One year of ownership with my '13

[MFP]

This week marks one year since I picked up my used '13 S10. I have put close to 3K miles on it since last June and my S10 now has 10,200 miles on the clock.
The fellow I bought it from purchased this particular S10 in late '15 as a leftover and did not really put it on the road until the Spring of '16 and he took very good care of it. The ECU was flashed, he added the OEM Yamaha side cases, Alt Rider crash bars, an ACD Racing skid plate, did the stud mod, Yamaha OEM grip heaters and a MadStad windscreen bracket.
Last year the second week I had the S10, I insanely cleaned and detailed it (as I still do every other Sunday night), changed the oil, oil filter and the final drive oil, put a new battery in and went over every nut and bolt to make sure all was tight. Did the shift lever pivot clean/lube as well as the brake pedal pivot. The bike has been great.
This year so far had new Michelin Anakee Adventures installed, did another oil, oil filter and final drive oil change, tightened the spokes using the method EricV recommended (just two were a bit loose).
My questions are:
At what point should I change out:
the coolant (color looks fine, temps are always within range).
the clutch fluid (clutch action is fine).
the brake fluid (brake action is fine).
the air filter ?
If I remember correctly all the above services were done at least once with the PO.
I have the Yamaha Super Tenere Shop Manual and I am aware of what the service intervals are but in all honesty in my 30 somewhat years of street riding I usually had these types of services done by the dealership where I bought my bikes from.
How difficult are the above mentioned fluid changes to do?
Lastly, because here in the Metro NYC area where I live I have never come across other S10s, I am curious as to the sounds a Gen1 makes when the CCT is on its way out. I know the S10's engine when running sounds quite harsh but I just do not know the difference from normal sounds to abnormal sounds if the CCT is misbehaving.

 

[Byron]

This week marks one year since I picked up my used '13 S10. I have put close to 3K miles on it since last June and my S10 now has 10,200 miles on the clock.
The fellow I bought it from purchased this particular S10 in late '15 as a leftover and did not really put it on the road until the Spring of '16 and he took very good care of it. The ECU was flashed, he added the OEM Yamaha side cases, Alt Rider crash bars, an ACD Racing skid plate, did the stud mod, Yamaha OEM grip heaters and a MadStad windscreen bracket.
Last year the second week I had the S10, I insanely cleaned and detailed it (as I still do every other Sunday night), changed the oil, oil filter and the final drive oil, put a new battery in and went over every nut and bolt to make sure all was tight. Did the shift lever pivot clean/lube as well as the brake pedal pivot. The bike has been great.
This year so far had new Michelin Anakee Adventures installed, did another oil, oil filter and final drive oil change, tightened the spokes using the method EricV recommended (just two were a bit loose).
My questions are:
At what point should I change out:
the coolant (color looks fine, temps are always within range).
the clutch fluid (clutch action is fine).
the brake fluid (brake action is fine).
the air filter ?
If I remember correctly all the above services were done at least once with the PO.
I have the Yamaha Super Tenere Shop Manual and I am aware of what the service intervals are but in all honesty in my 30 somewhat years of street riding I usually had these types of services done by the dealership where I bought my bikes from.
How difficult are the above mentioned fluid changes to do?
Lastly, because here in the Metro NYC area where I live I have never come across other S10s, I am curious as to the sounds a Gen1 makes when the CCT is on its way out. I know the S10's engine when running sounds quite harsh but I just do not know the difference from normal sounds to abnormal sounds if the CCT is misbehaving.

Um in the same boat as you. A few months ago I purchased a 2013 S10 with a little over 2000 miles. I changed out everything first thing. Break fluid should be completely flushed about every 2 years as well as coolant. I replace oil every year. I didn't have any issues doing any of it. Coolant was the most difficult to me but not too bad.

 

[jrusell]

I have a 13 as well that was low miles when I purchased it in late 2017. Similar miles to yours now as well.

Personally I do brake and clutch fluid every spring. I also like to cycle the abs while changing the fluid to make sure all of it is fresh. A few have had ABS units fail, so I feel a bit of fluid every now and then is worth it if it helps. It might fail tomorrow, but at least I know it won't be because of old dirty fluid.
I am still on factory coolant as well, but will be doing it shortly. I would do a dump and fill in the near future. Then you are good for a few years for sure.

I had my filter out a few times and had planned to do it this spring. Still pretty clean at 16000km, so I will be leaving it until end of the year or 25000km.

 

[EricV]

All good questions and comments.

