Hello guys,


long time reader, first time writer.



I have recently purchased a used Tenere (2011 / 9000kms on the clock at the time of purchase). Two previous owners. While little is known about the first owner and the way he used the bike (aside from the fact that he has ridden just 7000km in 5 years), I do know that the second owner was a beginner enduro enthusiast, trying to use the Tenere on light to medium trails. He owned the bike for a year, has put another 2000km on the clock and then sold the bike since he has realized that it's a bit too heavy for a weekend enduro toy.



The bike is in good cosmetic condition, but after riding for about 5000km mostly on tarmac, with an occasional "outing" that involved dirt roads and roads that were built in the Soviet era (you are much better off riding dirt roads than these), I have uncovered a number of things.



1. Micro-cracks near the oil filling / oil dipstick opening. These were really tiny and resulted in oil sweat, the frame around the opening would always be covered in a thin film of oil. Nothing dripped, no droplets, but I got that welded anyway. The guy who did the job said this was a factory defect, not something that could be caused by poor usage habits.



2. High pitch rattling noise at 3500-4000 revs. Turned out that this was being caused by the absence of rubber/foam between the grey plastic cover and the radiator on the right hand side. You could clearly see the traces of glue where this piece of rubber used to be, but it simply wasn't there. Fixed by placing a piece of rubber where it should be.



3. A broken skid plate support. This is the strangest one, to be honest. The bike came with Hepco and Decker engine guards and an "Iron Skill" stainless steel skid plate. Judging by what I was able to find, the skidplate is made locally in Ukraine and by the looks of it, it is identical to the original Yamaha skid plate, just made of stainless steel, as opposed to aluminium ( this is what it looks like) . When I took everything off, I realized that the tip of the left skid plate support at the front (those two wing-like protrusions from the frame) was broken off (although I hardly see how that could be done, since there were no signs of heavy hits on the skid plate and even if there was, the plate has other points to transfer force to the engine and the frame, these "wings" are merely there to keep the skid plate from falling down). This part is due to be welded back on early next week, and then I'll put everything back together.


Now, the thing I am concerned about is the low rattling noise when riding on uneven ground / going over obstacles. This is particularly noticeable when riding on cobblestones or a road paved with setts, we have a few places in the city where the setts have been taken out for communication repairs and the way they have been installed back is far from perfect.


To me, it sounds like the noise comes from two places: one somewhere underneath the bike closer to the front, the other somewhere around the swingarm. I could attribute some of this noise to the chain slapping against the swingarm, but I am so far unsuccessful in uncovering what could be contributing to the noise coming from the front. Chain tension is normal, has been checked by myself and the mechanic. However, I have met a person who owns an XTR and he said there is no chain slap on his bike even when he takes it off-road.



Since an XT660Z is a relatively rare bike here in Ukraine (I am the only proud owner of the bike in a 1M+ city), I have nothing to compare my experience against, so I don't know what's normal and what's not, hence I am here, humbly looking for an opinion / advice from people who have owned and ridden the bike for a while. Do others have any unusual noises when going over rough terrain, is it normal for the bike? If it isn't, what would be a good place to start looking and how would I troubleshoot / identify the underlying issue? Does the chain hit the swingarm on your bike, when it's tensioned correctly?


Thanks for any help! Cheers!