2 up riding with all 3 cases.

[Millman]

Hi. I was talking to my dealer about cases. They are pushing the OEM 's hard. They are offering me a 10% discount and free installation. They also told me Yamaha does not recommend using all 3 at the same time for fear of overloading the bike. What's your opinion? I am 225, my wife is 145. I'd like to know from experienced riders. Thanks in advance and what a great forum!

Millman

 

[cakeboy]

In my experience you can load the S10 with passenger + as much luggage as you want with no effect on the bike . Its one of the best bikes ive had for carrying heavy gear , built like a tank ...

 

[Juan]

I've gone long haul several times with two up, Yamaha side cases, Givi top case (46 L - bigger than the Yamaha top case) and Yamaha tank bag. The bike coped very well. But with all that weight (top heavy) it was a little more difficult navigating through hairpin bends in mountain passes. I'll be doing another long trip with that configuration on the 31 October

 

[iClint]

I read nothing in the literature that came with the bike and cases that made any such recommendation.

Based on personal experience I have ridden off road with all 3 cases full with tent and sleeping gear on the back seat.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Yamaha is overly conservative and said the same about the FJR. We regularly ride with all 3 cases and have a Givi 52 Liter Maxxia on the back which weighs more than the OEM case. btw - Karen prefers the rear of the Tenere over anything else she's ridden on.


Meanwhile, at least two couples have gone 2-up to mostly lap of the western hemisphere. Google up photos of Old Git Ray and of Silverfin.

 

[Rasher]

I am about 80kg and the Mrs is lighter than me, I found the rear shock way too soft for two-up before the cases went on.

I fitted a Wilburs shock with 160 spring (replacing the stock 137) and it was pretty good two-up with 3 boxes.

I cannot see the bike being dangerous n the OE shock, but it will feel low at the back, wallowy and have little ground clearance when you are all loaded up.

 

[Millman]

Thanks everyone. I'll check the spring load with both of us on to see how it is. Anyone use an aftermarket shock?

Greg

 

[AVGeek]

Thanks everyone. I'll check the spring load with both of us on to see how it is. Anyone use an aftermarket shock?

Greg

Since Rasher mentioned it, yes, the rear spring is on the low side as far as the weight carrying capacity is concerned. There are quite a few options, just search for rear shock or suspension here, and several threads should pop up.

 

[Defekticon]

I'm 220, my wife is 160, I ride with the oem Panniers and a Givi 52 Trekker on the top (unloaded - use it for helmet storage as it will fit both of our helmets). The stock spring can't handle that weight on a non-es bike. It gets really bouncy and sags past the first 1/3 of spring travel which means it's not "optimal" but we rode the Blue ridge parkway without too many problems. I put as much preload on the spring as possible and set the rebound to about 3/4 stiff (30 clicks, 1 being soft, 30 being hard, it was on 20-22ish) and it worked ok.

I upgraded to a cogent shock, which I'm still getting dialed in, and I haven't had an opportunity to get two up riding on it yet, but I spec'd the shock/spring for our weight two up with the panniers about 20% of the time. It's been pretty crappy weather here and will continue for another 5 days at which point I intend to get out on the bike with her after that to do some more adjusting on our setup.

 

[TheHelios]

I've done 2 up with the stock luggage. As mentioned several times, the rear spring isn't optimal. I had to raise it as much as possible to properly compensate. Also, maybe I'm not used to it, but the bike gets very hard to lean due to all the weight.

But even with all that, it's very possible. Not as cramped as my old Ninja 650 but not as comfy as a Goldwing.

 

[mrpete64]

I have recycled my TRAX three boxes on four of my bikes, including my 2014ES. Check them out at Twisted Throttle. They work very well. I would not worry about anything. These boxes are MUCH better than the ones Yamaha makes.

Mr. Pete------>
aging hippie

 

[gaps]

On my 14 non-es, I replaced the oem spring with a 900lb. With the preload and rebound maxed it's purty good for me at 250 and wife at 150 along with 3 Givi bags loaded. Nope, it's not perfect but a decent compromi$e if you are on a budget...and if you're a bit less loaded it's really rather nice.

