kingfisher

The seats look great, will look forward to your review when available. I'm especially interested in whether or not the foreword slope present with the stock seat has been resolved. Take some time to recuperate from your travels. Sounds like a good trip.

This is the key point in chain adjustment for me; loosen the axle nut only enough to allow the adjusters to move the axle enough to proper slack, then tighten the axle nut to proper tightness. Adjustment usually will not change at all. If you loosen the axle nut to full loose, adjust, and tighten, it always changes. The axle nut can still be mildly tight, but will still move with adjuster force. Also, a little goes a long way in adjusting. I've found that about 1/8 turn of the adjuster will take up about 0.25 inches of slack. If you over tighten the chain, loosen the axle nut fully, shorten the adjusters some, and again partially tighten the axle nut and repeat the above.

You are going to have a good time with this bike. I’ve had mine since April of this year and after 11,000 miles still enjoy it as much as when new. The gas gauge is the same as on my FJ 09 that I had before, no movement until about 90 miles, then it starts dropping. The fuel remaining/consumed function feature is pretty accurate though; if it says 2.5 gallons left, for example, it has always been within 0.2 gallons or so at fill up. The motor is superb, and will only get better. It continues to loosen up and get even stronger over the first 10,000 miles, in my experience. I like A mode with traction control setting 1, personally. No lack of power.

PS, Larz, now I’ve got that darn Blue Velvet song going through my head.😆

I like it. I have used Plasti Dip twice on bike projects; planned to just try it for a while and remove it, but it holds up well and ended up leaving it. It is easy to use. It never seems to run and you can put nice thick coats on it. The thicker coat jobs are actually easier to remove later. I agree, I’d peel it off the grab rails, it needs a black accent on the rear to balance out the black tank and fender up front. I vote for spraying the grab rails with the black metallic color and finish with Plasti Dip clear coat. I just saw all these colors at Auto Zone recently. I may have to follow your lead and try some changes too...

As Ddog and StealthAu said, everyone will have an individual opinion, mine is the Dunlop Roadsmart 3’s. It is my go to street tire on all my bikes. Good mileage and wet/dry traction with good handling even when they get worn. I’ve had them on bikes from an FZ 09 to a Concours 14, and they were great. A lot better than the stock Dunlops on the GT.

If you like it now, I think you will find that it continues to get better with some mileage. This is the 4th bike with this triple cylinder powerplant that I’ve had, (what can I say, I like this motor,) and I find that it takes more time to fully break in than some other powerplants. Every one of them seemed to take about 5,000 miles to peak power output. Must be tightly assembled. You referred to sport mode; if you meant A mode, that is my favorite. It is a significant change from std, and lets that raw triple torque be felt, especially in the midrange. In this 2019 iteration it is not too abrupt in fueling, at least to me. I’ve had more powerful bikes, but the output of this engine never fails to exite.

Just received e mail notice that my Corbin seat shipped today, 9 days after ordering it.

After 6,000 plus miles, I've given up on the stock seat and have a Corbin ordered. I have a Corbin on another bike now and had one on my FJ 09, and like them and how they fit me. Just wish I could have moved the seat from the FJ to the GT. Will try to sell the old seat when I get around to it.. Corbin said current production time from ordering is about 3 weeks, will see if that pans out.

After trading for the GT, I used it as designed, and took a 3,400 mile trip through the southwestern US. The bike is good on long interstate runs, where the cruise control is appreciated, but is a total blast when the roads become twisty. The power of the triple is great, even at elevation. The riding ergonomics are good for long days in the saddle. The stock suspension worked fine for me with some extra preload to compensate for the load. The stock windscreen works well to deflect wind, but is noisy. No buffeting for me. The seat padding is ok, but I do not understand why many of the manufacturers build seats that slope foreward like this one. The combination of foreward slope and grippy cover material makes for an uncomfortable backside. A Corbin is planned. Overall, a great bike.

No problem. I learned this from doing the same thing on my Super Tenere. You are not alone in creating mishaps...

