Saggy Rear End
 

Riding around on my dealers Tenere while mine is in getting its electrical problems looked at has highlighted to me just how bad my own bike has become. In particular I am referring to the saggy rear end and transmission lash.

I had noticed for a while that I had to be very carefull how I parked my bike when using the side stand as it stands very straight. No problem with the demo bike. If I sit on the demo bike and put my weight on the seat while the side stand is down, I can old the bike vertical and the side stand is a good half inch off the ground.

If I try the same thing on my own bike then the rear suspension compresses so much that the bike is pushed over to the right (I have to be very carefull getting on the bike because of that).

The preload on the demo bike is set on the 1st notch and my bike is set at the 3rd so that isn't where the problem lies.

Anyone else got problems with their rear suspension??

Riding the demo bike has also shown up just how much transmission lash my bike has. I'm guessing it is the good old cush-drive.

My bike only has 3400 miles on the clock so I'm pretty pissed off at the moment.

That's before you consider the ammount of corrosion on the bike, regardless of how much FS365 I use, the clocks that keep foggin up, and that I've already had a new set of rear indicators under warranty!

Regarding the electrical problem the dealer is trying to say that Yamaha won't touch the bike because I have fitted heated grips and a GPS!?!?!

I'm off to get a brochure for GS800!

Al.

hi al,

sorry to hear about the problems you are having. i've not had any problems so far but then i have only done 1800 miles. i had a demo on the f800gs and must say that it was a good bike, however it is not without it's problems either. check out www.ukgser.com for all the info you need if you are serious .

think you have problems you will if you get 800gs theirs lads on the ukgser that have had 2 and 3 engines, as for yamaha, that sucks, gps and heated grips thats utter bollicks ,, what happenend to your bike?? as for the sus on the rear mines on the standard settings and if iam on the side stand and sit on the bike it does go just about over mind iam about 19st but the suspension works fine plenty of rebound and damping

The thing about the suspension is the fact that it would appear that the rear shock has gone "off" in a little over 3k miles which is very noticable compared to a new bike with the same person sitting on it. Not impressed.

I bet the GS lads had their engines repaired by their warranty. When the cam chain tensioner failed on my old FireStorm wrecking the engine Honda couldn't give a dam. I'm not holding out any hope with Yamaha this instance if the grumbles from my dealer are anything to go by.

Al.

Hi Al, I noticed the shock on my Ten had gone soft on sunday after a ride of 40 miles with pillion. First time I'd noticed it. I wound the preload on some more, but I'll keep an eye on it. Mines on 3600 btw.

bloody main dealers p*ss me off they get paid to do the work , if it was the middle of winter i would be done they would be happy for the work, it wouldnt happen to be shirelaws by any chance, i used to be on station up their many years ago and they played up on a repair job under warranty, and it took weeks and weeks to sort out

Thankfully not Shirlaws (especially after they screwed up my Triumph TT600 but that's another story). It is Ecosse Yamaha,

Not heard from them since Friday so I think I'll nip across town tomorrow lunchtime and speak to them about the suspension & transmission lash.

Al.

Sounds like the shock is defective, which should be replaced under warranty. Has it had a hard life? Mileage doesn't mean much unless it's only been on paved surfaces and assuming you're not a sumo wrestler.

As for the 800GS, I'd rather have an xt with ohlins and the extra cash in the bank. Doubt it will stand up to winter any better and the dealer won't thank you for doing any home wiring either.

Hyperpro can do a new rear spring for about �80-�100 and progressive fork springs too for about the same. Might be worth considering, if you don't want to shell out for a Magura or ohlins replacement and don't get any joy with the dealer.

I'm 14 Stone + my kit. I've only been up one access road in the time I've had the bike so 99.999% of the milage has been on normal roads.

As I said above it has reached the point where you have to be very carefull how you leave the bike on the stand otherwise it wants to fall over. That also means that i have to be very carefull getting on the bike as the stand then pushes the bike over to the right which is a safety issue in my book.

Needless to say I demonstrated the problem to the dealer side by side with their demo bike and they are going to contact Yamaha about getting it fixed under warranty. I also brought up the cush drive so they are, hopefully, going to replace that too.

Al.