Heavy

I try and loosely thread the screws back into the correct place as I remove each panel. Makes it easier to remember whether a certain hole took a 15 mm long screw or a 10 mm one. Haven't had the Tracer apart yet, to know if it's possible, but it's worked for me on previous bikes.

Can't go far wrong with Frogg Toggs. https://www.froggtoggs.com/

I don't have a heated seat but I do have a pdf of the installation instructions. Appears that there are 2 connectors ... 4 wires total. I don't see a way to attach the pdf. Maybe PM your email address and I'll send it to you?

Lookin' pretty sunny and warm. Nice!

Some on road to connect trails but mostly through the bush, across swamps and along lakes and rivers. Thousands of miles of trails available (when winter cooperates). https://ofsc.evtrails.com/#

Well, it wasn't on my Tracer but it was handlebar time. We've finally had enough snow and cold for them to groom and open the trails around here. Really strange to just start riding in late February, but I'll take what I can get. Managed to put in a couple hundred miles and the sled ran great.

Any details on the seat cover, Rick?

I should have mentioned before ... the SW-Motech attaches with 4 straps (at least my older version does) and comes with a carry strap. It was 2 minutes to undo the 4 cam-buckles and take the whole thing off the bike and into wherever I'm staying. The bag was really stable too. When I was researching (always have to do tooo much reasearch before I buy something 🙄) I found a video of a guy doing hyper-legal speeds on an R1 with one of the bags on his bike.

Why not look at soft, throw-over bags if you're only using them once a season? Or, you could go with something like the SW-Motech bag, depending on passenger and storage space required. I used one on my CB500X and found I could carry more crap than I needed in it. https://sw-motech.us/products/luggage/Legend+Gear/tail+bags/4052572034330.htm The plastic bags on top were a set of junior golf clubs I was taking to my nephew ... like I said, more than I needed. 😉

You make it sound like such a pleasurable pastime. 🤨

Rick123 ... Kinda surprised we have been treated to current pictures of your majestic beast ... your bike, that is. 😉

I bet you're itching to try out the new beast. It'll come ... sooner for you than me. 😉

Absolute crap winter for snowmobiling around here. Tempting to get a bike out of storage. Roads are still filthy and everything freezes most nights but the afternoons have been pretty tempting. Anyone managed to get in some miles?

Any report on the Mutants? A guy at a local shop says they can't be beat on his CB500X.

I just copied and pasted from the article. "Missed the mark" is certainly subjective. Missed the mark with the seat? Missed the mark with regular length levers? Missed the mark with the stock exhaust? All depends on the individual. I think that's one of the fun aspects of motorcycles ... making it "your own". 😉

That's 'cause yer all hemmed in on that little island of yours. No need for croooooozin' gears. 😊

I mentioned previously that my ZUMO 396 has been solid in the cradle, even bouncing around back roads on my little Honda. I think, as long as you click it into the cradle securely, you're good to go.

Cycle World did a long term review on a Tracer GT. They changed the gearing significantly and were happy with the results. Taller Gearing: I felt that Yamaha missed the mark on the overall gearing as the bike spins 5,400 rpm at an indicated 80 mph with the stock 16/45 sprocket combination. Why gear this torquey triple so low? Perhaps it's our love of acceleration that dictates gearing, but out on the open road I would like an engine that just loafs along sipping fuel at a less-busy point on the tach. How about five close-ratio speeds and a really tall overdrive sixth? How about seven speeds? Eight? Those choices were out of my hands so I called Driven and ordered up a 17-tooth front sprocket and a 43-tooth rear, choices that kept the stock chain length for convenience because I'll swap back and forth depending upon the day's activities. All the charts regarding gearing choices and chain lengths are on the Driven website and customer support was excellent. The gain was 10 mph at the same engine speed, so 5,400 was now 90 mph, with 80 mph happening at 4,800 rpm. Quieter, less hectic, better fuel mileage. https://www.cycleworld.com/long-term-tracer-900-gt-update/

MADNESS!!! 😉

2?

I've had pretty good experiences with returns. Often, they'll just send you a replacement. I've found it's easier to solve issues with failed product when dealing through Amazon, over eBay. Contact the vendor, send pictures, verify the purchase date and a resolution is, usually, pretty easy.

I bought a "Made in China" kit with a few different cables with SAE connections for a battery tender. I, recently, was changing one of the cables from a cigarette plug end to ring terminals so I can connect my solar powered charger to my sawmill. I was pretty surprised to see how few, fine strands of actual copper conductor were inside the insulation. I've done the same with a plug-in that came with an older Yuasa charger and it had about 3x the copper strands. I'm not really concerned, with the low amperage of the tender, but the difference was pretty stark. For the most part though, the discount stuff is cheap, and it works. Just don't be buying anything you plan to pass down to future generations. 😉

Have you tried the same speed without the side cases? I had an opportunity to run my old V-Strom at speed a number of years ago. It had a scary, low amplitude, wobble when I approached the sort of speed with my luggage attached.

ya ... not much motorcycle riding around here. 😢 It was -38ºC when I got up the following morning and found my furnace had shut off because the regulator on my propane tanks had frozen. 🤬 Lucky for me it was only down to 14ºC inside when I found out and started to thaw the regulator.

Looks like the ride along the lake could be a fun one.