Here there will be info on the bike.
=== UNDER CONSTRUCTION ===
Maintenance schedule
|
km |
Place |
Maintenance |
Comment |
| 7200 | Paris | Scheduled 10000km maintenance by Yamaha | |
| 15000 | Astrakhan | Tire change, both | Put Shinko Trail Master |
| 19000 | Samarkand | Oil change | I used car oil because it was the only thing Neil could find. We did Neil’s bike and then mine |
| ? | Bishkek | Clean air filter | |
| 23000 | Kashgar | Oil change | Found some Korean bike oil |
| 25000 | Ulan Baatar | Chain set (Front sprocket and chain) | Front sprocket was beyond dead. Used a 525 chain and a VStrom front sprocket + thick washer |
| 25000 | Bangkok | Cush drive | |
| 30000 | Vientiane | Rear tire change | Put Bridgestone Trailwing |
| 30000 | Vientiane | Clean air filter | |
| 33000 | Chiang Mai | Oil and filter change | |
| 43000 | Melbourne | Oil change | |
| 45000 | Sydney | Valve clearances check and adjustmentSpark plug replacement | Done by Yamaha Sydney |
| 45000 | Santiago | Tire change, both | Put Heidenau K60 |
| 48000? | El Calafate | Clean air filter | |
| 53000 | Buenos Aires | Change steering bearings | There was a small notch at least since Kuala Lumpur (<40000km). Done by Yamaha Buenos Aires |
| 53000 | Fátima | Oil and filter change Chain set (Full)Cush drive |
|
| 54500 | Córdoba | Rear tire change | That Heidenau didn’t last as promised, put a Tourance |
| 60200 | Camaná, Perú (roadside) | Clutch cable | It got tired and left me unannounced (mostly because I hadn’t been checking it) |
| 61147 | Lima, Perú | Changed the water pump seals | Water pump was leaking since Chala. I had it done by a mechanic whose garage was unauspiciously named Motorrad |
| 61147 | Lima, Perú | Oil change, air filter cleaning, change the gear lever seal | Gear level seal was probably alright but the mechanic was worried by the mess that the Scottoiler makes in that area and thought the seal needed changing |
This is the bike as it leaves the factory. Sturdy, powerful, beautiful, but not ready to travel. Here are some of the mods and accessories I’ve installed. For convenience, I’ve split them in two categories: current ones and dead ones.
Current
Touratech Zega Pro 45L Panniers
Sturdy, really sturdy. They’ve taken a lot of beatings and lately they’ve been changing shape, the left one is a bit askew and a bit of water filters in from the top where the pannier is now slightly bigger than than the lid. If I have to find them fault it’s the attachment. It doesn’t break but it bends and they’ve become shaky. Oh, and the fact that they are 45L panniers, should never have travelled with that much luggage, it’s a real pain off-road.
Yamaha aluminium bash plate
Nothing to object, it doesn’t obstruct the oil change and it hasn’t broken so far. Some would say it’s a bit small, the guy from off-the-road.de says that the attachments break too easily but I haven’t had any of that and it makes a nice sound when little rocks from the road fly into it.
Scottoiler
Dead
Hepco&Becker Xplorer 45L topcase
This piece of work is not made for off-road. The way it’s attached to the bike is not sturdy enough, especially if you have a tendency to overload it with water bottles. My conclusion is to avoid any topcase that is not firmly bolted to the mounting plate or frame. Whatever oath you take to keep it empty and use it only to keep valuables when you stop or to always put light stuff inside it, you will not keep. Or at least I don’t. The lock also started failing after some time.
Adventure Spec tool tube
The tube itself didn’t break but you should attach it very strongly and preferably not using the supplied flaps. The flaps broke and I lost it the first time the top case flew away from the bike. A pity, I like the tube. I should have attached it better and somewhere else. It was also to far from the center of gravity of the bike so subject to strong vibrations.