Who needs a Tenere for going round the world
 

Amazing, look at this XT going round the world. A bit of an eye opener.

http://earth-roamers.blogspot.co.uk/...r-perform.html

And yes they will choose the XT to do it again!

Sorry all still learning to place a link, so here's fingers crossed. http://earth-roamers.blogspot.co.uk/...r-perform.html

:023: Good read. Thanks for pointing it out.

And the bit on the xt that broke was made by KTM!!!! That should shock a few

I'm appalled by the lack of service, knowledge and sympathy (especially) by such widely-dispersed Yamaha personnel.

This points to almost the entire organisation, rather than isolated cases.

That said, until they decided to abandon Yamaha, Pitmans here in Adelaide were outstanding in their support of the brand, and a were a good enough reason to buy a Yamaha over anything else imo.

In the absence of Pitmans, Yamaha World have been very helpful in supporting me with my 'interesting' WR250R from behind the spares counter.

So not all Yamaha dealers are atrocious, luckily. But Yamaha New Zealand not giving warranty to an overseas bike? I thought warranty applied world-wide, and still believe this to be so.

I realise that the experiences are those of only one traveller. And it is not hard to cross-reference parts - dead easy, in fact. I found in about 2 mins that an XT660Z genuine c/s sprocket is not an American listed part ie nothing imported to the US has the identical sprocket (note 'identical').

However, again in very short order, I went online, found a JT sprockets catalogue and the XTR relevant numbers. Easy to cross-reference from there. Piss-weak effort from the Americas, I'd say.

Finally, re the sprocket incident, I'd say that any traveller who goes to a country, knowing his/her bike model isn't imported there, is a bit of a knob not to carry some basic spares such as a clutch cable and a countershaft sprocket. I don't even go to work without these spares and many more for my bikes, though admittedly I don't have to carry them every day. But if I was travelling anywhere, even within my own country, I would have a basic spares kit for the Tenere. Air filter, clutch cable, chain link, plug, and a c/s sprocket if big distance/mucho dirt was expected.

Bottom line: This traveller was under-prepared and under-researched.

A message from the ill prepared knob...
 

I'm the guy who is going around the world on an XT660R, the guy who's been labeled above as an ill-prepared knob....

For starters, yes I was unaware the XT660R was never sold in the USA. If not knowing that makes me under-prepared then I would suggest you contact 54 Yamaha importers world-wide before you start a trip around the world to see if they sell your particular model and particular year. If not then contact all the importers to see if they will supply you with a spare part cross-reference list... I'd be interested to see how many importers actually reply, how long it will take to get those replies and of what use they will be. Also be aware that models made for the Australian market may be different from the ones sold somewhere else.

Your comment on Yamaha warranty being world-wide is simply not true, it is country specific! (Yamaha's words not mine) So although the XT being made in France, I actually had no warranty while in France. I personally think this is a pretty poor show from a worldwide operating manufacturer which also sell motorcycles intended for worldwide travel.

I did not take a chain and sprocket kit with me on purpose, as these things weigh a lot. My trip is over 100,000 km long, to be safe I would have needed to take 5 sets of chains and sprockets with me... Taking one set would have only helped me once... Weight is a killer and destroyer of many a rack and pannier set. Normally chains and sprockets are available everywhere, quite possibly cheaper than your home country and there is thus no need to carry them. The problem here is not the chains or the sprockets but Yamaha's decision to use a unique front sprocket for the XT660. Your comment about nothing imported into the USA having the same sprocket isn't true. It was fitted to the NX650 range which was imported in the USA in 1989 (and sold dismal i.e. no parts in stock).

You then suggest I could have easily gone online and sort it out. We were travelling and camping in far north Alaska and Canada, internet may be freely available in your home but when camping in state parks and national parks it simply isn't available, being from Australia you should know that. But even if we had internet then we wouldn't have had a physical address to send it to.
What I did instead is contacted Yamaha dealers along the way, after all they should be able to cross reference, but they couldn't care. I then contacted Yamaha Canada and USA, who cared even less. That, my friend, was the problem. We were on top of things but Yamaha wasn't willing to solve the issue.

