Check your final drive oil.

[~TABASCO~]

(not directed toward anyone, just my opinion)


IMOP... The oil is about $10 for the good stuff... It uses about 1/3 of a bottle.. so about $3-4 worth of oil..... It takes ALL of about five minutes to change it the rear diff.... We all just bought at $14 K motorcycle..... FOR ME, I get plenty of enjoyment out of the bike to "waste" money on over changing the rear end oil or even the motor oil.. I tend to keep bikes forever, I tend to change it more than it might need.... It has always cracked me up on people on different Forums that want to find the least expensive oil, filter, plugs, Etc.... ::010:: It cost ya another $5.00 for the good stuff for the next 3-6K miles..... LOL Don't be cheep..... So go change that oil..... ;D

 

[Rynn Storm]

Wasn't it more of the bearing/sealing failing than the actual final drive itself? I don't believe any amount of fluid changes would prevent the bearings from coming apart... I'm sure the single-swingarm design didn't help on an "adventure" style bike.

 

[MotorcopBBQ]

Checked it yesterday. ::026:: I bought 75w-90 at wally world so hoping to change it, next week. When I can pick up some yamalube and panniers from dealership

 

[ACEMOTO]

Tabasco, well said.. Having worked at a Yamaha dealer for over 20 years it always amazes me that people will spend 10-15k on a new machine and then go buy crap wally world oil, instead of what the OEM recommends. Nothing wrong with changing your oil often..

 

[MotorcopBBQ]

since when is mobile 1 crap

 

[nankoweap]

Tabasco, well said.. Having worked at a Yamaha dealer for over 20 years it always amazes me that people will spend 10-15k on a new machine and then go buy crap wally world oil, instead of what the OEM recommends. Nothing wrong with changing your oil often..

i'm not sure why folks get "cheap" on these things as well, but as long as that "crap wally world oil" meets yamaha's recommended specs, it shouldn't be an issue where it's purchased or how much it costs. personally, i use amsoil engine/final drive oil in all my bikes and use the OEM oil filter. i really don't mind spending a little extra money on some things - tires, oil, chains, filters, etc - that meet or exceed the manufacturer's specs.

 

[tomatocity]

Jaxson and Acemoto, what is the good stuff? I am using some uncapped Sta-Lube gear oil I have had on my shelf for a couple years. Two more changes and it will be gone. I want to know what the good stuff is so I can use it for the next 200K+ miles.

I am using YamaLube for engine oil. Using manufacturer engine oil is a first for me. I normally use Mobil 1 or Castrol for engine oil but figured I have a five year warranty so will use the mfg product.

 

[Bigbore4]

I did my first oil change at about 100 miles. I changed the second time at 920 before taking off on a trip. I changed the rear at that time. I am using Mobile1. I drained it hot (seemed to be close to correct amount) Filled and drained again (rinse), and filled.

The most important thing is monitoring for leaks on your daily once over. With the very small capacity even a small leak could be the end of your final drive. My FJR has ~45k with no issues. I expect same (no issues) from the Super Tenere.

 

[immigrant]

Got the yamalube SAE80W90 drive shaft gear oil from dealer today. they were not sure if this is the correct oil for the shaft drive. Can you guys confirm that this is correct. it does not have any of the other numbers printed on it as what the user manual states. Isee on the yamaha website there is also friction modified shaft drive gear oil 80W90 I a not sure which one to use?

 

[~TABASCO~]

since when is mobile 1 crap

Made me laugh.....

 

[~TABASCO~]

i'm not sure why folks get "cheap" on these things as well, but as long as that "crap wally world oil" meets yamaha's recommended specs, it shouldn't be an issue where it's purchased or how much it costs. personally, i use amsoil engine/final drive oil in all my bikes and use the OEM oil filter. i really don't mind spending a little extra money on some things - tires, oil, chains, filters, etc - that meet or exceed the manufacturer's specs.

Wally does sell some Mobil 1 and Rotella... They also sell some junk that is like $.85 a qt.... Amsoil ! ::008:: Good choice! I still have a case for one of my bikes but too darn hard to get around here unless you have a Mobil dealer on the 411............. I run Mobil 1 most of the time in all my junk. I get it as WALLY WORLD... along with a coke and a candy bar !