 

[Millman]

So I went to a number of posts regarding setting the rear suspension. My question is if Yamaha set the suspension for a 170# Rider and everyone is saying that the first thing to do is to replace the rear shock, are not they or the dealer liable for someone at 250# having an accident due to poor suspension performance? Or am I over simplifying the situation. They don't put warnings on the bike regarding rider weight like on ladders. Essentially setting the preload and rebound is the same as my full suspension mtn. Bike. Set the sag to 25% and rebound so you have max control. I bought the super t because it fit my 6'5" frame for some day trips, occasional weekend adventures and commuting my 100 miles per day. I ride pavement and occasionally a dirt road or 2. I will set it as best I can and make sure I don't bottom out and report my results. I think the last thing anyone wants to do is spend $15000 on a bike and spend another $1200 plus install for an aftermarket shock. I know people do it to set up their bike the right way for maximum performance but if that is the case I should have bought the BMW for another 3k.

Millman

 

[JRE]

There's only so much adjusting you can do for a spring that's right for the load. If the spring isn't up to the task, no amount of adjusting is going to make it work like it should. Doesn't mean you can't ride it, you just won't get max performance. A lot of people load their bike way beyond the spring capacity and ride all over the world. If you want to ride 2 up and carry lots of cargo/luggage, most any bike will need stiffer springs except maybe for the big boys (i.e. Gold Wing).

 

[Millman]

I don't want this to go on, I know what I may or may not have to do after some testing. But how much more would it have cost Yamaha to put a proper rear shock on their bike to cover single and 2 up riding?

Greg

 

[Defekticon]

So I went to a number of posts regarding setting the rear suspension. My question is if Yamaha set the suspension for a 170# Rider and everyone is saying that the first thing to do is to replace the rear shock, are not they or the dealer liable for someone at 250# having an accident due to poor suspension performance? Or am I over simplifying the situation. They don't put warnings on the bike regarding rider weight like on ladders. Essentially setting the preload and rebound is the same as my full suspension mtn. Bike. Set the sag to 25% and rebound so you have max control. I bought the super t because it fit my 6'5" frame for some day trips, occasional weekend adventures and commuting my 100 miles per day. I ride pavement and occasionally a dirt road or 2. I will set it as best I can and make sure I don't bottom out and report my results. I think the last thing anyone wants to do is spend $15000 on a bike and spend another $1200 plus install for an aftermarket shock. I know people do it to set up their bike the right way for maximum performance but if that is the case I should have bought the BMW for another 3k.

Millman

There are much more affordable options. A spring swap being the cheapest and best bang for the buck that will fix most problems. To get a little more dialed in cogent has a solution at half the price of the 1200-1500 options.

 

[JRE]

But how much more would it have cost Yamaha to put a proper rear shock on their bike to cover single and 2 up riding?

Greg

I agree - all the bike makers should raise the stock spring rate on most bikes for the American market. Most of us are larger than our EU and far east counterparts. I always said bike should be sold with options...choose your spring, valving, tires, sprocket ratio, etc upon order.

 

[cosmic]

Well said JRE.
I'm 250 dressed up an my wife is around 155. With three Trekkers on and a tank bag we're close to 560/570lbs.
Still the ride is pretty good ,as far as the road is smooth. When it gets bumpy, I felt that the shock/spring is not up to the task. The bike bounces around, wallows and bottoms pretty obviously.
I'm kind of in dilemma right now... Shock or springs... I'm definitely going to change something, but is far from unusable.

 

[Jeffthechef]

I did a 32,000 km, 90 day, two ride ride around the Alaska,Canada and the States on my 2010 S10 with OEM panniers, top case and tank bag. I weigh about 210 lbs and my wife is about 145 lb.We also carried camping gear, wet weather gear, basic cooking utensils, tools etc. The bike was over 50 pounds over recommended weight and I had no issue at all with the way the bike handled or its performance. We avoided major freeways at all cost but when we wanted to get through Texas quickly the bike was just as comfortable on the freeway as it was on the back roads of Canada. We also did a fair bit of riding in gravel, mud and dirt and the S10 had no issues at all.

 

[Defekticon]

It's definitely doable on the stock spring, but when riding at night I was blinding oncoming drivers pretty bad due to the sag on the bike.