robzilla

Last weekend's multi-day trip finally pushed me to the edge of getting my custom seat from Rich's. Holy smokes-- huge improvement in comfort and great looking. The OEM was good in the beginning, but towards the end of each day ride, manageable at best with more stops or stretching on the ride. Now I'm able to go further with little to no fatigue on the backside. Looking forward to more big trips now this summer!

Nice! Another gravel rider too! What bike are you riding?

Right, not available in '23 for US but supposedly coming in '24 from other thread & link https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/yamaha-tracer-9-gt-finally-coming-to-us-for-2024/ar-AA19zd6h?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=6350dc5ca0e34d12c6a7fbf332d547dc&ei=84

Yes while riding- it's just numbers that are jotted down. But primarily we communicate the info/numbers via radio. The notes are backup and when we're in areas that comms can't reach. Safety is first and that means riding the bike, then when time allows we do the other tasks whenever possible. I don't have a voice recorder and even if I did, I would have to review playback after the races to give the notes to judging crew which rarely don't have.

Just came back from a big mileage trip ~800 miles. I was able to get the ham radio setup moved from my C14 to the T9GT for the bicycle stage race (Tour de Bloom in Wenatchee & Leavenworth WA). Definitely a huge improvement in terms of weight and agility on the road races with the Tracer. Having a smaller sport touring bike I'm able to maneuver around the peloton quickly. Also love the cruise control so I can write notes, ie, race numbers and get time splits.

If you don't like dogtags or something around the neck, you can opt for a wrist, watch and shoe version of identification called RoadID. I use it for both sport touring and road biking. https://www.roadid.com/

Lots of good points, so will just add a PDF list from the AMA I found awhile back which has many of the same items mentioned. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1X4VyUsdniienNhaEw0cm00ZFk/view?usp=share_link&resourcekey=0-DTzO2nAR2U0fa34aZPKc7A If you can't open the link or want to see the list, let me know and I'll just copy/paste it in this thread.

As noted earlier, Garmin Basecamp can save your rides for future rides and has all the info you mentioned. But for creating rides to use on the Zumo XT isn't as intuitive. See below... I found this very helpful video which details on what we're all complaining on especially when trying to snap a route without having it make a straight line from multiple points. Bottom line, using Garmin's other product Garmin Connect does the job for the Zumo XT as well as other GPS & phones. PS. Garmin just updated their moto GPS device Zumo XT to the Zumo XT 2. You might be able to find good prices on the older model. Lots of advantages over a phone when it comes to weather durability, glove touch friendly, no overheating in hot weather or battery depletion in cold. Screen brightness is also a nice plus, I think 1000 nits compared to most phones between 600-800 nits.

Welcome! Hope you're enjoying your new bike and can share a pic of your new wheels.

SW Motech makes an excellent one. Pro ring and Evo ring including the associated Pro bag and Evo bags. Take note on what you're bringing for your trip plus future rides. https://sw-motech.us/products/luggage/tank+bags/PRO+tank+ring/ Lots of YouTube video reviews on most of 'em. Personally on my '22 T9GT went with a Pro ring and Engage tank bag as it conforms to the shape of the tank nicely.

Probably a good idea to get it load tested. I've seen this too where an aging battery starts to do weird things even though it starts the bike up. Maybe check the connections are tight including the ground.

Mileage on the FJ? Any previous maintenance done on it, ie, valves, air filter, etc? Has it been sitting for awhile prior to riding?

Interesting on the older Engage model tank bag. I like the side pockets and maybe the 12V power inside the bag. But I'm happy with the newer Engage tank bag and how it still follows the tank lines and slope. I also added a USB hub into the bag to charge my iPhone and GoPro, so not really a loss on the 'electric' feature. I do like both the old and new Engage styles and the newer model has some nice touches. I bought mine after seeing a well thought out review on his Tracer

Congrats on her ride! Love the photo tour, thanks for sharing! I saw a red Tracer this weekend coming down from Goldendale hill on Saturday, so it wasn't you two! Anyone from WA or OR that was riding this weekend in that area? They had the side cases and top case from what blurred down the hill 🙃

I have a used OEM exhaust for sale 😁 Seriously, might be hard to find unless someone who bought an aftermarket isn't content with it. Either the Akropovic or LeoVince exhausts are the way to go. I have the LV and love the performance, sound and looks.

