johnmark101

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. 

On 9/23/2019 at 9:14 AM, dmanteigas said:

I know what I need in my GT for it to be perfect:

- Better brakes

- Better suspension

- downshift quickshifter

Same here.  I would settle for just the suspension to be better.  It's not bad but I am spoiled by the custom suspension I have had on previous bikes.  May have to eventually do the same for this one.  

2 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

But do your other bikes with smoother pick-up have the mid-to-top end rush the CP3 has.  My VTR is also smoother and more controllable, and being a torquey V-twin is really sneaky fast but the CP3 engine sort of reminds me of my RD400 2smoke, with a brrapp and snarl that wants to wheelie despite its smaller displacement.  I call that FUN!  If rough around the edges...

And, I can ride it all day in comfort until my Sciatica overcomes the Ibuprofen not LOL

My other bike is a Ninja 1000 which has had the ECU reprogrammed by Ivan, which is why the throttle response is so smooth.  It makes ridiculous power,  much more than the Tracer. But I like the overall character of the CP3 engine better.    

12 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

By keeping the revs up in  lower gear and using the wide spread of power the CP3 engine offers, you avoid the on-off throttle transition which can be difficult to control smoothly even after the OEM fuel cut during off throttle is defeated by an ECU flash.  Plus in A Mode you get to luxuriate in the significantly faster pick up it offers, which can be sped up further (including also in Standard and B modes) by a flash.  A slip-assist clutch from am XSR900 also aids greatly in the twisties by enabling more engine braking without worry of rear wheel hop and chatter.  Better fork and shock action obviously aids the equation...

I did notice that at higher rpms this abruptness was reduced, but it is still present enough to be annoying.  Yes, the difference in throttle pick up between A and other modes is obvious.  My GT has the slip / assist clutch as well.

 I am spoiled by the smoothness of the throttle response of my other bike, which makes that of the Tracer seem even worse by comparison.  

My ECU is now out of the bike and on it's way to Ivan.

Just spent three days on the road, including riding some of the best twisties in and around North Carolina.  Did not care for A mode on some of the really tight stuff where you have to go on/off throttle quickly and repeatedly.  Otherwise it was not too bad but I am disappointed that Yamaha could not do better with the part throttle fueling.

Need to pull the ECU and send it off to Ivan.

18 hours ago, Clegg78 said:

 3. the LCD dash is nice, but I would like more data fields to choose from... no battery voltage, no Miles to Empty,  no Hours on the engine/oil, etc...  Would seem like a software update could bring some of that to the dash.

 

 

 

There is a maintenance section in the user menu where you can track your oil change mileage as well as any other item you might wish to add.  Refer to the owners manual for details.

Curious to know what mode some of you prefer and why.  I have spent some time riding in each.  I will only use B mode for inclement weather.  I like A mode for how early the power comes on when opening the throttle.  It is my favorite mode for getting good drive off the corner, but the response is a bit too abrupt for my liking.  For this reason I usually leave it in Standard mode.  I think getting the ECU reflashed to eliminate the fuel cut off at closed throttle will probably smooth things out to the point that A mode will be much better.

On 8/21/2019 at 9:26 AM, nhchris said:

On a recent tire change I reinstalled the rear wheel and tightened the nut using my 3/4 breaker bar till it felt "properly" tight.

I doubt I hit 111 foot pounds (which I think is excessive, especially for a dual-sided swing arm.)

The wrench in the link above is 1/2 drive. A bit small for 100 lb plus torquing?

A 1/2 inch drive is not at all too small for this torque value.  This particular wrench is rated up to 150 foot pounds.

Torque values are often based on the size, metallurgy and application of the fastener.  Like others I am a bit skeptical of such a high torque value for the rear axle nut.  Normally fasteners of a particular type and application will have a range that is acceptable which includes a target value.  For example, a fastener with a target value of 75 foot pounds might be written as 75.0, +/- 7.0 foot pounds, which provides a range of 68 to 82 foot pounds as acceptable.  In this example the tolerance is about 10% either side of the target value.  I torqued my rear axle nut at about 100 foot pounds and called it good.

My favorite route from the Robbinsville area to the Tail of the Dragon is highway 28.  One of the best roads in the area.  

On 7/22/2019 at 7:50 PM, maximo said:

Funny story on this. Couple of years ago a friend of mine from NC and his riding buddy did a nationwide tour. I hosted their NorCal section, spending 5 days on the roads here.  On the first day we went from Chico out to the coast Via 36, and when we got to Fortuna for lunch, one of the guys, who was wearing a Dragon t-shirt, hopped off his bike, opened up his saddlebag and took off his t-shirt and put on another one, saying "man, I'm embarrassed to be wearing this thing, all pompous like, when I just spent 2 hours on a road no one knows that puts the Dragon to shame." 

