jetpilot5

6 hours ago, Ferrett847 said:

The majority of tyre ware in my experience is down to the way we ride and the tyre choice we make .My tyres will need changing soon and I will fit something diffrent from the A41 ,not because they are crap but because they don't suit the way I ride and the fact that the carcass on the rear does not aid comfort .Because the niken is a 3wheeler I may well mix and match the front to the rear .This is not a problem as the front and rear are not inline as per 2 wheels where the front is design to work in conjunction with the rear especially tread pattern to evacuate water from the path of the rear etc .I personally feel that the rear shock has a lot to do with rear tyre ware rate mainly on the damping side .I found mileage improved by reducing preload completely and backing the compression right down also made the tyre ware more even and have me greater grip with a 210lbs rider plus luggage.

I'm sure there's some truth in what you're saying. Road surface also makes a difference. I ride mostly higher speeds, staying out of town as much as I can. I also ride a lot of county highways which are mostly chip seal and hard on tires.

Interesting comments on the suspension. I too have very little preload dialed in, only 4 clicks from full soft as there's very little static sag with the bike unladen but have gone the other direction with damping. Currently only 1/4 turn from full hard. The only damping adjustment in the rear is rebound and I felt like the back was kicking me too hard over our rough Illinois roads. To me the ride improved the more rebound damping I added. Can't say what that's doing to tire life though. The rear suspension feels like a classic case of over sprung under damped to me.

Just for reference I'm also 210lbs and have so far ridden only solo with no bags.

I'll be interested to see as people get more miles on these bikes what the favorite tire choices are. I bought a set of Michelin Pilot Road 4s because I could get a matching set and wanted a sport touring tire. I have also read that without having tires that run inline tire matching is not important Don't know if that also holds true for running a mix of radials and bias ply tires. There are a few motorcycles that come that way. If that's not a problem it would open up more tire options. I noticed that bias ply 15 inch tires were more common when I was shopping tires.

I'm running Mode 1 and TCS 1. Tried all modes on my test ride and again on my first good ride of the new bike. These setting have been used ever since.

I'm not yet convinced there's a tire wear issue other than the stock tires just aren't that great. I've heard that sometimes the OEM factory tire isn't the same quality as the same brand and model sold aftermarket. Lower quality compound or shallower tread or both. Maybe that's the case here. I am surprised that as hard as the A41s are they haven't lasted longer. That said I'm not changing the way I ride or the settings I use to try and extend tire life. To me that's just the cost of doing business.

This is the rear on my Niken at 2,700 miles.

Finally got the chance to try out my factory front stand. I picked up a scissor jack the other day just for this purpose. Slip both sides of the stand into the frame, slide the bottom bar in to place and tighten the thumb screws. Pop the bike up on the center-stand, slide the jack under the bottom bar and you're good to go. Simple and very stable. 

I've noticed my handling deteriorating lately and wanted to check the front and make sure everything was OK. Once the front wheels are off the ground it's easy to push, pull, twist, turn, shake etc. Happy to report everything seems fine, tight with no play but easy to move with no binding through full travel in all directions. I'm putting the handling degradation down to worn tires. I'm almost into the wear bars at the back and not much better off in the front at only 2,700 miles. I'll be surprised if the OEM tires make it to 5,000 miles. Pilot Road 4s sitting here ready to install.

On 12/2/2020 at 9:35 PM, jetpilot5 said:

That blue Niken has had a ton of modifications. Making the engine fairings and tail section look that nice takes some real talent. The mirror mod wouldn't be too hard to do, the left mount is already there and on the right it would be a matter of finding the right perch/master cylinder combination. To stay on topic, that bike also has good looking hand guards.

Read that the hand guards on this Niken are from a Honda  Africa Twin. No idea what's required to make them work but it's not impossible.

I have the Yamaha Service Manual. Pretty handy if you plan on doing your own service or mods and not terribly expensive. I think it was around $90. Part number LIT-11616-32-54.

