What have you done for your T7 today?

[AZJW]

9 hours ago, Tenerider said:

That's what I wanted to know forever, but was afraid to ask

I couldn't really tell from their website which one I need, it's a bit confusing imho. So this is the one, right?

 

Rabaconda Dirt Bike Tire Changer

---

<p>#1 TIRE CHANGER IN THE WORLD!</p> <p>Are bloody knuckles, stress, and back and knee pain supposed to be part of the tire changing experience...

 

Yes, the ADV model was designed with tubed tires in mind. Works very well, but one soon learns the value of bead grease or copious application of soapy water as the difference in breaking a sweat or not.  The street version I initially had required much practice and personally speaking, it was a pain to use causing a 50% failure rate in tube pinching & tearing valve stems.  I see the value of street version for wide tubeless tires, but my money is on the ADV version. 

[NeilW]

3 hours ago, AZJW said:

Yes, the ADV model was designed with tubed tires in mind. Works very well, but one soon learns the value of bead grease or copious application of soapy water as the difference in breaking a sweat or not.  The street version I initially had required much practice and personally speaking, it was a pain to use causing a 50% failure rate in tube pinching & tearing valve stems.  I see the value of street version for wide tubeless tires, but my money is on the ADV version. 

The MORE LUBE THE BETTER!  That was my mistake early on, not using copious amounts of bead grease- everywhere. on the bead, on the rim and on the "duck head".

[roygilbo]

20 hours ago, NeilW said:

You will need to get a balancer. I got the Harbor Freight unit. works for my purposes. 

I have not used a balancer since I bought my Rabaconda and I have swapped tires 4 times.  Speeds up to 140 no issues.  And I have 3 different sets of tires.  1/ MotoZ RallZ 2/Dunlop Trailmaster Missions 3/Stock tires

Edited August 8, 2023 by roygilbo

[NeilW]

6 minutes ago, roygilbo said:

I have not used a balancer since I bought my Rabaconda and I have swapped tires 4 times.  Speeds up to 140 no issues.  And I have 3 different sets of tires.  1/ MotoZ RallZ 2/Dunlop Trailmaster Missions 3/Stock tires

I am not a tire pro, just a user. I wonder why shops balance the tires when we pay them to swap tires if it isn’t needed? I am asking. Anyone know??

[random1781]

On 7/31/2023 at 10:04 AM, RiderEh said:

 

Oregon® 450

---

With Oregon 450 you can really get in touch with nature.

 

One of these. I'd like to have  a Montana instead, but am leaning toward an android phone with Gaia. Benefit of a Garmin is really accuracy and satellite connectivity I think.

Got a Montana 700i and it has been ridiculously glitchy. It got bricked during a firmware upgrade and we had to swap it out with a warranty replacement. Aside from that, lots of crashes, restarts, etc. This is especially problematic since we got it for the SOS feature, but if I can't trust it for everyday use, I can't rely on it in a life or limb situation.

 

There's also a known problem with the powered mount. The spring-loaded pins on the mount seize. This causes them to dimple the contacts on the unit itself, which in turn means intermittent contact/charging. Not my picture but here's an example:

 

 

I raised this issue with Garmin, and they said they are redesigning the mount and would swap out both the mount and the unit once the revised mount was in production. To their credit, Garmin support is actually really good, but that was in December, and as of last month they still don't have an ETA for the new mount.

 

Check out the Montana known issues for more.

 

Benefits of a dedicated GPS unit are that you have all maps already downloaded on a standalone device ready to use, and generally the device is extremely weather resistant and heat tolerant. The downsides are very clunky/slow interfaces with old hardware. If you don't mind doing some legwork to learn the various Android apps that are out there and how to download maps for offline use, I'd highly recommend going that route.

 

DMD2 is a fantastic app that is being rapidly developed and doesn't require monthly subscriptions. Tripltek makes fantastic rugged tablets. They're pricey, but if you're thinking about blowing $600-$700 on a Garmin, the difference is worth the benefit imo.

[NeilW]

15 minutes ago, random1781 said:

Got a Montana 700i and it has been ridiculously glitchy. It got bricked during a firmware upgrade and we had to swap it out with a warranty replacement. Aside from that, lots of crashes, restarts, etc. This is especially problematic since we got it for the SOS feature, but if I can't trust it for everyday use, I can't rely on it in a life or limb situation.

