Hi, my first post. At present I have an 84 XT600, looking for a 660R. I took some test rides on the weekend one of which was a 2010 Tenere at about 8000 miles ( never ridden a 660 before ). Loads of power but man I thought it was going to shake my skid lid off! Vibration was dreadful, the bike looked shiny new, the dealer wasn't interested in my comments. My expectations were destroyed. Next day thought "this can't be right" and went somewhere else and tried a 2009 660R similar mileage. It was sweet as a nut, faith restored. Any ideas what was wrong with the 660Z ?

Can't tell you. But I have no signifant vibes as you describe with my '08 Ten.
And beside: It's a single so, it has to have some vibes .

It's not a 660R vs 660Z issue just what can make a relatively new bike shake so bad? Engine mounts, balance shaft?

What RPM where you riding at/speed in top and how much fuel was in it?

Tenere at 4k RPM/60mph in top = vibey, with reasonable amount of fuel in = even worse.

As for vibes, yeah it does a bit but no more than any other big single I've owned or ridden.

at 8k the rear cush drives or sprocket carrier bearing could be worn and that would make it seam worse.
also it could have had the OE bar weights removed? this increases bar wibes a lot. riding at 4k is the most vibey

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My cush drives are completely shot (took the inner tube repair out to show the Yam dealer so i could get a new set under warranty and still haven't put the new ones in!) and no bar end weights (barkbusters fitted) and I've no abnormal vibration at all. Sounds like something's not quite done up as it's not right.

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Incorrectly torqued engine mount bolts can cause a huge increase in vibes. If the XTZ you tested had an aftermarket bash plate/crash bars fitted it could suggest that the front engine mounts weren't torqued correctly, or were never rechecked after a few hundred miles.

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