Here's what's listed in the GT service manual. I don't know if they are all blade type but I would think most are. 

On 4/21/2021 at 10:21 AM, rlambke19 said:

Thanks for posting that. By far the best look I've gotten of the new bike. I like the looks better than I thought I would. Also picked up on some details I hadn't seen before. Looking forward to seeing one in person some day.

The guys doing the unboxing made me nervous too. 😅

Pulled over three times over the years. No tickets so far.

I have now seen this as well. First ride of the season a few weeks ago on a 2019 Niken. Literally 2 miles into the ride and accelerating up to highway speed the first time and the oil warning light comes on. The last thing I did before winter storage was change the oil so I'm thinking I left the filter or drain plug loose. I pull over, no oil on my boot, no oil on the bike, and no trail of oil down the road behind me. Engine sounds fine and by the time I do a quick U turn the light is out. Still rode back to the garage to check the level and it's just below the max mark. I did not add any oil and have done over a 1,000 miles since and not seen it again. I'm chocking it up to cold oil on a cold day. Finding this thread did make me feel better about it. Good information to know.

425 miles on the screen since it was installed. Very nice, quite an improvement over the diminutive stock screen. Takes all the wind off your chest and leaves just your upper outer arm, shoulders, and helmet in the breeze. Wind hits my helmet at the chin bar and is smooth with no buffeting. This really works well for me. I've ridden sport-touring bikes with similar wind protection for a long time and this reminds me very much of those bikes. Much better for the higher speed riding I do. Not as protective as the stock GT that I test rode but a nice middle ground. Sure helps riding into the wind on the blustery spring days we've had lately. Screen is also rock solid at indicated speeds well in excess of the posted limit. 😉

I'd recommend it.

From what I understand Givi actually owns Kappa. 

I hadn’t considered that but you’re probably right. I don’t see why the swap wouldn’t work both directions. 

The top picture isn't mine. It's one I found online while doing research but shows the screen well out of the package. The model number is a little different because in Europe Givi is sold under the Kappa brand.

One more picture from the cockpit side.

I changed out the stock screen on my base model Niken today for a Givi D2122s. I read online that screens for the 15-17 FJ-09 are a direct bolt on for the base Niken. Turns out that information is accurate. The screen fit perfect. Very nicely made with a medium smoke tint and a little thicker than the stock screen. I'm really happy with the fit and looks. Seems like it was made for the Niken.

I haven't had the chance to ride with it yet but am hoping to get a little better wind protection. Still some cool days here in the Midwest and the wind has been ferocious lately. It appears to be about 4 inches taller than stock so that should make a difference. I'll post up how it works once I have some miles on it.

For me this is a bigger screen. For you GT guys this would be a smaller screen, maybe a summer option. I don't see any reason this wouldn't work on the GT but the windshield stay would need to be changed over to the base model.

With all of the shipping problems going on in the world I proactively ordered a set of replacement tires to have on hand. I'm only at 1,600 miles right now so the stock rubber will last a while yet. I can say the replacements feel substantially softer to the touch than the A41s. Got the fronts today and the rear is scheduled to show up tomorrow.

Those look like Oberon Performance pegs. I had a set of their touring pegs on my CBR1100XX. Nice stuff. 

Come to think of it, I think I remember reading about you buying the R1 on the XX Forum back in the day. A dark red one.

It could be a beginner bike but I wouldn’t recommend it as a first bike. I still think smaller lighter machines make better first bikes. A dirt bike or dual sport would be even better. You can learn so much riding off road. 

I got my recall letter several weeks ago. Just today stopped by the dealer and got the new part on order. They’re going to call when it comes in. 
 

So far my bike is working normally. 

Pad looks great. I’ll have to remember the laser trick. I used a string line to stay centered but the laser would be easier. 

I've been looking at tank pads for the Niken hoping to find something before the season really gets started. Looking for a pad that didn't have flames, skulls, half naked women etc. The tank requires a rather short, wide pad which does limit the options somewhat. There is the offering from Yamaha for $39.99.

