The only thing that I don't like about the Ten
 

Went for a ride a couple of weeks ago along single track twisty B roads where a 'good' speed seemed to be about the 50mph / 3 thou revs mark.
For me this speed/revs in top gear was a pain on this type of road - having to drop a gear as soon as the revs dropped slightly below the 3 thou mark. Its the first bike I've owned that made it known that it was not happy ( with that horrible piston slapping type sound - to my ear anyway! ) at revs as high as 3 thou or just under in top.
I am probably guilty of wrongly comparing it to larger capacity multi cylinder bikes but it was still a disappointment to me when doing the slower tarmac touring type stuff.
SO.......... While realising that a lot of Kevs mods would probably take care of this I have opted for changing the gearing - My mate Jim has just fitted a 14 th front sprocket to his and gave me a quick shot the other day - what a change! His bike now pulls cleanly from I'd say 2.2 thou on level ground and is eager to pull throughout the gears. I've not done the calculation re the speedo error but my guess is around 4 - 6mph with an increase of around 500- 750 revs I think.
I've read previous posts which point to the advantages for the off road side of things but I think it will be a great improvement for general touring too - aye maybe not so good for the longer motorway stuff but I do as little of that as possible anyway.
To sum up the order for a 14 tooth sprocket went in today and will be fitted after the lakes meet.

I think you hit the nail on the head, below a certain rev ( I dont know what that is as I have an XTX without a rev counter) and it makes the jerky, snatchy noises you mention, you just need to keep the revs above that zone, your solution will do the trick to suit your riding style, job done. I like to call it a feature!

I tackle it differently but as I have a heavily road biased X I need the longer legs the standard gearing offers. If it works for you then that is all that matters.

I have mainly had only single cylinder bikes and you cannot get anything below 3K rpm.
My last two bikes were an SRX6, again 3 thousand rpm and a DR750, I even put a sticker on the rev counter!
I used to use a 14 tooth front sprocket for off roading on the Ten' but am now comfortable with the standard gearing.
This is a revvy engine and being 'over square' will not thump along but you do have to use the gearbox. I can ride mine without the rev counter and keep within the power band quite comfortably. I think you will find this with most of the old guys like me who have been brought up on old machinery, I would even say that the rev counter is wasted on me, I could blank it off completely and still ride the bike comfortably!.....but then that's me!:toothy11:

I'm going to disagree with Steve here.

The Tenere does have that horrible piston-slappy-kango-type thing at low revs and I always just accepted it as life. I fitted a DNA (S1 &S2) and a PC-V, still does it at low revs.

However, since ditching the OE can and fitting a nice shiney MTC single can the bike pulls from around 2k nice and even. I put this down to the expert fiting of a tool tube :hcrap:, or maybe the fact the bike can exhale better now, In any case it is possible to deal with it.

The 14T front, I also have tried one of these, and to be honest I couldn't wait to take it off again. Kev constantly maintains that the key to the 660 motor is to let it breath, and it realy does make a huge difference. I know it's more ��� than a �15 sprocket, but when you take the bike over the 5K rpm mark you will notice a huge drop in MPG.

Tenere Doug and me had similar bike/ride weights, I had the DNA/PC and Doug had the Akrapo's/K&N, but I was still using around a litre of fuel more on a tank full than him - only real differece was the sprocket and the fact I was always running higher revs in the same speed range.

But at the end of the day, we are all different, so if you've found a solution then that's great, as long as you are happy it doesn't matter about anyone else.

the engine is by far the least flexible/most hardwork that I have ever had but I got used to it and, to be fair, there were only 5 gears and the gearbox was smooth.

