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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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Old 29 Mar 2018
Snakeboy's Avatar
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Back into the hamster wheel again, in Oslo - Norway. Did a 5 year RTW trip/250 k kms, 2014-2019
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sushi2831 View Post
Hello

I'm sorry to hear of your many problems.
What is the year and milage of your Z and when started the problems?

I do not think that this is normal and representative for most of the Z's on the road.
There are reports of gear and bearings failings on the net, but overall the 660 engine is very reliable.
I know that doesn't help you, I wish you all the best to solve your problems and save your trip.

It's not what I've experienced with my '08 Z.
Did 105'000km 2 years RTW with some problems but nothing that stoped me for too long.
Started with a new bike. 0km.
27tkm: rectifier, bad contact, saldered the pins and good, no parts needed.
35tkm: rear break disc bended, due to overheating, the break didn't open properly. Replaced disc 4tkm later.
45tkm: hit a rock and had to bend the front rim in a 20t press, 2-3 loose spokes for the next 70tkm.
50tkm: new steering bearing, not enough lubrication at manufacturing.
65tkm: suicide of a kangaroo, after treating the pipes with the press, still slightly bended front fork for the next 50tkm.
80tkm: headlight broken inside, maybe from the accident, stuffed it with foam. No parts.

Valves: checked at 50tkm, o.k. at 105tkm 1 valve needed adjustment.
Fuel consumption was normal at all times, 4.75-5.5 l/100km depending on my riding.
Oil consumption was not measurable until 50tkm, then maybe 1l/10tkm.
Not sure if it was the engine that burned it or the oil vent through the breather hose, a problem of the '08 models.

The spring in the rear suspension lost 2-3cm tension, better to take a stronger spring

At home:
110tkm: a small hole in the radiator caused by a screw of the ventilator mounted on it.
115tkm: bowdon cable of the gas broke.
117tkm: finally I burned the clutch while riding in the snow, got surpriced, used too much grinding clutch.

I would recommend the XT660Z to anybody as a RTW bike.
Perfect bike for someone with limited mechanical skills who treats it not too well, like me.
The R needs some modifications but is lighter.
Can't say anything about the BMW.


sushi
Mine is a 2011. It has now 153 k kms on the clock but in reality it has done somewhat less. Its ridiciously overgeared OEM so I have changed the rear sprocket from 45 to 48 and now ride with a 47.
Anyhow - problems started at around 70 k kms. Suddenly fuel consumption went from 25 kms/l without thinking about riding slow to 20 kms/l. And to this day spending huge amount of cash on technical checks, top end rebuilds etc the fuel milage is still 20 kms/l riding 80-90 km/h max. And this is not right at all. A 650 cc efi bike should have a fuel consumotion something like 25-28 kms/l if its ridden moderately. And the low output Teneres should probably have less. Mine had 27-28 kms/l km when it was new.
Oil consumption started around 50 k kms, and has increased since. Its not uncommon for certain bikes, the problem with the Tenere is that it still uses oil after a recent top end rebuild. I have had numerous problems with oil leaks too. Some have ben easy to fix, some not. For a time I had a oil leak and none could even find out where it came from. But its not there for the moment although Im sure it will come back one sunny day...

Valve checks - they are supposed to be done every 20 k kms, mine has been done and Im always told they are way out of specs.

Its a clear myth that the Teneres are reliable. Every time I meet or hear of a Tenere I hear about all the problems they have had. I rode with a german guy in Australia and his rectifier died. His cush rubber drives worn out after less than 10 k kms. An australian guy in northern Argentina spend heaps of money on a rebuild and repair and travelled by bus to Santiago Chile to get spare parts. When done he rode 2-300 kms on it and it broke down again. He had to truck it to nearest shipping town and ship it back home to Australia. Not exactly what you had expected on a RTW trip?
I know a couple of guys back home with Teneres. One of them blew up his engine after 50-55 k kms after numerous problems before that. He had a long case going with the local Yamaha dealer who refused to replace anything under warranty as he had added the Kev mod on his bike. He wasnt very happy about that and rides a KTM today.

Adding that the Teneres are very heavy, in fact the very heaviest single cylinder bike except the very ancient mk2 of Suzukis old Dr800 and that the engine is set up so lean that it requires adjustmenst that void the warranty - dont even think about it.
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Last edited by Snakeboy; 29 Mar 2018 at 20:03.
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