Is the S10 the best value ADV bike out there?

[Einar]

Spark plugs (all 4) water migration into the orifice.

Yes I find the water ingress issue a surprising weakness given the rather classic parallel twin engine design where there's a lot of existing industry knowledge regarding this risk.
Fortunately, when I checked all looked good.

I have taken some mitigating actions such as fender extender, dielectric grease/O-ring, new coil seals etc.
Hopefully with a yearly check or verification after river crossings it'll be manageable.

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

 

[Littledumptruck]

I have high hopes that the S10 proves a reliable and low-maintenance companion for long-distance touring, reliability being the primary reason for the switch.

My mates ZE is on 120k with hardly any issues. He’s not long since done the forks for a second time and has recently replaced the handle bar mount bushes. That’s literally it apart from normal servicing. One issue that’s come up now is the ignition switch jams so he’s just bought a SH lock set for it. But that’s about it in 9 years, and he’ll be quite happy hopping on it to the Dolomites this summer too.
Pic from summer 21 when mine was just a 1000 miles old.

 

[parkys100]

Yes I find the water ingress issue a surprising weakness given the rather classic parallel twin engine design where there's a lot of existing industry knowledge regarding this risk.
Fortunately, when I checked all looked good.

I have taken some mitigating actions such as fender extender, dielectric grease/O-ring, new coil seals etc.
Hopefully with a yearly check or verification after river crossings it'll be manageable.

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

Copper slip the park plug threads also and torque 11-13 nM so not over tight.

 

[Littledumptruck]

Having owned an S10 for around 7 years I was pretty convinced it was up there as the best value for money adventure bike but…
What about this?View attachment 490379View attachment 490380View attachment 490381

I’d be more tempted with one of these

 

[glenn2926]

I’d be more tempted with one of these

Grand if one is well over 6’ tall. I tried to ride my lad’s Tenere and it is far too tall for me. Great bike but very tall. His certainly did the job well enough round Norway and on the Col de Sommelier.

 

[Einar]

Copper slip the park plug threads also and torque 11-13 nM so not over tight.

To my knowledge it's not recommended to put anti-seize on your plug threads as they should come pre-coated with nickel from the manufacturer.
I believe there's also the risk of overtorquing them as the anti-seize would act as a lubricant when torquing them up.

On the torque values I completely agree!

 

[Einar]

One issue that’s come up now is the ignition switch jams so he’s just bought a SH lock set for it.

Good you mentioned this, i did hear about this issue and saw a few possible remedies on the yamahasupertenere.com forum.
Apparently, over time, the switch collects dust and dirt.

Is this a yamaha-challenge? I have actually had to change the ignition switch on a previous yamaha, but across my various bike ownerships, this is the only OEM where it has been a problem.

 

[Littledumptruck]

Good you mentioned this, i did hear about this issue and saw a few possible remedies on the yamahasupertenere.com forum.
Apparently, over time, the switch collects dust and dirt.

Is this a yamaha-challenge? I have actually had to change the ignition switch on a previous yamaha, but across my various bike ownerships, this is the only OEM where it has been a problem.

He’ll have tried all the usual remedies over the previous thousands of miles, it’s just simply worn out now. I picked up a hugger from a chap breaking his bike after it had been stolen from his front garden. He kept the salvage but with the headstock and ignition barrel both damaged when they forced it off, it’s not allowed back on the road. So to hopefully recover some of his losses he’s selling all the bits. My mates hoping to rebuild his ignition barrel with the much younger parts from this guys broken barrel. Knowing what he’s like he will do so.

As for copper slip on the plug threads, I’ve used it for years on all sorts of dissimilar metals and have never seen any signs of issues caused by it, but I can always undo whatever’s been protected by it. As for torquing up plugs, I never have, I just nip them up by feel.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Heard it's a great bike, never tried one.

I wish they made big bore touring bikes with that kind of technology today.

For the type of remote and long-distance riding I do, repairability and simplicity is two of my most important requirements to avoid trip ending failures.
BMW unfortunately no longer satisfy those.
I hope the S10 will.

Having had 5 or 6 GS's in the past, when it can to change my 2006 1200GSA after 150,000 miles, I just couldn't bring myself to press the button on a 1250.

It wasn't the price so much as the well known issues which worried me. I just can't deal with the constant worry of turning on the ignition to find some sort of warning.

Don't get me wrong, the 1250 is a brilliant bike and I'm lucky enough to ride them on my Alaska Tours but the S10 ticked all my boxes and has proved to be a good solid and reliable work horse.

I know I can go to the garage, switch her on and ride to Germany at a minutes notice if needed.

 

[Einar]

It wasn't the price so much as the well known issues which worried me. I just can't deal with the constant worry of turning on the ignition to find some sort of warning.

Don't get me wrong, the 1250 is a brilliant bike and I'm lucky enough to ride them on my Alaska Tours but the S10 ticked all my boxes

That sums up my experience too.The bmw riding experience is great, but my 2010 R1200GSA with 157k km is now a work + weekend trip bike.

The S10 will be assigned as the new 'going far and remote' steed.

Others will have different impressions, of course.

 

[Littledumptruck]

I’d bought my mates 1150 off him when he upgraded to the last of the 1200 twin cams in 2012. Shortly afterwards the input shaft sheared, he wasn’t happy about it but I kept telling him it could have happened on any 12 yr old bike so not his problem. 3 years later he died suddenly of a burst aneurism, no one knew he had it. We spent quite a lot of time with his wife helping her sort things out, and she insisted I have his 1200 as he’d want me to have it. So we worked out a fair price and bought it. Oddly there was an identical one in Ducati Dundee the other day when I collected the newer S10, still think that last of the TC models in black is one of the best looking GSs, nothing since comes close, in fact I think the last 1250s look crap, they seem to have lost all control on how to style them just adding more n more iron work wherever they can.
I only kept the TC a year, I just had that fear every time I got on it. And the seat was awful. When you turn the base over and see how it’s a curved U shape so being pretty hefty you compress all the foam and end up wedged into the U and can’t move about at all. I tried modifying it which helped but the basic design still trapped you too much. I’ve still got my 850, would love to get it to Overland for a refresh at some point. But till then it’s my winter bike, although I’ve still not replaced the broken clutch arm. One things for sure I won’t be looking at the new 1300s, especially at the price.

 

[peepingtom]

indeed brilliant bikes and my choice if I were to "go large". also worth considering and probably better valve is the DL 1000 vstrom available at £8500 brand new with a 3 year warranty .

Well turns out I did go large the other day and brought myself a "cheap" 1200. I have put that in inverted commas as it is a crash damaged bike that will cost more than I was hoping I expect. I'll do a separate thread for the poor old thing. Happy to have one though and enjoying have something to mess around with
looking forward to actually ride it one day