And then it becomes really interesting as you call me a knob... I don't think we've met and you certainly don't know me so that's a rather unfriendly statement. But hey, I'm a knob because I think a clutch cable can be bought at a Yamaha dealer...? I guess if you go around the world you would take, a water pump rebuild kit, a clutch cable, two throttle cables, sprockets, chains, spare tyres, spokes, swing arm bearings, wheel bearings, cush drive rubbers, a complete gasket kit, fork seals, rear shocky, handlebars, levers, battery... and pull a trailer to carry it all. While I like to think that is why there are Yamaha dealers world wide, so you can get your spares there! To hammer the point home: Honda was far more helpful and did keep those items in stock... they simply handed me a bundle of clutch cables to see which one would fit. The difference was the attitude: Honda was customer focussed, Yamaha was not. Or as we were told several times by motorcyclists in the USA 'ever since Yamaha started selling jet skies, motorcycles became unimportant'.

Just to put the record straight on being prepared. We have the tools with us we need. My dad is with me on this trip, and a mechanic by trade who knows his stuff. He started working on dirt bikes when he was 12 years old and learned the trade from an experienced mechanic, he's 51 himself now. He keeps an eye on the bikes, checks wear of consumables continuously and plans where they would need to be replaced. He makes sure tyres are being ordered ahead, chains and sprockets are ready at dealers to be replaced when needed and where we do the servicing. Of course you can claim you take a filter and a clip link with you and are prepared. We take them too, but we don't call that being prepared, not even slightly. Proper maintenance has resulted in us never being stranded anywhere in the world. My XT has now over 85,000 hard kms on it, we will enter Kazakhstan in a couple of weeks. I guess it's like the famous quote: the credit lies not with the critic but with the man in the arena, the man who's actually out there doing it.

Great trip...really enjoyed reading about it, thanks for such a good write up. Steve

Mike I salute you. It is unfortunately I who posted your link, certainly not to cause this upheaval. I for one are very proud that your XT is about to set new records, and very much enjoy reading your and your dads fantastic blog. You are doing what lots of us dream about, the experience of a life time. Thank you again for sharing with us some fantastic pictures which makes the whole adventure accessible to the thousands who are following you.

Hi Jacques, no problem with your posting mate! It was just the fellow Aussi's 66T's remarks I was replying too. :icon_cyclops:

Hats of to you both on your epic journey. Let's not forget the other star of the show here, big round of applause to the Triumph. British engineering at its best. Round the world on a Bonnie ! It wouldnt have been the choice of many others, but hasn't it done well. :038:

Thanks for that. On a different note. Are you going to travel through the tatras mountains in north Slovakia? I'm heading that way next year

No I'm in Turkey at the moment, heading east

Thanks. I do enjoy your blog and I expect the real remote bits will start soon. Good luck and hope you both enjoy it

Sorry if you took offence to my statements. As you say, you are the man on the ground.

But there is nowhere in my opinion piece where the word 'knob' is used. I have more respect for what you're doing than that. And nowhere did I suggest that you should carry chain and sprocket kits, merely a c/s sprocket and clutch cable. The inference there is that they would be replaced in your kit asap after they're needed.

I stand corrected about worldwide warranty issue. That's pathetic. As is what I said (agreeing with you) that the Yamaha people should be able to cross reference far better than they did. I did not imply that you should be the person doing the cross referencing.

I hope your journey continues to be as satisfactory as at has been so far. It is certainly a major effort, so good on you for doing it.

You wrote: ... is a bit of a knob not to carry some basic spares such as a clutch cable and a countershaft sprocket...

Carrying just a countershaft sprocket doesn't help me much as the rear sprocket is pretty much unique to the XT too. The last Yamaha imported into the USA/Canada using that sprocket was in 1998 and not a sales success...
If you don't suggest I carry a chain then I'll have to go to a bike shop for that anyway, wouldn't it be more logical to get the sprockets there too? It was Yamaha's attitude towards a customer that was/is the problem here.

On a more positive note: I was at a Yamaha dealer in Bucharest recently. We had just been told the quality problems at Yamaha had improved a lot since 2010. His reply was 'Oh, really?' :042:

You're quite right, I shouldn't have written that. I apologise.

I think we might have to agree to disagree re c/s sprocket. I've found that replacing them early helps prolong chain life, so I'll use two or even three to one rear off-road when they start to 'hook'.

Yamaha quality is undoubtedly an issue in some models imo. It needs addressing. As does that warranty issue, but to be fair, only in countries which import the models in question. Again imo.