andz

18 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

Indeed.   I just had the revelation that the Bell Race Star carbon helmet I’m looking to buy costs twice as much as the (admittedly ratty) CB400F I bought as my first street bike.   

The price I paid for my AGV Corsa R helmet 2 years ago is 6 times the price I paid for that 400N brand new. Of course our currency went into the toilet years ago so the exchange rate is really crappy.

7 minutes ago, Stew said:

Just looking at that photo of your T reg, mine was a V.  But it was the helmet that caught my eye, I forgot they used to have press studs to close the visor. My, how times have changed.

T reg in South Africa wasn't the same as in the UK, it means it was registered in Transvaal province. There has never been anything here indicating year of registration.

Before they switched to that system (which has been changed twice since then) the registrations had 2 or 3 letters followed by a number up to 6 digits, the letters indicated the city of registration. Some provinces here still use that system today.

19 minutes ago, BBB said:

Damn, out of stock. 😢

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adidas-Airliner-Dark-Green-Bag/dp/B00B00DGJQ

That bag is REALLY old and I still have it 😮

2 minutes ago, Stew said:

I tell you what, I got up quicker than I went down, I was mortified

Same here, it was in front of around 30 people!

13 minutes ago, Stew said:

ATGATT for me on my 250 version consisted of a Boeri Helmet (which got regular resprays when my mum worked in a paintshop) , a belstaff jacket, pair of jeans and trainers. Never did me any harm (other than permanent scars on both knees from getting the pegs to ground and spark on roundabouts
It was my first bike, and I had no idea how to ride it, so I took a week and toured all over Scotland, at the recommended run in revs , which was approx 30-35mph. I did 1000 miles that week, and the bike shop were in shock when I was back for my first service the same week I bought it I loved that wee bike, but I imagine it would be horrendous to ride now.

That 400N was a great handler in its day, there was a new residential area in our town where they built all the roads but no houses for about 5 years so we created a "circuit" and we used to fly around there on Saturdays and Sundays. Mostly kids on 50s and 125s but nothing bigger than a 500.

I later had Pirelli Phantom tyres on it (not in these pictures) which were great for grip and the pegs were worn down to about an inch long from being scraped in corners.

As you see in the picture I had a Bell Star helmet and Bates gloves (on top of the green bag on the ground), Dainese leather jacket and the obligatory jeans and trainers. One Sunday morning I threw it into a right hander, the peg folded, the mount caught the ground which lifted the rear wheel slightly and down I went. I slid to a stop on my right buttock and right hand, jeans through to skin in a flash (resulting in a rash the size of a side plate) but the gloves saved my right palm, the leather was worn down to almost see through but not a mark on my hand.

So I did some more digging today, sorry for the bad quality but they are scans of prints around 40 years old.

Here's my AC50 during a short spell with clubman handlebars, they were terrible!

My 1980 CB400N when it was new and still stock

Another couple of shots during the aforementioned trip to Durban. I forgot to mention in my first post that I had also replaced the rear shocks with S&W as well as the Moriwaki parts.

As you can see ATGATT wasn't so important back then... nice shiny black chromed headers though!

Finally found a picture of my CBX550F. It had the same sort of forward/backward adjustable handlebars as the first CB-X 6 cylinder, clamped onto the top of the fork tubes. It was also my first bike with single shock rear suspension, Honda Pro-Link.

This is the only picture I could find of my Suzuki AC50, circa 1979. I still haven't found a picture of my CBX550F 🙈

It's a bad scan of a bad print, taken at Kyalami racetrack north of Johannesburg.

The girl in the picture has been my wife for almost 36 years.

I found a picture of my own CB400N, this was us having a rest on the way from Johannesburg to Durban back in 1981. Note the black chrome Moriwaki 2-1 pipe and the Fiamm air horns, even back then I liked a good sound when I hit the hooter button.

The distance is around 550km and in those days it wasn't the freeway it is now so it took most of the day to get there.