 

There's also a known problem with the powered mount. The spring-loaded pins on the mount seize. This causes them to dimple the contacts on the unit itself, which in turn means intermittent contact/charging. Not my picture but here's an example:

 

 

I raised this issue with Garmin, and they said they are redesigning the mount and would swap out both the mount and the unit once the revised mount was in production. To their credit, Garmin support is actually really good, but that was in December, and as of last month they still don't have an ETA for the new mount.

 

Check out the Montana known issues for more.

 

Benefits of a dedicated GPS unit are that you have all maps already downloaded on a standalone device ready to use, and generally the device is extremely weather resistant and heat tolerant. The downsides are very clunky/slow interfaces with old hardware. If you don't mind doing some legwork to learn the various Android apps that are out there and how to download maps for offline use, I'd highly recommend going that route.

 

DMD2 is a fantastic app that is being rapidly developed and doesn't require monthly subscriptions. Tripltek makes fantastic rugged tablets. They're pricey, but if you're thinking about blowing $600-$700 on a Garmin, the difference is worth the benefit imo.

Thanks for sharing. I have had my 700i for almost 2 years and never had an issue with it. Sorry you have had this experience.

[AZJW]

@random1781 Not being flippant,  but welcome to Garmin consumer division products. I'm on my 3rd Montana 610 and yes, you're correct, their customer support is good as I've used it quite a bit.  I noted elsewhere here on the forum that their R&D and execution for their professional grade aviation products is top notch, but seemingly it's at the expense of reliable consumer products.  Hope you get your unit working and I agree, an Android unit will probably be a better experience.   That'll be the route I go when this 3rd unit croaks.

[qInvention]

On 8/7/2023 at 10:19 PM, NeilW said:

How tall are you?

I'm 182cm. 

I can't flat foot, but don't consider this important. 

[NeilW]

13 minutes ago, qInvention said:

I'm 182cm. 

I can't flat foot, but don't consider this important. 

I am about 177cm and I have only dropped my T7 when I couldn't flat foot on uneven terrain on a tight, rutted trail. Usually because I lost confidence in forward movement with some kind of obstacle in front of me and go to put my foot down, farther than my leg reaches.  clunk.  Bike makes an interesting sound as it hits the ground.  Interestingly I can't remember the last time I dropped it. I dropped it about 10x in the first 6 months. I guess I am getting better at my own capabilities on it.

[RiderEh]

On 8/8/2023 at 2:11 PM, random1781 said:

Got a Montana 700i and it has been ridiculously glitchy. It got bricked during a firmware upgrade and we had to swap it out with a warranty replacement. Aside from that, lots of crashes, restarts, etc. This is especially problematic since we got it for the SOS feature, but if I can't trust it for everyday use, I can't rely on it in a life or limb situation.

 

There's also a known problem with the powered mount. The spring-loaded pins on the mount seize. This causes them to dimple the contacts on the unit itself, which in turn means intermittent contact/charging. Not my picture but here's an example:

 

 

I raised this issue with Garmin, and they said they are redesigning the mount and would swap out both the mount and the unit once the revised mount was in production. To their credit, Garmin support is actually really good, but that was in December, and as of last month they still don't have an ETA for the new mount.

 

Check out the Montana known issues for more.

 

Benefits of a dedicated GPS unit are that you have all maps already downloaded on a standalone device ready to use, and generally the device is extremely weather resistant and heat tolerant. The downsides are very clunky/slow interfaces with old hardware. If you don't mind doing some legwork to learn the various Android apps that are out there and how to download maps for offline use, I'd highly recommend going that route.

 

DMD2 is a fantastic app that is being rapidly developed and doesn't require monthly subscriptions. Tripltek makes fantastic rugged tablets. They're pricey, but if you're thinking about blowing $600-$700 on a Garmin, the difference is worth the benefit imo.

 

Well my Oregon keeps being a pain and losing power due to warn out usb port I think. Sometimes it just decides to 'save all routes, tracks, and waypoints' and gets stuck and I have to reboot it while riding as well, which is annoying. I'm honestly thinking the android phone route is the way to go, and use GAIA. Trick is what mount to use then.

[Hammerhead]

4 hours ago, RiderEh said:

 I'm honestly thinking the android phone route is the way to go, and use GAIA. Trick is what mount to use then.

A quad lock mirror mount up on the nav bar with GAIA in an old S8 has been ideal.

Phone & any in-reach devices stay in the pockets 

[RiderEh]

8 minutes ago, Hammerhead said:

A quad lock mirror mount up on the nav bar with GAIA in an old S8 has been ideal.

Phone & any in-reach devices stay in the pockets 

Nice, just looked into that mount, looks like it would work well. Did you need any attachments like the anti vibration? Do you need to have a sim in it? Guessing not, just use wifi for updates?

 

Now I just need an old phone...

[Dougie]

Finally got round to the 6000 oil change. Destroyed the filter getting it off, quite tight. I’ll change the brake fluids when I get a chance and check and lube everything later. Followed ariemann1 advice and thrashed it into work. “Sorry officer, I’m doing an oil change. “

[jdub53]

12 hours ago, RiderEh said:

... I'm honestly thinking the android phone route is the way to go, and use GAIA. Trick is what mount to use then.

 

If this helps, here's my post from a few pages back with my new dedicated, rugged cell phone used as a GPS on both my bikes. Because I already had the excellent MotoPumps AMPS mount on my T7's crossbar (and a similar AMPS crossbar mount on my BMW), I first bought and tried two Perfect Squeeze phone mounts as they were advertised as AMPS-compatible, but while their four-hole pattern was the same the PS mount holes were, strangely, both a larger diameter and tapped which meant they couldn't be installed on other AMPS-standard mounting plates. The TackForm phone clamps both bolted right up to each of my AMPS crossbar mounts, are very secure and are reasonably priced. The rubber four-corner retainer strap supplied by TackForm is just extra insurance, as I don't see how the phone could pop out of the clamp mount even on very rough terrain.

 

https://www.tenere700.net/topic/289-what-have-you-done-for-your-t7-today/?do=findComment&comment=76606

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by jdub53

[Hammerhead]

13 hours ago, RiderEh said:

Nice, just looked into that mount, looks like it would work well. Did you need any attachments like the anti vibration? Do you need to have a sim in it? Guessing not, just use wifi for updates?

 

Now I just need an old phone...

Exactly, no sim just wifi for downloads. No vibration damper cause I’m not trying to preserve the camera (though it still works fine) Super simple & the quad lock hasn’t skipped a beat. Android has the drive mode dashboard too, but i never really use that.

[Noel McCutcheon]

6 hours ago, Dougie said:

Finally got round to the 6000 oil change. Destroyed the filter getting it off, quite tight. I’ll change the brake fluids when I get a chance and check and lube everything later. Followed ariemann1 advice and thrashed it into work. “Sorry officer, I’m doing an oil change. “

@Dougie at 12000 miles grease steering head bearing or if not then you be needing to replace soon afterwards. Do Fork oil at 12 k too

[Tenerider]

Mounted Kedo lowered footpeg brackets (-23 mm):

 

 

KEDO T7 Lowered Footrest Brackets, 1 pair, lowered -23mmm, moved back -8mm, fits original footrests, with manufacturer's certificate

---

Application: Ténéré700 + WorldRaid (XTZ690) 2019 and later - can not be combined with a main stand  KEDO Footpeg Bracket approx...

 

Work well with my Pivotpegz. I've had these in the lowered configuration before (which effectively put the pegs 7mm lower than OEM), but with lowered Pivotpegz plus Kedo brackets I couldn't get the shifter low enough. I've installed the pegs in the standard position now. I might grind off the little nubbin on the left peg plate, as many of you guys running -30mm pegs have done already.

 

Looking forward to tomorrow's test ride!

[Wintersdark]

On 8/8/2023 at 3:00 PM, qInvention said:

I'm 182cm. 

I can't flat foot, but don't consider this important. 

I'm 193cm (6'4") and also can't flat foot my SC Tall Rally, but for sure I love it to bits.  No more divider between seats, easy to move forward and back, (and combined with lowered pegs) much larger difference between butt and pegs, and more meat to grab with your legs.  Also acts to effectively lower the bars while seated for a sportier posture, while the lowered pegs effectively raise the bars while standing.  You actually can have your cake and eat it too there!

 

The SC Tall Rally is around 41mm iirc, coupled with 30mm dropped pegs gets me 71mm/almost 3" more space there.  

 

I actually lowered the rear 20mm to compensate somewhat, though I as well am really not terribly concerned with reach to ground.

 

[headwinded]

Installed the heavier front springs last weekend:

 

I had purchased a few tools in preparation for this, specifically the Motion Pro 5 in 1 bleed tool, and a Capri Tools superthin 17 mm open end wrench.   Using heavy duty zip ties to compress the new springs an inch or 2 before installing them made this all very straightforward to get done, no need to worry about the white plastic sections dropping down into the forks or anything.

 

After this, I finally got the measuring tape out and set the sag on the bike.  Front end still seems a touch undersprung even with 6.9's installed. Maybe my calculations are off.   I'll have a chance to take it out this weekend for some offroading to finally see what improvement there was with the fork springs.

 

Also picked up an Acerbis front fender, Yamaha radiator guard and Camel high fender kit, though I probably won't install any of this till late fall.  Also got these cool little doodads to jettison the front reflectors without doing any further hacking of a stock part of the bike:

 

OEM fork protector support brackets and double magnetic sensor for ICO / RNS - Yamaha T-700 - Twalcom® - Twalcom | Special Parts For Extreme Roads

 

How anyone is not making aftermarket fork guards for this bike is a head scratcher (well, aside from those megabuck carbon fiber ones )

 

Up next once winter hits, it's a Haan wheelset, and suspension part 2 next year if I find myself eventually unhappy with the current setup.  I keep saying "it's done for now, pinky swear", but list creep is real .  Looking at the total cost of the bike and mods I've done so far makes me wonder if I'd not have been better off just buying what I'm trying to turn this into, but it's been a really enjoyable project along the way.

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by headwinded

[NeilW]

3 minutes ago, headwinded said:

Installed the heavier front springs last weekend:

 

I had purchased a few tools in preparation for this, specifically the Motion Pro 5 in 1 bleed tool, and a Capri Tools superthin 17 mm open end wrench.   Using heavy duty zip ties to compress the new springs an inch or 2 before installing them made this all very straightforward to get done, no need to worry about the white plastic sections dropping down into the forks or anything.

 

After this, I finally got the measuring tape out and set the sag on the bike.  Front end still seems a touch undersprung even with 6.9's installed. Maybe my calculations are off.   I'll have a chance to take it out this weekend for some offroading to finally see what improvement there was with the fork springs.

 

Also picked up an Acerbis front fender, Yamaha radiator guard and Camel high fender kit, though I probably won't install any of this till late fall.  Also got these cool little doodads to jettison the front reflectors without doing any further hacking of a stock part of the bike:

 

OEM fork protector support brackets and double magnetic sensor for ICO / RNS - Yamaha T-700 - Twalcom® - Twalcom | Special Parts For Extreme Roads

 

How anyone is not making aftermarket fork guards for this bike is a head scratcher (well, aside from those megabuck carbon fiber ones )

 

Up next once winter hits, it's a Haan wheelset, and suspension part 2 next year if I find myself eventually unhappy with the current setup.  I keep saying "it's done for now, pinky swear", but list creep is real .  Looking at the total cost of the bike and mods I've done so far makes me wonder if I'd not have been better off just buying what I'm trying to turn this into, but it's been a really enjoyable project along the way.

 

 

 

It’s all about the journey

[Dougie]

On 8/10/2023 at 5:08 PM, Noel McCutcheon said:

@Dougie at 12000 miles grease steering head bearing or if not then you be needing to replace soon afterwards. Do Fork oil at 12 k too

Thanks Noel, I take it you found a few dry areas then? 

[Noel McCutcheon]

3 hours ago, Dougie said:

Thanks Noel, I take it you found a few dry areas then? 

Yeah @Dougie the manual recommends regreasing, headstock, at 12k miles. The removing and resetting taper roller bearings means the rollers will be touching on different part of the races; which prolongs life and helps prevent steering notching occurring. 

[neil_]

Tried out my soft panniers. I'm happy to say that so far they are water proof.

 

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by neil_

[qInvention]

Today, I visited TFX Suspension in Weert (NL), where my bike entered their shop and was completely transformed when it came out.

So far I can say that it feels more stable, planted  nimble, but I'll fiddle around a bit with the clickers in order to get to the perfect settings for my riding style... more details to follow.

 

[vagrant318]

I changed oil, coolant and air filter.  How concerned should I be about oil in the airbox? Is some normal?

So even shining a light into, on I cannot see the coolant level in the reservoir at all. I actually filled over the top of it because I couldn't see it at all, the design is simply baffling to me.