You are welcome. Those 50 amp fuses are usually available at the auto parts store. You may still be able to ride tomorrow.

Diagram.

Should be a 20 amp fuse, in the main fuse box.

Probably two blown fuses, the 50 amp main fuse and the fuel injector fuse. Check both, replace, and all will likely be OK.

I have a Super Tenere also; the suspension on the S10 is a lot more comfortable on rough roads. It is made for off road, and handles rough pavement with ease. I find the stock suspension on the GT to be quite good for me, once I adjusted for proper preload, but it is a suspension designed for sport bike use on normal pavement, and is never going to be as compliant as the S10.

You will enjoy it. I’ve toured on multiple bikes, small to large, and the GT is one of the best. It has a power to weight edge on the big touring bikes and is much more agile on the tight twisty roads. It is good at eating miles on the interstate where cruise control is welcome. It has the superb triple engine that loves to be unleashed. I’m enjoying mine.

Our local dealer received a Niken GT, and I was able to test ride it. It was an amazing experience. Looking at the bike you would expect a heavy front end feel with slower transitions taking turns; not so. It feels like my GT 900; slight countersteer pressure results in immediate lean that truly feels as light as a two wheeled bike when in motion. Very precise and effortless. Slow speed full lock u turns are very stable and easy. I spoke with another rider who said that if you didn’t know it had two front wheels, that you would be hard pressed to tell it was not a normal two wheeled bike. I would agree after riding the bike, but never would have before riding. So what is the Niken? It is NOT a crutch type bike for the aged and infirm. It is a sport touring motorcycle with with the agility of a sport touring bike with increased front end grip and bump absorption. It also garners a lot of attention and curiosity from other motorists. Be prepared for lots of interest and questions from others.

Ride more, worry less. If I disqualified from ownership / enjoyment every bike that I’ve had that has an inherent noise, I would have missed out on some great bikes. My FJ 09 was a noisy beast, and completely trouble free, as have been a number of other bikes.

I have noticed it when compressing the forks up and down at a stop and occasionally can sense it when traversing railroad tracks at very low speed, but it is not felt or heard at all in normal riding including riding over bumps, etc. The suspension feels great in use. Nothing feels loose, etc. Interestingly enough, I have felt/heard the same thing in a 2016 FJR that I have ridden lately.

After 36,000 FJ 09 miles, I made the switch. I think that the FJ is one of the best bikes I’ve owned; never one problem was experienced. However, the GT is a better bike. Thankfully, the great triple engine is unchanged. The quality of fit and finish is better. The stability with the extended wheelbase is improved. I like the TFT dash, the cruise control, and the suspension is better than on my 2015. I like that the drive mode doesn’t return to std everytime the engine is stopped. It stays in A mode which I prefer. The stock seat is much better than the FJ’s. No need to buy an aftermarket seat for me. The sum of the changes finally made me upgrade, I’m glad I did.

One other tip, wear rubber gloves. The stains came off the pipes easier than it did off my hands afterwards, after not wearing gloves..

I assume they are stainless, but not sure. Some of the blotches of discoloration looked like rust, but I think they were just stains; after removal, there was no pitting like I’d expect with rusting. I believe that the stains are just the product of road grime, etc, and the extreme heat of the headers. In any event, it came off pretty easily. Reading the contents of the Kaboom cleanser didn’t reveal anything particularly toxic, but I did put up a barrier of aluminum foil behind the pipes to prevent overspray from contacting the engine block, etc. I’m not sure that was necessary, but it seemed like a good idea.

I’ve read of multiple methods to clean headers and most sound labor intensive with relatively toxic materials. A suggestion I found online is to use Kaboom bathroom cleanser and a scotchbrite pad. It sounded too simple, but it works great. Spray on the headers, wait a couple of minutes and then scrub with the pad. About five minutes of scrubbing followed by wiping clean with a microfiber towel was all it took to remove the last 22,000 miles of accumulted stains.

Looks great, the red welt on the seat looks good with the red rim tape.