DavidS

I have both top case and side cases on my Tracer. The top case is much easier to get into and store things I will need frequently. The side cases are very handy for things I don't need very often, but need them when I need them. (Think tool roll, rain gear, clothes if taking a longer trip, etc.)

I use my top case much, much more often than my side cases. It is just much easier to open the top case and find what I need. Side cases are great for luggage on overnight trips, tool rolls, and things you may not need very often, but you can't get by without them when you do need them. 

On 5/3/2023 at 6:58 PM, Wintersdark said:

Oh, I desperately wish I could just "go wandering" like that.  

I absolutely plan a route with twisty roads and such, but I need to have "I'll be here at this day" markers because I'm always squeezing trips into small bits of time off that are in no way flexible.  

I do something similar, though just with Maps on my phone, and have multiple individual-day routes pre-saved so I can just load up a route and go.  It's really handy to see each day how much riding time is left, so I know when I need to push, or can spend some time checking out something interesting I've happened on.  Doing individual days also lets me go off-route and have it recalculate to my original destination for the day live.  

But yeah.  I dream of the day that I can just... Go explore.  Props to those who can, it'd be an awesome low-stress way to travel.

Wandering is actually how I ride these days. Now to be clear, I am retired, and have the time to take trips (and I do). I also take day rides locally, typically averaging about 300-400 miles per day, 2-3 times a month.  (I do slow down considerably in the winter, and spend my time wrenching in the garage to get ready for the next Spring)  About once a year I plan a big trip, usually to see friends that I have abandoned in different parts of the country (US). But sometimes, I just pick a location and ride there, just to see what I find interesting.

My longest trip was from Fresno California to Jacksonville Florida, North to Deals Gap (Tail of the Dragon) and across the middle of the US through Denver back home to Fresno CA.  This trip required quite a bit of planning, and I had my daughter, who was my remote support team helping me find hotels and stopping locations for each night. ~7,000 miles round trip. I got new tires in Huntsville Alabama, and saw a lot of old friends along the way.

I found that when you pull into a hotel on a motorcycle, anywhere across the country, and try to check in, there are lots of folks who want to ask you questions or chat with you about your trip. 

Occasionally, my wife insists I spend some time at home, and fortunately, I live in Central California, and can find many good motorcycle rides throughout the central and southern parts of the state. I haven't ridden much in Northern California, but I plan to get up there soon to check it out. To the South I can get to Los Angeles/San Diego, north I get to ride the Pacific Coast highway from Santa Barbara up to Monterrey. Depending on the weather and season. In the summer, I can ride to the Southern US Border south, or north to the tip of California. (While I can ride up to Oregon and Washington, I spent 20+ years in Seattle, so you won't likely see me making that trek anytime soon.) And if I head east of my home, I can ride Yosemite and the Sierra Mountains, or north to several National Parks and Forests.

I certainly recognize how lucky I am, and plan to continue riding for as long as I am able. I'm sure the trips will someday get shorter, but there is really nothing like the experience of riding a motorcycle. I got my first bike at 19 years old, God Willing, I will continue to ride for another 20 years or so......

12 hours ago, Brentinpdx said:

What happens if you put the OEM plug back on the bike? If it stops dripping, your VW plug is probably the culprit.

Yep, you could try this, and it's free, but I seriously doubt the issue is with the VW plug, many of us from early on with the FJ09 and Tracer have been using the VW plug hack to increase the clearance of the oil pan. This reduced the incidences of bottoming out the plug and losing all your oil. This was a problem many a rider was experiencing. 

I suppose with all the changes since the original bike, they may have raised the oil pan plug, or even provided more ground clearance, making the likelihood of hitting the oil pan unlikely, but my personal opinion is having a low plug hanging under your oil pan was a poor decision by Yamaha, and more than a few folks have lost their oil pan  prematurely.

I would get a new Yamaha oil drain plug and washer.  (Just to be sure this isn't a damaged Oil drain plug) Drain the oil from your bike, and before you install the plug, look to see if you have any metal pieces around the plug opening. You can use a shop rag to lightly wipe the threads to remove anything stuck in, or around the plug. The oil rushing out when you drain your oil usually does a good job of removing any small contaminants in your oil pan.

Put some clean newspaper under the spot where it has been leaking oil, and see if you notice any more leaking. Go have dinner, and watch some TV, and get a good nights sleep. In the morning, check for oil around the oil plug screw and under your bike. 

