40 000 miles are not exactly very much. 95% of all new bikes will roll their first 40 k miles without any issues. Come back please when you have 100 000 miles on it...

The Ten is NOT a reliable bike. There are for example potentially almost 2000 bikes with gearbox failing. The 2009 (and early 2010?) models. Now everybody likes to give shit to BMW, KTM, Honda etc when they have recalls on their bikes - Yamaha doesnt even recall or fix anything on warranty even though they have admitted that there was a failure when producing gearboxes that year. Do you still have faith in Yamaha???
I have mention names on persons with Tens and their problems - where they broke down etc etc and I could have mentioned many many many more. Have a look on the Tenere forum I mentiond above and see what the huge plethora of problems Ten owners have...

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Wether you love the Tenere or not doesnt make it a good bike. And «a few small trips» ANY bike would do without problems. If the persons taking it around the world get serious problems then we should pay attention. I have mentioned a few earlier on. Have a look at those stories and have a look at the Tenere forum I mentioned earlier on for a plethora of Tenere problems. Notably those nearly 2000 bikes with potential gearbox failure....

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Hi Snakeboy, not looking to get into a bun fight here, clearly you have put way more miles on your Z than most of the rest of us here and as such represent 1 very relevant data point. Your note on 2009 models and Ted’s on 2004/5 R models are great insights for the OP.

But if we tell everyone asking questions that a particular bike model is rubbish because one example had issues over a 200,000kms life, or there are some weak points for a model that emerge over time, then there’s going to be a seriously short list of feasible bikes that make the grade. This was the point I was making by citing my pals with big DR issues.

Cheers
Andy

The "problems" of the 660 is pretty well known, in regards to the rectifier and cush dampers, and the lean conditions. Theres pretty cheap fixes for all of it. This should be no surprise.

- Theres a "kev mod" to fic the fuelling issue (which just about and FI thumper has)
- Theres guides to fill the rectifer with dielectric grease and/or relocate it.
- Theres a guide to mod the sprocket carrier to fit a bigger bearing, making th life of the cush rubbers easier.
- You can fit polyurethane cush dampers for +40.000 miles trouble free use (with the above mod)
- Cush rubbers can be filled with spare pieces of innertubes as shims.

I know this, and I dont even own the bike.


When I think about, all the bikes I've ever had has hat some sort of "common failure point"

2000 "potential" bike isnt a lot, how many Lc4's has had rocker arm failures? How many wr250r has had fuel pump and stator failures? How many wr450f has had gearbox failures? How many transalps have had cdi box failures? How many dr650 has 3rd gear explode, how many xt600's had 5th gear failures, how many klr650 had the doohickey spring brake? How many dt125rs had headgasket issues? ect ect ect.....

Seems like someone was just unlucky, most of this could have been avoided with a couple google searces. Its a pretty common round-the-world-bike for a reason.

Good day

Please man - I have mentioned several other Tens, their owners, their problems, where the problems occured (all on RTW-trips) and in addition I have mentioned the most used Facebookforum for Teneres where you can have a look. My experienses are not at all the main thing here. But if you dont want to understand theres nothing I can do about it. Dont say that I didint try...

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

There are way way more common problems than the one you have mentioned. For example ignition barrel problems, it locks totally or as on my bike you can remove the key when ignition is on. Tacometer needle goes off, water/moisture in speedometer, final drive nut disengages just to mention a few. And what about an idiotic high gearing it has? What about only a 520 chain/sprocket set up on such a heavy lean set up single thumper? Even the Dr650 has a 525 set ip. What a windscreen that creates insanly much turbulence for an average tall rider?
No you obviously havent owned such a bike Mr Eskildsen - its shows very clearly!