 

[~TABASCO~]

Jaxson and Acemoto, what is the good stuff? I am using some uncapped Sta-Lube gear oil I have had on my shelf for a couple years. Two more changes and it will be gone. I want to know what the good stuff is so I can use it for the next 200K+ miles.

I am using YamaLube for engine oil. Using manufacturer engine oil is a first for me. I normally use Mobil 1 or Castrol for engine oil but figured I have a five year warranty so will use the mfg product.

Not sure if this is just a trap.. This is strictly my opinion. I like Amsoil / Mobil 1 / Rotella (shell) Blue bottle synthetic.. I have pulled down car motors and motorcycle motors (more important air cooled bike motors) and have personally seen the difference in the continuous use of regular oil, and Synthetic oil... Ive seen the difference many times... For me its not just some hocus-pocus TV add BS or "my buddy told me this"... Ive seen two of the same engines one used synthetic, one did not.. You can see the hot spots on the back and top of the head above the exhaust valves. Its just clear as day.... This is what sold me many years ago on spending the extra money on full synthetic. If I hadn't pulled down motors over the years and seen the difference with my own two eyes I probably wouldn't believe the 'hype' and not spend the extra cash. Anyhow, Just about any "name brand' full synthetic will be the GOOD STUFF..
Also, if you dont know, there are some brands like Mobil 1 that are only half Synthetic and half regular. Its there 'blend'. There are others out there aswell. They are right in the middle as far as cost. Full Syn, is the best... And you DONT need to change it at 3K miles, or 5K...
This is kinda an example of what im talking about. My wife has a Honda that she drives a lot with work. Its 4 years old with about 175K miles. Drives like the day she bought it. We run Gold cap 5-20 (not for bikes and the weight that is called for) Its about $9.50 a qt at Auto-Zone. Mobil 1 Gold cap says on the bottle that you can go 15K miles.. We do, and this last time she went about 17.5K miles on the oil... With a Mobil 1 filter. I do the oil changes at the shop. I pulled the oil plug and the oil was NOT even black.. It was brown, a light brown.. It still had some clarity to it.. Point being, 20 years ago I ran Castrol 10-30 for 3K miles and it was black as black can be. So, spend the extra, go synthetic and run it 5K + miles. If your all scientific you can see a little mileage increase too. WARRNING: DO NOT BUY ENERGY CONSERVING FULL SYNTHETICS.. CHECK THE BOTTEL... You have a wet clutch and it will make the clutch slip and ruin the clutch.

 

[MotorcopBBQ]

::026:: Glad I could make you laugh

 

[coastie]

Wow! Is that on fire?

 

[TreeMuncher]

Not sure if this is just a trap.. This is strictly my opinion. I like Amsoil / Mobil 1 / Rotella (shell) Blue bottle synthetic.. I have pulled down car motors and motorcycle motors (more important air cooled bike motors) and have personally seen the difference in the continuous use of regular oil, and Synthetic oil... Ive seen the difference many times... For me its not just some hocus-pocus TV add BS or "my buddy told me this"... Ive seen two of the same engines one used synthetic, one did not.. You can see the hot spots on the back and top of the head above the exhaust valves. Its just clear as day.... This is what sold me many years ago on spending the extra money on full synthetic. If I hadn't pulled down motors over the years and seen the difference with my own two eyes I probably wouldn't believe the 'hype' and not spend the extra cash. Anyhow, Just about any "name brand' full synthetic will be the GOOD STUFF..
Also, if you dont know, there are some brands like Mobil 1 that are only half Synthetic and half regular. Its there 'blend'. There are others out there aswell. They are right in the middle as far as cost. Full Syn, is the best... And you DONT need to change it at 3K miles, or 5K...
This is kinda an example of what im talking about. My wife has a Honda that she drives a lot with work. Its 4 years old with about 175K miles. Drives like the day she bought it. We run Gold cap 5-20 (not for bikes and the weight that is called for) Its about $9.50 a qt at Auto-Zone. Mobil 1 Gold cap says on the bottle that you can go 15K miles.. We do, and this last time she went about 17.5K miles on the oil... With a Mobil 1 filter. I do the oil changes at the shop. I pulled the oil plug and the oil was NOT even black.. It was brown, a light brown.. It still had some clarity to it.. Point being, 20 years ago I ran Castrol 10-30 for 3K miles and it was black as black can be. So, spend the extra, go synthetic and run it 5K + miles. If your all scientific you can see a little mileage increase too. WARRNING: DO NOT BUY ENERGY CONSERVING FULL SYNTHETICS.. CHECK THE BOTTEL... You have a wet clutch and it will make the clutch slip and ruin the clutch.