Hopefully this will help you figure out if you truly have a leak, or if this is just oil dripping from your chain. (Yep, that was me once upon a time)

If after all that, it is still leaking, it is likely some kind. of crack in your oil pan, which will require removal and re-installing a new pan. BUT, that is not a likely scenario, unless you have bottomed out the bike a bunch during your crazy rides.

Good luck, 

I get 45-47 mpg with my Tracer 900 GT consistently, I think I was about  the same with my FJ09, but that was a long time ago, and my memory isn't that good, so who knows........

I'm sure he is riding his Velocette and looking down on you, and many others, enjoying riding up there and thankful for the memories of all the rest who have yet to come join him!

God Speed....

On 4/1/2019 at 8:17 AM, ryanyoule said:

wordsmith - you Sir, are an absolute gent!

Thanks so much! You've just saved me a whole lot of running around!!! Fuse located, new 3A fuse ordered!

Don't you just love it when a forum works???

Happy riding

Ry

hope you ordered a new spare for "Just in Case" last thing you need is being short on fuses. Or spare fuses....... Just ask me sometime.

On 4/23/2023 at 9:30 PM, Jayzonk said:

Good idea.  It would also be a good idea to know where the motorcycle tow truck guys might be so I can access them.  

Yep, it would be ideal if you had a motorcycle specific tow, although the regular auto tow vehicles can also handle motorcycles. Get an AMA membership, and they will send someone out to pickup you, and your motorcycle up. But don't wait until you have the need, there is a 72 hour wait period from when you sign/up and pay before you can use this service. 

2 hours ago, duckie said:

I wonder how the Van Buren sisters made their trip……https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Buren_sisters

I use good ole paper maps. Plus if ya can’t remember your routes taken is just sad.

Yep, my memory is exactly like my mom's, shit! I remember some things from 40-50 years ago, and other things I can't remember from 5 minutes ago. No rhyme or reason, but Riding at least allows me to get out and enjoy myself without well meaning, but annoying folks who always want to remind me my memory isn't very good! No offense intended, this is just my life!

2 hours ago, Jayzonk said:

Going to be going on a two-week tour through the US States in early summer on the '20 Tracer.  I think I'm ready but thought I would check to see what else I might need:

1) I've bought an MRA Vario X screen and am waiting for it to arrive.  Need to minimize some buffeting if I'm going to be riding daily for 500km a day.  At 5'11.5" I find the stock screen alright in the low position but would appreciate some higher wind coverage, depending on the weather.  Haven't tested the new screen but the reviews are excellent.

2) OEM top box and OEM panniers.  I know I'm not supposed to use the three together, but I won't be carrying a passenger, so I should be well under the gross vehicle weight limit (and any undue stress on the subframe).

3)Yamaha FJR liners - I have these, but they are a tad too big for the panniers, as they were designed for the FJR.  There are no Tracer 900GT specific liners from Yamaha.  Wondering if there might be an aftermarket company that makes some that fit well?

4) Have the OEM comfort seat but haven't tried it.  Anyone use it?

5) Tires.  I'm running the stock tires with 5000km on them.  I guess they're three years old at this point.  Should be adequate?  I'd like to have a sporty tire on the bike at some point.  What works well? 

6) What else do I need?  I have a spare tire kit, but do I need any other tools?  I don't have a phone mount but something easy would be good.  

 

I have done several long distance trips on my Tracer, including a trip from Fresno CA to Jacksonville, FL and back. Here are my suggestions, feel free to ignore if they don't apply to you, but think about each of them, they have saved me a lot during my long distance rides.

1) Don't install a new screen right before you take your trip (or any other modification for that matter) f. Make sure all your equipment, (windscreen, seats, and any new items you purchased for your bike, etc.) have been used by you for a while before you take them on a long trip. 

2) OEM top box and OEM Panniers should not be a problem on your Tracer. Just be careful about how much weight you carry in each bag. I found that If I carried 4 sets of clothes, I could always do my laundry at a friends house, or if necessary there are plenty of places to do your laundry in almost every town in America. Store heavy items in your side bags, not high in the top box. Makes the bike much more stable and less likely to shift when riding.

3) I used the Shad liners with the Yamaha hard side cases and they worked great. As a bonus, they have handles to make it easier to take them off the bike and carry into a hotel. Also, just opening the side cases and putting the shad case with my clothes in and locking it was super easy when I arrived at hotels.

