spokes

[scott123007]

"Powerful biodegradable degreaser for the entire motorcycle leaves a corrosion resistant film to protect paint, metallic components and varnished parts. "

Come to think of it, that sounds just like WD-40. LOL

 

[Kevhunts]

Motul Wash - Of course this means you have to wash your bike now and then.

https://www.motul.com/us/en-US/products/oils-lubricants/e2-moto-wash-na?f%5Bapplication%5D=142&f%5Brange%5D=21

 

[taskmaster86]

I just got done tightening the spokes on my 2014 at 650 miles. Every spoke on the rear tire was loose and most of the spokes on the front were loose.

A 5mm hex bit socket, 3 inch extension and a 1/4 inch torque wrench set to 52 inch pounds made this a pretty quick and easy job. I will check the spokes again at 2,000 miles.

Don't be afraid to check your spokes, it is really easy.

::018::

 

[MrTwisty]

Too many broken spokes to count., but the count is north of 20. These are just the one that weren't left on the road or trail They are always broken in the same place and always on the rear, both drive side and brake side, rear only, never front.

I've tried torquing to spec, torquing a little tight and zip tying., always truing. Zip tying actually increased the frequency significantly.

Ideas?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[EricV]

Not much help, but don't tighten the zip ties. It can aggravate the issue. Just slightly loose at the cross over point.

 

[Harry Dresden PI]

Just checked tightened the front spokes for the first time on my 2014 at about 3200 miles. Found 3 spokes fairly loose ~ 35 inch lbs and most at 45 +. Tighten them all to 50 inch lbs with a dial torque wrench.

Also rechecked the rear spokes at the same time. Had checked and tightened the rear spokes a few months ago ~ 2000 miles? I forget. All spokes were 40 inch lbs or higher. No spokes fairly loose and tightened them all to 50 inch lbs. (note: a few spokes (about 3 or so) do feel gummy when I tighten them from 40 to 50 inch lbs.

(Note: first time I did the rear spokes a few of them were fairly loose ~ 30 inch lbs)

I guess I will plan to check them every oil change or 3000 miles for now ....

 

[jimsgone]

debated posting anything at all, but am certainly disappointed with the " weak link" of this amazing bike! :'(

after getting home from a forest service road ride I noticed a spoke hanging off my rear wheel! upon further inspection found another one missing. at the dealer I was told that the spokes are not covered under warranty, " maintenance issue'! instead of buying a complete set of spokes from Yamaha, I contacted woodys wheel works, and they were ready to send me a couple for me to install. well after reading forums and blogs all day, not to mention the fact that i'm leaving this Saturday for a month of riding ( two weeks two up), I decided to have woodys replace with SS spokes, true both wheels, and found the rear needed straightened. $750 later, picked them up, confident that this was the weak link fix.

checked them last night, found two loose on the back and one on the front! waiting for a call back from woody to verify a torque setting that I can check while on the road. will run them down to him when I get back, unless they " seat in".

left the beemer camp after two GS's and two final drive failures, LOVE my S10, 2014 with almost 10k miles, but wish I could find the failsafe bike... oh well, makes for an adventure !

 

[EricV]

The spokes will bed in after around 5-6k miles, for the most part. I still check at every oil change, but haven't found a loose one in a long time.

Put zip ties at the spoke cross points, (loosely or they can cause stress cracks), to avoid loosing spokes.

Woody makes great wheels, but you will still have to check the spokes until they bed in.

 

[Checkswrecks]

::026:: To what Eric wrote, in that they do need to be checked regularly for the first few thousand miles and then bed in and don't change. I plink them at oil changes (I do mine on the 5000 mile marks), tire changes, and whenever I think of it. Have 47,000 miles and haven't had to touch a wrench to any in a very long time.
btw - Woody's has spokes with a slightly different angle which can put stress on the wheel flange. Make sure to ask about your set-up.

 

[jimsgone]

thanks for both replies, I would have thought after 9k miles the spokes might have settled in, guess patience is the answer.

and yes, they will be checked on a regular basic from here on out ...

 

[Don in Lodi]

With 50,000 on the bike I'm only checking them now every tire change. I've lost one since August of '11.

