johnmark101

Are you getting 6000 miles from the S21, S22 as well...….or just the T31? I switched from sport tires to sport touring tires because I was tired of replacing tires so often.

Here are my impressions of the Roadsmart 3 after 3000 miles. I am 58 years old, 177 pounds in street clothes, am a fairly aggressive rider and the majority of my mileage is on twisty roads with a bit of cruising thrown in occasionally. Using 32 front and 37 rear psi cold. I never carry a passenger. The profile on this tire makes for nice, neutral steering but a bit quicker than the OEM tires. Turn in is steady right down to the edge of the tire with no surprises. They feel very well planted at deep lean angles, a bit similar feeling to the Dunlop Q3.....which is a good thing. They inspire a good bit of confidence mid corner and rear drive grip is excellent for the sport touring class. They seem to do well in the wet, but the time or two I have ridden in the rain or on wet roads I was being pretty cautious. The real treat with these is the dry grip which is excellent for the ST class. I have pushed these pretty hard on a couple of my favorite roads and they do very well in spirited riding. Based on the wear rate I expect the rear tire will last approximately 5500 miles before getting down to the wear bars at the sides of the tire. That may not seem like much mileage to some but the Bridgestone and Michelin I used before only made it to around 4500 to 5000. Dunlop claims this tire maintains it shape as it wears and so far that has been the case. The tires seem to be wearing fairly evenly and the steering and turn in still feel almost the same as day one. Dunlop usually offers rebates on their tires once or twice a year. I am pretty sold on these. Very sport oriented for a ST tire. I am surprised more riders don't choose these.

What a generous offer. Thank you Whistler. However if I do send my seat out it would be during January or February when it is too cold to ride.

I sent mine back without ever taking it for a ride. For the price the fit was so unacceptable that I put it right back in the box for return shipping. As I said before, the Sargent seats for my VFR and Ninja 1000 were quality products that provided all day comfort with OEM quality fit. For the price, the seat should fit as well, or nearly as well as the OEM. I think where they went so wrong with this one is from trying to fabricate a Tracer seat from their own FJ-09 pan. I have done a few multi day trips on the stock seat and although it offers room for improvement, it is not horrible. Will continue to look for other options in the meantime. May even talk to Sargent about sending them my seat over the winter to be rebuilt to my own specifications.

I had the same concerns about the fit as you. I have owned Sargent seats for two of my previous bikes and the fit was as good as the OEM seat. My understanding is that Sargent fabricated this seat pan from their own pan developed for the FJ-09.

Installing upgraded pads will usually make a noticeable improvement. It is also very easy to do. There are several brands to choose from that will improve initial bite and overall performance. I prefer Vesrah brake pads but they are among the most expensive.

My thoughts are if you are going somewhere that requires off road or knobby tires, the FJ or Tracer is not the right bike. The oil pan or even header could get damaged. A smooth gravel or dirt road is as far as I would go without some major mods, and for that an ST tire would probably be fine for short, off the asphalt excursions.

Looks like a nice guard. Since you guys say it is a quality piece I placed an order for one. 👍

Interesting. I always just pressed down gently on the pillion seat surface and it clicks right into place.

Just my opinion, but deriving the Tracer seat from a seat made to fit the FJ-09 was maybe not a good idea. For instance, the OEM Tracer pillion seat has a silver accent piece which the front seat is contoured to fit. The FJ derived Sargent does not have this same design and is straight across the back. Here is the result. Not good for those like myself who wanted the front seat only, ( They sent me both by mistake ). Comparing the front seat pans of the Sargent with my OEM, I see they are not exactly the same.

Based on my conversation with them, it seems they used their own seat pan they developed for the FJ and worked to adapt it to the Tracer GT. I am going to send them some photos this evening and get back with them early next week.

I can not answer this question because my Sargent pillion seat could not be installed. I pushed it rearward as much as it would go and the pin which is supposed to fit into a hole in the subframe was still too far forward of the hole.

Interesting. The donor bike was a GT but they modified an FJ pan for the seat. Looking at the stock seat pan and the modified FJ pan I can see some obvious differences. How they affect the fit exactly would take some careful investigation using something like Coltoflax putty.

Yes, but with the stock seat the gap is consistent, same contour. Looks much better in my opinion.

