Rear Tire Wobble - Yamaha Tenere 700

[srb808]

I wanted to adjust my chain and notice I have slight wobble in the rear tire. I spent about 2 hours trying to figure out what was wrong, adjusting the slack back and forth using the adjustment hashes and even a ruler to make sure everything is correct but the wobble simply does not disappear.

A friend of mine has said even if my chain adjustment was off the wobble should not be there, idk please share your thought on this and I appreciate all the help.

Video link is below

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sjxor6yR1wo

 

Thanks in advance

[Landshark]

In my opinion, the rear wheel assembly should be removed, assembled correctly and reinstalled.  And... you should learn to do this yourself if at all possible.  It looks like an assembly problem.  Ask if you need help with step by step directions.

 

Or use this...

 

This guide is for entertainment purposes only. If you decide to follow these directions and it fails miserably, you must forget where you got them from. Enjoy... Oh, if you see anything that needs correcting, let me know.

 

T-700 Rear Wheel Removal and Re-installation Instructions

Step by step instructions on how to remove and reinstall the rear wheel on your Tenere 700.

Removal:

Tools required will be a 27 mm socket, an 18” to 24” long handle torque wrench, a 10 mm socket and ratchet wrench, ¾” thick plywood piece, distance measuring gauge and a pair of rubber gloves. Some good quality grease and some shop towels for cleaning up as well. You’ll also need a lift of some sort to allow the rear wheel to be lifted off the ground while keeping the bike stable.

-First, don your rubber gloves to protect your hands from the petroleum products used on the drive chain and other areas. Safety glasses should also be employed. Safely lift the bike to allow the tire to the desired height of about ¾” off the ground. Slip the ¾” plywood piece under the rear tire so as to use it as a leverage tool. Place the bike in first gear to prevent the wheel from turning.

The 3/4 “ thick plywood piece should be shaped like a triangle that is long enough to go under the tire and allow one to lift up on the rear wheel.

-Now remove the rotor sensor and apply a small length of black tape loosely around the sensor and tape it out of the way. Do not use anything magnetic such as a magnetic screwdriver or pickup tool at or around the sensor as this will render the little guy useless. Handle the rotor sensor with care to keep from damaging it. Don’t try to remove the brake caliper at this time.

-Using the 22 mm socket and long handle torque wrench, loosen the rear axle nut. Remove the rear axle nut, washer and adjusting block and set aside. Lift the plywood piece slightly to get the weight off of the axle. Using a small non scarring mallet, lightly tap the axel through to allow extraction. Pull the axle out to allow the wheel to drop down. Move the wheel forward along with the brake caliper to allow the removal of the drive chain from the rear drive sprocket. Push the brake caliper towards the front of the bike as you pull the wheel out and be sure not to let the caliper fall. Reattach it to the swing arm for the moment. It just sits on the slider attached to the swing arm. The wheel is now free to allow tire replacement or other maintenance.
Warning - While the wheel is out, don’t depress the brake lever or you’ll knock the brake pads out and cause a mess.

Re-installation:

-Before re-installing the wheel, be sure to clean up the bearing outer seals and smear some grease around where they seat and on the lip of the seal where it will meet the axle. This is a fine time to clean any ugly stuff up that you don’t like with the shop towels and some citrus cleaner before the wheel is reinstalled. Make sure the spacers are clean and are in place on each side of the rim to prevent cursing. I like to apply a light coat of grease to the axle to prevent metal pitting from moisture. Don’t apply it thick as it will be squeegeed off from the tight fit into the bearings.

