Valve service suggestions

[Dallara]

~


Maybe this will help...


http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-12-13-YAMAHA-SUPER-TENERE-XTZ12-MANUAL-CAM-CHAIN-TENSIONER-SILVER-YTR1-09-/360722870330


Dallara


~

 

[avc8130]

~


Maybe this will help...


http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-12-13-YAMAHA-SUPER-TENERE-XTZ12-MANUAL-CAM-CHAIN-TENSIONER-SILVER-YTR1-09-/360722870330


Dallara


~

Oh, so you could hear my cursing and wishing for a manual tensioner all the way in Texas?!?!

ac

 

[Dallara]

Oh, so you could hear my cursing and wishing for a manual tensioner all the way in Texas?!?!

ac

Well, you weren't *THAT* loud... ::025::

Seriously, in reading these various valve adjustment threads and the problems associated with the task it seemed the one thing causing the most problem, frustration, and consternation was the cam chain tensioner. Sure, folks have expressed relatively minor gripes, etc. about getting the valve cover off and back on, as well as the wiring. But for the most part the biggest bug-a-boo, especially with potential for disaster, has been the cam chain tensioner.

Sooooo, I thought I would start trying to hunt down a manual one. Manual ones are always easier to deal with, and I was thinking I might want to lay one in, just to have handy and on the shelf.

Sorry I didn't find it sooner for ya', AC. :-[

But then again, Google does work on your computer, too, doesn't it? O

(just kidding... I know you're frustrated right now...)

Dallara



~

 

[avc8130]

Oh, I'm not frustrated...any more.

A brand new tensioner from Yamaha is $108. I am relatively confident that comes compressed. Another option.

The struggle with the valve cover/gasket could be avoided easily by pulling the motor. Pulling the motor also allows you to see the cam marks.

The tensioner cannot be avoided.

I think it is amazing how many of us are doing this maintenance at the same time. I also think it is crazy that some guys were saying they would skip the first adjustment. ALL 4 of my exhaust valves were out of spec.

ac

 

[Dallara]

~


Hmmmmm...

Heck of a coincidence isn't it that the manual tensioner I found on eBay is almost exactly half the price of new one from Yamaha, eh?

Anyway, there are some nice advantages to manual cam chain tensioners. Simple, quick to adjust, and rarely any problem with 'em, and one would sure solve a ton of the issues you've run into.

OK, you guys have fun. I'm going to bed. Got get up at 5:00am... Going for a ride tomorrow on my nasty ol' Super Tenere that's never had a valve adjustment in 35,000+ miles! ::025::

G'nite! ::008::

Dallara



~

 

[snakebitten]

Sell my bike to avoid a valve adjustment?

If doing the job drove me that nuts, I'd just write the check for service instead.

 

[Karson]

~

Going for a ride tomorrow on my nasty ol' Super Tenere that's never had a valve adjustment in 35,000+ miles! ::025::

G'nite! ::008::

Dallara



~

You dog - rubbing salt in the wounds of at least a handful of folks right now

That manual tensioner is a good idea...

 

[greg the pole]

I updated my post on the blog, with a few tips and findings.
http://thetenerist.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/tenere-valve-check-and-adjustment/

The right cover has 4 bolts. It's not imperative to see the marks that face to the right ::010:: If you line up on the K mark, and the dot, and hash on the intake cam, you should be good to go for a check, or cam removal.
Taking the front engine plate off (4 bolts) helps things out a lot as well.

Once I had the wires out of the way, everything went smoothly.
except for that cam chain tensioner. A vice, and another set of hands is the answer, or the automatic jobbie that Dallara found.

I'm happy I did the first check. I may skip the second, but after finding all 4 exhaust valves at .20mm, and one intake at 0.08 it was a sound decision. I will most likely skip the 80km.

 

[avc8130]

You dog - rubbing salt in the wounds of at least a handful of folks right now

That manual tensioner is a good idea...

Just cause it hasn't gotten a valve adjustment doesn't mean it didn't need it...

No salt in my wounds.

ac

 

[Karson]

Sell my bike to avoid a valve adjustment?

If doing the job drove me that nuts, I'd just write the check for service instead.

I think we have a winner ::018:: I'm all for the satisfaction of doing as much wrenching myself.

But for lack of a better word, damn.

 

[snakebitten]

~


Maybe this will help...


http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-12-13-YAMAHA-SUPER-TENERE-XTZ12-MANUAL-CAM-CHAIN-TENSIONER-SILVER-YTR1-09-/360722870330


Dallara


~

Why have these never been discussed before? I'm amazed anything made specifically for our Super Tenere would be undiscovered.
These look really nicely made too.

 

[Dallara]

You dog - rubbing salt in the wounds of at least a handful of folks right now

Well, somebody's gotta' do it... ::025::

Just cause it hasn't gotten a valve adjustment doesn't mean it didn't need it...

No salt in my wounds.

Aw, c'mon! Not even just a *little* salt... ::025::

As for the valves, well, you're right. You've made me re-think my earlier decision not to have them checked, and I probably need to do it, but not today!!! ::001::

That said, so far mine is experiencing no evidence that any valves are too tight, even when very hot. No loss of power, no hard starting, etc. Just have to cross my fingers that Yamaha built enough leeway into the valve clearance specs to keep me safe for now.

Why have these never been discussed before? I'm amazed anything made specifically for our Super Tenere would be undiscovered.
These look really nicely made too.

Hey, Snake! Wha'dya' mean "undiscovered"? I thought that's what I just did!!!

Seriously, I don't think it's that they were 'undiscovered", so much as no one had seen a need to search for such a solution until recently. Interestingly enough, when I got to thinking about searching for a manual tensioner I remembered that I had seen something about one on eBay before, so it was actually the first place I looked... And *Voila'*, there they were, in three anodized colors! Oddly enough, subsequent Google searches, even with multiple tries at different wording, turned up no other sources for such a tensioner for the Super Tenere. I have no idea how long the eBay seller has been making those, or how many he has sold or made, but I intend to contact him to ask a bit about it.

No telling how long he will make them, and I figure it might be a good idea to pick one up just to be safe. Could save multiple headaches in the future apparently.

Dallara



~

 

[kenbike]

I had installed a manual tensioner in my ZX-14. They are a good idea and it may cure the cam chain noise that occurs when the motor is first started. I going t get one for the Tenere and give it to the dealer so I get rid of the automatic hyd.

 

[creggur]

Valve service suggestions

Definitely not even thinking about trying this when the time comes. Off to the dealer!

And what the hell is it with me and bikes that have challenging valve adjustments. My VFR 800 VTEC was a nightmare as well - BUT hardly anyone bothered with it as guys were running six-figure odometers without ever cracking a valve cover. If you made it past the second check interval (32,000) and your engine grenaded (never heard of this happening) it would be cheaper ( or easier if you DIY) to drop a rebuilt in vs. the hassle to DIY, or what you'd spend at the dealer for two valve checks...

 

[jaeger22]

A lot of good information here. AC, NOW you know why I said it was a nightmare. Congrats on getting the job done so quickly, I think I was down over a week the first time for the check and adjustment. I think I could do it way faster now that I know what to do and I have learned a few tricks. Your experience make makes 5 of us now that have needed adjustment on the first check. Personally I will NEVER skip a check.
The electronics tray does not need to come all the way out but nearly so. Mainly you have to get the top loose enough that you can pull the main wire harness out through the right side of the frame and out of the way. Truly a royal PIA but worth it when you go to put the cover back on.
Tip on removing the tray: The biggest headache is getting the one bolt that comes in from the back. You can see the threaded tip from the outside, it is in plain view and easy to get to, but the head is on the back side and in a recess that there is no way to see. You have to reach and feel to find it. Really fun to get out and even more "fun" to get back in. You have to use the long part of an allen wrench to reach and you can only turn about 1/4 turn at a time due to limited space. So when I had the bolt out, I cut a small slot in the tip. After that it was way easier because I could put a small screwdriver through the hole and turn the bolt from the outside. To get it started, I pushed the bolt into place with my right hand and turned it from the outside with the screwdriver with my left. Easy. You still have to use a 5MM allen wrench to tighten it but only the last little bit. It is now about 10 times faster to get in and out and a lot less cuss words.
As to the tensioner plunger, yes it really a pain. You have to push it in and turn it at the same time and there is something like 50 to 70 LB of force from the spring and it has oil on it. ???
You are a REAL man if you can do that with our bare hands! ::008::
Here is how I did it. I put it in the vice. The trick was to experiment with the vice padding to get the correct friction on each end. You need the side with the tensioner body to slip enough to allow you to turn it but the piston has to not slip. That way I could slowly squeeze it in the vice as I turned the body to screw it in. It took a bit experimenting but I think I ended up with rubber from an old tube on the piston (no slip) side, and oiled leather on the body (slip) side. After that is was relatively easy. And yes the new one came retracted. ::008::

 

[RED CAT]

That talk came up. This was the first time in my entire life working on a motorcycle that I legitimately did not enjoy myself.

I wonder what a dealer would charge.

I could tell, though, that without a shadow of a doubt if I would have just pulled the motor it would have been enjoyable.

Except that darn tensioner! I want to find the guy who designed it and smack him. It is tough to get it down far enough. If you still have it out, could you do me a favor and take a few measurements?

I need to know diameters of the tensioner and the step on top, as well as how tall the step is.

ac

Diameter of the drum 15.93mm/.6270in Height of step approx. 2.20mm/.0865in, Diameter of step 12.98mm/.5120in

 

[dcstrom]

You guys are making me have second thoughts about what to do about my second valve check... with 5 out of 5 of you needing adjustment at the first check, was I just LUCKY not to need adjustment at the first check? Or did the dealer tell me a pork pie? As it was they charged me $600 for the check, hate to think what it would have been if they actually had to adjust something. They are a reputable dealer so would like to think that they told me the truth...

Now I'm in Santiago, due for the second check but was planning on skipping it. Seeing the Yamaha dealer today, sounds like a good guy but doubt he's done a Super Tenere valve check before (mine would be the guinea pig, again...), plus things are expensive here, if I had him do it, it would cost me a packet.

Or... just press on and think about it again when I get to Buenos Aires? Hmmmm?

Trevor

 

[jaeger22]

I think I would press until you get to a dealer you really trust. This is not a job you want some wrench of unknown qualifications to get OJT on your bike! Even if they are out of spec, it is very unlikely IMHO that they will be out enough to cause damage. I would guess that the risk from not doing it is lower than the risk of letting someone learn on your machine. :
Just my 2 cents. ::001::
John

 

[avc8130]

I had installed a manual tensioner in my ZX-14. They are a good idea and it may cure the cam chain noise that occurs when the motor is first started. I going t get one for the Tenere and give it to the dealer so I get rid of the automatic hyd.

It probably will cause that rattle when the bike first starts. The Tenere needs oil pressure for the tensioner to take up the slack in the spring/screw drive.

ac

 

[avc8130]

A lot of good information here. AC, NOW you know why I said it was a nightmare. Congrats on getting the job done so quickly, I think I was down over a week the first time for the check and adjustment. I think I could do it way faster now that I know what to do and I have learned a few tricks. Your experience make makes 5 of us now that have needed adjustment on the first check. Personally I will NEVER skip a check.
The electronics tray does not need to come all the way out but nearly so. Mainly you have to get the top loose enough that you can pull the main wire harness out through the right side of the frame and out of the way. Truly a royal PIA but worth it when you go to put the cover back on.
Tip on removing the tray: The biggest headache is getting the one bolt that comes in from the back. You can see the threaded tip from the outside, it is in plain view and easy to get to, but the head is on the back side and in a recess that there is no way to see. You have to reach and feel to find it. Really fun to get out and even more "fun" to get back in. You have to use the long part of an allen wrench to reach and you can only turn about 1/4 turn at a time due to limited space. So when I had the bolt out, I cut a small slot in the tip. After that it was way easier because I could put a small screwdriver through the hole and turn the bolt from the outside. To get it started, I pushed the bolt into place with my right hand and turned it from the outside with the screwdriver with my left. Easy. You still have to use a 5MM allen wrench to tighten it but only the last little bit. It is now about 10 times faster to get in and out and a lot less cuss words.
As to the tensioner plunger, yes it really a pain. You have to push it in and turn it at the same time and there is something like 50 to 70 LB of force from the spring and it has oil on it. ???
You are a REAL man if you can do that with our bare hands! ::008::
Here is how I did it. I put it in the vice. The trick was to experiment with the vice padding to get the correct friction on each end. You need the side with the tensioner body to slip enough to allow you to turn it but the piston has to not slip. That way I could slowly squeeze it in the vice as I turned the body to screw it in. It took a bit experimenting but I think I ended up with rubber from an old tube on the piston (no slip) side, and oiled leather on the body (slip) side. After that is was relatively easy. And yes the new one came retracted. ::008::

All in all, ~6 hours for the check/adjustment. I've done quite a few valve checks on bikes and this one didn't take the longest, but it certainly was the least fun.

I never took the side cover all the way off. I wish I had. I just kept looking at the huge bundle of wires and didn't feel like messing with them too much.

If it wasn't for the cam chain tensioner, 5 hours. I spent an hour messing with that. Not a fan.

I don't see how anyone could skip a valve adjustment...especially when there was no real empirical data to prove adjustments were rare. I RIDE my bike. There was no way I was skipping an adjustment. One of the main reasons I bought this bike was the long valve interval. So when 26k comes around, I just need to pay the piper and be glad it isn't a 12k or 15k interval.

I'm going to think through a special tool for that stupid tensioner.

ac