This is the bike loaded up for a 2 week holiday, believe it or not we rode it 2 up like this!

I still have that open face helmet tied on the back but I don't wear it anymore.

On 7/11/2020 at 8:09 AM, jrubicon said:

mock fitment, not too happy with it, i want the box more in an angle but the angle of the plate is determined by the 10mm bolt in the back. 

 

off to powdercoating

 

 

er, I am more interested in the car, what is that?

I was born in Dumfries and my mother's side of the family still lives in Annan.

My parents met during the construction of Chapelcross.

Unfortunately I haven't been in the area since 1982 and I never had a chance to ride around the area on a bike but I am sure that the landscape lends itself to great rides, weather permitting!

On 4/6/2020 at 7:56 PM, ChadTheFoxFox said:

I have the OEM Yamaha Cases. I found all 3 keyed with one key online for $450. I did have to purchase the mounting brackets that attach to the passenger foot pegs and under the sub frame. 

The top case is large enough to hold my Large Shoei RF-1200 and my Girlfriend's Med Shoei Quest. The side cases are a bit weird in shape but I've managed to fit 2 six packs of soda in one, and a 8 pack of Gatorade in the other. The top case is also deep enough to fit a gallon of milk standing up. Grocery's is a bit of a Tetris game sometimes but having packs is a life savor.
 

 

 

Where's your screen?

How is it to ride like that?

I have 2 helmets, an X-Lite X-802 Carlos Checa replica and an AGV Corsa R.

The AGV wind noise is terrible, I can't blame the screen on the Tracer as it was just as noisy when I rode my Fazer. To be honest the X-Lite isn't much better, my old Shoei that I bought in 2004 was way quieter but I don't have it anymore.

The X-Lite has a nice dark tint visor and the AGV has an iridium silver visor.

13 hours ago, fenj66 said:

but do yamaha still provide the little book in which you get the dealer to stamp in the details of services? 

 My 2017 Tracer came with the book you refer to, in fact today is a good day to post as it is exactly 3 years to the day since the dealer called to me to tell me that the bike had arrived and they uncrated it in my presence 😁

2 hours ago, Toddtr said:

Can I ask how much you have in your bike now as far as upgrades? If and when you sell it do you think you will recover any of those expenses? 

I just sold my Fazer and when I reviewed the replacement price of the extras I had sold the bike for nothing.

So no, you don't recover extras.

Let's see if these languages are as similar as people say...

Welkom by die Tracer 900 Forum!

Ek is in Suid-Afrika en het 'n 2017 Tracer, ek is mal daroor, dit is my eerste fiets na 'n FZ6 Fazer wat ek dertien jaar gery het.

Ek lief die sterk wringkrag van die driesylinder enjin en hy is so gemaklik om te ry, jy is seker 'n typiese langbeen Hollandse vrou as jy die Tracer kan ry want hy is nie vir kort mense nie!

1 minute ago, betoney said:

Ive thought the exact same thing for a few years now, a 1000cc Tracer would be awesome. 

I live in the 3rd world, I only saw the YZX for the first time last week and when I was told the price I realised why I don't see them every day!

17 hours ago, roadrash83 said:

It's all about the great CP3 engine👍 What ever they put it in will be great to ride.

I wonder when they will put the 1000cc triple from the YZX1000R in a bike, that will be fun.

11 minutes ago, tktplz said:

Yes they are...... being a "biker" is a life style, bring on "SOA" with leathers, Harley's etc. where motorcyclists are pretty much normal folks who like to ride motorcycles.  Websters dictionary needs an update for sure. As always YMMV.

I'm a normal person, I live a regular life, I have a wife, cars, cats.... I also ride for an MC, wear a patch and attend rallies but I don't ride a Harley or carry a gun, do drugs or have a beard. I think it is more the public perception that needs updating rather than the dictionary.