-To re-install the wheel, simply place it on the plywood piece and roll the tire forward to allow the drive chain to be installed onto the rear sprocket. If you have installed a new aggressive tire you may need to jack the bike up a wee bit more to allow the wheel to fit onto the plywood piece and still be able to lift it into place. Keep the brake caliper pushed forward with the brake pads open and guide gently onto the brake disc as the wheel is pushed forward to allow chain re-installation. Once the chain is installed check that the brake caliper and brake disc is seated correctly as you move the wheel back towards you and align the axle hole. Lift the wheel up with the plywood piece to align the axle hole vertically and horizontally. With the adjustment block in place on the axle’s right side, start to slide the axle through the swing arm and wheel and continue until it is fully inserted. Install the adjusting block, flat washer and axle nut to the axle and hand tighten for the moment. Be sure the adjusting block is properly seated on both sides. Push the wheel forward tightly against the chain adjusting bolts. Now, assuming you didn’t touch the chain adjusting bolts and the chain was at the desired tightness, you may tighten the axle nut to 77 ft. lbs. of torque. If your chain needs adjusting, leave the axle nut only hand tight. Lower the bike to the ground and leave it on the side stand. Now adjust the chain adjusting bolts to achieve the desired chain slack. Drive chain slack should be 43.0–48.0 mm (1.69–1.89 in) Be sure to align the chain adjusting marks located above the adjustment blocks on the swing arm and on the adjustment blocks themselves to be the same on both sides. Push the wheel forward tightly against the chain adjusting bolts, then tighten the axle nut to 77 ft. lbs. of torque. Reinstall the rotor sensor and the rotor sensor bolt and tighten to 7 N·m (0.7 kgf·m, 5.2 lb·ft)
-Check the clearance between the rotor sensor and the rotor using a blade style thickness gauge. The clearance should be between 0.8–1.6 mm (0.03–0.06 in). Measure the distance between the rear wheel sensor rotor and rear wheel sensor in several places in one rotation of the rear wheel. Do not turn the rear wheel while the thickness gauge is installed. This may damage the rear wheel sensor rotor and the rear wheel sensor.
-Lift the bike up to raise the rear tire off of the ground and spin it by hand while listening for weird sounds or scraping etc. If you detect trouble, repair it before riding the bike.
 

Now you know how to remove the rear wheel and will feel more confident doing so on the road or trail. 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Landshark

[Ray Ride4life]

How do i put this without being condescending...
It will be a lot easier if you call the right parts that are at fault because the tyre is not a problem en changing the slack of the chain would never solve a problem in the tyre, a tyre wobble can be caused by not seating properly or bad wear and tear.
What i see in the video is the sprocket carrier not aligning, the other side is not completely clear to see but the brake disk looks fine.
Cause of the sprocket carrier being out of line could be a bad bearing and/or worn out torque dampeners which was often the case with the old XT660Z.

[srb808]

6 minutes ago, Ray Ride4life said:

How do i put this without being condescending...
It will be a lot easier if you call the right parts that are at fault because the tyre is not a problem and changing the slack of the chain would never solve a problem in the tyre, a tyre wobble can be caused by not seating properly or bad wear and tear.
What i see in the video is the sprocket carrier not aligning, the other side is not completely clear to see but the brake disk looks fine.
Cause of the sprocket carrier being out of line could be a bad bearing and/or worn out torque dampers which was often the case with the old XT660Z.

Brake disk look fine you are right everything is just moving together sideways, and as you said it's sprocket carrier or the bearing most likely, however I have never touched any of these. 
The bike is only 2 months old and has 4000km on it, first service done at the dealer/certified mechanics. 

 

 I don't think you are condescending, any help is appreciated. 

[Ray Ride4life]

1 minute ago, srb808 said:

first service done at the dealer/certified mechanics

Don't fly blind on that, good mechanics are hard to find and often some intern does jobs like this.
I had my wheel out yesterday for new bearings, tyre, chain set plus roller and brake pads and found it quite hard to get the sprocket carrier in to the end so maybe they didn't took the afford to do it right.
No matter what, the problem is in the sprocket carrier. After that is just putting the chain on the proper tension which is not clear for everybody how it is measured.

[srb808]

22 minutes ago, Ray Ride4life said:

Don't fly blind on that, good mechanics are hard to find and often some intern does jobs like this.
I had my wheel out yesterday for new bearings, tyre, chain set plus roller and brake pads and found it quite hard to get the sprocket carrier in to the end so maybe they didn't took the afford to do it right.
No matter what, the problem is in the sprocket carrier. After that is just putting the chain on the proper tension which is not clear for everybody how it is measured.

My man, so on point! After the first service a young lad handed me the bike and in my head i was like, I hope this guy did not work on my bike!

I totally agree with you on that and I'm pretty sure the three things they did on the first service, was changing the oil, adjust the chain and reported to Yamaha that i did first service under 1000km. Oh yeah, and a fourth thing was to charge a hefty price ! 
Anyways, I will have them take a look at it on Tuesday, very excited to see what they will come up with. 
 

[srb808]

Here is a pic of how the chain is being worn 

[Lewie]

If you take a close look at the sprocket does it appear to look like it’s seated firmly and flat on the carrier

as has been said it looks to be not seated firmly and square

[Dave D]

Bent sprocket?

[Lewie]

Think you’ll need a 27mm socket for the rear axel nut - at least my 2021 Euro 5 is

[AZJW]

My money is on sprocket mis-alignment as either it's bent or improperly assembled.  The disc rotor side looks fine as does the tire sidewall also appears to be true.  Back to the dealer! Good luck!

[Hibobb]

Sprocket side is a "Cush Drive", my vote is something was not seated in there properly.

[Landshark]

2 hours ago, Lewie said:

Think you’ll need a 27mm socket for the rear axel nut - at least my 2021 Euro 5 is

No wonder I was having trouble getting the socket on there.    Thanks and now corrected.

[Lewie]

I only know as I had to buy one

[Hammerhead]

Looks to me like the sprocket isn’t fully seated straight in the cush drive “licorice cakes”. First bit of the vid the main hub & wheel look to be spinning true but the sprocket wobbles relative to them. With so few km on it I can’t imagine the bearings bearing an issue yet. Pull the wheel off & learn something about how your bike works in the process. It’s not on overly complicated piece of machinery back there. Pay close attention to how things come apart, organize the pieces well  as they come off & you’ll find it fairly straight forward. it’s all good knowledge to have for future repairs/maintenance anyway.

[DT675]

I agree with all the comments said, its the cush hub or bent sprocket.  Your wheels "hub" is straight, but just past that is the problem.  On the axle, are all the spacers evenly tight to each other? No gaps between anything?  If you had a mis-aligned wheel bearing id imagine you might see a small gap somewhere in the axles assembly system like where the bearing meets the spacer.

[whisperquiet]

I remove the cush hub and rubber dampers during tire changes.  I lightly lube the rubber dampers with a small amount of NoMar tire lube to aid with the full insertion of the cush hub/sprocket carrier during reassembly.  There might be some binding between the carrier and the hub, but I would think that correctly tightening the axle nut would pull everything together.

 

If that bike was mine, the rear wheel would come out to determine why things aren’t square.  It should be easy to check for the OP if an experienced rider who lived nearby would take a look.  Good luck with the diagnosis and fix.

[srb808]

On 7/3/2022 at 2:49 PM, AZJW said:

My money is on sprocket mis-alignment as either it's bent or improperly assembled.  The disc rotor side looks fine as does the tire sidewall also appears to be true.  Back to the dealer! Good luck!

Exactly, Thats what I am doing, couldn't get my head around it and don't want to get involved. Dealer gotta fix this! 
Thanks for the input

[srb808]

19 hours ago, Hammerhead said:

Looks to me like the sprocket isn’t fully seated straight in the cush drive “licorice cakes”. First bit of the vid the main hub & wheel look to be spinning true but the sprocket wobbles relative to them. With so few km on it I can’t imagine the bearings bearing an issue yet. Pull the wheel off & learn something about how your bike works in the process. It’s not on overly complicated piece of machinery back there. Pay close attention to how things come apart, organize the pieces well  as they come off & you’ll find it fairly straight forward. it’s all good knowledge to have for future repairs/maintenance anyway.