I am taking the easy option I suppose and in the long term improving the engines breathing (exhaust and air intake) is the way to go as Kev has pointed out, but.........yes the old �ssss is one of the factors I've got to think of these days.
But yes for me I think it will work as I'm not a straight A-B person these days and like to take in the scenery. I will spend 95% of my time on the smaller A roads, B roads, tracks and off road so I wont be around the 5k revs in top much, if at all. Its just that 50mph / 3krpm point I want to improve if I can.
I'll bang it on and take it from there - its a quick job to refit the 15th if I'm not happy.Cheers guys.

If anyone wants a 14T Renthal then shout. I bought one, fitted it for couple of hundred miles and took it back off.

Thats a no then!:laughing7:
Can you tell me why you took it off mate - mpg?, revs too high? etc.

Cheers

I do most of my riding on the roads and the bike was just running out of puff and feeling stressed. It was fine for running up some of the steeper naughty bits I shouldn't have been riding on, but on the road the engine simply hasn't the grunt to pull it off.
FWIW I fitted a -1T on my Caponord when I had it, and although that moved the revs up by 250rpm for 80mph in top, the bike didn't feel stressed at all.
I like to try things if I can, and sometimes it doesn't work out.

I've been adjust the gearing in smaller increments by changing the size of the rear spocket.
The standard size is 45t.
I got sent the wrong size once, 46t. This made quite a difference, although much more fun commuting and around town, made big roads feel like the engine was working more than it needed to (6th gear would've been nice).
Sounds funny when some of you guys say you run a 14t front. I'll have to try it next time. I guess I don't go proper offroad. :p
I've returned to a 44t rear, used this size when i went to spain, 1t smaller than standard. It still pulls wheelies and my mighty 9 1/2 stone pretty well. Manages fully laiden with pillion, backbox and panniers too.
With stage1 and stage2 DNA and fuel mod the bike is definately better at lower revs.


Posted this then realised, I'm in the Z section.. Doh.
Principles the same.

Myself and Ian spend a lot of time off road and the -1 front sprocket is ideal for our terrain. I was often looking for gear number one and a half and now second is just that. Off road, 1st is like a crawler gear which is good for peat bogs and second is like a tricky terrain gear and so on whereas before the clutch was being overworked.As Ian said, the slow single track "I really need to take all this scenery in " kinda roads which need a slow cruise at 40 to 45 mph in 5th are now a reality whereas before it was a fourth fifth, fifth fourth kinda pain. In these situations it is good the bike is fit for the purpose so more time is spent having a lo0ok. We are well out of the rat race and busy civillisation up here and the need for motorway cruising is not an issue, so horses for courses really.

What's the big difference in 14/45 and 15/48? I use the 15/48 gearing and I'm happy with it...

Pillion?? How tall is she/he? My pillion will NEVER be able to get on without a milk crate to hand. Which is fine until it's time to get off. We have to use the FJR if she wants to come along (which, incidentally, will burble along at 30mph in top quite happily in traffic. I don't think I could own two more different bikes if I tried).

0.014 according to my calculator - not a bl00dy lot!
Out of interest did you change the gearing for this 5th gear 50mph/3000rpm problem I'm harping on about?

That's just it, complete end of the spectrum from my use of the bike, pleased that �15 of sprocket makes it so. Now if only I could find 15 more bhp for �15...

No, actually for some trails I intended to drive. I can handle the Ten a lot better on slow speeds than before. But it works for 50mph/3000rpm very well!

losing 15lbs in body weight* would make things swifter and is free to do...infact you'll actually save money.

*this is not suggesting you're a fat fecker but more of a general statement applicable to everyone

It would, there'd be nowt left of him!

I agree that this is applicable to a great many of us. We want our bikes to lose weight, but we need to lose it a b****y sight more. Saving a few kilos on a loud exhaust to gain 2hp is silly if we've got pork to get rid of. I know I have.

As for the complaint that the 660 motor isn't flexible and capable of pulling <3000 rpm in top - fair enough, but neither is almost any other non-classic big single I've ever owned (13 of 'em. Jeez.), and that goes right back to XT/TT500s. The only big single that would was my 2001 TE610E, then they went and stuffed it with the 06 model, which was worse than the Tenere, let me assure you. Admittedly, it was a lot faster.

