knyte

Looks like great gear! Someone's sure looking forward to spring!! If I might ask, why the concern with Bluetooth standards - are you looking for specific features? My old(er) Bluetooth crap all still interconnects as desired - it's not like it just stops working. As for who's been naughty or nice - I've been naughty this year, but got an Atlas for myself, my g/f, and my dad for our spring ride:

This is a key point IMHO. The way it was explained to me is that it's not so much the sandblast effect as it is if the valve closes on a bit of grit...this can degrade the valve seat(s). @skipperTWhat's your opinion on the Yamaha Racing washable filters in this respect? I'm not sold on K&N (for this application), but the Yamaha filters seem like far better quality.

A couple of recent threads come to mind: and So, it depends on your school of thought: Some feel that within spec is good enough. It will still perform well, and you know for certain that a valve service is coming. Some feel that if you're in there anyway, and you plan on keeping the bike a while, set the valves to the loose end of the spec. The shop that just did my bike did this without asking, because they knew I'm keeping it. Now I know exactly where it's at, and that the next check will be 35k- 40k kms.

@texscottydCongrats - that is a beautiful looking machine

Yeah, great point. I wonder if it has something to do with varying metallurgy between factory shims & different production runs vs aftermarket shims or something.

So it seems like 32k km / 20k mile intervals would be roughly the sweet spot, maybe a bit more. 35k kms / 22k miles or so.

Thanks 2and3. I wouldn't have known that if not for this forum. I've learned so much from you guys.

As an experienced crash test dummy, I can say that 100% of my crashes and injuries were all a result of mindset, or lack of. Once being overconfident and complicit despite the temp that fall day. Turned left without seeing the light film of humidity on the ashpahlt, a cold early morning, and the back tire slipped out as I throttled out of the turn. Two broken metatarsals and a broken shift lever. Rode it home. Next I was dreaming and forgot that lack of momentum means you don't stay upright. Off-road on a heavy bike, flopped over. Fractured right ankle. Sold the bike...classic newb mistake, that bike was wayyyy to heavy for me and my lack of experience. Lastly and most recently I was again off-road and spied a friend at the end of the field. Bought the bike two weeks earlier. Hey I'll show off on my new dual sport. Spiral tibial fracture. Riding aids nor regulations would have helped at all. Cooking the meat between my ears from raw to medium, being present in the moment, and calming the eff down would have. Preparing for the unexpected and remaining attentive has saved me...someone backing out of a parking space (I had done several hours of cone practice the day prior), a lane changer who didn't see me (I could see his eyes and they didn't look in his side mirror), a deer jumping out in front of me on the highway. All with proper mindset... Unlike the three examples earlier.

That guy is really good

Not really a question, I guess...but the shop messaged to let me know they finished it up today... New plugs Oil change Install Yamaha Racing washable air filter Throttle body sync - near perfect already, no adjustment needed Valves (all meaurements in mm): intakes before between .11 and .13 (spec is .11 - .20) intakes now .20 exhausts before between .20 and .25 (spec .26 - .30) exhausts now .30 So, she should be all ready for spring.

Congrats on the Tracer! Good to have another one on board!

You might be thinking of this. He shows the internals really well. It's tempting!

What a great travel log. Sooo jelly! I can't wait to ride out to eastern Canada. Thanks for the amazing detail and photos!

Welcome! So many great characters and resources here. You've come to the right place! How's that Tracer treating you, and which part of the country are you in?

Yamaha has me spoiled with that triple. Not sure I can go back to a V or a parallel twin. I'm always interested in new bikes, how they're engineered, and what they offer. The Transalp has some cool features, but it's not a bike for me, personally. The 18" rear and 21" front suggest off road-capable, but it's clear it's a slab-oriented bike that can *manage* off road, whereas the T7 (for example) is the other way around - it's dirt-oriented that can manage slab.

I see it as a budget ADV bike. The mechanical engineering seems sound, but the bike itself is slim on luxury features. 5 riding modes, TFT screen. TC and ABS can be disabled by programming a 6th user-configured mode. "...comes with smartphone connectivity for navigation, music, calls, and messages," but they're not clear what that means. Given the lack of electronic gadgets keeping the cost down, it should fit in somewhere around a T7 maybe? We'll see what the US-spec version brings.

Looks like it's dropping soon...should be interesting to see how well it fits into the segment.

@Lone Wolf Thanks again!! The tensioner arrived last week, and the spring just last night. Crazy that someone actually had a run of new ones produced after all this time. It may have jumped a tooth, but from what I understand it's all marked so timing it shouldn't be too big of a deal.

@Sundeyou should see some of Triumph's accessory instructions. Not only was the connector in the wrong place, the wires weren't colour coded anything like the instructions depicted. Yes it was the correct connection in the end. In spite of the instructions!!

Great write up, thanks @Wintersdark. The GRONK could also be mitigated with an APS tweak (for us '15/16 owners), no? I plan on doing this after a major service that I can't do myself at the moment. 32,000 km's, and I had a shop pick it up for valves, install a Yamaha Racing washable air filter, TB sync, spark plugs, oil change. Should be all ready for spring, and I hope to be, too. Seems best to wait until after a valve / TB sync, THEN adjust the APS. Like @ValleyRider (great name, btw, Jeremy's ROCK!), it'll be an expensive touch (I trust the shop, though. They took my g/f's BMW F650GS in from a failed shop when it was in pieces, head off, parts scattered about in unlabelled boxes mixed in with other bike parts, puzzled it all together, got it right the first time, and was fair about it) - this is why I, too, do most of my own mechanic-ing. Like Dad said to me as a kid, "get ready to save thousands in labour, but spend thousands in tools"

I picked up aftermarket ABS rings to correct that, and it's deadly accurate now. Vcyclenut doesn't list them any longer. You could always contact them anyway; never hurts to ask.

Ordered!! @Lone Wolf I've been searching off and on here and there over the last two or three years for the right parts. Once again, this forum comes through. Can't thank you enough for the tips...stoked to get it going again! @peteinpa I hope you enjoy your 750 as much as I've enjoyed the 550. Nighthawks have good character.

Rats. Not surprised. Good to know, thanks for that.

Accepted; and I offer the same in kind. I shouldn't have posted that day, my headspace was totally out of whack.

Very cool. I still have my first street bike which came from a family member. An '83 Nighthawk 550C. I love EVERYthing about it except the ergonomics. It has torque for days in any gear, winds out FAST, looks fantastic, and handles reasonably well (not great, but well enough) - it just doesn't fit my frame. It needs a bit of an overhaul (I suspect the cam chain tensioner), then it goes to my g/f.