DavidS

On 3/29/2024 at 7:51 PM, Bob K said:

Get the shorter than factory , racing screen . No wind to your neck area & clean air at the helmet . Also the bike tracks straight down the road in the wind . If you want to set back & smoke going down the road get a HD .

I went with the Madstad screen, they have both short and long styles, and I really like mine.

Sometimes after market accessories are better............ or at least less stressful..........

On 4/12/2024 at 8:59 AM, skipperT said:

Hey all, please chime in with any info:

Have ANY of you 900 Tracer/GT/FJ/MT folks upgraded your suspension with WP parts; shock or fork internals? Or know of anyone?

TIA,

Skip

I have taken my bike to a motorcycle suspension shop to have mine adjusted, but I didn't replace any of the parts or fork internals. It did improve the ride significantly, and I'm sure if I had  replaced parts it would be even better. But, cost was an issue and in the end, I'm very happy with the performance after the changes. 

On 3/29/2024 at 7:51 PM, Bob K said:

Get the shorter than factory , racing screen . No wind to your neck area & clean air at the helmet . Also the bike tracks straight down the road in the wind . If you want to set back & smoke going down the road get a HD .

I have used the Madstad screens since I have been riding the FJ-09 and Tracer many years ago. I think they are well made and effective. But not pretty.......

But I guess that is in the eye of the buyer now isn't it.........

No question, Advanced Rider Courses will make you a better rider, but you should be prepared to drop your bike during the class. You can sometimes rent a bike and use theirs, but your skills will improve more if you are riding your own bike. 

Certainly add protective gear to protect the bike in the event of a fall. If you really don't like the protection, you can remove the gear after the class.

As one instructor told me, if you aren't falling, you aren't learning......

9 hours ago, kyle J said:

One of my concerns is I've seen alot of comments regarding vibration in the bars and footpegs ,

how bad is it and what ways have you guys been able to reduce them ? should I even worry about it ?

Well that is a subjective thing to define. It is a triple, which does lend it to be a bit rumbly, but I frequently ride long distances (ie cross country) and I have never found it to be uncomfortable or difficult to ride long distances. 

A test drive should be able to help you assess the vibration level. But remember, it's not a Harley, it is a modern motorcycle built in Japan (and France I think)

On 3/27/2024 at 3:27 PM, kyle J said:

Kyle,

I have a similar pathway as you. I rode all the time when I was in in college, (Yamaha Exciter I). But upon graduation, I moved to Los Angeles. I had to move across country and thought the furniture would be more useful than my motorcycle. (Wow, what was I thinking.....)

Moved to Los Angeles, Got Married, successful career, and didn't really think about motorcycle riding much at all. The LA freeways and crazy stupid drivers in LA kept me from thinking about riding. 

Wife wanted to move back closer to her roots in Washington State, so there I went. Once I got there, I quickly bought a Yamaha FJ-09. I rode that for a few years, until I slid on a patch of ice on the way to work at 5:00am. Insurance totaled the bike. I was fine, and still wanted to ride, so I bought the new Tracer 900 GT.

All that to let you know I have experience with both the FJ-09 AND the Tracer motorcycles.  

My advice, (worth every penny you are paying for it) is to get the newer Tracer. It comes with some very nice upgrades which make the bike very comfortable for short and even longer rides. It comes with traction control, better brakes, better suspension (better, not great though)

I have ridden my Tracer cross country from Fresno CA to Jacksonville FL, up to North Carolina and back across to the west coast along the middle of the country. Took me about a month, and I got to see a lot of friends I hadn't seen in a very long time.

You won't be sorry about getting the Tracer GT. 

On 3/27/2024 at 3:27 PM, kyle J said:

 

 

Hello all !   I've decided to get a Bike after a long hiatus ( 30 years ) and need some help. .........

 

 

On 10/27/2023 at 5:08 AM, thanks4thefish said:

What oil did you use to replace it?

 

The shop used the oil from their drum, I replaced it with Rotella T6 as soon as I got home.

On 12/27/2023 at 6:18 PM, betoney said:

...........

The battery on my '15 FJ never failed me but its definitely getting up there in age, I travel to some remote locations and didn't want to press my luck so even though the bike was still starting and operating fine I replaced it earlier this year.

When I was in Seattle, it was cold in the winter and the bike didn't get out much due to the snow and cold. I did keep it on a tender, but new batteries are less than $100, so I just replace them after 2 years and keep my peace of mind.....

On 12/23/2023 at 10:03 AM, betoney said:

On any brand new bike, I have always done the first oil change within the first 100 miles and then again at 1000 miles - personal preference, your's may vary.

 

I agree, on my tracer 900 GT I just drove it home and changed the oil. Of course it was winter in Seattle, so I wasn't going to do any long rides in that weather, but I got a good deal on the bike.........

After that I change the oil every 3000 miles or so....

