spokes

[EricV]

All my bikes are covered with breathable fabric.

It's a matter of how you want your bike to look and personal taste I suppose, me? I like shiny spokes and at £12.5k they should 'kin shiny.

You're certainly correct. It's a matter of personal taste. I ride my bike. How it looks is moot, I'm on it to go places, not to have people look at it. To each their own. Carry on and good luck with your issues.

 

[Dogdaze]

I think what pete m is alluding to is the simple fact that most of the UK riders and even EU for that matter only average 5-6k miles per year, unlike our counterparts in the US that will do 3-4 times as many miles, so when issues like these arise we don't feel like we get bang for our buck and Yamaha does not step up to the plate (I do understand the corporate stance) we will get a little miffed. I bought a used bike. with the same tarnished spoke issue, I tried cleaning, gave up (I was put on this earth for better things), so now if I trade in for another Yamaha, woe betide the numpty that mentions the spokes, they will get a verbal ass kicking.

 

[EricV]

I suppose Yamaha could have chromed the spokes. Not sure what coating is on them, if any. If this bothered me, I'd be tempted to have a shop remove the spokes, then I'd have them ceramic coated in a finish I liked before having the wheel re-laced. Sure, it would add some cost for the labor and coating. I'm not comfortable with my skills at lacing wheels, so I'd consider that worth the cost. I've seen powder coated spokes, but I don't think that was durable enough for this bike with it's off pavement riding time.

On the paint parts; Now Vs. then, manufacturers are stuck with low VOC compliant paints now. Back in the good 'ol days we had stuff that was much tougher for cars, bikes, etc.

 

[pete m]

The spokes are zinc plated apparently, and very poor it is.

 

[Andylaser]

It's a matter of how you want your bike to look and personal taste I suppose, me? I like shiny spokes and at £12.5k they should 'kin shiny.

Mine are covered in shite and havent seen the light of day since October. I dare say they will be somewhat discolored when I finally get round to washing the winters crap off the bike. But hey, my bike works for its living and goes out in all weathers.

 

[pete m]

Mine are covered in shite and havent seen the light of day since October. I dare say they will be somewhat discolored when I finally get round to washing the winters crap off the bike. But hey, my bike works for its living and goes out in all weathers.

Yes, been there and done that for thirty years, but arthritis is spreading from my knees so It's a no-no for me now.

I've never spent £12.5k on a bike before either so using it through the winter and salty roads is another no-no.

 

[Andylaser]

There are some shiny spokes under there somewhere.

I like to park next to clean & shiny BMW's

 

[KevinFH]

I bought mine in June. Put some wax on. Washed it in October? Can't remember. Maybe again this weekend, but then I might have to wax again.
To park next to clean shiny BMWs, go to BMW maintenance shop.

 

[tomatocity]

I was going to suggest atmosphere as well, a drying device being needed... but with other bikes in the same space... that's disappointing.

Don, which tire caused high speed wobble?

 

[Don in Lodi]

Don, which tire caused high speed wobble?

Wow... It was the rear on two sets of the Full Bore Shinko 705 knock off's.

 

[silvergoose]

I have read all of the pages in this post to date. It appears to me that the main point is loose spokes. I would question the spoke design. If the spoke thread is not rolled correctly then the profile of the thread is such that the spoke can not maintain tension. the nipple thread, spoke thread must be designed with the correct contact surface. If the spoke or nipple thread is too shallow the spoke will not pass the min. tensile strength.

Has anyone taken the time to check the broken spokes. Yamaha may have a supplier quality problem,design flaw.

As I do not have a dog in this fight, my Tenere will not be here until Friday this is week, I can not check the spokes. I will say that when I pick up my bike I will also pick up a few spare spokes. I can check the spoke thread along with the nipple thread. This can be done very quick and easy.

If the nipple and spoke thread interface drags then the thread is defective. If the nipple is too loose it will thread down with almost no force applied and will wiggle on the spoke threads. If any condition is seen the spoke/ nipple should be returned to the dealer with a request to send the "defective" product back to Yamaha for review.