I apologise to everyone for taking this thread off topic with a harmless grammar comment, I didn't realise how uptight some people are. Yes that is "apologise" and "realise" spelled the proper way with an S and not a Z.

Oh, and it is Harleys and Webster's. Peace out.

15 hours ago, tktplz said:

Motorcyclists are different than bikers. I had to school them on it at work too.

You mean "motorcyclists are different from bikers". It obviously wasn't English class where you were doing the schooling. 🤦‍♂️

All bikers are motorcyclists by definition.

I have this one, it had a label on it that said "not for highway use" which went straight into the bin.

Looks good, sounds great (pretty loud) and is a lot lighter than stock. I had to remove the centre stand but that was a minor.

I have a Givi box with the brake light kit and the Monokey plate that was on my Fazer with the electrical connection is now on the Tracer (2017 model).

There are only two wires to connect, which ones on the bike should I tap into? I am in South Africa but when I was looking for a place for the compressor for my air horn I found a California-only canister under the tank which was a bit strange.

Do different models have different wiring? I haven't even looked yet, only changed the mounting plates today.

My first bike was a Suzuki AC50 that I got in the last year of high school in 1978. It was forever having heat seizes and one day the retaining bolt holding the carb onto the engine came loose and while bouncing around in the carb chamber managed to get through the carb past the needle and shredded the rotary valve. The only way home from that is to push. 

A couple of years later I sold the AC and bought a 1980 Honda CB400N brand new. My then girlfriend (now wife) loaned me half of the deposit and we had some great times on this bike. I later fitted Moriwaki 425cc pistons, a Moriwaki cam and a Moriwaki 2 into 1 pipe and it would run both clocks off the scale (speedo marked to 180km/h, tach redline at 10, then blank dial after 11).

Next was a 1982 Honda CBX550F.  This bike had inboard ventilated disc brakes that looked like drums but they were tricky in the rain especially if you were used to the gradual grab of conventional disc brakes. I rode this until I got my first company car in April 1984 then had no bike for 20 years.

In April 2004 I bought a new FZ6 Fazer which I sold today to my brother in law. During the 20 years of limbo I had raised the idea of a bike with the wife several times only to be stonewalled, as we had been bumped off the 400N by a prick in a pickup who turned right without indicating as I was overtaking him. Luckily it was in suburbia so not a major off but enough to make her nervous. When she said "fine get a bike" my first choice was the XJR1300 as I loved the retro look and the yellow checkerblock colour scheme. I had never seen the Fazer before going to my local dealer and for months after I bought it I didn't see another one, it always attracted attention. A great bike and a real looker.

That brings me to my current ride, a 2017 MT-09 Tracer. We took the naked MT-09 for a test ride but the short seat is dangerous for a passenger and no wind protection is tiresome. 3 years on I am loving the grunt of the triple and the sound of the Akrapovic never gets boring.

I will have to dig for pics of the first 3, I know I have prints that I can scan and post.

EDIT: I added some pics from the web until I can upload my own, my bikes were the same models and colours as these.

I have had mine almost 3 years and only seen a handful in that time. By contrast, the 1200GS is the best selling bike in South Africa and I'm sure that like most SUVs, a lot never see dirt.

On 4/12/2020 at 6:40 AM, ilanr1 said:

Hi , i have tracer 900 with full system Arrow no cat   ,   2015 model.

Can i remove the lambda sensor and place a blank cup instead ?.

Your advice please.

Thanks

 

Educate me here, why do you want to remove the sensor?

I have a 2017 Tracer with a full Akrapovic carbon system, I installed the lambda sensor into the pipe and the bike runs great.

22 minutes ago, betoney said:

I think you will notice a huge difference without a wind screen.  My brother has a Honda 919 naked bike with no screen and when we ride together we always swap bikes throughout the day, the difference between the 2 bikes is very noticeable.

I cant say that I share the same feelings with you about wind buffeting though, having your head shake around like a rag doll makes a ride miserable and will wear you out very quickly.

What screen do you have?