Some of the fixes on the Ten might be easy and cheap, but for example the rear hubb one is neither easy or cheap at all! If you cant machine one yourself it will be very costly. And taking a new bike and start to fill innertube rubber in the rear hubb - nah that is - excuse me - not how a bike should come out of a factory. And the same goes for both of the socalled Kev mods. There are both an O2 mod and a fuel mod - didnt you know that? And you will need a wuite expensive aftermarket airfilter and ditto exhaust to get a decent result out of this. Cheap you said? LOL

And to compare fuel pump issues or headgaskets on a twostroker with the gearbox issues on the Ten is excuse pure nonsense. Both can be fixed in less than an hour for a small cost. The gearbox issues on the Ten can cost shipping home to Europe from Mongolia and then find a replacement engine. Cheap and easy my ass!!!

2000 bikes isnt a lot you say? It would be interesting to know how many bikes you consider a lot? 100 000? 999999999999? Imo a single bike with a potential failure is too much. Other brands makes recalls and take responibility - Yamaha gives a god damned shit about their bikes and customers....

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

I put about 80.000km on my XTZ660 and know its wek points and pitfalls. Wouldn't hesitate to use it for rtw travel. I would now however go for the XTR over the XTZ, for weight and handling, even with a large aftermarket tank on it.

Only reason I traded the Ten in for a Terra was my wife and I wanted to leave on identical bikes to save on toolkit and spare parts to carry. The XTZ and XTR were to high for her so we went for the Husqy TR650 which was lower and has a much lower centre of gravity with the underseat tank.

If your choices are between teh XTZ and the XTR I'd go for the R. Kit it out to your needs and go. There's so many people using these bikes for long distance travelling that nightmare stories are inevitable. It doesn't make them bad or unreliable bikes.

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Belgium to Nordkapp via Iran | Discover Overland | Destination World

I am not trying to avoid understanding Snakeboy; I am very happy with my bike and understand perfectly well its strengths and weaknesses.

What I, along with others in this thread, am doing is trying to provide the OP with a bit of balance to your ‘only I know best’ views (is it really credible to condescendingly dismiss someones 40,000 miles of experience of riding a Z as irrelevant because they haven’t done 100,000 miles, yet hold out your opinion on the DR650 based upon a 6 week trip?), whilst attempting (and now failing) to ignore the rude and condescending way you make your points.

Really, it is not a very nice way to behave.

That’s me out of this thread, it is not why I use forums like this. My sincere apologies to the OP that this thread has degenerated in this way - don’t get talked out of the Z & R based upon this discussion alone.

Wanted to like snakeboy too, guy's got some miles under his wing, some of his problem points actually concern all the XT series in my expereince too, but if you insult people and act like like a proverbial you know what, it's not an interesting discussion that anyone would like to contribute to.
can fully understand feeling pissed when stuck in the middle of nowhere, but happens all the time really.... good friend had to perform a pretty complex and costly salvatage operation from the Amzonas when a stupid ign pickup sensor gave up in the middle of nowhere on his DR Big....

Complaining about windscreenheight is just... well, funny.



Just about every other oldschool thumper has 520 chains, i bet a 525 chain is harder to find in remote places, so a 520 could be a + to some people

There's 525 sprockets sets you can buy, from off-the-road.de if you wish, so again, if its a problem, buy theese and be done with it. Just search around and look what fits, its not custom made for the 660. Use a tdm850 sprocket, which is 525, and fits directly. Im pretty sure thats what my friend used when he rode to Australia on the 660z.



As for gearing, people want different stuff, I change my gearing on all my bikes from time to time, depending on where im gonna ride. Sometimes taller, sometimes lower.



For me, I love to search around, find stuff from different models which fit. I have a couple different yamaha dualsport and offroad bikes, most parts is only listed for the on model but fits the other aswell. Sometimes the same part is cheaper when buying it for one model, eventhough it fits both, and so on. Knowing this out on a big trip can prove very usefull.



A xt250 with 18hp have 520 chain, but a dt125r with 30 hp have 428 chain, so theres not always logic to it.




I didnt say you needed to shim the cushrubbers from new, youre just making stuff up as you go, to try to make things fit to your experience.
Yes, you need to pay people to machine the hub to fit the larger bearings. Things like that costs money, so does riding, surprised? I bet is still cheaper than a brakedown, or replacing the cushrubbers all the time. As i said, thers also cushrubebrs made from a different material on the marked, as a direct replacement. The way you make it sound like the worst problem, one would think you would gladly have payed to fix it before it got to be a problem in the first hand...