Incredible photos, very beautiful! Reminds me of a similar tour with ride-to-eat stops called Cafe to Cafe: https://soundrider.com/cafetocafe/ I've never done either, but those locations you posted I've visited. I think its time to take part! Thanks, I'm familiar with central OR but have not ventured that far south for touring so this will be new. Rally routes are constantly updated as the event nears, trying to plan which route to take and which days. I definitely will make the Northern Cal stop or driveby if possible. https://concours.org/national/2023-Rally/Routes

Now that I have a '22 T9GT, curious if there are any upcoming rides or meetups for Tracer/FJR/MT or non Yamaha folks? If you're a COG rider, I'm planning to take my T9GT to the rally in Canyonville OR in early June. Probably will head to OR coast early in the week, attend rally for a few days, then end of rally week make my way back up through southern to central OR back into WA. Hoping to make some day or weekend trips before or after the rally either to BC, OR or even ID.

Nice, love the Akro and Yoshi exhaust looks and sounds! Side question on the exhaust upgrades-- do folks just dump the OEM (responsibly of course), sell it for dirt cheap or give it away for free, or keep it if/when selling the bike?

Now comes the next part of "feeding" it some farkles! 🙃

Ok I was able to get out for a quick ride after work before more of the rain comes in and can come up with another big gripe. The menu scrolling selection wheel on the right / throttle side. Very touchy and hard to do with winter gloves. Either do it when you're stopped or on cruise control. The only time I'm messing with it on rides is the heated grip levels. The menu selection wheel is also used for the right side screen display, but once you've set that I rarely change it, only reset the fuel consumed and trip meter when stopped.

Welcome! I don't think the T9GT seat is really an issue, but you'll have to find out as everyone is different and what your body dimensions are like riding on it for a few hours. You'll find many threads on the seat slope mod or various seat brands to try. As for color choice, I think both are great and would go with the silver/blue as its the most intelligent decision. 😉 I think my biggest gripe is the fuel meter. Starting with a full tank and until you go ~100-130miles depending on how you ride, you will then see half tank reading. So instead of a gradual fuel use meter reading, it jumps from full to 1/2 tank. I use the 'fuel consumed' gauge along with the fuel meter to make sure I don't run too low of fuel.

Nice, welcome Lather! Glad to see you on the lighter side with that nice Tracer! Of course I remember you from the COG forums as I still own my C14 and read many helpful threads from you and others. But I think this will be my last year with it as I agree having something lighter and maneuverable is so much easier. After the COG National Rally in OR I will be selling her.

Good point on the windscreen used and how tall you are. For reference, I have the Puig windscreen on my '22 T9GT and I'm 5'11. Prior to the GT Air 2, I was using the Neotec 1 and that was noisier compared to the Air 2. I love the modularity and was considering the newer Neotec 2 but ultimately decided to go back to full face helmets for safety and possibly noise reduction. YMMV...

I was following a thread regarding helmet comms and found that most folks liked the Shoei GT Air 2 which is what I bought recently. It's a full face with a built-in sun visor to match your requirements. As for the comms, seems its limited to the Sena SRL mesh or BT which I haven't had time to buy & install yet. It comes with pinlock as well for those cold mornings to prevent face-shield fogging. Comfortable and stylish so far, would recommend as well.

I have some upcoming spring maintenance & mods including the chain slack, so I appreciate the earlier comments including the 77 ft/lbs. What's the axle nut size for the '21-22? I remember reading 32mm- same as earlier models?