wordsmith

Might do just that now that we can legally ride out > 50km from our homes!

So, 2and3, what's your trick to getting on and off to deal with your issues, if I may? That's my problem too, unfortunately...

An alternative may be to buy a set of cheap covers for both sides and install them.. This will not only completely hide the damage but protect against more if you drop it again...

I'm shocked that you're shocked, knyte, for there has been a heap of discussion on this very point over the years, with no really good reasons being put forward, tho' plenty of opinions - including from me! But I note that you are a new member, and you'll surely catch-up sooner or later. Take a look at these posts: How is such a great bike so unpopular!? By Zach26, April 18 in FJ-09 Tracer 900 General Discussions Reply to this topic Start new topic

Something like a 'Power Booster' - which despite its name doesn't actually boost power - may help. It slightly enriches air/ fuel mixture at very small throttle openings to keep the power output nice and smooth.

I went the other - and I think easier - way, and using a flat file took off some of the plastic 'threads' on the plug by a mm or less. Found this a great deal easier than filing the very hard metal of the hole!

Reddish Copper? Sounds like a slightly leftish-leaning London pleeceman...

Well, the colour certainly isn't a true red, as in Ferrari or (more within my price-range) London bus. I quite like it, but would like to see the 'flash or 'swoosh' on the tank more pronounced.

Is this the Tomato-Orange paint job 2020 model you have there, kilo, which has been the topic of some conversation here in Oz recently - and not yet escaped from Yamaha's warehouses here! If so, you'd likely know the correct name for that reddish colour... TIA...

Interesting indeed! Some years ago when looking for a replacement for my then BMW R1200 R I was attracted by Yamaha's then-definition of the FJR (at that time with a 5-speed gearbox) as its 'Performance Tourer'. Shaft drive 'n' all of course, and maybe at that time with a 1200cc motor.... a short test-ride showed it to be very nice and smooth, powerful enough, but a bit too porky for me. I though the 'Performance Tourer' monniker was a good one.

Simple fact is, Chris - here Down Under at least, it simply doesn't sell! I could count on the fingers of one foot how many Tracers I have seen on the road - and even fewer GTs. H-Ds by the score, GS's by the dozen, MT-09s by the ambulance-full, but Tracers: what Tracers...? Which baffles me as it represents such great value down here, with hard panniers included, and even with price rises since the bike was first launched in 2015 (?) still very affordable, currently <AUD$20K on-road. But most motorcyclists don't usually concern themselves with value, it's the riding experience that counts, and IMHO there too the CP3 range is unbeatable. Colour me very perplexed!

DO NOT LOSE THAT RED MASTER KEY! Costs about $600 to replace with a genuine Yamaha item.

Some European dealers may have what you seek: try Silverstone (Motors): motostorm.it: chromeburner. An Oz retailer has some stock - <info@ctaaustralia.com.au.

< four (4) months in my hands, but very little used thanks to you-know-what! Now at only 13,312km from new (2017).

Que? Puts hands to sleep... this is smooth? Que?? (No offence intended Chris!).

Latest 'intelligence' - if you can call it that - is that here in Oz Yamaha has held back supply to dealerships of the 2020 colours such as the Tomato-Orange-Red until existing stock of the 'blurple' earlier models has cleared. At the current rate of sales uptake we shall all be in covid-24 by then!

TO ANYBODY WITH A GT AND A BAGSTER SEAT: It would be of great interest to me to know as precisely as possible the difference in seat height IN THE LOWER position between the stock OE seat and the Bagster seat. Quaxum above says he finds the Bagster seat a lot lower than stock - this interests me! If true, and if making it easier for me to get on and off the GT without having to resort to Folies Bergere high-kicks or growing a pair of flamingo-length legs I'm in (again!). Maybe...

Send me tickets, Keith, and I'll be there in a flash!

You could follow the lead of many here and simply use some Plasti Dip in an appropriate red. It apparently peels off leaving no trace (geddit) of it anywhere. Dazzler24 may care to chip in...

Strangely, I see and read very few "I hit a kangaroo" tales here Down Under. I join in wishing davec719 all the best after his ordeal, and his ever-loving too. Comes a time when we shall all have to give up riding.

Without wishing to sound like a moaning Minnie or cracked record - and focussing a bit more on this thread's headline - Yamaha's marketing and lack of response to the customer is woeful. Within the past week I have sent an on-line contact form to Yamaha's Oz HQ asking if they can tell me where I might see the Tomato colour. Response: nil. I also had a discussion with a local dealer from whom I'd bought a bike before, asking him to look into it for me, and advise. Deathly silence. Baffling to me, after all I only want to spend about $20,000 with them... LATER EDIT: I finally got a response to my query to Yamaha's Oz HQ. Here it is - hardly helpful, as the location mentioned is a good 600km from me. And yes - it could make for a useful couple of days on the road, there and back, but I cannot cross the border into that State, about 90km away! And you'll note that the response does not even mention the name or contact details of the dealership. They don't really want to sell them, do they! It appears as though no QLD dealer has a unit of the new Tracer GT model in the Tech Black colour scheme on their floor stock. The only retailer I have listed as having one as part of their floor stock is in Port Macquarie NSW, but Yamaha retailers are free to place an order for the model if they so choose to as they are currently in stock. Kind Regards Frank De Marco

Thanks, Kevin - some good insights and pix there!

I undertook a long (~15,000km over five weeks) circuit around Australia several years ago on my BMW R1200 GS. I wanted the peace-of-mind of having some fuel with me on some of the very long isolated sections where neither man nor beast nor fuel was to be seen, nor cell-phone connection to be had. I made-up a kind-of bracket that sat securely on the pillion foot-peg, and on that I strapped a 5L plastic fuel 'can'. I only filled it when approaching the more isolated parts of my journey, such as the ~ 900k crossing of the Nullabor, and it was carried empty for most of my journey. All the weight was taken on the pillion-peg and because it was so low down if anything it stabilised the bike somewhat. FWIW... LATER EDIT: you can see red the fuel 'can' on the bike: and did I say 'remote'? Touch wood, I didn't have to dip into that 'reserve' (bike's tank held 20L) but it was touch-and-go at times!

Excellent communication from the local SW-MOTECH distributor. They have the entire kit in-stock as shown in the pic above and linked below. That's one potential headache out of the way! Quite reasonably priced too. "We have the Adventure Rack in stock in Sydney, you can see and purchase it here. https://www.motorradgarage.com.au/adventure-luggage-racks-sw-motech/2826-adventure-rack-yamaha-mt-09-tracer-900gt-18-"

Small world, this! I too - wife and two small kiddies in tow - migrated here in 1969. The British leader and democracy icon I always respected (and still do) alas had a name a bit too long for even a WA registration-plate - Winston Churchill.