You sound like you knew of all this, but choose not to do the common fixes, and now complain about it, and got brakedowns as a result.



Regarding the fuelling, im well aware. I have a wr250r where you can add fuel in the onboard display. People say you need fuel controllers for theese aswell, i've ridden mine for 20.000km with aftermarked exhaust system, opened air intake sct without problems. Its won enduroraces in the dualsport class, I ride it as a track marshall the same places as the A-class go (just slower) It would have burned up the valves long time ago if it was bad. Checked valves at 20.000km, swapped 2 shims to get them in the upper range, and closed it back up.



Again, just about every FI thumper has some fuelling issues, or something with the fueldelivery that can be optimized atleast. My wr250r needed to have the TPS adjusted, and fuel added, and its still just a hair jerky in slow not flowing traffic.. People install powercommanders and/or different throttletubes to make it go totally away. When riding WOT, its actually rich, even with mods, so the custom maps actually remove fuel from this setting.





You really came bad from the start, not wanting to explain yourself, and told everyone with other experiences that they were wrong. And now more and more comes up as people share their experiences.



Im sorry your trip turned so bad, and I bet all others are aswell. Would have loved to read a ride report, cause I bet there was a lot of good times aswell.


I dont know if I would take my wr250r as a round the world bike, but I use it as my lightweight dualsport, and ride it to countries "next door" and so on. I traveled to 20 countries on my xt600, but bought the wr250r to replace it, to get the weight down for the offroad stuff. Dr650 has 3rd gear issues, which also seems to randomly go bang without notice.


Good day.

Well an interesting discussion and I’m glad there are differing opinions.
I also have a WR250R that I use for green laning in the UK and was thinking that one day I might use it to go down through Africa.
A recent, comprehensive, survey has come out finding Yamaha top of reliability amongst all makes of motorcycles - certainly my WR250R has never given me any problems and my wife had a TDM 900 for 10 years which was trouble free and very economical with both fuel and service parts.
However - we have just come back from a short trip to France which included some light off road and I have decided to take my 1200gs. My wife also loves her 1200gs LC for light off roading and is tempted to take hers. She is going on a long trip in September on a RE Himalayan and will also take a test ride on a new CB500X and 250 Rally.
Looks like Yamaha will have to wait until we can afford 2 x 700 Ténéré
Thanks again for all the input

If you dont have any other things to mention other than complaining about my behaviour - it seems your pretty out of valid points. And that coming from a person that on the last page said after only mentioning his own relatively short experiences with the Ten concluded with «a very reliable bike». You totally ignore all the examples I mentioned on people who have had their RTW trips ruined by Teneres who failed miserably. If you think my 200 000 is invalid its perfectly ok - but please at least pay attention to the other examples I have mentioned.

What was it you wrote - «not a very nice way to behave» Not a logical one either or mind broadening either for that sake.

Im out of this thread too btw since mentioning real life experiences now is considered bad behaviour...

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

There's enough rudeness on this thread for everyone to have their share. Fortunately, there's lots of useful information as well.

Here's my suggestion, speaking as moderator: each contributor go back to your posts and look each use of the word "you." Complaining about what "you" said, meant, implied, or wrote is a poor start if hoping to contribute information which will be listened to respectfully.

Calmly stating direct experiences or the results of research works very well, especially if offering a balance of positive and negative; long diatribes not so much. Quality information and tone will convey the message--it's not necessary to tear into someone else's opinions, which, in fact, will tend to make the poster sound less like a source of information and more like an angry partisan.

Hope that's useful.

Mark

Are you kidding right now? He literally posted a wall of text with arguments...

Oh come on...

You literally said this as your first reply to me:

Don't kid yourself here.

well i knew that 600-650 suzook DRs had issues with rod bearings, turns out also 3rd gear.... so not only XTs.....


see @ 0:45 and 3:00...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAygQmnOxOw