Would you buy another T7?

[Poacher]

Well would you?  My answer is no, dont get me wrong, I love my bike and have made it my own with all the goodies I have lavished on it but, and its a big BUT... its made out of monkey metal.

 

With 1000 miles on it, it has already had new spokes under warranty at 500 miles, then the new ones started corroding again after 2 short rides!!! I have replaced them with SS ones. There is corrosion popping up all over the place, all of the banjo bolts and fittings are a total mess even though I used an entire tin of ACF50 on the bilke at 10 miles old!

 

Basically, if it was made in Japan I would buy it again in a heartbeat as the bike is a unicorn to me... alas it was made in France and the quality of parts is utter crap!

 

What are your thoughts?

[ahamay]

My answer: Yes.

 

I am in North America. Bike made in Japan. No corrosion. I have done no special rust or corrosion treatments

 

I have a hard time believing that Japan uses different metal compounds than French made bikes. It has got to be the environments the bikes live in. Where are you, Mr. Poacher?

[TeabagInsurance]

My answer is also yes. I've spent a fair bit of money in some upgrades and other farkles, so I have to wonder if there is something else that I would have considered more heavily instead given that, but I haven't had anything happen to the bike that wasn't the fault of my own stupidity. So far it's essentially everything I expected it to be and I'm quite happy with it.

[Ray Ride4life]

No, i just bought this one and far in adjusting it to my needs/wants but not even completed.
It has just shy on 10.000km on it and i never traded in a bike with less than 100k on it so the forst 3 years i'll be just fine with this one and then i see.

[Landshark]

Yes.  Of course mine is made in Japan as well.  I've had mine for a season and love this bike more than any other I've owned.

It seems the French manufacturing plant isn't using the correct material or coatings on the materials.  If the atmosphere that the French bike is serving is not ideal, they must rise to the challenge and produce something better than the existing status quo.   I wonder if other manufacturers of other brands of bikes have this problem?  I have not heard of such corrosion on any make of bike in my area.  Is the French T7 the only model that is effected?  

[Alf Meister]

2 hours ago, Poacher said:

Well would you?  My answer is no, dont get me wrong, I love my bike and have made it my own with all the goodies I have lavished on it but, and its a big BUT... its made out of monkey metal.

 

With 1000 miles on it, it has already had new spokes under warranty at 500 miles, then the new ones started corroding again after 2 short rides!!! I have replaced them with SS ones. There is corrosion popping up all over the place, all of the banjo bolts and fittings are a total mess even though I used an entire tin of ACF50 on the bilke at 10 miles old!

 

Basically, if it was made in Japan I would buy it again in a heartbeat as the bike is a unicorn to me... alas it was made in France and the quality of parts is utter crap!

 

What are your thoughts?

 

I’ve had mine (french made) for 18 months and  6800 miles, theres no corrosion anywhere on my bike (except corrosion/pitting on the leading edge of the spokes, I only notice it when I clean the bike and was considering replacing them with stainless spokes at some point), I use acf50 and clean the bike if it gets dirty, my bike still looks like new.  

 

To answer your main question, no, not because I don’t like it, I do, but I would like a bike that has CC, tubeless and a comfy seat. I knew this bike was basic when I bought it, but I miss those features that I had on my previous bikes and although some could be retro fitted, cruise cant. Otherwise the T7 is a superb reliable dual purpose middleweight, thats cheap to run. 

[174ktm]

Answer to the original post, yes I would buy another Yamaha 700. No issues with the quality/fitment/etc. Mine is made in Japan. I love this bike.  

[Hammerhead]

9 hours ago, ahamay said:

My answer: Yes.

 

I am in North America. Bike made in Japan. No corrosion. I have done no special rust or corrosion treatments

Same.  Admittedly mine sleeps in a heated garage & that most certainly helps, but the corrosion issues others report have yet to be experienced. 
    Spent way too much on aftermarket upgrades to look back now & remain far from disappointed with this machine. 

[thepointchris]

Sure thing, he'll yes! Already been doing the sums to determine "optimal exchange" miles/time/$$/maintenance etc. I saw the first Tenere as a kid back in South Africa, somewhere in the 80's, and lusted after one ever since. If T7 wasn't born, I would've ended up with AT. Now that I've had T7 for 6000M, I'm very happy that I didn't settle for an AT.

[Rekiem]

No! I will never buy a yamaha motorcycle again. Because Yamaha dealers on my area are so bad. They aren't profesional.  MotoNord/Rai Mañas

[BeefTrain]

It would be a tough decision between a T7 or a Taureg 660 but I think at the end of the day I'd go for the T7 again. I love this bike.

[Spelldrummer]

15 hours ago, Landshark said:

Yes.  Of course mine is made in Japan as well.  I've had mine for a season and love this bike more than any other I've owned.

It seems the French manufacturing plant isn't using the correct material or coatings on the materials.  If the atmosphere that the French bike is serving is not ideal, they must rise to the challenge and produce something better than the existing status quo.   I wonder if other manufacturers of other brands of bikes have this problem?  I have not heard of such corrosion on any make of bike in my area.  Is the French T7 the only model that is effected?  

I think the materials used would be identical specification, however in the UK and Europe ( I believe ) we do suffer from a 'Road Salting regime' in Winter, this will affect ANY machine regardless of Manufacturer, it is a problem we live with, and I generally don't ride until we have had rain to wash away the Salt, this wait is never too long in England, haha. If you have evidence of different manufacturing levels, please share I think not but always eager to learn fact, not here say. I have spent around 15 Years of my life in the Motorcycle trade and around 10 Selling Yamaha Machines, I promise the build quality ( usually ) is best in business at any given fair price comparison point.

 

Yes I would buy another T7, in 40 Years of riding, rarely has a machine appealed to me this much for so many reasons.

[Poacher]

Some interesting points here views here. As I said at the start, the bike is perfect for me, I love the looks, the handling, the reliability, the simplicity etc etc. Its only let down by the build quality which is unforgivable in my eyes.

I live in the UK, have been riding for over 40 years and have had literally dozens of bikes that I ride all year round... the T7 is by far the worst new bike for corrosion, the only thing that came close was an old Brazillian made CG125 in the 80's.... and one of my Aprilia Mille's was pretty bad but I bought that second hand from someone who lived almost on the beach!

I have spent way over £1.5k on goodies for it and will definately be keeping it, as I say I love it now... but I would never buy anything not built in Japan again, its such a pain looking at it corrode after every ride!

It is kept in a heated garage, never sees road salt and is spotlessly cleaned after every ride. NONE of my other bikes have ever had so much pampering and I never had a problem.

[Dougie]

I agree about the spokes in a way, should really be stainless nowadays. But I absolutely love this machine. I tend to hold on to bikes and cars ( forever if possible) but would def buy another t7. All bikes could be tailored a little closer to our needs. Bigger tank, more power etc, and there’s so much out there available, there can’t be many left standard judging by this forum. ( I’d love to know how much we’ve spent as forum members on additions altogether). I’d have other adv bikes. Norden is ok, needs some colour though. Africa twin should be available with £6k worth of needless Shet removed. Touareg type 660s appeal too. But I wouldn't replace the tenere with any of them. I’ll change the appearance slightly (retro),  colour the rims gold, fit my acerbis tank (eventually), some protection, I’ve lowered the screen,  sorted the luggage, and she’s bang on. 
sorry, bet everyone stopped reading halfway down.

[bth2]

would i ?? yes. there is not a good alternative for the money at the moment. sure i would love the new ,not yet released,ducati dakar rep but at what price?

mine has stood up to the ravages of winter riding ,work,winter rallies etc and i live by the sea. i coat it in xcp anti corrosion spray. its a bugga to get off but works really well. as for spokes corroding ...its a jap thing . they are mild steel,what do you expect.when its time for a wheel rebuild or swap to tubeless ill specify stainless spokes untill then i wont fret.

Edited January 30, 2022 by bth2

[Poacher]

12 minutes ago, bth2 said:

would i ?? yes. there is not a good alternative for the money at the moment. sure i would love the new ,not yet released,ducati dakar rep but at what price?

mine has stood up to the ravages of winter riding ,work,winter rallies etc and i live by the sea. i coat it in xcp anti corrosion spray. its a bugga to get off but works really well. as for spokes corroding ...its a jap thing . they are mild steel,what do you expect.when its time for a wheel rebuild or swap to tubeless ill specify stainless spokes untill then i wont fret.

I wish it was just the spokes, its everywhere! Bear in mind that the bike has 1000 miles on it, I could knock that out in a weekend usually. I bought it last October rady for a trip this summer... it has only been out to run it in and have the first service out of the way!

[RIDER GUIDER]

NO - wouldnt swap it!  Looking at the other comments - I understand the rust issue being from salty road UK but living down under I've not seen rock salt since 2006.  My bike is still mint.

[bth2]

1 hour ago, Poacher said:

I wish it was just the spokes, its everywhere! Bear in mind that the bike has 1000 miles on it, I could knock that out in a weekend usually. I bought it last October rady for a trip this summer... it has only been out to run it in and have the first service out of the way!

mine has 18,000 mls on it. its salty all year round here on the irish sea coast.the only iffy bits on it are the rear spokes,front ok, a tiny bit of surface rust where my boots have rubbed the frame and thats it. xcp is the way to go. i wash it once a week unless heavily salted. oil change every 3,000mls.

[Poacher]

XCP rust blocker ordered... fingers crossed. Never had to worry about this with any other bike though!

Beyond that I love my bike now

[BADDANDY]

No, as I'm keeping my T7. It's the perfect ADV bike.

Yes, if Yamaha made a 50lb lighter, single disc, longer suspension travel version. 

[DT675]

Yes.  If mine wore out I would get another one.  I really love this bike. But I agree, there are some things to not love about it. Before this bike was released I had been looking for my 1st ADV bike for 3 years. (I was a huge dual sport nut) Nothing interested me at all. Either they looked terrible, were super slow,  had terrible non- adjustable suspensions, were WAY overweight or were way out of my price range. There are few bikes in my life that excite me like this bike does every time I take it out- always giving me a big grin or literally laughing in my helmet while I’m throwing roost on all the dirt road corners. 

 

It does seem odd and a shame that their are a few bikes out there that are having excessive corrosion issues, but it does not seem to be the norm. My bike has been great with the only exception being the spokes. Ive had just a little light corrosion on them but it has not gotten bad at all since I scrub them down a few times a year with silicone spray. (On the rag, not the brakes LOL) 

 

I think the build quality of this bike is middle to upper road. Ive had Honda’s that are much worse than this bike but I don't think its as good as any Triumph that I’ve had either. 

 

With that said, I would really like to throw a leg around a KTM 890 and the 490 if it ever comes out. 

Edited January 30, 2022 by DT675

[Poacher]

23 minutes ago, DuncMan said:

Have no problems with mine. About 1200 miles on the clock. No corrosion that I can see and I'm by the sea in the furthest South of the UK. I do pamper mine but it's holding up well, regardless.

I am in Shropshire... about as far from the sea as you can get!

[Bartek]

If other manufacturers keep launching ugly looking bikes like KTM's or Aprilia Tuareg (i thought this was impossible, but this is even uglier than KTM)  I might be stuck with Tenere

My next bike will be KTM again, but i'm not rushing to that moment - enjoy my Tenere and i love the look of it. Engine wise i also love it - not sure how, but this relatively low power engine delivers lot of fun. I have modified suspension and now it's also useable offroad... i'm happy with what it is.  Problem is - when i get to sell it in 2-3 years time it will loose lot of value, due corrosion, general cheap'ness and the fact that there's so many of them it's always sh*t lots for sale. It's not a unique bike :-)

[Bartek]

5 minutes ago, Poacher said:

I am in Shropshire... about as far from the sea as you can get!

 But if your local highway agency grit the roads with salt with anything below +4 celcius like they do in the south... we might as well submerge the bikes in the sea

In West Sussex they grit the roads so much is like driving on the gravel! 

 

 

[Poacher]

42 minutes ago, DuncMan said:

 

Where are you? I was brought up there.

Oswestry.

My bike has never seen rain, never mind road salt! Its waiting for spring for a summer of trips.