4) ***Do Not use a NEW seat before a long trip*** please break it in first, and make sure it is comfortable for you, especially  make sure you take a few long rides with the new seat. (or keep using your old seat if you don't have time to properly break in the new seat.)

5) Tires wear out, and I had to purchase new tires on my trip. You can do the same, but it can be a bit of a hassle to find a shop on the road which has the tires you want and the time to service your bike. If you can make the trip without changing tires, no issue. If you will have to change tires, you should call ahead and have the shop where you plan on getting the tires changed order the tires you want and reserve a spot in the schedule to have them swap out your tires. But beware, you now have a date that you HAVE to be in a specific city at a specific time, while you are riding across country. (you could also replace the tires before your trip and not have to worry about them

6) Bring all the tools you currently use when doing basic maintenance on your bike. Get used to performing the maintenance tasks on your bike with only the tools from your tool roll. If you need something you don't have in the roll, you might want to add that in the roll, so you will have all the tools you might need on the road.

7) AMA Membership - Great for breakdowns on the road, they will tow you and your bike to a shop, so you can get it fixed and get back on the road quickly.

I'm sure I've missed something, but this is a good list. You might search for posts by me, as I did a more comprehensive post on my Cross Country trip from Fresno CA to Jacksonville FL and back again. I'm sure there are things in there I forgot to include here.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions.

For years I have been trying to track my motorcycle rides, using apps like my Garmin GPS, Rever, Calimoto, IPhone, and others. I haven't found a solution that does a good job for ME. Currently I plan a ride on Google maps to get the rough outline of the route, and the destinations I want to include on my ride. I can't find a way to easily import google maps into my GPS, so I have to manually enter the waypoints directly into my GPS, which is tedious and error prone. (yes, I'm guessing there is a way to do this, but I haven't found the secret key yet....)

What features I *think* I would Like:

1. Tracking should start when my motorcycle starts moving, and stop tracking when I stop the Motorcycle. Ideally this is automatic so I don't have to remember to start and stop the tracking when I stop for a snack, or take a bathroom break. If I stop for lunch, it should ask me if I want to continue the existing route, or let me start a new one.
   1. Key data points should be:
      1. mileage
      2. distance
      3. time and locations
      4. A map superimposed with the all the data points would be ideal.
2. My route should be able to be shown on a map system, ideally Garmin GPS, or Google Maps, since they are so widely used.
3. Showing my current route on the map would be important, so I can see where I have been, and plan any route changes decide where I should go next.
4. Once I finish the ride, I would want the route to be saved in a format that I can easily see the route, and  make notes regarding how I liked the route, total mileage, date of ride, mileage of the ride, etc. Google maps seems ideal for this.
5. Ability to Save this ride to favorites, Save this ride into a bucket of rides sorted by date, and other buckets like favorites, and group rides so you can share with others you ride with.

Maybe I'm crazy, and I'm the only one who finds this useful, but I'm throwing this out to see if others think it is a useful. If you have a better system that I'm not smart enough to devise, I'd love if you could share how you keep track of your rides.

David

On 3/17/2023 at 7:51 PM, Rick123 said:

Seems like you’ve been getting pretty low gas mileage... Comparing 900 to 9GT the only advantage is a lower seat height (which looks like it worked for you for last few years). Disadvantage - big price increase. Just my 2c.

Low mileage could be from riding in heavy Chicago traffic, just a thought.....

1 hour ago, betoney said:

You didn't mention your height or inseam, I ask since you consider the Tracer tall and heavy. 

The differences between the bike physically aren't that much, looking at the specs online, the Tracer 900 has a slightly taller seat but the Tracer 9's weight is slightly higher, possibly due to the IMU and electronic suspension and actuators/components and the Tracer 9's fuel capacity is only a few ounces more (averaging only 150 miles per tank sounds abnormally low). 

You could save thousands of dollars and get the seat reshaped but otherwise the physical size and capacity of the 2 bikes are too close to make a difference unless you want the new technology related to the IMU and the redesigned look.

What betoney said!!!!!!!!!

I once traded my old FJ09, fully outfitted with after market sparkles to the Tracer 900 GT. I quickly realized I had the newer version of my old bike, but not much improvement or extra features. I had added all the extra sparkles after market on my old bike, and my old bike was about the same in almost every way to the new tracer. And I still wish I could have the shorter wheel base like the original bike, I miss the character of the old FJ09.