 

[tomatocity]

2012: I did not lose any spokes in 52,000 miles but I did not ride off-road very much.

2015: I found the rear spokes to be not as tight as they should be. Torqued them and they have pretty much stayed the same. Reminds me to check them.

 

[Ramseybella]

I found out the hard way don't do stainless.
My stainless left me stranded in Moab this weekend glad I tied them at cross section or I would be laid to rest on 191.
Heading back tomorrow to see if Madbros straightened the rim and installed another set of spokes Woody's sent them overnight.
And I checked them before I left Thursday morning to Colorado.

From reading all this Yamaha needs to redesign this freaking rim, a set/grub screw in the hub at the nipple points to lock them in would be a great start Ala BMW.

 

[EricV]

And I checked them before I left Thursday morning to Colorado.

From reading all this Yamaha needs to redesign this freaking rim, a set/grub screw in the hub at the nipple points to lock them in would be a great start Ala BMW.

I guess the lesson there is to check a new wheel after each ride, even if on a trip. I wonder what you would have found if you had checked them in Ouray before heading out that morning?

Pretty good idea on the set screw. I can't help but wonder if they even tried to buy a license for using BMW's proven method? (which isn't perfect either, but does seem better)

 

[Ramseybella]

Nope I didn't check them at Ouray Wish I did, seemed like a smooth ride all the way till 5 miles past Hole in the rock then went ballistic.

 

[EricV]

Nope I didn't check them at Ouray Wish I did, seemed like a smooth ride all the way till 5 miles past Hole in the rock then went ballistic.

Sure glad you're ok. That sounded like a very unpleasant end to that ride.

 

[Ramseybella]

Sure glad you're ok. That sounded like a very unpleasant end to that ride.

I have a blow by blow thread dedicated to this event!! ???

It was humbling to say the least glad I didn't have any one on the back with me.
I just hope the other end that did my rim mod will feel the same and give me some closure on this rear rim never ending saga.
At the least zip tie them loosely for extra insurance so it does not turn into a giant weed wacker!

 

[Marty]

The "they bed in and stop loosening after a few thousand miles" theory has not been my experience. I have 20k miles on mine. I religiously check them every other fuel up. I frequently find loose spokes on the rear wheel. One was so loose that I could turn the nipple 1.5 turns with my fingers! I have found one spoke broken on the ground next to my rear wheel while fueling up. I have had 2 others just go missing. Did they break or loose the nipple? Who knows. What I do know for sure is that it was not abuse or lack of maintenance that caused the failures.

IMO these wheels are defective by design and no amount of diligent maintenance will prevent spoke failure even under light duty use. My solution is to zip tie them together, check them often and always carry spare spokes with me. It is annoying but it isn't like this is a catastrophic failure like say a final drive taking a shit. Still I think that Yamaha should address the issue.

 

[Brick]

Whoa... Bummer Marty!
I'm on my second ST... First 2012 had 79,800 when I sold it. I check spokes with every tire change and have put zip ties on them at the cross point. The 2014ES has 32,000 miles and same thing. Ya I've found some a little loose and tightened them. Pinging them all until consistent tone all round. I'm sorry you have had such bad luck with yours.

The "they bed in and stop loosening after a few thousand miles" theory has not been my experience. I have 20k miles on mine. I religiously check them every other fuel up. I frequently find loose spokes on the rear wheel. One was so loose that I could turn the nipple 1.5 turns with my fingers! I have found one spoke broken on the ground next to my rear wheel while fueling up. I have had 2 others just go missing. Did they break or loose the nipple? Who knows. What I do know for sure is that it was not abuse or lack of maintenance that caused the failures.

IMO these wheels are defective by design and no amount of diligent maintenance will prevent spoke failure even under light duty use. My solution is to zip tie them together, check them often and always carry spare spokes with me. It is annoying but it isn't like this is a catastrophic failure like say a final drive taking a shit. Still I think that Yamaha should address the issue.

 

[Marty]

Not much help, but don't tighten the zip ties. It can aggravate the issue. Just slightly loose at the cross over point.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you but, why would "tightly," as opposed to loosely, zip tieing the spokes increase the frequency of failure?