piotrek

Re-packed steering head bearings and finally installed the windscreen/dash stay. Removed OE valve/shim stacks from the fork cartridge. Race Tech's DVS website didn't return the config... I will have to reach out to them next week. Photo of the OE compression and rebound stacks, as well as OE valve comparison with the Race Tech hardware (top=rebound, bottom=compression).

Load is noted by weight in the 2018 Tracer 900 NA manual.

Fabricated a cartridge holding tool and took the cartridge apart. I was anxious to not turn the project into a set of new cartridges... and thankfully all went according to plan. Big props to TwoWheelObsession for the How-To. Followed pretty much as shown, with tweaks here and there. Not going any further until I get the valve kit next week. The holding tool was made from a 15" piece of 1" electrical conduit I had in the garage. OD was just a hair larger than required, so I bent the ends inward a little, just enough to still comfortably clear some bits in the way. I filed the outside to clean things up and reduce the size just slightly. Tool fits and works great. Saved $100CAD.

Beast beheaded... broken part extracted. Going to tidy up cabling while I wait for the new one. Better look at the damage (R + L)

Noticed my dash display vibrating fore and aft a little more than usual during several rides last week. Initially thought that it was just play inside the many rubber grommets in that entire assembly up front, but nope... cracked stay support/brace. Immediately remembered reading this thread. I was going to try and enjoy another couple of weeks of riding, but it looks like I'm done for the season. Might weld it up and reinforce other spots while at it. If not... #17 on the parts fiche, not expensive at ~$140CAD, just a pain to replace. The Kappa screen (shortened 3") and the X-Creen Tour deflector might have been just a little too much for that rather thinly stay assembly. I know it took a beating on the James Bay trip, but who knows. I might re-think my windscreen choice to something more aerodynamic. For now... I guess I have work to do.

Also quite doable with just a scissor jack under the exhaust header, or the cross-over pipe for better leverage to pivot the bike on the centre stand. I usually tweak the height so I can pull the axle and just roll the wheel out. Things align nicely and little to no lifting involved. YMMV.

Decided to get a fresh set of tires for my James Bay run next week. I must have removed the axle at least 4 times in the three seasons without issues... and now this. It was on there pretty stubborn-like. Hope I can source parts quickly and still rescue the trip.

Chain finally riveted (5.85mm). I used a tool from DID (KM500R)... cost a small fortune, but it's a solid tool. Ram screw threads are clean and cut accurate (no binding when worked by hand), riveting pin has depth limiter... and it's all steel. I am sure I could have bought and experimented with cheaper tools... but my experience with Motion Pro PBR was enough. Their Jumbo tool looked like a solid kit, but about the same price as the DID tool. Back on the road... all that matters.

Took the bike on the Friday the 13th pilgrimage to Port Dover ON... my daughter in tow, her first glimpse at the motorcycling shadowy underworld, and she liked it . Got the T-shirt, saw the town and some of the gong show, some food and ice cream... making memories.

That's on there so I can monitor suspension travel. I generally followed advise described on this website.

Finally got my hands on Terry's seat... wait, that sounded wrong. Hectic day today as we're getting ready to leave for March break at the crack of dawn, but slapped the seat on the bike and quickly planted my butt in it... felt very nice... but that is certainly no test. Have to wait another three weeks or so to start riding (I will update). I am happy with my choice of vinyl (black all around) though... very natural. In the meantime, some quick shots. The seat looks to be very well made, and dealing with Terry and his wife Debi was a treat. Old school small business. Hey @pieyed07, hope you don't mind me tacking onto your thread.

In the event anyone is going this route (I am)... Terry sent me some samples of the top-of-seat vinyl, so I thought I'd share. Photo shows the three samples placed on the OE pillion seat for reference. My impressions... left to right: PANTERA. Least grip and most rigid. Note how the edges curled up after sitting in a mail box in cold temps. Less grip than OE; ROUGH. Most grip and most flexible. Very rough texture (80 grit sandpaper)... if you don't like moving about. More grip than OE; BLACK. Good grip, flexible and most leather-like. This goes on the side of the seat regardless of what goes on top. More grip than OE; I will go with the BLACK. All very subjective, both feel and look. The BLACK has just a bit more grip than OE. PANTERA and BLACK are both a little thicker than OE, while ROUGH is about the same.

I am going to tack onto this thread (topical I think) with some notes and photos from my steering head bearing inspection (25K kms). In short, all was good... bearings, races and grease looked (and felt) new. The bearing nut let go very easily, so it was not over-torqued as some others have experienced. The top nut (holding the upper tree) was on there pretty good though. The bearing balls are in poly-something cages. Grease was very tacky (thick and stretchy-like), more so than your average wheel bearing grease. All will go back the way it came out, with fresh grease. Secured the bar and upper tree assembly with a big-ass zip-tie, right over the dash display cage: Before removing the bearing nut(s) secured the lower tree with bungee cords: All the loose bearing bits on the bench... and in order of assembly: Lower and upper races (in steering head):

IMPORTANT NOTES: This procedure involves adjusting a component in a throttle-by-wire system. Do this at your own risk. See Service Manual Page 7-12. MCCruise cruise control owners.. you will need to re-calibrate your cruise control system after making changes to the APS. I checked and adjusted the APS yesterday. It is very much possible to do with just the rear of the tank raised (as far as it will go), with plenty of space to work with, if you have the right tool. I sacrificed an 8mm 1/4" drive socket (5/16" socket works too), a 7/32" hex key (or whatever key will fit) and a piece of flat metal something (I used a vise to press it in) to make the tool. Worked like a charm. The idea is to adjust the physical position of the APS to make sure the diagnostic readout lands inside multiple sets of value ranges, two for DIAG 14 and two for DIAG 15 (I understand the two are used for redundancy, since this is a throttle-by-wire system). Make sure to make note of your stock values before you loosen the APS bolts, then loosen them just so you can rotate the APS with a bit of force... not loose. First, getting into the diagnostic mode (start with ignition in OFF position): On the dash display, press "TCS" (1) and "RESET" (2) buttons together, and turn the ignition key to ON... and wait about 8s until "SELECT" + "ECU" show on the display. ]Press "TCS" and "RESET" buttons together again for about 2s, until "DIAG" shows on the display. Press "TCS" and "RESET" buttons together again for about 2s, until "DIAG" + "DATA" show on the display. You are now in the diagnostic mode, and you can switch through "DIAG" modes by pressing the "TCS" and "RESET" buttons. Keep toggling the "TCS" button until you get to "DIAG 14". The "DATA" value displayed will be the value you'll be adjusting with the APS. When done with "DIAG 14", toggle the "TCS" button and go to "DIAG 15". To leave the diagnostic mode, turn ignition to OFF. In DIAG 14, adjust the APS output with the throttle closed (rotating the sensor clockwise increases the value), and then open the throttle fully and check that it's still within the required range. I adjusted for the position that landed at the lowest possible value at closed throttle, but still inside both ranges. The lower the DIAG values, the smoother the throttle is supposed to become as you open it from the closed position. In DIAG 15, do pretty much the same thing... but of course the range of adjustability will be limited by what was done in DIAG 14, which is why the manual tells us to go back and forth between DIAG 14 and DIAG 15... to check that we're still inside the ranges for both DIAG modes. Tighten things up, and double-checked the readings. My test ride didn't reveal any miracles, likely because the stock figures weren't that much different. Yours may be different, so it's worth checking and adjusting if needed. My results... Physical position of the APS... before and after.