Another reason not to make modern big singles lug hard is that if you do, eventually you will flog out the gearbox, cush drives notwithstanding. Those heavy pulses are murder on gears and mains. Spin 'em, I always say. If a motor is unhappy at 3000rpm, change gears and live with it. A happy engine is a free-spinning engine. Sometimes there is way too much thought put into things that don't matter imo. I guess I'm guilty of that too, or I'd not be writing this!

:YouRock:


Thats has to be "quote of the day!

Yes you've hit the nail on the head - you have owned 13 big singles and are used to the power, torque and gearing. Others like me have come from a very different background - big capacity, twins, tripples and fours which in my case allow you to ride in a different style. The problem I'm pointing out relates to these people who will PERHAPS be put off ownership of an XT or be looking for a swap soon after buying one - a great shame.Its so important for me to like the bike I'm riding and IMO anything I can do to improve that riding experience is worth thinking about and discussing - and if you can learn from others experience - which we can all do - so much the better. What doesn't matter to you might matter to others mate. The more you can do ( at little effort and expense) - (IMO if you end up spending huge amounts, you may have bought the wrong bike in the first place ) to make an already great bike fit your riding style rather than you fit the bike can only be a bonus to your enjoyment of a bike.
As far as keeping the engine spinning - thats exactly the aim by fitting the 14th sprocket.:023:

Point taken, and again the gearing depends on the A roads/B roads/tracks/ditches/hills/mountains/valleys/motorways/paths/river crossings you ride on or thru and how much time you spent doing each of them. It all MATTERS. Horses for courses as you point out.

Never enjoyed a bike more, the only thing I will be swapping it for is a zimmer with risers and TKCs.:crybaby:

Oh ooh I reckon I can do you a great deal on one of those........

That would be interesting, a unicycle zimmer.
I'll be watching ebay Darren!

I said horses for courses. We have a paticular terrain up here and we have peculliar habits so the 14 tooth sprocket is a well cheap fix and works perfectly. We only alter the bike to suit us and the use to which it is put like a proper bash plate because it gets used, a main stand because the Yamaha version doesn't lose too much ground clearance and it's usefullness outweighs that, risers because we are both over 6' tall and we do a fair bit on the pegs standing so the wider pegs then come to the fore, a headlamp guard especially when the bike in front has a rear Mitas C02, handguards to protect the levers and hands from trees etc so everything is modded to suit the use and the rider bearing in mind Yamaha make the machine in a standard form to suit all uses and supply mods to suit. Power is not even on the list. If you want to go fast, you have the wrong bike, as I've said before, the power thing is not what this bike is about. :smilies0347:

An update:

Fitted the 14th sprocket for last weekends ride - most of which was off road - On tarmac the bike pulls from around the 2500rpm mark now in top ( if treated with respect on the throttle) and seems to have a new lease of life through the gears - I'd say ideal for 'nipping' past traffic and the slower country lanes I was talking about at the start of this post. Very pleased that I changed the sprocket.:glasses9:
Off road - again very pleased - suits the type of stuff I do - spent more time leaving the bike in 2nd and 3rd where I felt I was having to chop down a gear before.:yahoo:Bl00dy ace man.
Sorry to bore you guys who did this ages ago but had to follow up on my earlier post.

Bit of a late reply to you, Fiddich. Re-reading my post, I figure it was a bit blunt, and that your point is well-made. In hindsight, I agree that shorter gearing will help the bike work better offroad - in fact, I would do it myself for tighter going.
Having said that, I still believe that the XT660 motor is one of the better big-single bottom-end runners, made possible mainly by it's soft level of tune.

Hi,

No probs mate, would be interested to know which singles you've owned in the past - this is my first single and now feel very at home with it.
:023:

PM sent to Scotland...