For engine oil use: change your filters at the required intervals and top off with fresh synthetic oil. Filtration is EXTREMELY important. The synthetic oil won't wear out but particulate matter will still ruin an engine if it is not removed. I run bypass filters on most of my equipment and double my hours between oil changes with no ill effects - oil analysis proves that the oil is still good and clean when I do change it.

For final drives: Mobil 1 provides exceptional protection, even when the final drive has gone "dry" and just a thin film remains. Mobil 1 gear oil also has a very nasty smell that you can't miss and you will know that a leak has occurred. There is almost no smell when it's new but once it has been run, it develops a nasty odor. I've had excellent results with Mobil 1 gear oil. A final drive went dry on some heavy equipment but only the bearing and 1 planetary gear were consumed - new parts and right back into service without any problems. Only a thin film of oil / jello remained and that kept it from destroying the rest of the gears. Had I paid attention to the foul smell, I would have known the final was leaking - lesson learned.

For 7 oz, it's cheap insurance to change the final drive oil and inspect the magnet for any signs of trouble. Just my $0.02

 

[stevepsd]

Wow! Is that on fire?

Yep its on fire.

Posted over on ADVRider a while ago.

A sign of great BMW over-engineering something till it breaks. Again.

 

[jajpko]

Yep its on fire.

Posted over on ADVRider a while ago.

A sign of great BMW over-engineering something till it breaks. Again.

Ya think that is gonna be a rebuild or a new one... Either way, many, many, whale forskins. ::025::

 

[Rasher]

My bike is being delivered on Friday with a mere 149 miles on the clock, the first thing I will do is oil changes, both engine and FD.

I will want to get out the oil as even after 150 miles the worst of any crap from manufacturing and initial break in will be in it, I will run mineral oil for the next 450 miles until the 1st service to aid break-in.

My GS at 7k had sludge in it (although supposedly changed by dealers at 600 miles and 3.5k - I think they skipped it and billed the last owner anyway) but this is something I never trust dealers with.

As with the engine I want to get any early wear crud out, plus having read this I am concerned it may also be low on oil. On the GS I changed to FD oil evey tyre change (as you need to rear wheel out to do it) with the Tenere I will do it with every engine oil change - the cost is so small due to the tiny amount these things hold it seems to make sense just to do it every service.

 

[dcstrom]

I think many of us have experienced the unpleasant sight of murky, silvery final drive oil while servicing our S10's. I'm pleased to report that on my FOURTH change, it's now coming out very clear. I changed at 50, 600, 5000 and now 10800 miles. So it looks to me like it takes 5000 miles to bed in (that was the last time I had dirty oil). I think from now on I can stick to recommended intervals (but I probably won't - every second engine oil change would be good - for me, with oil changes at 3-4k, that would be every 6-8000 miles for the final drive.)

There is one fly in the ointment. Only a bit over 100ml came out (supposed to be 200ml). Last time I didn't measure what I put in, just made sure it was up to the bottom of the threads. This time I measure what I put in, ~200ml, and it was up to the bottom of the threads, same as last time. No leaks, so where did the other ~100ml go? Not something I'm worried about, but worth keeping an eye on.

the picture below is the kind of thing I post to my Evernote account from my iPhone - from that one pic I get the date, location, milage and type of oil.

Trevor

 

[GrahamD]

the picture below is the kind of thing I post to my Evernote account from my iPhone - from that one pic I get the date, location, milage and type of oil.

Trevor

I do the same thing, Just tale a pic and save it. Good idea DC