keithu

The Barkbuster Storm works much better than stock, but on longer rides in sub-40 temps fingers still get a little cold. Also, IMO the two-point mount is unnecessary. I have the single-point mount and they are extremely solid, with zero vibration or movement at any speed. If anyone is considering the Barkbusters I recommend the single point because they're much easier to install.

Interesting, I didn't know anyone was growing canola around here. I thought all that stuff came from Canada.

I first rode up there in 1996, just 16 years after the eruption, and the devastation still looked pretty fresh. It's been interesting to revisit over the years and see how quickly the forest recovers. I imagine in another 30-40 years it will be difficult to identify the edge of the blast zone.

During a nice but brisk ride this morning I discovered my heated jacket liner didn't work. Back home I started to troubleshoot this, and discovered something slightly alarming: It appears my clutch cable has been rubbing on the wiring harness connected to the bottom of the ignition key switch. Here you can see how the clutch cable has rubbed the black finish off the ignition switch housing, and it appears to have abraded the sheath on the wiring harness. Note the exposed wiring showing through the sheathing. The wires and insulation appear to be okay, but turning the handlebars back and forth confirmed that the clutch cable does rub the wiring harness at full left steering lock. To resolve this issue, I wrapped a heavy duty zip tie loosely around the clutch cable and part of the triple clamp. I turned the steering lock to lock a few times and confirmed that nothing interferes or is restricted. As you can see I have the new style of clutch cable. I believe it's routed correctly, but I'm open to other opinions about that. Next time you have your bodywork off, I advise you to inspect the ignition wiring to ensure the clutch cable isn't damaging it. Here's an obligatory shot from my ride this morning. I don't know what that bright yellow stuff is, but I've seen it in a few fields around the Willamette Valley this week.

I rode it about four years ago and the condition was so bad I consider it dangerous. I won't ride the back side of Mt. St. Helens again until they redo the road. It's a real shame because 15+ years ago it was one of the best rides in the PNW.

I've only run 180/55-17 tires on this bike... the original D222, a couple PR4s, the Metzeler Sportec (for only about 700 miles), and now I'm on my 2nd or 3rd Road 5. But it's not surprising that the circumference might vary slightly between different tire types, even with a common sizing standard.

5th-ed, and I'm not a super confident gravel rider. I've never owned a dirt bike or dual sport, so gravel always makes me a little nervous. But I sometimes ride ~1.5 miles of gravel to my dad's house and the Michelin PR4s and Road 5s have been fine. No drama.

Other things that affect the speedometer reading: Tire wear, and what part of the tire you're currently riding on. Leaned over due a cross wind? The speedometer will read a little high. Speedometer precision on a motorcycle is a moving target, so to speak.

I went down one tooth on my rear sprocket last year and it had zero effect on my MCCruise cruise control. I can't speak to the OEM cruise on the GT, but I don't see any reason why a sprocket change would affect CC because the speed reference comes from the ABS encoder.

Yes their adjustment mechanism looks simple. I think Revzilla stocks Lightech.

I think a couple of people have had the adjuster nut fall off the end of the Lightech adjuster, rendering it useless. Or does that only happen to the Chinesium knockoffs? Something to consider. The Gilles adjuster is not prone to such a failure, and it's cheaper. I admit it doesn't look quite as cool as the Lightech unit though.

Pretty cheap insurance here in Oregon. I pay State Farm $220 per year with deductibles of $100 comp and $250 collision. I've been with State Farm for ~20 years and get a discount for bundled home, auto, moto, and life insurance. I don't know if my deductibles are grandfathered or if I could get them again. I started this FJ-09 policy in 2015 and did not have a motorcycle from 2008-2015. My Triumph TT600 was cheap to insure with them too, it was ~$120 per year for the same coverage.