On 3/7/2023 at 8:22 AM, KrustyKush said:

I’ve got a Corbin on my 21GT. It moves back and down, about an inch. I needed a handlebar riser to accommodate my preferred slightly-forward-lean ride position. I am very happy with the Corbin. 

I think there is a rubber piece that is under the seat that you can use to adjust the movement a bit, not perfect, but it does help.

I have had two Corbin seats on two different bikes. The break in period does take a while, and I highly recommend the Corbin Seat Conditioner to help speed up the break in process and make the seat more pliable. 

With my first bike, I just rode on the seat and it took a while before it was comfortable. The second, I used their Conditioner and it shortened the time to achieve real comfort. I would apply the conditioner once a week. (if you are a daily rider)

As with everything, your mileage will vary. But I have found the Corbin seat to be very comfortable and I have been sitting on one for over 5 years. Corbin has been around for 50+ years, and their customer reviews are pretty positive.  

And no, I don't have any connection or relationship with Corbin or their staff, I'm just a happy customer.....

I think folks may be over thinking this. Adjust the chain so that there is about 1-1.5 inches of slack (after the rear wheel nut is tightened) and go riding......

On 1/28/2023 at 1:46 PM, Garz747 said:

The only way shes going out is if i fit a front ski and a rear rubber track lol. It sure is hard to wait 4 months!

The only other option I can see would be to move to Southern California or Arizona or Texas.......

Agree with all the others, starting the bike mid winter, should be avoided. If you plan on taking it out and doing some significant riding, sure - go ahead. but if you really aren't going to ride much (if any) in the winter, leave it until the weather warms up before you start the bike.

Maybe a little off topic, but I have replaced my stock Tracer (and previous FJ-09 Seat) with Corbin Seats. They are very comfortable, especially for long distances. I have ridden cross country, from Fresno CA to Jacksonville, FL. (and back)

I would recommend the Corbin seat for anyone who likes to ride a lot of miles....

I keep thinking I'm going to get a Tenere 700, but for some reason, I don't really every do it. Probably due to the fact I don' have any buddies that like to ride-off road, and I think having another rider (or two) would be prudent.

I'll keep riding my Tracer, but you never know when I will find that perfect deal and get an off road motorcycle to go in my garage. 

My personal opinion is that putting knobby tires on a tracer is a bad idea. If you take that bike on anything more than a dry hard packed trail, you will eventually bottom out the oil pan and quickly lose all your oil. 

The Tracer oil pan is very low to the ground, and the stock suspension is not very good. 

My opinion only, worth everything you paid for it.......

On 12/22/2022 at 2:30 PM, nhchris said:

All good. I think the thermostat location makes it very sensitive to temp changes.  My FJ heats up quickly at a stop light to over 200 and once the fans come on drops quickly also.

And 100 f over ambient seems about normal when running 45mph or more.

The FJ has a BIG radiator for its displacement and all three cylinders out in the wind.

I had similar issues with my 2015 FJ09, and because of a few other issues, I took it to 2Wheel Dynoworks in Seattle for a Flash. They had a list of things they have done with other FJ09 motorcycles, and they asked me a few questions to get an idea about what I wanted done. They knew all the issues that other riders had complained about, so they aren't starting from scratch and the new settings made the FJ09 much more comfortable to ride. The new settings were appropriate to me. (they also do mail in service if you aren't in the Seattle area) and I'm pretty sure there are other shops in other states/cities that can help if you just want a flash. 

The flash makes a huge difference in how the bike rides, well worth looking into.....

I have the 2020 GT Tracer. I had to upgrade from my 2015 FJ09 due to an unfortunate (non life threatening) accident. 

3 hours ago, Bimbim18 said:

I would've flown to Canada to get one and bring it back... I live 2 miles from the Florida keys... 

3 hours ago, Bimbim18 said:

I would've flown to Canada to get one and bring it back... I live 2 miles from the Florida keys... 

Now that would be one hell of a trip.......

I had the Grip Puppies on my old FJ-09, not my new Tracer. That being said, I never had any problems with them on the FJ09. They were very comfortable, reduced fatigue when riding long distances, and looked good on the bike. I had mine for 2 years before I upgraded to the tracer, so I can't vouch for long term use, but I did like them very much.

On 10/29/2022 at 4:42 PM, betoney said:

Interesting, is that sitting static?  My ground clearance is almost 7" when its on the center stand.  When sitting static its about 5-3/4" and that's with the shock length extended.

I measured with the bike on the Center Stand.........