removing the heads, cylinders and pistons from the rods. At that point they were able to determine the level of damage to the engine.
The damage was an impacted piston, two bent valves, (one intake, one exhaust), and they were concerned about some error codes and intended to replace the timing chain tensioner and chain as well. Because of the extent of the damage, and the real question of was there any more damage, specifically the bottom end, crank bearings, etc, due to the piston/valve impact, they discussed this with the regional rep that happened to stop buy around that time. A recent water craft warranty claim with a similar level of repair had resulted in Yamaha sending them a crate motor in stead of authorizing a repair to the existing motor. Because of these factors, they submitted a warranty repair request for everything they felt was suspect on the engine. They believed, at that time, that the response from Yamaha would be to send a crate motor, and possibly to send my motor back for examination.
It took over three weeks for the Yamaha warranty rep to respond. The claim was red flagged and he wanted some specific parts inspected in specific ways and a sensor checked due to the error codes and voiced the suspicion that the sensor was to blame instead of the timing chain tensioner. The rep also had a big, fat tizzy fit over them wanting to replace the timing chain because it was worn. (if any of you have read your YES warranty contract, you will see that wear is clearly specified as not covered under the warranty. This resulted in a bit of a conundrum. No, the timing chain was not broken... but there is no specification in the FSM for checking the timing chain to determine if it has stretched, or any way to tell if it's in or out of spec. The warranty rep could also not determine any spec by which to tell if the chain was in or out of spec. It's not an expensive part, but it would be foolish at best to re-install it, considering the extent of other repairs.
It took the tech a day to do the requested inspections and take measurements, pictures, etc. It took the dealer service writer a couple of days to re-write the claim in a verbiage that would avoid the red flags previously mentioned. Then it was re-submitted. At this point, no one knew what the warranty rep's response would be, and no repairs could be made until that info was on hand. No parts could be ordered under the claim. No progress of any kind could be made w/o the warranty rep's go ahead and specific approval of what parts would be covered and what direction the repair process would take.
Week after week went buy w/o any response from the warranty rep, (in Michigan, fwiw). Every week I would stop by the dealer to inquire about progress. Every week the service writer would PM and call the warranty rep asking him to respond to the claim so that they could order parts and make progress. None of the PMs were replied to, calling took 45 minutes on hold in the Yamaha phone system, only to get voice mail, where upon the service writer would leave a message requesting clarification. After four weeks of this, and while I was actually there, listening, with the phone on speaker, the service writer at the dealer managed to get thru to the warranty rep in MI. When asked if he had received the PMs thru the Yamaha warranty claim system, he replied "Yes, I got them." followed by dead air... My service writer asked him to respond to those questions and could they start the repair, etc. "Oh, I need you to send me all the bad parts first for examination here."
Soooo, the dealer boxed up the damaged parts and shipped them to Michigan. A couple more weeks went by, with the service writer PMing and Calling every week, as the parts only took a few days to arrive in MI. No response. A week later, the warranty rep finally answers the phone and when asked about the claim and if he had examined the parts, replied something to the effect of 'that must be what's in that box on my office floor'. It took another couple of weeks for the warranty rep to actually look at the parts, then he sent a list of approved parts to the dealer for the repair. The list included only one piston, but two sets of rings, two intake valves, but no exhaust valves, some guides, seals, the timing, (cam), chain tensioner and some gaskets. The dealer called me and asked me to swing by so they could discuss what the warranty rep had given them.
I went down to the dealer after work and the service writer and I went over the list of parts. He was not happy about the incorrect list, in that at minimum, one exhaust valve and one intake valve were needed, but they were not authorized to order an exhaust valve, only two intakes, which didn't make any sense. And the pistons come with rings, it not being possible to order just rings for one piston. Plus they still wanted to replace the timing chain, which was still a matter of contention due to a lack of specs and method by which to determine if it was good or bad. At this time I let the service writer know that, worst case, I'd pay for the second piston and timing chain rather than have them put the motor back together with one new piston and one old piston and a worn timing chain.
It took many more PMs and calls to the warranty rep before he came back with a revised list, which did finally include the timing chain and two pistons, an exhaust valve and intake valve, all new valve stem seals, damper chains, etc. Over the phone, the warranty rep still insisted that they would only cover one piston, and that it was possible to order only rings, despite the p/n that he listed resulted in a piston and rings being ordered. When they got this list, the dealer service writer immediately gave it to the parts guy and had him order all of the listed parts ASAP. He then called me and left a message asking me to come down to the dealer.
I went to the dealer and the service writer went over what had transpired and the list of parts. Letting me know that while the warranty rep had said on the phone he would only allow one piston to be covered under warranty, but two sets of rings, the list of parts he sent them within the Yamaha system included two pistons, etc. He warned me at this time that I might still have to pay for one piston, but that he ordered everything on the list immediately and they intended to submit the final claim with all those items. Understand that until the final paperwork is approved, the repair order can't be finished as they don't know what the customer has to pay for, Vs what Yamaha is going to cover.
It took only a week to get most of the parts in, but the CCT itself was by this time back ordered due in part to this issue occurring to a couple of other S10 owners, and the preventative orders that forum members made. The dealer ended up sending the head out to have the valves swapped and all of the valve lapped in, new guides, seals, and any minor damage repaired. They also began to re-assemble the motor, doing what they could while they waited for the CCT. This included a '14 clutch basket that I had scored on the "special pricing". I had lucked out to seeing that info on the forum during my trip and it finally came in while the bike was at the shop waiting for warranty approval. The CCT finally came in at the end of October.