I'm with Eventhorizon, I will wait a bit more.

It's not that I think the technology is bad, but the old batteries work fine. If I need to shed weight, going on a diet would be my first step. I'd hate to blow up my rear end just to lose a few lbs of weight. I know the odds are these things are safe, but I'll give it a bit more time before I jump in.

On 10/27/2023 at 5:08 AM, thanks4thefish said:

What oil did you use to replace it?

 

I replaced the unknown new oil they added at the shop with Rotella T6 - thats the only oil I use on my Tracer 900 gt

12 hours ago, thanks4thefish said:

What oil did you use to replace it?

 

Rotella T6

On 10/7/2023 at 5:32 AM, 2and3cylinders said:

Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 is also MA rated even though it's advertised as a diesel ⛽️ oil.

It's base stock is not PAO and 5W may sound thin but I ride down to 32F and never in 100,000s of miles have had an oil issue on a few bikes.

At $22 a gallon you can't beat its value! 

I have also been using Shell Rotella T6 for years, and wouldn't use anything else. I just took my bike to have a safety check at my local mechanic, and when I arrived he told me he replaced the oil as a courtesy. When I asked him what oil he used, I just replaced the oil with Rotella T6 when I got back home.....

Yep, I had the same issue. I adjusted the height by adding shims under the front lip of the tank where the front of the seat meets the tank.

Mine stays at the top line, I check every time I do an oil change and haven't seen any loss - currently around 31K miles. 

On 8/20/2023 at 7:49 AM, whisperquiet said:

Absolutely not……that cuts into riding time.

Well, if you live in IL, that might be a problem given the extended winters and weather 

But in Sunny California, you can ride year round, and that puts a lot of road grime and crud on the bike. I typically clean mine after about 3 or 4 rides, or when the bike ends up coated with grime.

I don't wash my bike after every ride, I know, I know........

But when it is time, I take it down to the self service car wash and put in a few quarters and spray it clean. I make sure I get everything soaking wet, and the bugs are soft and come off easily and stand back a ways to reduce the pressure on the bike.

I have been doing this for a long time, and it seems to work great for me.

You need an ECU flash, I have used https://2wheeldynoworks.com/ twice. Once for my FJ09 and again for my Tracer 900 GT. They are based in Kirkland Washington, just outside Seattle. You can remove and send your ECU to them and they can do it remotely, or if you have someone near you that has the know-how and you trust them, you can have them do it locally.

It isn't hard for them to do a flash, but you want to make sure they know what they are changing, and have the expertise to improve your bike's performance. 

Good Luck! When you get it done, you will have a very big smile on your face as you ride for the first time. (and every time after that too.......)

hmmmm, I never knew that - I just checked the left mirror

Thanks for catching that betoney.....

Right handed...... but you should be able to turn them easily with a wrench. They aren't super tight and that way you can adjust them on a ride by just pushing the rear view mirror. Sometimes, if you get a used bike, someone might have cranked them down super tight, but I find that with them a little looser, they don't move much when riding, and I can make adjustments while riding for better visibility.

hope this helps.....

My advice would be to NOT lower the bike. It is already very low to the ground and you risk bottoming out the oil pan if you hit something on the road. You aren't riding an off-road bike with loads of clearance, this bike can scrape the ground without working too hard, and that could be catastrophic for your oil pan........ 

Yeah, I know the BMW has more features and is more refined than the Tracer 900 GT, but the Tracer is more fun to ride in my opinion.

1. Lighter to pickup up when dropped (BMW is 125 lbs heavier than the Tracer)
2. More twitchy and flickable when riding
3. More snappy when twisting the throttle
4. And I can do all the maintenance in my garage, and even if I want to let Yamaha do the work it will be much less expensive than the BMW.
5. Cost new is $15K for the Tracer and $21K for the BMW. And servicing at the BMW dealership will cost a lot more than Yamaha's service department. And doing basic maintenance by myself reduces the cost of ownership even more.

I have ridden my Tracer across the country (and back), and I never once felt swapping for the BMW made any sense (or cents). I do have experience on the current BMW GS, and it is a phenomenal machine, but the additional costs make it a less attractive purchase. 

I don't have any issues adjusting the chain on my Tracer 900 GT. It takes less than 5 minutes, and I always adjust them when I return from my rides. That way, they are ready to go when I want to get out of the house quickly and go riding. 

My post ride ritual is to put the bike in the garage, and do a quick inspection for loose items, and other things that could have become loose or lost during my ride. I wipe down the bike with some rags, clean the wind shield, and then check the chain adjustment (and adjust if necessary) I also re-check my chain tension before starting any rides.

It really only takes a few minutes to accomplish all this, and gives me a chance to look for anything that may be a hazard before my next ride. 

Don't re-use crush washers, they are disposable items and WILL start to leak over time.....

AND, they are only about 50 cents each. Buy in bulk so you always have a bunch ready for your oil change.