Thinking of buying a 2016 ES. What should I be aware of / look for?

BaileyRam

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The title pretty much says it all.

I'm planning to go see a 2016 S10 ES model in about a week or so. It's got relatively low miles (~15k) and seems to be in really great shape based on what the seller says and pictures show.

What should I look for or be aware of? What quirks do these bikes have? What are some of the random hard to diagnose/fix issues that can pop up? (E.g. hard start that some report, or error codes that are hard to correct). You know, those elusive gremlins...

For context, I'm coming from a 650 Versys. I've been doing almost all my own wrenching for close to 15 years.
 

Mak10

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I'd look for obvious signs of abuse (bent rims, leaking forks, various leaks). It shouldn't be hard to start unless it has a weak battery. They can flood some what, so opening the throttle whilst cranking should get it to fire up.

I'd also look at the accessories that have been added. Has it been done in a professional manner or backyard scab together?

I ride a 16es and it has been a goat (gas,oil and tires) bike. Back brake pads last about 20k for me. I just changed my fronts at 40k.

Good luck.
 

Sierra1

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What he said.

Hard start? Make sure you let it do its self-diagnostic thing when you turn the key on. If you interrupt it, she can get angry and not want to start. Then you have to do the WFO throttle thing.

She's gonna feel like a Cadillac compared to the Kawi. She will feel heavier at first, but once you starts rolling, she lightens up. My favorite bike ever.
 

fac191

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Check the Cruise works if you can and the rear preload to make sure it moves up and down.
 

KGaron

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The ES suspension is just awful in stock form. I modified the fork valving, replaced the progressive springs with straight rate springs and used lighter fork oil and a larger air gap and that helped drastically with the front end harshness. They are just brutally rough in stock form. I changed the rear spring for my weight (225lbs) and the bike handles very well and has overall compliance MUCH better than stock. Without customizing my Tenere, I would never have made my trip and I would have probably sold it within months of purchase.
Everyone is different and I am only stating my opinion and what worked for me.
 

BaileyRam

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The ES suspension is just awful in stock form. I modified the fork valving, replaced the progressive springs with straight rate springs and used lighter fork oil and a larger air gap and that helped drastically with the front end harshness. They are just brutally rough in stock form. I changed the rear spring for my weight (225lbs) and the bike handles very well and has overall compliance MUCH better than stock. Without customizing my Tenere, I would never have made my trip and I would have probably sold it within months of purchase.
Everyone is different and I am only stating my opinion and what worked for me.
Thanks for your reply. Good to know that if the suspension isn't feeling great that there are options and I shouldn't let that be a deal breaker.
 

Sierra1

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Thanks for your reply. Good to know that if the suspension isn't feeling great that there are options and I shouldn't let that be a deal breaker.
Suspension is a subjective thing. I'm 300+ pounds and think it's fine. That being said, it took a little of increasing this, decreasing that, and tweaking those. The ES makes that quite easy. But, I'm in the minority. I don't plan on flashing the ECU either.
 

Ape

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Come on up to Kamloops if that one doesn’t work out and I will sell you a 2017 with 18000kms on it.
 

TenereGUY

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I've had mine since February and found that once you buy it you had better lube all the points that Yamaha says to do. Lever pivot points, rear brake and shifter lever pivot points, rear drive oil too. A lot of people seem to forget that on a shaft bike. Every 4,000 miles on this bike. Seems excessive but at 13,500 miles I drained mine and it was ugly looking. Other than that bikes been solid. I have been tearing into it and adding a lot of stuff. I did put Traxxion Dynamics suspension on the front and it did wonderful on rough fire roads. For my 280# I want good suspension. For road the stock wasn't bad. It's a solid bike but you need a better battery in it. Stock sounds like it struggles to kick it over... because it is struggling. I put a Batterystuff.com Scorpion LiFePo battery in it and it kicks it over with no struggle at all. Sounds like a normal bike now.
 

KGaron

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Suspension is a subjective thing. I'm 300+ pounds and think it's fine. That being said, it took a little of increasing this, decreasing that, and tweaking those. The ES makes that quite easy. But, I'm in the minority. I don't plan on flashing the ECU either.
I agree somewhat on subjective. I will say if you stepped off of yours and rode mine, you would definitely notice a difference. Whether or not you would like my setup is subjective but I'm pretty sure the changes I've made would be welcome as I've addressed a very noticeable characteristic of the Gen2 ES. You've probably adapted to it and accepted it, until you ride something else.
 

nd4spdbh

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To the OP:
I got my 2015 ES with 21k miles on it, rode it home 1200 miles, then went through the whole bike. Pulled forks, greased steering stem bearings, spark plugs, valve check (didnt need adjustment), all fluids changed (clutch, front /rear brake, coolant, rear diff, oil, filter), rear suspension pivot points lubed, shaft spines at u joint lubed, all moving parts lubed for brake n shift levers etc... most of it was not needed but its good for peace of mind starting fresh.

Outside of standard maintenance items. The two things I wouldnt skip if I had to do it again, steering stem bearings - at least properly setting the preload on the bearing, made the bike feel much better as they had never been touched in 21k miles and it was definitely loose. Same goes for the clutch and brake fluids especially as those are often overlooked (as well as the pivot points for levers).

Biggest thing that has helped the quirkiness, NOCO NPL14 battery so it cranks with authority, and an Anthony Tuned ECU.

And lastly comfort: A Seat concepts seat foam and cover and some handlebar up and back risers to make body positioning better. Also 70$ for winglets and a madstad knock off windshield bracket from aliexpress utilizing the stock windscreen has the bike at all day comfort levels for me.


The ES suspension is just awful in stock form. I modified the fork valving, replaced the progressive springs with straight rate springs and used lighter fork oil and a larger air gap and that helped drastically with the front end harshness. They are just brutally rough in stock form. I changed the rear spring for my weight (225lbs) and the bike handles very well and has overall compliance MUCH better than stock. Without customizing my Tenere, I would never have made my trip and I would have probably sold it within months of purchase.
Everyone is different and I am only stating my opinion and what worked for me.
Thats interesting. I find the stock ES suspension rather plush (im at 185lbs). But this is coming from a sport bike. Have you documented what you did? Sounds like you changed the valving shim stack some?
 
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KGaron

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Thats interesting. I find the stock ES suspension rather plush (im at 185lbs). But this is coming from a sport bike. Have you documented what you did? Sounds like you changed the valving shim stack some?
I have actually documented my changes. Not only have I changed the shim stack, I also modified the actual valving by drilling the tiny holes to make them bigger...along with other things previously discussed.
 

Fennellg

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I have found the Es suspension to be good. More than up to most tasks. I stiffen it for carving and the bike complies. Much more adjustable than my Harleys. guess there is always better but diminishing returns start to creep in fast.

I don’t change anything from stock until I have used it a while. Sometimes I can adjust sometime I can’t. The quickest change is the seat. You will know real quick wether you can get along with it.
 

BaileyRam

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Thanks for the tips @nd4spdbh. My first weekend on a little camping excursion felt really good. I found the suspension to be fine for my needs. Much better than what was on the Versys 650 I came from.

It's easy to not notice how fast I'm going on this bike. I had to really watch my speed on curves.
 
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