betoney

I personally like this much better than the GT model. Better riding position and less body panels and (subjectively) nicer looking. https://www.cycleworld.com/bikes/suzuki-gsx-s1000gx-first-look/

If the insurance company is willing to give you a settlement check, I see no reason to put time, effort and money into refurbishing it and still have a salvage title, take the money and leave the headache behind. If you are still injured, you have all winter to heal up and 'window shop' on the internet.

I am not sure of the charging output but I use my heated vest controller via the SAE cable direct to the battery. I also use the factory heated grips and wired in accessory Denali DRL lights, Garmin GPS, battery voltmeter and USB charger without issue.

With the first Gen FJ a suspension upgrade is an enormous improvement, the best money you will ever spend on the bike.

Just curious, if you are wanting to upgrade the shock, why are you considering a Tracer shock? The only difference I can think of between an FJ shock and a Tracer shock is the remote preload adjuster, the spring and damping will be just as basic between the two.

Are you absolutely sure that the battery came out of the bike in that orientation and didn't get flipped around? I say that because if you rotate the battery 180 degrees and then lay it over on its right side, the battery terminals will then be in the correct orientation with positive on top. There have been many post of owners here and on the FZ/MT09 forum getting it backward and bike always blows a main fuse if the terminals are reversed.

Agreed, I read the NT1100 forum as well and the bike has its share of "kinks". As refined as the Africa Twin is, it also has its share of quirks and imperfections, though having owned (myself and immediate family currently own 4 Honda motorcycles) numerous Honda vehicles and products since I was a kid, 'overall' they are damn reliable.

The Western portion of WA20 was closed for quite some time this year due to a massive wildfire, My brother and I rode the Eastern portion into Idaho and then continued to Missoula and Lolo Pass, very beautiful ride but unfortunately WA20 is another route that has snow closures for half of the year.

Last week we had a few days of exceptional weather so I had to get one last ride on Cayuse and Chinook Passes for the season before they close due to snow. The timing was perfect as this area just got about half a foot of snow in the past 36 hours, once the passes close for the season they are snowed in until about Memorial day. I was finally able to reach 80,000 miles! If I didn't split riding time with my VFR the FJ would be at just over 95,000 miles.

With the Tracer being the exception, its a shame that you can't get a "full spec" Japanese bike unless its 1,000cc or larger. I would love to see optional top-spec models available for 650-900cc bikes like Versys, V-strom, Hornet, Transalp, Z900, Tracer 700, GSX 8S etc.

I have E0 available but it is much more expensive than E10 premium, I cant afford to use it year around so I use it late fall/winter when I ride a bit less and the bike sits longer, (I never "winterize" or put the bike away for the season). Throughout the year, I periodically use Yamalube RingFree Plus. 1oz/30ml treats 10 gallons, I use .5oz/15ml per tank

FWIW, I don't know if this has any bearing on battery life but I use a Battery Tender on occasion but I never leave it on full time. If I'm going for a ride, I might plug in the tender the night before and take it off the next morning. Even during winter, I still ride once every 3 weeks or so, mine doesn't sit completely unused. I'm sure there is nothing wrong with leaving it connected for months at a time though, that's just my process. I replaced it with an oem Yausa battery. I have read many battery related issues on different bike forums with using aftermarket or 'budget' batteries (i.e. Batteries+ or Amazon) so I have always stuck with Yausa. I haven't done much research or given much thought to Lithium but I just don't replace vehicle batteries that often, even my 2001 pickup has had one battery replacement (about 12 years ago) in 170,000 miles.

Mine was the original battery from my 2015 model, I swapped it this past May. Honestly, if I stayed closer to home I would still be using the original, but most of my rides have been overnight road trips out of state, hundreds of miles from home.

That is EXACTLY why I recently replaced the battery on my '15, it still worked and started with just a quick press of the start button, every time but... I also ride a lot of solo rides into some pretty remote areas and just didn't want to push my luck, better safe than sorry.

I have tried stock front MC, a brand new R1 MC and a used R1 MC from my previous FZ1 (both have a Brembo stamp) which also had a rebuild kit installed, I believe both were '04 R1 MC's, (honestly I don't remember at this point). It worked great on my FZ1 but I am back to using the stock MC. All 3 MC's have had the same issues, some days they feel great, other days the lever has a ton of travel. For pads I have used the stock GG pads, Vesrah RJL and EBC HH pads, the EBC pads felt the best of the 3. On the rear I have used stock pads and EBC HH pads and have the same issue, some days the pedal is firm and will stop decently but other days I get a lot of pedal travel and very little braking. As far as cycling the ABS pump, yes it isn't difficult, you can ride through gravel or grass at 5mph and grab the lever hard and it will actuate the ABS. I have done that a few times and then done a quick bleed to check for bubbles but even after having the dealer do a bleed with their ABS tool, I still experienced the same good days and bad days with brake feel.

I experience the same thing, some days the lever is firm and braking is very functional and other days I can pull the lever halfway to the bar before feeling any pressure and braking feels like I am merely gradually slowing down. I have replaced every part of the braking system except the rear master cylinder and rear caliper. ABS pump and front calipers replaced under warranty, 3 different master cylinders including 2 from an R1, oversized rotors, aggressive pads, braided lines, dealership bled with ABS cycling tool etc, I’m done throwing money at it, the brakes on my stock Honda feel and perform better.

As previously stated, as long as its "motorcycle specific" oil, use what you want. FWIW, last few bikes have 24,000, 65,000 and 80,000 miles, I've used synthetic oil in all of them and never had any clutch issues or even wore one out.

We have E0 available but at a hefty premium $$. I have used it but not noticed an increase in fuel economy, I mainly use it in the winter when the vehicles sit around idle and get used much less. Using it exclusively would cost me a fortune, @ $6.60 a gallon a typical day ride would be over $50 for gas + lunch.

Damn, sorry to hear that. There's not much worse than a low-life thief. Hopefully there will be a positive outcome.

At times I've been tempted by the $30 batteries on Amazon but after reading so many battery related issues on different motorcycle forums, I always stick with a factory Yausa battery. Even at $180+, for me its worth it for peace of mind.

Heated grips were standard equipment when the Tracer GT model was introduced. Your dealer might have added them to your bike but they weren't a standard feature on the '15 bike.

I did a "dump and run" fork oil change with Motul 10w medium. Don't forget the step at 13:50-15:20 to reduce stiction!!!

Most manufacturers bar dimensions are published online.

I am currently using MA009 on both bikes but have also used MA005 (slightly lower)

I just got back from an overnight trip and wanted to monitor fuel economy related to temperature. The mornings were cold, between 42-46F and there was moderate fog. I set the cruise control at 70mph and reset the fuel average and rode on open highway for a solid 90 minutes with no traffic or throttle fluctuations and was getting 37-39mpg. The afternoon was warm, 75-77F and I repeated the same ultra-scientific test. With the higher temperature and less dense air, 70mph was reading between 48-51mpg on the open highway. I have checked the readings at elevation as well, I get significantly better fuel economy in the mountains at higher elevations vs. near sea level. On a hot afternoon at elevation I have seen a tank average in the mid 50's mpg under mixed riding conditions, not just cruising at a steady 70mph.