And a few of choices on ebay for $30 - $50.

I wanted something simple that would do the job so after taking some approximate measurements of what I thought would fit well I bought a Ztechnik Z8502 pad. This pad is designed to fit a BMW R1200RT but fits the Niken like it was made for it. They're very nicely made and not crazy expensive at $29.95. I actually got mine as an ebay closeout of $12 plus shipping. I will say when you install it make sure it's exactly where you want it because it's not easy to reposition. 

http://www.nationalcycle.com/z8502.html

I'm very happy with the end result.

Got a short three hour visit to the Barber Museum yesterday. What an amazing place! So much to look at. Really well done. If you're a bike fan at all it's worth a visit. I did get a picture of a museum quality Niken.😉😄 Got a few other pictures too.

It's kind of a given that the base model seat and the GT seat are interchangeable. I did my test ride on a GT but bought a base bike. One thing I liked better on the GT was the seat. I ordered a GT seat and as expected, it fits perfect. I planned on changing both front and rear seats over to the GT but found that either rear seat will fit with the front GT seat and I believe the base front seat as well though I didn't try it. I like the looks better with the base model rear seat and never carry a passenger so I'm leaving it on. Basically, any combination of factory Yamaha seats should work on either bike. If you change out the front seat you do need to move the body panels from the old to the new but it's a very simple job.

Pictures show the full GT seat and the GT front with the base rear.

18 minutes ago, whisperquiet said:

OK, I’ll answer my own question.       I removed the front brake light switch and approximately two foot long harness from my 2019 Tracer 900 GT today.  It was a difficult task as the harness is tightly routed under and around other wire leads, the front subframe,  in/out of the fairing to where it terminates under the right front of the gas tank.  You will have to remove the right fairing, inner fairing, and the trim ring that encircles the front of the gas tank.

I had to cut a couple of the black plastic retention straps as it impossible to release them where they were located given the tight packaging and lack of access.  None the less, the switch and harness were removed intact for replacement by my Yamaha dealer this week.  I don’t know what the flat rate is for the recall, but I can’t imagine a mechanic removing and replacing the switch in less than one hour ....... that is if they ever seen a Tracer like my dealer who mainly sells ATVs/UTVs.

My 2015 Super Tenere was quite a bit easier than the Tracer with the packaging not nearly as dense.  The gas tank needs to be raised and the right side electrical panel needs to be released by way of the four bolts that secure it to the bike.

So, both switches/harnesses will be installed this week and my cruise control will work on both bikes.......the Super Tenere was not working;   the Tracer GT was still operable.

 

 

FYI....YMMV

 

 

 

So you’re going to give the old switch to your dealer and he’s going to hand you a new one to install or are you having the dealer do the install? I ask because I’d like to do the switch change out on my Niken when I install the heated grips, the bike will be opened up then anyway. So far I haven’t found a dealer that’s willing or able to get me the replacement switch without me bringing the bike in. I understand the dealer needs the old part and I’d happily give it to them but I’d really like to do the work myself if I can get the switch. 

There are some nice bits available from Gilles Tooling. These are the same folks that make BMW HP parts. I've had their rearsets, pegs and levers on previous bikes and they are very nice indeed. Buying them through BMW makes them insanely expensive. While still not cheap, prices are better buying directly from them. I might get a set of the touring foot pegs to replace the stockers. I normally like a solid peg better than the rubber covered pegs that come stock but I'm going to ride the standard setup a while before I decide.

Gilles Tooling

I didn't get my bike until early December so only got a few rides in before winter hit. So far my only mod has been to switch over to Pazzo Racing levers. More adjustable than stock and I like the bigger dogleg bend. Fit perfect and look great too. They have a website but I bought mine off eBay and got a slightly better price and free shipping.

Pazzo Racing

Looking at a few videos of the Barber Motorsports Museum before I head down for a visit next month. I was surprised to see they have a Niken on display. Pretty cool to have one in one of the premier motorcycle museums on the planet.

Niken at 14:54