wanderer

Sometimes it gets hot. But it's a dry heat.

Not much interesting to report. I took a picture in front of a house my brother lived in when he went to UCSB, went up 154 a little ways to see Lake Cachuma, then turned around, then pretty much headed directly to LA where my family was staying. The next day, straight shot down I-405 and I-5 to home. Kept the revs and accelerations in bounds. The sun was setting shortly after I picked up the bike, so it wasn't like I could have all that much fun. The one concrete piece of advice I have is if they still have to set up the bike for you, then budget that into your time.

The scroll wheel is a PITA for the grips, hard to find the grip control while riding, and then when I press the wheel I am just as likely to scroll away from the grip control as to enable the adjustment. But I really do like the configurability, from the 3 active settings to the underlying ability to change the mapping of each of those 3 settings.

@jamespz03 BTW I started riding in 2015, and my 2015 CB500x had 27000 miles on it when I got the T900GT in December 2018. I picked my Yamaha up in Santa Barbara and did pretty much what you described to get home - hop on the freeway and go between 5th and 6th. So it seems that our motorcycle experiences are sort of similar with just a year or two offset, if I just equate my X with your F.

Hey man, we'll do it! Before we do, I have some maintenance to get to. Replacing the chain, sprockets and a tire. Some of which I'll do myself, which'll be a first for me, so hopefully I've got all the right parts (replacement front sprocket nut arrive today) and I get it all back together in a timely way. This forum is a godsend for navigating through some of this. If all goes well, maybe we can go the weekend after this one (24th Apr).

Welcome fellow San Diegan! Hey, the Tracer 900 GT is also my second bike. I got it a bit over 2 years ago but only just recently got rid of my Honda CB500x.

You should follow it up with the Dragon.

I've seen this before on this forum, but I've tried it many times and never succeeded in disabling the QS.

OK, I will take that as the judgment of the community and move it along. next target - a statue or other outdoor artwork featuring a motorcycle.

Not quite what was asked for, but I thought of this thread when I saw it in Anza-Borrego yesterday.

Also seems significant that it is a 1250! They gave it a name from cubic cm instead of cubic inches! It is like entering the 21st century (or really, the 20th century for most of the world).

It is definitely interesting. This is one I'd really like to see available for rent from Eagle Rider. If wide spread at ER, it could finally give a chance for a decent ST rental at the 100-200 USA locations of Eagle Rider. It could be an exciting development.

I think I wouldn't have expected Texas to freeze and go dark in February!

Hmm ... perusing old posts, comparing PNW weather with Texas weather in mid-February.

@Rhino177Well, it was worth a shot. Someone out there must want to provide a new home for the screen! I've enjoyed the wind with a wee Puig. I don't have a naked alternative to take out in the San Diego back country in August ...

Not a great picture but you see it here. Left is OEM, middle is MRA Sport, right is Puig Racing. I have settled on the Puig. My experience as I've move to smaller screens is that the screen has to be large enough to send the air over your helmet, or short enough that you get clean air on the helmet. Nothing in the middle has worked for me. The Puig is just about right for my 5'11.5" frame. Even that one, I could see it being a wee bit better if it were .5-1" shorter. Many discussions of screens on this forum. One suggestion that is often made is remove the screen and try it out.

I have the MRA Sport wind screen for sale. we're close, you could take it for a test ride. I'm in Scripps Ranch. 🙂

Wait a minute ... the Salish Sea, Salish900. What's going on here?

When I replaced my MRA Sport with the Puig Racing, I took this picture. You can see the relative sizes. Left: OEM (2018 T900GT) Center: MRA Sport Right: Puig Racing

I have the Puig Racing smoke, and I recommend the black. I have concluded that the main thing is the screen be either tall enough to put you in the bubble, or short enough to put you in the clean moving air. The bad thing is to be in the middle, with the helmet in the turbulent transition zone. The Puig Sport is short enough to put my 5'11.5" frame in the clean air if I sit up straight. If I slouch, I get some turbulence on my chin, but still better than my prior experiences (stock, then MRA Sport). If any screen actually provides a smooth transition zone (between the still bubble and the clean moving air), I'd love to know. I suspect that a compact transition zone is the best that aerodynamics can really achieve. At least make the turbulent area small.

Welcome, and hello from San Diego!

Our clothes drier came with our house when we bought it in 1999, and I think it must be original from 1978 or so. It keeps ticking. Our LG clothes washing machine is only 7 or so years old, and already had a clutch failure a couple years ago. In a fit of stubbornness, my wife bought and installed a new clutch assembly (the repair man said it wasn't worth it to fix it), and the thing is still running. I didn't help much at all, just brawn when she needed more muscle. She's resourceful when she sets her mind to it.

I can explain the cheap front tire, at least. He intends to make this more dirt worthy and sort of an adventure bike for dirt roads and light trails. I don't know what all he intends to do to make this a more dirty bike - it is not really a dual sport and I made that clear, it has a 17" cast front wheel, etc. But he had no interest in a street front tire. If I got a Michelin Road 5 (my usual) he'd have just torn it off with only a few hundred miles on it. The tire was a loss for me in the deal. But I considered it the price I paid for the fun delivery and fond farewell.

I used Dynaplug ropes once without success. Must have put 5 in there, it still wouldn't hold air. I may have been unlucky. i ended up getting a tow home. I then got the Stop and Go mushroom style. I carry both with me. I'll try the mushrooms first, if that does work then the strings. But I haven't had the second opportunity to try. Almost 50,000 miles now in 5+ years, one flat (knock on wood). Curious, what is a miles per flat ya'll seem to get?

PS - I did have to buy a cheap front tire just to deliver it. But it was worthwhile. It was a fun memorable way to say goodbye to the bike.