Tires may also have an effect. My speedometer seems to be very accurate, reading within 0-1mph of the GPS at 65mph (0-1.6km at 104kph) while running Michelin PR4s or Road 5s. Last summer I had to buy a Metzeler Sportec M7 in rural Montana due to tire damage, and the speedo was off 1-2mph while running that tire. I'm not trying to start a tire holy war, just suggesting an alternative reason why some of our speedometers are accurate and others are not. Perhaps it should also be said that GPS-reported speed isn't always 100% accurate either.

"Spalding! Language!!" Sorry, had to do it. Bummer about the scrape.

You have to remove the tank to do the TB sync, might as well replace the sparkplugs while you're in there. It's not much more work.

+1 on skipperT's recommendations. First things I would check is chain slack and throttle body sync. Both will contribute to the issues you have. You might have other problems, but it's important to rule these things out first. Can you describe the sound you heard this morning? Did it continue or go away?

Makes sense, thank you. I didn't piggyback my signal wire, but that may change if I add any more farkles. Currently every circuit in my Fuzeblock is full.

@Warchild on the topic of relays... Did you route both power and trigger wires for your aux light relay through the Fuzeblock? Or did you tap the battery directly with the 16ga power wires? I ran both lines for my aux lights through my Fuzeblock, but my lights draw less than 2 amps each. This is well under the Fuzeblock's rating (10 amp max per circuit, 30 amps total), but it's also the first time I've used the Fuzeblock and I don't know how accurately rated these things are. I also have my heated jacket (~5.5 amps max) run through the Fuzeblock. That's more current than the aux lights, so I suppose I'm fine.

See, the problem with that is that when I've had to buy 87 octane fuel I'm usually in a place that looks like this: One has a tendency to put a high load on one's motor in circumstances such as these. And at such times it's usually pretty warm out.

The US owner's manual says the FJ-09 and Tracer engine, "Was designed to run on 91 octane ([R+M]/2) or higher." Some of us have, on occasion, burned lower-octane fuel (87 octane in the US) because we were stuck in some rural area and that was the only thing available. Some of you, I understand, even run low octane regular all the time. I've done it on a few occasions, and I never noticed any pinging, higher running temps, or other ill effects. I've never heard anyone else report ill effects from running low octane fuel, either. The CP3 motor does not have a knock sensor. My question is this: Is there some other method in a modern engine management system to detect knock, and then maybe adjust for it? I'm curious because I never noticed knock when running lower octane fuel, and apparently nobody else has either. So I wonder if there's something else going on in my bike's brain to protect it from damage caused by pre-ignition. IMPORTANT: I am NOT interested in debating about the best kind of fuel! I'm glad you only use high octane ethanol-free dolphin safe USDA organic ribbed Super Mega Ultra Premium with Techron (tm). We've all fought in that holy war too many times and nobody wants to do it again. Just don't. This is a purely technical question about the engine management system in our bikes.

Lots of options for handlebars, too. Stock, there are two positions for the handlebar mounts; several companies make products to raise the bars and/or bring them closer to the rider; and the OEM bar is tubular so it's pretty easy to move or replace.

That's true. I don't have experience with the Givi screen, but I previously had the V-Stream which also has a more complex shape. One would think the V-Stream's contoured design derived from wind tunnel testing or something, but after comparing the two I don't think it was. I found that the simple, crude Madstad flows air much more cleanly. The V-Stream shape seems to be purely cosmetic, or perhaps it was designed for some other bike.

Welcome! The Tracer is an excellent bike for tall people. I am 6'3" with a 33" inseam, so I have a little more height in my torso than you. I find the seating position to be quite roomy with the seat in the high position. You may find that wind management is not as good as on the Tenere, but that can be improved with different windscreens. Some people (like me) prefer a large barndoor windshield, but others have good results with a smaller windscreen or no screen at all. It varies with personal preference, and fortunately there are a lot of aftermarket options available for this bike.

Maybe they only had it in certain areas? Oregon does emissions testing in the Portland and Medford areas, but not anywhere else. Fortunately I don't live in either of those areas.

Too bad you didn't get a matching beak.