Sonoma County GS Defector (Maybe)

Oilhead

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Seriously considering either adding to or replacing my mature 1150GS. I spend a lot of time in the central Sierras and something a little newer and modern(ish) is the direction that I want to go, mostly for reliability sake-I do like the old GS and it has been good to me. I really prefer to do my own work, and on the GS everything is really well thought out and easy-valve adjustments/TB synch which gets the bike really dialed in is quick to do; the S-10 seems to be an unwanted adventure to the point that the likelihood of me screwing it up would be north of what I’m willing to accept at least at first. So, before I venture into a relatively unknown bike, I want to get an idea of what a valve adjust would cost in rough terms and if anyone around Sonoma county, Ca (I know you are out there, we see each other now and again on the road) of a mechanic that knows these bikes well. I am usually of the opinion that I am more careful with my bike than a mechanic would be, but the valve adjust might be one that I would look the other way on.
Thanks,
Dave
 

Sierra1

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Wow, get ready for opinions from one extreme to the other. One guy will do the valves waaay earlier than the books says. Then there's the guy that has gone 100k miles, and hasn't touched them. There's yet another guy, that's done normal-ish maintenance, and has over 200k miles on his. These bikes are known for their reliability. To be honest, in my opinion, all Japanese bikes are reliable. There is an article in some magazine showing Yamaha is the most reliable. I am a biased Yam-fan. Been riding them since '79. Never a problem. Basic, routine, maintenance. But, the Tenere is my favorite bike. . . . ever. "I" will be taking my bike to the dealer for the valve work, when the book says to. I don't know the cost, but, I've heard it's pretty expensive. I'm lucky, my dealer's mechanic is fantastic. Also, my dealer doesn't gouge his customers.

For reference, I rode an '04 RT 1150 for 6 years/60k miles. It was a great bike. . . .until about year four. Had to replace two drive shafts, which resulted in it being on it's fourth clutch. Was on the fourth starter, and second kick stand. It left a bad taste. Rode an ST 1300 for about half as much time/miles. Gas, tires, oil, and one battery was the only money that went into it. Still have my FJ, and my youngest son has the FJR. Oldest son is on his second R6, but we still let him ride with us. (first one was totaled out from under him) And my wife has the TW. Same results. . . . G, T, & O.

So, I don't know if that answered your question, but I don't think you would be dissatisfied with a Tenere. I do know the price to play is a whole lot less than the non-Japanese competition. :)
 

Madhatter

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26 thousand miles between adjustments and my 12 was within specs . a buddy has 56 thousand on his and has not moved out of adjustment . couple of hundred dollars for a valve adjustment maybe 3 ..... its a great bike.
 

Oilhead

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Would it be accurate to say that a valve adjust (replace a couple of shims) takes about 4-5 hrs for a wrench experienced with the Super T?
 

LJM

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I was a Sonoma county GS/BMW guy for years along with the GS I went through 2 RT's, made the switch to the S10 in 2015 and what a relief, the older BMW's were great like you say easy to maintain, and the newer ones are great when they run. All is can say is I never worry about the Yamaha I just ride it do a bit of maintenance. Good Luck in your search
LJM
 

gv550

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Would it be accurate to say that a valve adjust (replace a couple of shims) takes about 4-5 hrs for a wrench experienced with the Super T?
I’d say valve clearance inspection takes me 2 hours, valve re-shim if required takes me an additional 4-5 hours. I try to combine this with air filter and spark plug change as those are removed anyway, and I also remove the forks for service because that makes valve access much easier.
 

SilverBullet

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I’d say valve clearance inspection takes me 2 hours, valve re-shim if required takes me an additional 4-5 hours. I try to combine this with air filter and spark plug change as those are removed anyway, and I also remove the forks for service because that makes valve access much easier.
You are saying an additional 2 hours when doing a plug and filter change?

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Madhatter

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You can call and query a dealer about hourly shop rates and what the book times are on services. Maybe a dealer would be honest.
 

Oilhead

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You can call and query a dealer about hourly shop rates and what the book times are on services. Maybe a dealer would be honest.
Thanks, I was hoping someone in the area would know of an independent that has actually done the work on a Tenere before. I was looking through the steps involved to see if I wanted to tackle it when the time came around. Not this time around at least. I wonder what the correlation is between used Teneres for sale at or around the mileage of a valve check and the direct unwillingness to have or do the valve check adjust? But, to your point, I should at least talk to the dealer about it. It’s only money $$!!!@@&!
 

Don in Lodi

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My last check was with an independent wrench, he swore off Tenere. "No more, never again".
 

LJM

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Call Paul or stop by his shop, PM Motorcycle repair in Petaluma great mechanic & honest guy. He will work on the Yamaha no problem & knows what he's doing. He's worked on a few bikes for me higly recomended I was going to have him do the valves on my ST but I moved to Oregon before I got around to it. He quoted me a price for the work but I can't remember the number (old age & a bad case of CRS) Good Luck
LJM
 

Oilhead

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Call Paul or stop by his shop, PM Motorcycle repair in Petaluma great mechanic & honest guy. He will work on the Yamaha no problem & knows what he's doing. He's worked on a few bikes for me higly recomended I was going to have him do the valves on my ST but I moved to Oregon before I got around to it. He quoted me a price for the work but I can't remember the number (old age & a bad case of CRS) Good Luck
LJM
The CRS does sneak up on us now and again! Thanks for the info. Exactly what I was looking for. Much appreciated!
 
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