undecider

Not a lot of progress. I still think it is a combination of factors. I need to go out and ride some more with my Arai helmet to see if there is something about my Shoei helmets that exacerbate the noise. I also was thinking about ordering a shorty screen from Madstad for the warmer months and seeing if that helps. Been busy playing with a new to me dual sport I just picked up, so not a lot of miles on the Tracer recently.

Lookin' good, RBW!

I heard Yamaha is going to be producing the new Tenere 700 in both Japan and France. The Euro facility will supply Europe with bikes, Japan to the rest of the world. Yamaha keeps hyping this bike, so it was a bit disappointing to hear that North America isn't getting it until next year as a 2021 model.

Enjoyed a nice ride yesterday. Lots of wildflowers blooming in central Texas thanks to all the recent rains...which are expected to stay in the weather forecast for the next week. Glad I got to get it out while I could.

I went for a ride yesterday and the right mirror kept blowing back, even at speeds of 60-65 mph. Seemed like going over bumpy sections of pavement would induce the movement at those lower speeds. None of my 10mm sockets fit the recess, so I stopped at the local auto parts store and picked up a cheapie to grind down to fit. Seems to have snugged it up nicely.

I wouldn't be surprised if Yamaha has multiple facilities around the world producing these. Much of what we get here in the US is assembled in Japan. Even the less expensive models we get here, like the TW200, XT250, and MT07, are assembled in Japan.

Here you go!

Page 4-24 of my US owner's manual states: The quick shift (QS) system allows for full-throttle, clutch lever-less, electronically-assisted upshifts. When the shift switch detects motion in the shift pedal, engine power and drive torque are momentarily adjusted to allow the upshift to occur. TIP The quick shift system operates when traveling at least 20 km/h (12 mi/h) with an engine speed of 2300 r/min or higher, and only when accelerating. It does not operate when the clutch lever is pulled I have not experienced much difficulty with using mine. Usually, it is because I have let off the throttle and stopped accelerating because it is hard to reprogram my brain to leave the throttle open while shifting. I came from a DCT equipped Africa Twin, so at least my brain is pretty well used to not having to grab for the clutch. It does seem most clunky between 1-2, but is usually works pretty well. I am not hearing or feeling anything that tells me that I am destroying my transmission.

I love my Madstad. I found the tall version of the Cal Sci wasn't quite tall enough to put me in still air. If they made it any bigger, it would likely catch too much air and put excessive strain on the stock windscreen bracket. The Madstad uses its own bracket which is much, much sturdier than the stock piece. I am 6'2", so I would recommend the tall Cal Sci screen to anyone 6'0" and under. I would like to post mine in the classifieds, but am working on getting enough posts to be able to list things there.

I think getting rid of the big pumpkin signals does wonders to clean up the rear end of the Tracer. I installed some Rizoma signals (spendy, but worth it in terms of quality and brightness).

Been meaning to do this, but haven't test fitted the socket in the hole. My right mirror keeps blowing back when I run 80+ (which is legal on a road nearby). God Bless Texas' crazy speed limits!

Most bikes that aren't equipped with a high-end suspension have some sort of clunk in the front end when you work the suspension. Some have pointed out that the floating brake rotors are partly to blame, but I can feel a distinct clunk in a lot of bikes I sit on.

I would have a hard time trading in a perfectly good FJ09 on the new Tracer GT because I know how good the FJ09 was. That said, it sounds like the upgrades you value on the new GT are things you likely plan to purchase for your FJ, so it makes sense to upgrade. I love my GT, hope it keeps me happy for a long time because all this switching around to different bikes has seriously taken a toll on my bank account over the last 3 years.

So, over the last couple of weeks, I have honed in on what is causing the noise. Previously, I mentioned having tried 3 different helmets (all Shoei) and could not discern any difference in the noise (which is to say there wasn't any difference aside from the varying levels of wind noise due to the helmets being of differing types). The helmet I had not tried is my Arai Corsair which is more of a track oriented helmet. Interestingly enough, it produced much less of the whistling noise. Another thing I did was ride the bike a lot with the windshield in varying positions, most of which were outside of the parameters I would use (all the way down or with extreme angles of tilt). I found that with the screen all the way down and titled pretty much any place, the whistle was much, much quieter regardless of which helmet I had on. Last Monday, I rode the bike way out of town and had a lot of time away from traffic where I was more safely able to move around on the bike and focus on how and where the noise comes from. First thing I found was that turning my head left or right would reduce the whistle as would tilting my head down. That further confirms the helmet does affect the noise. I was wearing my Shoei RF1200 that day. The other thing I found was where the noise originates. It is the windscreen. There was no noise with the stock screen, some with the Yamaha touring screen, even more with the Cal-Sci screen, and the most with my Madstad system. The noise is coming from the air that gets to the underside of the windscreen. While this air flow is needed to reduce turbulence and help the air flow hitting the front of the bike go further up and over my head, it seems to be rushing under the windscreen at just the right volume and velocity to create the whistle. Going down the road, I could place my hand to block that air flow and the whistle is completely eliminated, but at the cost of more wind hitting my helmet and buffeting it around. Since I am hoping not to have to buy another pricey helmet, I am going to see if I can fabricate some sort of small wind deflector that has the effect of disrupting the flow of air just enough to eliminate or reduce the whistle without adversely reducing the otherwise smooth flow of air I get with my Madstad windscreen system. Wish me luck and of course I will update this with my results.

I have tried different helmets (Shoei Neotec, Shoei RF1200, and Shoei Hornet X2). The noise is definitely not from the helmet. At first, I though it was from the windscreen, but all of my replacement screens have not fixed the issue. The better they are at moving wind over my head, the noisier the whistle is which tells me that the noise is from somewhere else. It really does seem to be coming from below head level, perhaps from the fairing or fork tunnel. I do ride with earplugs and it overpowers still. I can also hear a distinct gear whine and this is not seemingly related. I was thinking about borrowing a neighbor's electric leaf blower to see if I can isolate the noise by moving wind across the bike.