keithu

As @2and3cylinders alluded to, time-to-market is a huge potential benefit of 3D printing because it can eliminate the tooling phase from manufacturing. I work in good ol' fashioned 2D print, but it's pretty exciting to see what's happening in additive manufacturing.

Even on a short 100 mile street ride you're likely to see a huge variety of road surfaces. So sure, there is no one perfect suspension setup on the street. But given that variability, not all bikes and suspension components perform the same.

Yep, just us die hards again. Twas a nice day for a ride though, considering the unusual snowy weather of the last week.

Temps above freezing down here on the valley floor, and Newberg is supposed to be above freezing all morning. I'm in!

Well, hey... The weather isn't too bad today. Unless all hell breaks loose tonight or tomorrow morning this ride is on as far as I'm concerned. I hope to see some of you at See See in Newberg tomorrow!

Whelp... Lily enjoys the snow but I'm growing concerned about the possibility of a ride on Friday. The forecast calls for even more snow on Thursday. We'll see....

Hopefully the Hepco-Becker bars work better on the Tracer 9 than they did on my 2015 FJ-09. The fitment was so tight that I couldn't get the side panels off without scratching them, which sort of defeats the whole purpose of the guards. Plus, that stupid piece of flat steel welded in the front half means you can't easily bolt on accessories like aux lights or highway pegs. I also have the Hepco-Becker saddlebags. They leak in rain and the rack is starting to show some vibration wear after 45k miles. I guess you could say I've fallen out of love with that brand.

Thanks for the reminder. I need to put these roads on my agenda next year. I've ridden all around that area - 3, 96, 299 - but never ventured off into the Forks of the Salmon area.

You should be lining up the punch marks on each camshaft with a line on the camshaft holder. The challenge for me is there isn't a good sight line to the punch mark on the intake cam because the frame is in the way. You have to look at it from an angle, which always introduces doubt. I will say this: if it looks like it might be off a hair you're probably fine. If either cam is off by a full tooth it's actually pretty obvious when you look at the punch marks.

Amazingly, I was able to spot the errant zip tie piece through a window behind the timing chain cover, and retrieve it with tweezers. I got lucky. This happened 23k miles ago during the first valve check. I was *real* careful with the zip ties this time around.

That's one way to do it. I prefer to break the chain first, and then remember that I really should have cracked the countershaft sprocket loose before breaking the chain. Again. 😒

And when you cut the zip ties off, hold each side carefully so one doesn't weirdly break into two pieces, one of which falls down into the crankcase. DAMHIK. 🤬

I don't have my service manual handy, but what does Yamaha recommend for lubricant and service intervals? One thing I've learned both with vehicles and in my job working on industrial equipment is that it's extremely common to damage bearings and other components due to following "sage advice" from an experienced mechanic rather than the manufacturer. A current example: we have a linear bearing and car that is supposed to be lubed with CRC Food Safe Grease. Right next to it is a ball screw that's supposed to be lubed with a specific TriFlo food safe lubricant that is also labeled as "grease" even though it isn't. So what's happening is guys see the similar names and are just using the CRC grease on both. This is causing all kinds of expensive damage right now. These things are designed by engineers who test for wear and material compatibility. If they specify a certain lubricant it's probably important. Alas, it seems that mechanics are from Mars and engineers are from Venus.

Awesome tips, thanks everyone. Weird that I've never run into this before, but I think every other time I've installed a valve cover I either reused the rubber gasket that was still stuck to the cover, or it was a paper gasket with some gasket sealant.

I'm trying to wrap up a valve adjustment. Of all the complex tasks involved in this project, it's the most basic thing that's kicking my ass: I can't get the new valve cover gasket positioned correctly. Really, I should have just left the old gasket stuck to the cover and re-used it because it was fine. I reused it the first time I checked the valves. But I bought a new gasket and figure I ought to install it just because. So the root problem is this: I install the rubber gasket in the cover, but then when I try to install the cover the gasket keeps falling out. I have some Lucas assembly lube for valve train components. It's kind of tacky so I was thinking of putting some in the gasket channel to stick the gasket to the cover. Anyone have a better idea?

I actually like the seat area, but I would probably install a solo-seat tail from some late '80s or early '90s Yamaha sportbike (OWO1, YZR500, YZF750, etc.).

This thread is useless without pics: I love it. I plan to sell or trade in my FJ-09 on a BMW RT soon, but I could definitely see having one of these as a second play bike. I would give it the tail and upper front fairing of an '87-88 FZR750/1000 complete with dual round headlights. Or maybe this would look better as an FZ750 replica? So many possibilities and this is a great blank canvas.

You really should get a test ride if possible. And when you test ride it, make sure the seat height is adjusted properly for you. The seat has two possible positions and they make a pretty significant difference in the overall feel of the bike. There do seem to be some people who ride (or even buy) the Tracer and then decide they hate it. I think those people are crazy, but we all have opinions. One of the negative comments I sometimes see is a few people think the legroom is cramped. I strongly suspect those are tall people who test rode it with the seat in the low position. With the seat on low it's about the same legroom as your FJR. With the seat on high it's more like a BMW RT, or maybe even a little more.

Here's another inflation option: I carry this mini floor pump from Nuetech. Yes, you'll get a mighty workout using one of these, but it's guaranteed to work and packs small. I now carry this as a backup after learning the finicky nature of CO2 cartridges the hard way. You can get good quality small pumps at bicycle shops, but I strongly recommend one that can be used as a floor pump. You probably don't want to inflate a motorcycle tire with a hand pump unless your name is Popeye and you brought extra spinach.

Both the Hotcams and OEM shims measure within one micron (.001mm) of the marked size according to my digital caliper. This is after 24-46k miles of use. So I don't think pancaking is an issue with either shim type.

Many thanks for the link! I am still planning to sell. But I still don't even have a build date from BMW, and with all the parts shortages who knows how long it will be? I need to be able to ride the FJ until my RT comes in, whether that's three months or a year from now.

Hi folks! Time to start planning this year's Last Ride of the Year in western Oregon. Last year's location of See See Motor Coffee in Newberg worked pretty well, so I propose we do the same. Ride from wherever you are on December 31, 2021 to meet us at 12:00 noon at: See See Newberg 101 East 1st St. Newberg, OR 97124 Be there!

I'm at 46k miles so I decided to tear the bike down for a valve lash check. All were in spec except for one exhaust valve at 0.23mm. One fracking valve. 🤬 Three others were at about .26 (the lower limit for exhaust) so I might as well adjust them too. I wish the range for exhaust valves wasn't so narrow: .26-.30. Most shim kits have shims in .05 increments, so if a valve is at .255 you can only go to .305. So now I need to go on the hunt for a couple oddball sizes. Fun.

Can someone explain how the winter gas is different? My fuel economy has dropped a bit recently too.

Yeah, hotels in Missoula are always expensive. I paid $180 for a night in a Comfort Inn there a few weeks ago. Great reports! Thanks again for taking us along.