The day after the CCT came in, the engine was finished and re-installed in the frame. The next day the remaining plethora of parts were re-installed on the bike so it could be fired up and test run. Everything went fine and the bike was fully repaired. I had previously told them not to worry about my electrical farkles, not wanting to pay additional labor for that, and with the intent to clean up some of the wiring that had been done over time as farkles were added.
So great, the bike is finished, finally! But I can't pick it up because the warranty rep still hasn't finalized the warranty repair request. W/o that, the dealer can't add up my costs Vs what is covered under warranty. It took two more weeks before that happened, all the while the finished bike sat at the dealer.
I ended up paying for the following items: Air filter, oil filter, coolant, oil and spark plugs, plus an hours labor for the clutch basket swap, which I expected, as aside from pulling the cover, they didn't need to get into that area for the other repairs. My total bill was $197.27 including sales tax. They discounted the parts I paid for as well, which I appreciated. The covered warranty cost was $1541.59.
November 15th, 17 weeks after I dropped it off, I was able to pick up the bike and ride it home. All in all, the dealer really went to bat for me and I am pleased with the service writer pushing the warranty rep, calling and PMing weekly, sometimes multiple times during the week all through the process. I am not pleased that a two week process took 17 weeks because of the warranty rep not responding in a timely manner and giving the dealer clear info and instructions from the beginning about what he needed in order to process the claim.
A few things I was not happy about at the dealer level, and things others should clarify and perhaps personally inspect if they have an extended repair:
My bike sat outside for 4 months at the dealer. I was told it was under cover, and perhaps it partially was. However the back of the bike was in daily sun and my pelican case and a few other items showed significant color bleaching from the sun. The bike was clean when I dropped it off, but after months of sitting and some heavy rain events, (I live in the desert, 110F+ in the summer, torrential fall rains occur), it wasn't clean when I picked it up. Now, don't get me wrong, they were going to wash it when I picked it up, but I ran around to the back of the dealer and stopped the wash boy with his pressure washer before he did any damage. Between the loose electrical connections and him obviously not having a clue at what not to aim the high pressure stream of water at, I'm thankful to have stopped him. Still, it wouldn't have been that difficult to have someone wash the bike before I came to pick it up.
They did keep my Russell Day Long seat inside the shop, so no sun fading on that, but that meant that the under seat tray was open to the weather too. My registration paperwork and everything in the tray was both sodden and sun baked, destroying the paperwork. As it happened, my annual registration was due while the bike was at the dealer, and did not require inspection this year, (every other year in UT), so I had a new registration page and the other insurance paperwork was easily re-printed, but still annoying.
My battery was never removed from the bike, just the negative cable removed and set aside. Never the less, after four months of sitting, the battery had gone completely flat. they did charge it up on a desulfating charger, (Optimate III, the same as I use at home), but it shows weak and isn't going to come back to where I feel I can trust it for trips. I ordered a Yuasa YTZ14S to replace it. ($129 w/free shipping off Amazon)
I've been too busy with work and the Christmas season to dive into the bike and take care of the farkle wiring. And only just ordered the battery, so have not ridden the bike since the ride home from the dealer. I can't really say how it runs or rides other than it felt normal. I expect the '14 clutch basket to eliminate the 3000-4000 rpm vibes I experienced under load, but otherwise I have a fresh top end and it should be fine for a long time. I don't yet know if the timing chain rattles on cold start up still, or is quiet now with the new design CCT. My original CCT allowed rattle on cold start ups from the day I rode it home.
That's my story. I wanted to wait until the repairs were complete to share the whole thing, not wanting to create any potential problems during the warranty by info I posted. I have posted in other CCT threads mentioning some details of my failure, but not the story from start to finish. If you have questions, feel free to ask them. This thread is in part to share this info with the forum so the nature of my CCT failure is out there to warn others, as well as simply to give me a little closure on the whole thing. It also serves to document another failure, of which there have been at least 3 that I am aware of.
Should you experience a noticeable increase in the loudness or duration of timing chain rattle on cold start ups, I strongly urge you to have it looked at by the dealer in short order. During this increased loudness, I would also suggest you not change the oil before having it looked at. I believe that due in part to the oil change and an empty motor when I went to start the bike, that the delay in building oil pressure may have allowed the timing chain to slip, due to the lack of oil pressure at the CCT.
Also, during the time where you are aware of the louder timing chain noise on start up, should the bike just catch, then die. DON'T CONTINUE TO CRANK THE MOTOR! Just turn the key off and get it towed to the dealer. Another rider experienced that, where the motor just caught, then died, and he searched the forum, then PM'd me asking about my experience. I gave him that advice, which he followed. His timing chain had slipped, he did get a new CCT, but had no valve damage!
I will never know that if I had left it alone after the initial failure to start instead of continuing to crank it, if I would have had valve/piston damage or not, but it's a lot better to pay for a possibly un-necessary tow than to wait weeks for a repair.
At this point, Yamaha France is suggesting Super Tenere owners replace the CCT at the 52k service. No one has had a failure at low miles, only well above that 52k mile figure. I think that the proactive replacement at 52k is very safe and an excellent way for others to avoid having a CCT failure and damage. If you have some noise on start ups, but are low mileage, don't stress about it. Next time you're at the dealer, have them listen to it, and do paperwork to document it, but it's likely exceedingly safe to leave it alone until that 52k valve check/adjustment service. If the dealer wants to replace it sooner, go for it if warranty covers it, or for your peace of mind, but don't stress over some noise.
Thanks for reading along.