Here is the picture. The contour of the seat does not at all match up well to the tank pad. May be due to the fact that they started with an FJ seat and modified from there rather than developing it directly from the GT. This may not be an issue for most. I am probably a bit too picky based on the fact that a large part of my career was spent insuring quality fit and finish in the automotive industry. The gap between the front seat and the OEM rear looks like a good place for water to enter and cause all sorts of issues. I believe Sargent makes excellent seats based on my previous two bikes but on those the fit was every bit as good as the OEM parts.

Plan on it, but will call Sargent in the morning. Maybe mine is an anomaly, or maybe not. Still worth a friendly chat with them to see if we can do some problem solving together. One thing is for certain, the fit is very poor and I am wondering what bike they used for development. If they used an FJ-09 it could possibly be the root cause. I am surprised because my two previous Sargent seats ( VFR and Ninja 1000 ) were excellent in comfort, fit and finish.

The fit in the photos looks pretty decent. Is your bike the FJ-09, or Tracer? I have the GT and received my seats today. On the low setting the front seat has a large gap at the tank. On the high setting the front seat appears to fit as yours did but I am not too pleased with the fit at the tank pad. Had two other bikes with Sargent seats and they fit just as the OEM did.....but not this one. Rear seat will not install at all. No matter how hard I push the rear seat toward the back of the bike the pin will not align with the hole in the subframe. Large gaps at the rear of the front seat when installing the Sargent front with the OEM rear. Seat pans are embossed with "FJ-09". I wonder what bike they used during development. I know the Tracer GT has a different rear subframe than the FJ-09.

Getting the ECU reflashed makes A mode throttle response much more smooth. Now that mine has been reflashed by Ivan I leave it in A mode. Before the reflash I ran it in standard. Funny to see someone else other than myself use Beavis and Butthead in their avatar. 😋

Surprised that they suggested stuffing tape into the AIS hose. The AIS can be disabled ( closed ) in a reflash of the ECU.

Turn around was quick. Sent the ECU off on Monday and had it back Wednesday!!! For what it is worth I have stock exhaust. The abrupt throttle response that was so evident in A mode is gone. Rolling on and off the throttle through tight turns is now smooth and very controlled. Even changing gears while using the clutch is more smooth as you open and close the throttle for each shift. Engine feels like it pulls a bit stronger in the lower gears but overall power feels the same...….as expected. Engine vibration is reduced.....but it was not really too bad to begin with. I did notice the fans coming on much sooner when stopped in traffic in the heat of mid day. Ivan lowers the temperature at which they switch on. I confirmed that cruise control operates in all gears now. The one surprise is that the quick shifter seems to work a bit better after the reflash. I tried it repeatedly to makes certain I was not imagining things. Is it possible this is due to the revised fuel mapping or change in ignition timing curve?? Money well spent!!! Once I get my Sargent seat I should be done other than upgrading the front brake pads to Vesrah.

I had my ECU reflashed and since then the quick shifter seems to work a bit more smoothly. I used it repeatedly just to be sure it was not my imagination. There was no provision in the reflash for the quick shifter. I am guessing that maybe either the revised ignition timing or new fuel maps may have some positive effect???

I had spoken with them and a couple times during development and emphasized the need to fix the forward slant of the seat. Told them this was an issue with many owners. Disappointing to learn that this issue still exists with their new seat. Still, I am looking forward to getting mine as the stock seat was a bit uncomfortable on my last three day trip.

Sent my ECU off to Ivan on a Monday and had it back on Wednesday!! Going on / off throttle in A mode is much more smooth. Even shifting with the clutch is smoother since you need to open / close the throttle for each shift. Power seems to come on slightly faster when rolling on the throttle in lower gears and there is less engine vibration (not that it was bad in the first place). Cruise control now works in all gears. It was a hot day and when stopped at a light I noticed the fan came on sooner than usual...….a good thing for keeping the engine cool. The one unexpected surprise is that now the quick shifter seems to work better with faster, smoother shifts. Maybe a result of the changes to fueling or ignition timing tables. Money well spent.

Been a long time coming. Pre ordered mine September 3rd. Had good luck with their seats on my VFR and Ninja 1000.

My ideal sport touring bike is one that is as light as possible without sacrificing comfort and desired function. Any added unnecessary weight is a detriment to braking, handling, acceleration, fuel mileage etc. This is one of the main reasons I chose the Tracer.