Loose spokes...warranty?

nhdiesel

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Might be a dumb question, but are loose spokes considered a warranty item? I have a few loose ones on my 2015 with a little over 14k miles. I could simply tighten the loose ones, but I use this bike as a long distance touring bike and want to make sure they are adjusted properly so I don't have any vibes, and not just "Yea, they are snugged up". Front wheel seems fine, only the rear has two or three slightly loose spokes.
 

TXTenere

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nhdiesel said:
Might be a dumb question, but are loose spokes considered a warranty item? I have a few loose ones on my 2015 with a little over 14k miles. I could simply tighten the loose ones, but I use this bike as a long distance touring bike and want to make sure they are adjusted properly so I don't have any vibes, and not just "Yea, they are snugged up". Front wheel seems fine, only the rear has two or three slightly loose spokes.
I suspect not. Spoke tension is checked and adjusted as called out under scheduled maintenance if you look at the maintenance intervals in your owners manual.
 

GearheadGrrrl

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Ya got me all nervous, my '13 just passed 16k miles and all my spoke checking has been by ear with the assistance of whatever screwdriver was handy. And while I haven't traversed any craters, I haven't been able to avoid every pothole and I and my luggage are kinda "hefty". So I take my little torque wrench with appropriate allen socket, extensions, etc. to every single spoke nipple on the rear wheel... And on every one the torque wrench just clicks without moving the nipple nary a degree.

So I suspect that unless you've pretzeled the rim, spoke breakage and/or chronic loosening would be a warranty claim- Yamaha must have had a bunch escape the factory with poorly built wheels. Might be a good idea to put together a list of serial numbers of bikes with failed wheels to see if there's a pattern.
 

EricV

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As has been said above, it's a normal maintenance item, not a warranty claim. There have been some unusual instances where spokes came completely loose at very low miles and did damage to wheel or swing arm, that were covered as a warranty claim. To some degree, that depends on the dealer and what they are willing to submit, and what part of the world you are in, as every Yamaha is not the same. Yamaha US is not Yamaha Canada, for example and have different warranty periods and processes.

As a general rule, you should check your spokes every oil change. The first 4k are more critical and you should check more often, depending on your riding style and distances, you might even want to check every ride. At least every 200-300 miles during that first 4k to be worry free. (that's my opinion, and it worked well for me with me often finding a few loose spokes at those intervals.) Pick an interval that feels right for you.

The simple truth is we have a unique spoke/hub design. The spokes on new wheels will work loose. Heavy torque loading or rough roads can make this more of an issue.

I do long distance riding and sometimes don't put a foot down for 400+ miles. For my peace of mind, I put zip ties at every spoke cross over point, loosely, with no tension on the spokes, (that can create other issues). This is just to catch a spoke if the nipple comes completely off. Yeah, it's probably overkill for my riding, but they are still there and I've never had a spoke come loose enough to lose a nipple. I carry some spare nipples and both sizes of spokes for the rear and front wheel too, just in case.

At 95k, I haven't come across a loose spoke in a long time. I still check them at every oil change. FWIW, I use an inch/lb torque wrench set at 52 in/lbs.
 

Scouse

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I had a rear spoke come loose approx quite soon after the first dealer service. The spokes should have been checked by the dealer but were not, they said it was not on the maintenance schedule. A claim was submitted to Yamaha by the dealer which was upheld. A new set of rear spokes were fitted by a local professional wheel builder. No problems since, now at 5000mls.
 

caillou

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GearheadGrrrl said:
So I take my little torque wrench with appropriate allen socket, extensions, etc. to every single spoke nipple on the rear wheel... And on every one the torque wrench just clicks without moving the nipple nary a degree.
Always better to unscrew the nipple by an 8th of a turn and then tighten it to the right torque. That way, if for any reason, it was overtightened before, it will apply the good torque, and it will also free seized nipples.
 

EricV

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caillou said:
Always better to unscrew the nipple by an 8th of a turn and then tighten it to the right torque. That way, if for any reason, it was overtightened before, it will apply the good torque, and it will also free seized nipples.
Err, I'll take a pass on that, but thanks anyway. ??? This is not a bicycle wheel. I'm more inclined to leave it alone if it's tight enough. If someone has the skills to lace and true a wheel from scratch, by all means, loosen away. Otherwise I suspect that's going to start opening up a progressive problem that may end with the wheel worse off than before.

We're not really concerned about over tightened spokes. That has not proven to be an issue. Nor does Yamaha have any technique or interval to check for over tight spokes.

You're good with the click GearheadGrrrl. (and yes, it's true that it would not tell you if it's over tightened, but you were there last, not some heavy handed gorilla.)
 

nhdiesel

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Well after finding a few spokes when I did my tire change, I tightened them properly and rode the bike. A week later I found a broken spoke and a few more loose, and damage to the rim where the broken spoke rubbed the wheel until I noticed it. I was trying to decide between replacing it myself or seeing if it would be covered under warranty when I found a LOT more spokes loose. I tightened those but now the wheel is way out of true. I contacted the dealer and they took pics to submit for a warranty claim. Currently waiting for the answer. I hope they honor it...a new rear wheel is NOT cheap!

Next step, if they do cover the wheel, is to figure out why the spokes keep loosening. I only have less than 1000 miles since the tire change/original loose spokes, and have found loose spokes a few times now. I had no issues for nearly 14k miles, and now this.
 

bnschroder

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I just ping mine after every long ride and zip tied the rear spokes. Never torqued them, but never found one that didn't sound right. 5,000 miles now
 

nhdiesel

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I pinged mine. That is how I found the three that were originally loose. One of them was obviously loose- actually rattled when i tapped it. I snugged them until they pinged. From what I have read it isn't unusual to get that with a new bike. But everything was fine every time i checked prior (oil changes and tire changes). I tightened the spokes, then put around 250 miles on. I was out of town when I found the broken spoke. I tightened several more that were loose. I then rode home (around 75 miles or so). I checked again at home and found at least 8 more loose. The wheel has a definite wobble now because so many were loose. It will need to be trued properly, or replaced.
 
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