I have laced my share of wheels due to racing in district 37 AMA open desert when I was many years younger.

The spoke finish is going to be a problem. Zinc finishes are not going to hold a shine and the more they are cleaned the zinc will wear and rust can start. Chrome spokes have their own special problems, but will give that "New Bike" look. Stainless can become very brittle, but will look good.

Lets face it spokes are not static, they are loaded, unloaded and flexed with each turn of the wheel. Look at spokes as a maintenance item and check them.

Good Luck

 

[HeliMark]

Last time I checked my spokes were at 18K. Only a couple were loose, although not by much. I was thinking that due to it, I would not need to check them very often. Well, just checked them with 28K on the bike and well over half of the rear were loose, and a number of the fronts were. Weird was that almost all that were loose on the rear were on one side. I will now check them in a couple of thousand, and then every oil change. Not really hard to do with a proper torque wrench.

Almost learned a nasty lesson. Will be going to the store today to pick up some small zip ties for the spokes.

Mark

Mark

 

[yoyo]

Lost spoke

A mate has just left the UK to start a 3000 mile trip and before he boarded the ferry he lost a spoke, how urgently does he need to replace it? It's a tarmac ride only but it'll be quick. He's cable tied the rest but is now looking for advice. Thanks in advance

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Juan]

Re: Lost spoke

If it's just one spoke, then no big deal if the ride is just tarmac. I bet it's from the rear wheel left side (final gear side). Quite common with a new S10. I had a broken spoke on my first overseas trip with the bike when it was still practically new. I got back home without any problems. However, having said all this, replace the spoke at the first opportunity.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Re: Lost spoke

There really isn't a clean answer to this and it's not really about just a missing spoke.


The hub hangs from each spoke as the wheel goes around, so there's going to be an extra load/unload cycle on the adjacent spokes and more important, on the rim flanges where the adjacent spokes connect. DCStrom and others have had the flange crack. While he and at least one of the others do a lot of dirt roads there is no real pat answer.

 

[yoyo]

I guessed that was the case, I'll get him to find a Yam dealer in each city he visits until he finds a replacement!

 

[Super08]

I was just bit with the spoke problem on my new bike which is less than a week old. I was just out for a ride today and I pulled into my driveway and got off of the bike to open the garage door. When I went to drive into the garage I thought I hear a thunk sound a couple of times. I stopped and thought what the heck was that. I rolled back while still sitting on it and I hear it again. I shut off the bike and got off to have a look. Sure enough the rear wheel had a spoke hanging out bent in a horseshoe. What the heck? I only have 400 kms on it. To make it better I live 250 miles from the nearest dealer. I bent the spoke back as close as I could and put it back on with the nipple which was laying in the driveway where I stopped. It better be warranty at this mileage as I will be pissed if I have to pay for a full set of spokes on a brand new bike. I did an online search and learned of the problem with them on these bikes. I found the torque spec and torqued all the spokes. The rear had quite a few loose. The front wheel was good, not one loose.

 

[Don in Lodi]

Thought they had that figured out, hadn't heard of a dropped nipple in a while. Just in case, we have a gent in the For Sale folder that has sets that he parts out for folks. He's a handy fellow to have around. Might have to search pretty far down the list. I think there are three lengths for the rear. I've still got two of the three in my tool roll from years ago.

 

[Grumpy]

When I first got the bike (used) I took my main torque wrench to the spokes and found many took more than half a turn before the click. I have just bought the Topeak 6nm kit. Nice and small and can live under the seat, so if I am away on a long trip I can give them a quick check before anything nasty happens

 

[Super08]

Thought they had that figured out, hadn't heard of a dropped nipple in a while. Just in case, we have a gent in the For Sale folder that has sets that he parts out for folks. He's a handy fellow to have around. Might have to search pretty far down the list. I think there are three lengths for the rear. I've still got two of the three in my tool roll from years ago.

Yes I found him when I was doing my search, thanks. Problem with being in Canada is the shipping would be higher, plus the exchange rate which is a killer right now. I would be better off buying a full set myself and then selling a few up here to others in need.