I did it . . . .
 

Well, I�ve gone and done it!

Got one and it�s an �09 in very nice blue. 2184 miles when I collected it from Birmingham yesterday afternoon then rode the 444 miles home.
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/8257/day2dirty.jpg
The high fender is now off and will return when mud duty calls. Spent all of today cleaning & checking the brakes, changing fluids and generally checking it out. Cush drives are totally fubarred after just 2628 miles . . . .
http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/9...iverubbers.jpg
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/403...verubbers1.jpg
Have approached the local Yamaha dealer with a view to getting a set under a warranty claim. Has anyone managed to get their cush drives changed under warranty/

Final question � what does the plug spanner look like in the tool kit that came with the bike � a photo would be really useful. The one I got with the bike will not go anywhere near the plug as it�s far too long. So, show me your plug spanner!


Steve T


:cool:

444 miles from Birmingham? That's a fair way so you must live in Scotland as a guess?

Anyway, don't waste your effort replacing those cush drive rubbers they are fine. Follow Kevs mod and cut up on old bike inner tube, that will cure the drive slack. I have done it and so have many others and it's a zero cost fix that works really well.

When i bought mine, the dealer told me it was warranty.
After 8000km they where replaced for free.
Last time they wanted me to pay 65� while they said it would be replaced under warranty.

The excuse was that Yamaha is no longer giving warranty for replacement parts.

Allo Steve, nice purchase :)

i got my cush drive rubbers changed under warranty, they were a lot worse than your photo tho- they'd started to turn back into oily putty. i would recommend the mod that tony suggested - it works.

Aye, the plug spanner you have sounds like the original - simplest solution? a hacksaw. chop it down to about 100mm long and drill a new hole for the lever bar, job done.

Pete :004:

The first two sets were replaced under warranty, for the third I had to pay, 38,80. So.....Nelis, you've been ripped off with 65,-!!

Nice bike matey

I see you believe in getting "stuck in"

Cush drives on big singles always take a beating. If you can get them changed however for free then do so of course. Nothing wrong with trying although they don't look that bad.

Enjoy

Al.

Enjoy the bike there superb I think...I havent ridden mine for a while due to dental surgery so putting a helmet on is a no go at the moment. I was sat in front of the garage looking at the Tenere yesterday and thought what a superb bike I cant wait to get back out on it.

Let the adventures begin!

Nice one Steve, some knobblies and your away mate.

I'd suggest sourcing a set under warranty and keeping them in a box � do Kev's cush-drive mod and when that's no longer performing pop the new ones in. I'll bet you still haven't fitted the new ones by 10,000.

My rubbers looked far worse than that, and the dealer agreed. I told him I was going to pack them out a la Kev mod until the new ones were here and they said OK, we'll order them anyway. That was 5,000 miles ago and there's still no play in the drive.

It seems that the original rubbers compress a bit in their early miles causing slack in the system and the pulses from the big thumper just pulverise them as there's movement in there � take up the slack with old innertube and the free movement is gone, then the cush-drive rubbers can go back to doing what they're supposed to.

I'm going to change mine this summer before a long trip, but as much as anything that's because I'm interested to see the state of the old ones.

my cush drive rubbers were a lot worse than that when my dealer changed them under warranty

I recently found out that my dealer got all kinds of weird answers + prices.

Thanks for the info Pete. Strange that you should have to cut down the spanner from new to get it to fit. Small question about the spanner - which end fits the plug? The big end or the smaller one? Thought I'd ask before I got busy with the hacksaw & drill :icon_clown:

Thanks to all reference the cush drive rubbers - I've already packed it out ala the mod, and it all seems tight after a test drive. Maybe the dealer will see the sense and offer to pay for the replacements. I'll not hold my breath though.

Steve T

:cool:

Knobblies already in the garage, off of the Alp. Thought I'd wear down the Siracs a bit more first, before changing tyres.
Your mucker rolled past the house this afternoon, just as I was sorting the Alp out for youngest son to ride it away. Drive looked like a dealers lot - Tenere sitting to one side, F650 sitting opposite and the Alp getting fettled in between them.

Some day soon we'll get out together.

Steve T

:cool:

Aye just give me a shout.

Ha ha. It just clicked. I did see bikes in a drive but didna think much off it. I didna ken where you bided. Next time I'll stop in by. I was doing a 'avoid the traffic' run on the back roads. :smilies1349:

The end you need to keep is the one with an internal measurement of 16mm from flat-to-flat. I cant remember what the other end looked like, so i dont know if thats the big end or the small one.

I cut mine down to 70mm long and drilled a new hole for the lever bar to go through, in reality it would be better cut down to 90mm or thereabouts.

Pete.

Thanks for the info Pete. Hacksaw & drill out tonight then :thumbsup:

Steve T

:cool:

Well done chap

about time you had a decent bike in the garage:icon_thumleft: