Leaderboard

So i was looking at the seat and figured I could raise the front a bit more as there's vertical wiggle room between the upper and lower settings where that front tab sits. So.... I grabbed some fender washers and electrical tape and got to work. 3 washers seems to be about the max. There's now no wiggle room up and down and the slope is 3/8" less slope-y 😂. All original points of contact still make contact. It still seems secure and I think it's a great penny mod. Test rode for half an hour and mucho better.

I’ve tidied this thread by hiding the posts that seem to be just arguing. If anyone involved wants them reinstating, contact me with a message.

Got Tracey another garage friend!

Added roughly 130 km's to the odo last night & lots of bug splatter to everything else Google Maps

I had a vstrom 650 , full kitted out with every addon imaginable, for nearly 10 years. I loved that bike. Used it for everything, touring, moto-gymkhana, camping, offroading , the lot. Thought it was a great all round bike, but not really very good at anything. Switching to the tracer, without even having ridden one, I was wondering if I'd done the right thing, but I , you know, wanted a change. The tracer is far far better than the vstrom, in every area, in my opinion. For me it is taking a wee bit of getting used to the fatter rear tyre, and the insane acceleration, which has me giggling every time I give it some. The suspension is better, the handling, lights , brakes. it is definitely as comfortable, better fuel economy, and , well, I just love it. I've owned some great bikes in my time, the tracer is exceptionally good. i am smitten! Now my brother in law has my old vstrom, and I have my tracer, all is right with the world.

I totally agree that the RaceTech Gold Valves are a huge upgrade, especially at the price point. I've got about 15,000 miles on this set up, and have been very pleased. But... the recovering racer in me still wants just a little bit more. The tactile feedback - especially over repetitive sharp-edge bumps when carrying some lean angle - still feels just a bit wooden. Without the ability to fine tune compression independent from rebound (a product of the stock fork design limitation) I'm still playing with the best compromise. Interestingly, what was working with the Road 5 isn't working as well with the RS3... The edge grip is great, but the steering feedback is muted. I'll play around with it a bit more this weekend (weather permitting) to see if I can get back to the sweet spot... or as sweet of a spot as I can with the current set up. Or maybe I'm just a vain poser, and really want those bad-ass looking adjuster caps on my forks...

I’ve found the problem, none of the above, but it’s sorted.

Known in our business as a POR. Power Off Reset.

Im looking for it

Excellent mod. Been meaning to fiddle with that sometime and you probably just saved me some time.

To answer, do I still ride to new destinations . Sometimes, most of my rides are between 100 and 400 miles. I am 77 yrs. old and don't like to be gone overnight I have only done so twice since I bought the bike. I have done one Iron Butt SS1000 and ridden every mile of every highway in Oklahoma. Even the short rides are great, I've never had a boring ride and hope I can do this many more years. Now about the bike. I bought the bike new April first 2015 at K&N Yamaha Tulsa OK and they have done all the maintenance . They have been great and gone above and beyond to keep me on the road with very little down time. There was a factory recall on CCT and it was replaced twice . The third time it was replaced with aftermarket manual adjuster, no more problems but had to replace cam chain. Replaced fuel pump at about 50,000 miles. I wasn't stranded, it would only run about 30 mph. Replaced stator at about 150,000 miles. Valves set five times , plugs, air filter, throttle body check. Changed to V Stream windshield after two years. It is much better. Everything else is stock. I am impressed by what didn't go bad . It still has original clutch, all bearings, fork seals and does not use any oil or leak any fluids. Thank you for your interest and kind words. Slowing down some I'm getting old, 5/20/20 - 207,000 miles . 6/25/2020 212,000 7/25/2020 215,000 miles

Hey all, So I bought a 2019 Tracer 900 (Non-GT) new for a stupid deal I couldn't say no to. My background is in track riding and racing so the stock suspension left me extremely wanting. For comparison my track bike is on Öhlins pressurized forks and a TTX36 rear. After the first track day this year since COVID I connected with a race shop that does suspension tuning at the track, they happened to have a YA 537 with a 1.00 spring in stock that I got for a pretty great deal. I rode on the stock forks and Öhlins rear for a few weeks before it became extremely apparent how weak the front suspension is on the Tracer 900. Fortunately for me GP Suspension located in California is about 10 minutes from where I live and earlier in the year they rebuilt the suspension for my track bike. I brought my Tracer to them and instead of ordering the Öhlins NIX 30 cartridge kit I decided to give their front cartridge kit a try. I just got the bike back and the different is fairly astonishing. I also had 1.00 springs installed in the forks. While the stock suspension would dive fairly deep into the stroke under moderate to hard braking the 25mm Cartridges keep the bike far more under control while under braking, the valving keeps the forks far closer to the middle of the stroke so even braking under rough roads does not upset the chassis like the stock suspension did. For my street bikes I tend to aim for 28-30mm of sag and got the Tracer set at 30mm very easily with some help from the tech at GP. Likewise setting my rebound was very easy, thankfully you can set a very solid baseline rebound on a bike standing still, compression takes a little more trial and error while riding. The stock suspension is fine for a budget piece of kit but the shared compression and rebound functions in the right fork leg really end up compromising both and leaves the left leg as a dummy with a spring and fluid only. All in all I am pretty crazy about the setup of the GP Cartridges and Öhlins shock and I would recommend it to anyone considering suspension for their Tracer. If you have any question let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.

Yes. The cause of buffeting/helmet noise (I’m convinced) is the vacuum created in the riders pocket by windscreens. Madstad (and California Scientific) design their windshields to eliminate this by allowing air flow behind the screen.

Truly a versatile do-it-all bike. 😁👍

I'm 6'3, 225 nekkid. My gf is 5'7, 130, nekkid...355...with full gear, puts us at about 400, I'd say. Plus top case with waters and tire plug kit, etc etc etc, I'd say my normal ride weight it's around 420-425lbs. I also have side cases...so for trips, sides cases go on...I'd say 450-460lbs in all. And I rip. Tight twisty roads, wheelies, jumps, offroad, I do it all. 2015 fj. It sucked in the stock shock. Bottomed out ALL the time. Even smashed two oil pans had to get a skid plate to stop smashing oil pans. Then I got a new penkse shock, sprung for 460# (and stiffer springs up front+revalve kit). Now the bike works like it's supposed to. The tracer has a longer swing arm, so I imagine it's probably sprung a little stiffer than the fj...when I rode it, it didn't feel as sloppy in the back.

Paging @com3 to the white courtesy phone...

Welcome aboard.. I went from a SuperTenere to a Vstrom 650 as I wanted less weight, but good touring capability. I had it for 900 km and sold it. It was a very good bike but I really wanted more power. The Tracer 900GT fit the bill perfectly, less weight and more power, good wind protection, good range, cruise control, heated grips, adjustable screen and Yamaha reliable with a long long valve inspection interval (42,000 km)

This is using the insert for the high position. I’ve always preferred my bikes taller even though I’m 5’10.

Yup. You’re right. This was just a concept trial and see if it works. I’m having a friend make up a more permanent solution. Until then I’ll keep an eye on my diy fix.

Just as a 'by the way'; I have the Givi tanklock system with an EA118 25 litre bag. It is excellent, so easy to click on and remove. Nothing touches the paint, I'm really pleased with it. Especially as you basically can't use any 'regular' type tank bag anyway.

Happens to me as well fairly often. Sometimes the power cycle trick works, sometimes not. My research on an FZ10 forum, where the same problem exists, some people have said that it's the switch assembly in the front brake.

Hi All, Had my new 2020 Tracer 900 GT (or googt) for two weeks today. I got to 599 miles so I will change oil & filter tomorrow. I rode an FJ09 3 years ago at a demo days and loved it then. This one is even better.... it's mine! As you can tell by my member name I am from northeast Ohio. I am riding down to Sapphire Valley, N.C. on the 4th of July. 630 miles. I am 5'10" 170 lb. and I was getting too much buffeting and wind noise so I have put a taller Puig windscreen on. That fixed that. I also got an AirHawk seat which I'll probably use only for longer rides. I was surprised that this bike is a little taller than I am used to. Enough for now, just wanted to introduce myself neOhJoe

Don't knock the Racetech Gold Valve setup, my track bike was on that before I got the pressurized Öhlins and they were unbelievable performance for the price. I am currently running Michelin Road 5 tires in the OEM size. My girlfriend is giving me much the same talk. I am prepping my Tracer 900 for long distance tours and I have already taken it on one. Once I got back I thought man I should buy a GS for long distance rides and keep the Tracer for commuting.

Ha! Your assessment falls into the category I like to call “not entirely untrue” The real conundrum is that I also have a 2020 KTM 890 Duke R in the cart. I need to hurry up and sell some stuff, actually... anyone interested in a really clean Aprilia Mille R, or a nice track-prepped Kawasaki 636? Wife rightfully insists that something has to go before something new arrives...

I love the euphemism “investigate” @texscottyd when we all know it means “I already have all the options in my basket and just can’t decide when to press the buy now button”. Do you wait until the second/third/fourth beer, the rest of the household is in bed, decisions seem so clear at 1am? Your browser has already entered your credit card details and you just need to enter the CVC code?

Forget the top box! Star Wars helmet 😎

My wife and I have done an overnight on my 2016 FJ with stock suspension. I’m about 180 without gear, she’s 105ish. Both 22l sidecases and the 47l top box were packed full. I took it a little easier than I would have solo, but it was a fun trip, even if we were over the weight limit. Nothing falling off yet.

Not at all. To clarify... I upgraded the entire shock, not just the spring. It is still a basic shock (Nitron NTR-R1). I had it built for approximate load range 220-370lbs. This includes rider and pillion, luggage, all gear, brackets, tools, accessories etc. The spring that came on the shock is 650lb. I need very little preload for solo rides without luggage.

I'm about 100kg whit all gear and my wife about 80kg. I have some mods that add over 15-18kg to the bike. So all in all some 200kg load. When I have my wife on the bike we ride at "normal" speed, never over 110km/h (70mph) and I don't lean more than necessary. The bike feels more planted, the suspension more comfortable, easyer to avoid jerkiness in the throttle or when shifting. I never had boxes on the bike so I don't know how it would be with 30kg more but I think it would work if you don need to ride fast or sporty... I don't thint that if Yamaha recommend 180kg max payload the bike will brake in half if you load it with 50kg more. And the pressurue on the front wheel will increase but not as mych as on the rear wheel so no fear for the "death wobble"

Thanks for the detailed info. There is a great suspension shop about an hour away from me who happen to build GP Suspension cartridges. I'll have to chat with the techs and see what they recommend, my suspension is due for servicing during the winter down time. I'm really happy with the Penske from Traxxion Dynamics so may give some thought to their AK-20's as well.

My way of thinking and life. I went back to a cbr600 from a 1000 Mille for same reason. Never thought I'd say it as I love my cbr, won't ever sell it, but the Tracer is now getting all the attention. For the future, FJR panniers will fit if you go touring, hold more and cheaper than gt panniers (on EBay)

Thanks TripleTrouble, I've always been a fan of michelin tyres, so I'll bear that in mind come the time. I've done all the mad sportsbike 170mph stuff , I'm happy to wave other riders past me, I just want to be on corners all the time, not straight bits, anybody can twist a throttle in a straight line. I'll fiddle with the suspension on a bit of bumpy road tomorrow, up and down till it feels as good as I can get it. (Although I might end up going out on the canoe on the loch if our summer holds up for another day I could do both at the same time I suppose, but I'm not sure if my cargo net would hold the canoe in place

This is the first I have heard of this issue, I have had the XSR slipper installed almost 3 years on my '15 and have never needed to adjust it. Any chance that you use your clutch harder than an average rider? Aggressive riding, racing, high rpm take-offs or clutch-up wheelies?🤷‍♀️

Had a little run over some hills near the English/Welsh border. Wales still out of bounds for us from England due to their tighter restrictions over covid. Very happy with the new tail bag, plenty of room and liking the looks. Bit trickier getting on and off bike now though. 🤷‍♂️ Nice views from Clee hill today, getting very warm at the moment. Quite happy to get home and back in shorts, t shirt and a beer or 3. 🍻

I do like the look of those handguards.

I work in IT and literally have this on a t-shirt

Awesome! they make a long ride or road trip so much more comfortable. 👍

when i leaned the bike over to check clearance, they were about one inch closer to the ground than the normal pegs, so more than enough lean angle. there is plenty of clearance from the tire as well. i would be more worried about them wrecking the radiator since the mounting points are so close to it, but i dont have any plans on dropping her (knocks on wood).

Agreed. Clamp ring for Givi 'lock ring' tank bag. It's only the clamp though, the plastic adapter isn't there.

Looks like the fixing ring that clamps down on the tank bag ring. Thay bit is missing.

Got my Corbin the other day. Only been on a couple short rides with it. Not sure how I feel about it. It doesn't slide me into the tank anymore, but it doesn't let me sit back as far as the stock seat did, so I feel out of balance. The seat is definitely more comfortable, and I think it looks great. I probably just need to tweak the handlebars to resolve my issues. I already have the risers flipped around to push the bars further away, but I need more. I have very long legs and arms and a short torso for reference. 37" inseam, 6'-2" tall, 6'-6" wingspan.

1/3/20 4yrs and 9 months from purchase. Slowing down some, I'm getting old, 5/20/20 207,000 miles .

2016 at 36K miles, bought used with 4,.5K miles in March 2017 Year round riding mostly in Southern California, 80% commuting, 10% canyon carving/joy riding, 10% multiday tours Ridden in 116F Arizona heat and 15F Wyoming blizzards (my home state) All warranty work done, and I alternate services between recommended and just oil/filter changes. Chain clean and lube every ~500 miles Valves checked at 22k miles, no adjustment needed (according to dealer...) Bunches of tires, a few chains/sprockets, a couple clutch cables (no failures, just paranoid) 2WDW Flash at ~20k miles, fantastic fun Pile of cosmetic mods NO UNEXPECTED MAINTENANCE/PROBLEMS