I agree that the brake/clutch fluids, (both use DOT 4 brake fluid), are due every two years for a flush and bleed with cycling of the ABS system to flush fluid thru the ABS pump. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs water over time. As the water content increases, in worst case scenarios it can cause a ring of corrosion to form around the edge of the pistons and valves in the brake and clutch system. Caliper pistons, slave cylinder piston, ABS pump solenoid valves, etc. This can cause them to stick, and make for a very expensive repair. It's harder on bikes that sit over the winter than ones that are ridden all year since the bikes that sit are not getting heat cycles in the fluid during the winter doldrums.

Coolant is also a every 2 year cycle. This could be considered to be an every 20k miles thing too, but it's really a combination of miles and time that impact coolant efficiency. Think of it terms of cycles as well as just deterioration over time. It captures acids from the engine into the coolant and in worst case scenarios can etch parts of the system and in extreme cases even eat away at the water pump impeller. (I have seen extreme cases!) Read the coolant bottle about mixture. Some of us need a different mixture than 50/50. More water means more resistance to boiling. More coolant means more resistance to freezing. Consider your climate and your needs when factoring your mix.

The air filter is much more about miles. Nothing is going thru it when the engine is off. As long as the mice don't make a nest there over winter, it's only doing it's job when the engine is running. IIRC, the factory spec is every 16k miles for air filter changes. Most people would do good to check it every 8k and knock it out or blow it out and re-install it reversed from how it was before It tends to get more dirt on one side due to the design and air flow of the air box. Rotating it 180º just puts the cleaner side where most of the air flow is. (opps, that worked for the FJR, not the S10!). A good time to clean out the oil in the drain tube and wipe down the inside of the airbox too.

Don't forget the spark plugs. I swapped to Iridiums and was amazed at the improvement in how quickly the bike started up. Regardless of what plug you choose, change them every 8k just for the minimal gains. It's cheap to do.

 

[jeepinoutwest]

‘17 ES 47,400 miles
Tires every 17k
Oil every 5k
Air filter every 20k
Plugs at 42k
Final drive every 17k
Brakes at 35k
Done nothing else, not even a battery. Never burped once.
Just ride it more.

 

[ballisticexchris]

Mine is a 2017 I bought new in June 2018. IMO brake/clutch fluid needs to be changed a minimum of once a season regardless of mileage. I would highly recommend changing both air filter and plugs at the same time. At over 10,000 miles you are well overdue for spark plug change. Service manual recommends only checking them at 6,000 mile service. For the time in labor and cheap cost of parts just change the plugs and air filter while they are out. Also do a throttle body clean at the same time.


After taking delivery new:
Final drive fluid
Oil/filter change
Tighten loose spokes ongoing since brand new. I find loose ones before almost every damn ride
Lubed all pivot points. Both levers, rear brake, shifter, centerstand, kickstand.
Went over the whole bike front to rear/top to bottom. I checked every single nut /bolt/connection I could get to.
Yamaha quality control is pretty darn good. Only thing I found was the handlebars were off center about 1/8". I imagine that was done during dealer assembly and was missed during PDI.

600 mile service:
Oil/filter change
Final drive fluid (and once again at about 1200 miles). I'll do it every rear tire change from here on out.
Diagnostic system check
Once again go over whole bike and check, brakes, clutch, all hoses, wheels (found loose spokes of course), sidestand switch, brake switches, and all the lights.
Steering head checked and torqued.

At about 1 year 3300 miles:
Oil/filter change
Flushed the brake/clutch fluid and replaced it with Motul 5.1
Drain and filled coolant with OEM Yamacool and 1/2 bottle of Water Wetter


FWIW, this is why I change brake fluid. Mine was nasty, filthy, and had black residue that needed to be cleaned out.
Before:
After:
The rear was not so bad but I did it anyway. On my dirt bikes the rear is what gets dirty first.
Before:
After:
Once you change your brake/clutch fluid you will notice a marked improvement in modulation and responsiveness. You are going to get a lot of opinions here on what service schedule to use. I pretty much go by the Yamaha service manual or before it's due. I have seen too many broken down machines from lack of maintenance.

The biggest problem with this bike is spokes loosening. I have over 3500 miles on mine and the spokes are still not bedded in all the way. It may have something to do with the US bikes or a few guys from the UK were not being honest. Some guys from other countries have stated the spokes have never came loose during ownership. I find that hard to believe. I have yet to own a spoked bike that did not have at least a few spokes come loose during the bed in process. But the Super Tenere is ridiculous. I have a buddy who has a 2012 that he was still tightening spokes at over 30,000 miles.

 

[Don in Lodi]

My last tire change at 80,xxx miles was the first time I had no spokes needing to be snugged... though one was flat out missing. No clue how long it was gone.

 

[Fastring]

Just ride it...worry less and ride more. If manual says to do something, do it then.