When discussing the roads in NC, GA and TN, everyone talks about the Tail Of The Dragon, as if it is the marquis road in the region.  Nothing could be further from the truth in my humble opinion.  The Dragon is a lot of fun and a unique challenge, but there are hundreds of miles of better roads to be enjoyed in the area where the three states share borders.  The good riding  also extends well into the Virginias. 

Hello and welcome!  The Tracer is a great choice for a fun, sporty bike on which you can still tour in comfort.  Like you I have a wonderful wife who is accommodating to my addiction.  

Lots of great members here who are always willing to share knowledge.

10 hours ago, skipperT said:

Some of those 46 views could have been those (like myself) with older models that don’t have the new fancy display. Thus we couldn’t answer the question. 

In case you hadn’t considered that...

-Skip

 

Valid point Skip.  But I did post this in the GT section.  Maybe I should have put "GT display" as the title.

Cheers......John

Congrats on getting the GT.  You are obviously in one of the best places in the country for enjoying a competent sport touring bike.  I try to get down that way a few times each year.

Welcome to the forum.

5 hours ago, Clicknow said:

I just compared mine with yours,and mine is the same.

regards graham

Thanks Graham.  It may have seemed a silly question but since the manual was not clear I appreciate getting your response. 

Well, forty six views but no replies.

Since the owners manual is not clear on what indicators are supposed to illuminate when the key is turned on, I was trying to confirm that all of mine are working properly since some do not illuminate.  If anyone would care to check theirs to see if it is the same it would be good information.

Thanks in advance.

3 minutes ago, jojosz said:

My favorite tires are Dunlop Roadsmart3 (best grip and handling, great in wet at pace), followed by the Conti RoadAttack3 (great grip and handling), and the Michelin Road5 (best wet).

Another vote for the Roadsmart 3.  Impressive dry grip for a sport touring tire and they feel very planted at deep lean angles.

Ivan's Performance Products does a great job with flashing ECU's. 

Kind of a dumb question but here goes...….

Reading through the owners manual about the warning / indicator lights around the sides of the display, it says that these lights should come on when the ignition key is turned on.  But, it says this after describing only a few of the lights, then goes on to describe the rest.  So it is not really clear which ones should illuminate.  Here is what I see when the key is turned on, with the exception that the engine warning light had already come on and turned off as it should.  Same with your GT???   

It is ridiculous what we have to pay for a set of motorcycle tires.  On the other hand, modern sport and sport touring rubber has made tremendous strides in performance in the last ten to twelve years.  I remember when first the Michelin Pilot Power tires hit the market and they were a bit of a game changer at that time.  

Count me in as another who is amazed at the mileage some riders manage to get from a set of sport touring tires.  So far the best I have been able to do is around 5000 miles from a rear tire on ST rubber and about 1800 from sport rubber.

Sport touring tires are a good match for this bike and will provide plenty of dry grip for spirited cornering, while outperforming super sport rubber in the wet.  Any ST tire from one of the major brands will do the job very well.  So far my personal favorite is the Roadsmart 3 from Dunlop.  They seem to be designed just a bit more on the sport side of the sport touring equation.

My local dealership is horrible.  Bike had several assembly defects related to dealer prep, one of which caused me a huge headache and also revealed that the dealers service department is incompetent!!! 

For me the stock seat is not too bad.  I guess every backside is different.  I can do a day of local riding with friends which is usually 170 to 200 miles and be fairly comfortable, but we usually stop a few times for fuel, water etc.   I could tell that anything longer might be a challenge.  Did a three day solo trip into the mountains.  Had a pair of padded cycle shorts on under my leathers and at about 400 miles on day one it started to get pretty uncomfortable.

I plan on pulling the trigger on a Sargent as soon as they are available and will share my impressions once I have put some miles on it.

7 hours ago, frankduluoz said:

Hey John,   Did your figure of $11,500 already include dealer fees like freight fee, set-up fee, administration fee, other fees whose name  I don't even know ?   Am liking your OTD cost of $12,150.  That's only a difference of $650 as compared to the $2800 difference between my local dealers advertised price and OTD cost of $13,600.  Have other members had their OTD cost for the 2019  GT come below $12,500 ?   Thank you to all who have replied and will reply.            Frank.

Yes, $11,500 included everything except taxes and license fees, which came to about $650.  

Checked mine and although they were flush they were not at all snug.  Removed them and reinstalled with locktite.  Better safe than sorry.