Thanks for the tip and I agree with you totally, however I would and will in the future work on my bike myselfs, however, still under warranty and two months old. I am not touching anything .. 

thank you for your input 

[srb808]

On 7/3/2022 at 1:16 PM, Landshark said:

In my opinion, the rear wheel assembly should be removed, assembled correctly and reinstalled.  And... you should learn to do this yourself if at all possible.  It looks like an assembly problem.  Ask if you need help with step by step directions.

 

Or use this...

 

This guide is for entertainment purposes only. If you decide to follow these directions and it fails miserably, you must forget where you got them from. Enjoy... Oh, if you see anything that needs correcting, let me know.

 

T-700 Rear Wheel Removal and Re-installation Instructions

Step by step instructions on how to remove and reinstall the rear wheel on your Tenere 700.

Removal:

Tools required will be a 27 mm socket, an 18” to 24” long handle torque wrench, a 10 mm socket and ratchet wrench, ¾” thick plywood piece, distance measuring gauge and a pair of rubber gloves. Some good quality grease and some shop towels for cleaning up as well. You’ll also need a lift of some sort to allow the rear wheel to be lifted off the ground while keeping the bike stable.

-First, don your rubber gloves to protect your hands from the petroleum products used on the drive chain and other areas. Safety glasses should also be employed. Safely lift the bike to allow the tire to the desired height of about ¾” off the ground. Slip the ¾” plywood piece under the rear tire so as to use it as a leverage tool. Place the bike in first gear to prevent the wheel from turning.

The 3/4 “ thick plywood piece should be shaped like a triangle that is long enough to go under the tire and allow one to lift up on the rear wheel.

-Now remove the rotor sensor and apply a small length of black tape loosely around the sensor and tape it out of the way. Do not use anything magnetic such as a magnetic screwdriver or pickup tool at or around the sensor as this will render the little guy useless. Handle the rotor sensor with care to keep from damaging it. Don’t try to remove the brake caliper at this time.

-Using the 22 mm socket and long handle torque wrench, loosen the rear axle nut. Remove the rear axle nut, washer and adjusting block and set aside. Lift the plywood piece slightly to get the weight off of the axle. Using a small non scarring mallet, lightly tap the axel through to allow extraction. Pull the axle out to allow the wheel to drop down. Move the wheel forward along with the brake caliper to allow the removal of the drive chain from the rear drive sprocket. Push the brake caliper towards the front of the bike as you pull the wheel out and be sure not to let the caliper fall. Reattach it to the swing arm for the moment. It just sits on the slider attached to the swing arm. The wheel is now free to allow tire replacement or other maintenance.
Warning - While the wheel is out, don’t depress the brake lever or you’ll knock the brake pads out and cause a mess.

Re-installation:

-Before re-installing the wheel, be sure to clean up the bearing outer seals and smear some grease around where they seat and on the lip of the seal where it will meet the axle. This is a fine time to clean any ugly stuff up that you don’t like with the shop towels and some citrus cleaner before the wheel is reinstalled. Make sure the spacers are clean and are in place on each side of the rim to prevent cursing. I like to apply a light coat of grease to the axle to prevent metal pitting from moisture. Don’t apply it thick as it will be squeegeed off from the tight fit into the bearings.

-To re-install the wheel, simply place it on the plywood piece and roll the tire forward to allow the drive chain to be installed onto the rear sprocket. If you have installed a new aggressive tire you may need to jack the bike up a wee bit more to allow the wheel to fit onto the plywood piece and still be able to lift it into place. Keep the brake caliper pushed forward with the brake pads open and guide gently onto the brake disc as the wheel is pushed forward to allow chain re-installation. Once the chain is installed check that the brake caliper and brake disc is seated correctly as you move the wheel back towards you and align the axle hole. Lift the wheel up with the plywood piece to align the axle hole vertically and horizontally. With the adjustment block in place on the axle’s right side, start to slide the axle through the swing arm and wheel and continue until it is fully inserted. Install the adjusting block, flat washer and axle nut to the axle and hand tighten for the moment. Be sure the adjusting block is properly seated on both sides. Push the wheel forward tightly against the chain adjusting bolts. Now, assuming you didn’t touch the chain adjusting bolts and the chain was at the desired tightness, you may tighten the axle nut to 77 ft. lbs. of torque. If your chain needs adjusting, leave the axle nut only hand tight. Lower the bike to the ground and leave it on the side stand. Now adjust the chain adjusting bolts to achieve the desired chain slack. Drive chain slack should be 43.0–48.0 mm (1.69–1.89 in) Be sure to align the chain adjusting marks located above the adjustment blocks on the swing arm and on the adjustment blocks themselves to be the same on both sides. Push the wheel forward tightly against the chain adjusting bolts, then tighten the axle nut to 77 ft. lbs. of torque. Reinstall the rotor sensor and the rotor sensor bolt and tighten to 7 N·m (0.7 kgf·m, 5.2 lb·ft)
-Check the clearance between the rotor sensor and the rotor using a blade style thickness gauge. The clearance should be between 0.8–1.6 mm (0.03–0.06 in). Measure the distance between the rear wheel sensor rotor and rear wheel sensor in several places in one rotation of the rear wheel. Do not turn the rear wheel while the thickness gauge is installed. This may damage the rear wheel sensor rotor and the rear wheel sensor.
-Lift the bike up to raise the rear tire off of the ground and spin it by hand while listening for weird sounds or scraping etc. If you detect trouble, repair it before riding the bike.
 

Now you know how to remove the rear wheel and will feel more confident doing so on the road or trail. 

Thank you so much for all the information and i will use it in the future and I am sure it will come handy for many others.
Taking it to the dealer tomorrow and willsee what they say, not happy about it but lets just wait to hear what they got to say 

[srb808]

Thanks to everyone that has taken their time to share their opinion and thoughts. I have not taken the wheel of or anything due to the fact that the bike is relatively new .
The bike is going to the dealer tomorrow morning and I will update when I know more. 

Once again, Thank you 
 

[Landshark]

9 hours ago, srb808 said:

Thank you so much for all the information and i will use it in the future and I am sure it will come handy for many others.
Taking it to the dealer tomorrow and willsee what they say, not happy about it but lets just wait to hear what they got to say 

Yes, very interesting.  I too wonder what they find and what excuse they have for allowing you to leave the dealership with the bike in that condition...  How much do they charge per hour?  

[Hibobb]

@srb808, if the dealer deems it was something they or yamaha did, I would ask for a new chain and F&R sprockets, I am sure there is odd wear at this point. Best of luck... keep us posted.

[srb808]

So, I took the bike to the shop on Tuesday  July 5 and after the inspection the dealer pretty much said, Sprocket is bent (0.8mm) (0.03 inches ) and needs to be replaced, both sprockets and new chain. They have reported the issue to Yamaha and awaiting an answer from them since we are expecting the warranty to cover the repairs and necessary parts.  Worth to mention is that the dealer said, it's not possible that the sprocket was bent due to a tight chain  ( which I assume was to0 tight after first service ) and they also gave the bike back to me and said it's totally fine to drive.

No words from the dealer yet... Friday July 8 
Will call them next week for an update 

[Lewie]

Surely at the least this will cause uneven wear to the chain 

[Canzvt]

While it is NOT RIGHT and needs to be dealt with, chain wear will be minimal. Consider how it oscillates side to side, and calculate the angular displacement (if you really want to know) which is actually half of the total movement. You will likely find most non-caring back yard mechanic motorbike riders chain's mis-alignment are out more than this. Ride it until they replace the parts.

While you are at it, I would spring a few extra (like a $100 or so) to get them to put a good chain on it. The stock chains are usually only slightly better than a rubber band, but not 20,000+kms durable. I'm a HUGE fan of Regina Gold Series (if you can find them) - 

Professional - Regina Catene Calibrate Spa

 

Have them on all my bikes now (6). One has over 25,000kms on it and still going strong.

Good luck!!