johnmark101

I believe that getting shut out of the menu and disabling the quickshifter is normal whenever the check engine light is on. Strange that it does this but it has been consistent among GT owners who have for whatever reason had the light come on.

Just wondering......is your quickshifter indicator also turned off? When I had a check engine light from a different issue it locked me out of the menu and turned off my quickshifter. Once the code was cleared all was back to normal.

I have bought several bikes new, and have used the same chain maintenance methods for all of them. Usually get about 18,000 miles from the OEM chains, and managed 23,000 on my last one. However it appears that the OEM chain on my Tracer is not going to make it very far. Seems to be of poor quality. What kind of mileage did you get from your OEM chain???

Based on what I have read most seem pretty satisfied with the Yamaha comfort seat, but a few not so much. I have owned Sargent seats for other bikes and they were excellent. I was extremely disappointed with the Sargent seat for the Tracer. The fit was terrible and it did not seem to be near the quality of my previous Sargent seats. I ended up ordering from Terry Adcox and should have my seat some time in late May and plan on hitting the road for a few days soon after. Will post a review here once I have taken a trip with the new seat.

Not really sure why this is. However in my neck of the woods it appears that most folks want either a Harley Davidson or a sport bike. Anything else is looked at as somewhat of an oddity, especially it seems, by the Harley folks. Sport touring bikes just don't seem to be popular or well known of where I live. I have two bikes in my garage and both are sport tourers. My first bike was a sport tourer. I pulled into a gas station with my Tracer GT one sunny afternoon, had the bags mounted on the bike, and a tailbag, as I was prepared to be gone for a few days. There was a guy standing next to his Harley about ten feet away. When I removed my helmet he said, "Aren't you a little too old to be riding a crotch rocket?". Good grief. 🤨

Excellent video. Very well done. Although my bike already has a slipper clutch I watched just to learn. Thanks for sharing.

Winter can be his busiest time as that is when many folks want to send off their seat for customization. He contacts you when he is ready to build yours so that once he receives it he will rebuild it right away and ship it back to you. I contacted him in January and he was booked solid up to May!! I went ahead and sent my deposit and information so I would be scheduled for a build. I should be able to ship mine to him around the middle of next month. Until then the stock seat will have to do.

I would think that adding grease to any fastener would affect the torque value. With lubricant in place the nut would turn past the point where it would normally reach torque and run the risk of damaging or stripping threads.

I am 195 in full gear and run those same pressures. Works well for me.

That would be very annoying. It sounds like the very brief pulse of cutting power which would occur when using the quick shifter. Obviously that is not what you were doing in the video. I would check the shift linkage first. See what amount of free play it should have per the service manual and make sure yours is correct. If it were too tight maybe it is causing the issue.

Been going down to the area a few times each year since 2004. Usually pass through the Tail Of The Dragon a couple times while I am in the area. Received my one and only speeding ticket there several years ago. Mailed in my 220 dollars and that was the end of it. No reporting to my home state of Kentucky and no points. It's a fun and challenging road. Usually you can stop at either end and there will be plenty of other riders who can tell you if there are any cops on the road. Go during the middle of the week and it is much better, especially in the morning or early evening. Make a pass through and then from the NC end there are literally hundreds of miles of superb roads to be sampled. Cherohala Skyway is not to be missed.

I own a 2013 Ninja 1000. The ergonomics have not changed over the years as far as I can tell. The Ninja has less leg room and the bars do not come up as high as the Tracers. It is definitely more of a sport oriented riding position, but for me it was still comfortable enough to do some touring. For further comparison, I used to ride a VFR 800 and the Ninja has a more upright riding position than the VFR. Now that I have the Tracer, I still ride both, but if I am going to hit the road for a few days I am more likely to leave the Ninja at home. For what it is worth, I am 58 years old and 6'1" tall with a 34 inch inseam.

When the OEM tires were shot at around 3200 miles I bought a set of the Roadsmart 3. I had run a set on my other bike and like them very much. I had tried others and these feel a little more on the sport side of the sport touring equation with excellent dry grip. So far they are a little over half worn and they seem to be keeping their profile well. Handling feels the same as when new. I spoke with a Dunlop representative at a trade show and he hinted there might be a Roadsmart 4 later this year.

I agree that the bike needed a taller 6th gear. With all the low and midrange torque the engine produced it could have been a much taller final drive ratio. However I never experienced the heat issue you described. Ivan had a flash for the 2011 ~ 2013 that was nothing short of black magic. Like you I like my Tracer GT better overall, but when I want to do some local road crime with friends I take the Ninja. 😁

I have a 2013 Ninja 1000, the first generation. The engine is amazing.....ridiculous power everywhere. Loads of low and midrange thrust. The 2020 is an incredible bang for the buck in a sport tourer and has many new features and improvements compared to my 2013. For me the Ninja 1000 is more on the sport side of the sport touring equation than the Tracer in spite of the few extra pounds. However I find the Tracer much more agreeable for long rides and bought it largely for the more generous ergonomics and lighter weight. Had I not bought the Tracer last year I might be visiting my Kawasaki dealer.

Have to agree that the Euro bikes often use better components for their brakes and suspensions. I found the GT suspension to be good enough for it's intended purpose, although the front fork is a bit harsh over less than smooth roads. However I weigh 173 pounds in shorts and a tee shirt. I think it might be compromised for anyone weighing much more that that. A custom set up provided by someone like Traxxion may be in my future. Upgrading the brakes with better pads, like the Vesrah RJL is a big improvement.

If you want a Sargent seat but also want a good fit, send them your stock seat for a rebuild. If you order their seat it is an FJ-09 seat of their own manufacture, which they modified in an attempt to fit the Tracer.

Oops......I did not look at your location before I posted this. Now I see that you are in Japan. A side note......I worked for a Japanese company for 28 years. 🙂👍

I believe Ivan's ECU reflash includes removal of the restrictions on the cruise control, along with many other things. Biggest improvement is much smoother throttle response, especially in "A" mode. Read about it here...…. Ivan's Performance Products

Talk to the folks at Traxxion if you have not already. They transformed my Ninja 1000 with an affordable rebuild of the stock components. The only thing I do not have is compression damping for the rear shock but they set it up beautifully with new valving and a new spring. Thinking about taking my Tracer to them as well, but this house remodel seems to be sucking up all my spare funds!

I noticed this as well. I can understand why first to second is not as smooth as it has to pass through neutral. Maybe it has to do with the difference in the spread of the gear ratios. I am guessing that the closer the ratios the smoother the shift as there is less of a change in rpm.

I have had decent results with the EBC brand pads on other bikes, but have not tried them on the Tracer. If you are willing to spend the extra money, Vesrah pads are the way to go. Excellent braking power without an abrupt initial bite. Nice linear feel to them as well so they are easy to modulate. I also used them on my track bike and lap after lap they were consistent with no fade to speak of.

As said above, it works best at higher rpm. During normal riding I shift with the clutch, but when I am hard on the throttle and winding it up a bit I use the quick shifter for fast, smooth shifts.

Welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place. Lots of good folks here willing to share helpful information and experiences. As mentioned before you will likely want an ECU reflash for your bike if you install aftermarket exhaust. Mine is stock but I found the fueling in "A" mode to be a bit abrupt during on / off throttle transitions and had mine reflashed. Money well spent.