johnmark101

Loud pipes save lives get me the attention I so desperately crave. Well, at least that is what it seems with most of the HD crowd. I do like the sound of a nice slip on or full exhaust but the open pipes are just obnoxious!! I pulled into a gas station last summer on my Tracer 900 GT complete with luggage attached. Stopped next to a guy on a Harley. I pulled off my helmet and gave him a thumbs up and a smile. He looked at me and said, " aren't you a little too old for a crotch rocket?" 😑

What little buzz I was feeling from the engine was gone after an ECU reflash.

Many riders have gone with a shorter screen to get their head into clean air. I am 6'1" and that is what worked for me.

Another vote for getting the GT. You will likely end up replacing the stock screen and possibly the seat. Otherwise it is brilliant right out of the box.

Yes.....if the check engine light is on you will not have access to the menu. Also look at the top of the display and see if the quickshifter indicator is off. I had a check engine light due to a blown fuse and after replacing the fuse the light stayed on, I could not access the menu and the quickshifter was turned off. Had to get the dealer to clear the code and after that all is well.

I am 58 years old, 6'1" in height with a 34 inch inseam and I find the bike to be very comfortable for the long haul. Only issue is with the stock seat. It's not horrible but I am in the que for a Terry Adcox seat this spring. In the meantime I can live with the stock seat. This is my first bike with heated grips and cruise control and I don't see myself ever having another bike without them.

Not a bad price for a quality full exhaust. It appears there is a small cannister of some sort in the pipe just ahead of the exhaust can. Not sure what the purpose of that would be??

I had another conversation with Sargent about building a seat on my own OEM pan. I asked about the Tracer GT seat fiasco and they confirmed with me that they tried to modify their own manufactured FJ-09 seat pan to work on the GT. In retrospect they told me this turned out to be a bad idea but they already had too much R&D time and cost into the project to start from scratch and build one exclusively for the Tracer.....so this is what we have. He admitted it was their worst new product launch in their history. Have my order in with Terry Adcox.

Stock screen is pretty horrible. At any height setting the noise and buffeting was bad. Tried the Puig sport screen and it was a huge improvement, but I did not like the look of the screen on the bike. Switched to the MRA sport screen. Looks nice on the bike and eliminated the buffeting and awful noise.

Another vote for the Pitbull triple tree stand. Not cheap but it works perfectly and is solidly built. Have owned mine through five bikes and it still works like day one, just had to order the correct pin for the Tracer.

Same here.....the recommended plug change intervals seem ridiculous. I change them along with the valve inspection and the old plugs always look to be in good condition. NGK laser iridium plugs are designed to last a very long time.

I despise winter with every cell in my body. Owning a bike makes it that much worse. I can't wait to ride again.

That is some expensive oil for sure. Not trying to turn this into an oil thread, but there are good quality synthetics available for $10 a quart. That would make changing the oil cost about $40 bucks with an OEM filter. At that price I don't mind changing it every 5000 miles.

This guy is not the least expensive, but his ECU reflash is one of the most thorough available and gets excellent results. Ivan's Performance Products

Oil is cheap compared to any lubrication related issues. I would change it. Even with a good quality synthetic, changing the oil and filter every 6 months or 6000 miles is a good idea.

Welcome and congrats on the new bike. Mine seemed to get smoother after a few thousand miles. Then I sent the ECU off to Ivan for a reflash and now I rarely ever notice any vibration. Jealous of your location. I get down that way a few times each year. Going up Blood Mountain is so much fun!!

You sound a lot like me, having gracefully surrendered to the fact that your youth has long left but you still enjoy a bit of adrenaline inducing riding as long as it does not get too crazy. The stock tires on this bike are not too bad but the Road 5's, or any other sport touring tire from one of the major brands, will perform better and inspire a bit more confidence in the corners. Cheers mate. ☺️

Yes.....it can cause a lot of headache but no permanent damage. Been there and done that. 😬

If you are after more mileage I can't say if the Roadsmart 3 will be any better. I am on my first set on the GT and have about 3500 miles on them. I am estimating they will need replacement around 6000 miles. I can tell you that from my experience they are more on the sport side of sport touring as compared to any other ST tire I have used. Great handling characteristics and they keep their profile shape well as they wear. Dry grip is excellent and very confidence inspiring. I will get another set when these are done.

No rides planned that I would call epic. But I do plan at least two trips down to the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Will also take in some roads in north Georgia.

Hello Mike and welcome. I too was looking for a new therapist and ended up with the Tracer GT as well. My wife does not ride but she understands my need to spend time on the motorcycle, allowing me to disappear for days at a time. Glad you are enjoying the new bike. It really is a great all around road bike, so capable of being whatever you need from hooligan bike to competent touring mount. Wishing you many years happy and safe riding.

I don't blame you for not wanting to ship off your ECU somewhere far away. I am surprised that the PCV requires tapping into the wiring loom. I have used them on two different bikes and they both came with OEM style connections so that it would plug right into the existing connectors on the bike. The PCV's I have used were specific to my particular bikes.

There is some adjustability built in to the bars on the GT by rotating the top clamps, but I believe this moves the bars forward and backward which may or may not help you. As mentioned reliability should not be an issue. The stock screen creates a lot of noise and buffeting and seems to be poorly designed. A shorter screen works well when riding on hot days. A few seem to be fine with the stock seat but most who spend a lot of seat time looked for a more comfortable alternative. I have toured on the stock seat and find it bearable, but am looking for a more comfortable solution.

I have bought Sargent seats for other bikes in the past and have been very satisfied. But the fitment of the Sargent for the Tracer 900 GT was so bad I sent it back before even taking it for a ride. Called Sargent yesterday and discussed this with them. As always they were extremely friendly and professional on the phone. The gentleman I spoke with confirmed they had made the Tracer seat by modifying their own seat pan for the FJ-09 and that it was their worst seat release in their history. It has since been tuned up a bit but from what I have seen it is still aesthetically a poor fit, and I am particular about these things. So, I have decided to send my stock seat to Sargent for a custom build. I am pretty sure it will be a big improvement, and it will be a good factory fit. Will let you all know how it goes.

They don't understand our need to upgrade a new bike like we don't understand having 30 pair of shoes.