StealthAu

I was just riding in the rain. Third gear, gave it a bit and the rear started to step out before traction control kicked in.

Pirelli Angel GT's on other bikes with similar power are miles ahead in the wet. 

Same story in the dry really, the stock rubber is cheap junk. 

You should be able to turn the qs back on by lifting the gear lever and maintaining upward pressure (as though going up a gear) and turning the key on. 15 seconds or so from memory. 

Front preload is maxed out. I've got something like 58mm sag front. 

Rear is around 3/4 of max preload. On the softer side to match the front until I get new springs.

They go in front first. No height adjustment. 

With 140mm travel in the rear, 40mm sag is  ok. 

Ideally, you want new fork and shock springs. I'm similar weight, these bikes aren't setup for us. 

On 5/20/2019 at 11:31 AM, RichNDC said:

So...I had the steering head bearing checked--torque was set correctly. Tires, chain, suspension settings....Last week I did a 6 day ride that culminated on a track day. Bike performed excellent, or as excellent as I am able to make it perform (which, was not much, thought I was a pretty good rider until I got on the track with the real deal guys). Coming back, bike was loaded. Top box, side cases and a 30L SW Mototech bag on the pillion. Wobble, ever present, again--only at 42mph during decel and hands off the bars. Then I get home...I take off all bags, wobble is now GONE. I cant make it wobble. The thing is, early on, I tested all bags, some bags, stuff in bags, bags empty--wobble always seemed present. Without the top box, there is NO WOBBLE. So, dont buy a top box for this bike, unless you like a wobbler. .....and if you do, I now have one for sale. Today, I got my Corbin seat.  Lovely. BTW--dont get electric blue welts or siding--it is not even close to matching. Some vinyl paint and I now have gloss black carbon fiber sides and welts. 

Try adding preload in the rear, see if that reduces it with luggage. 

Some people tune it to add fuel to the mid range where it is a little lean, smooth out the throttle as some has said. 

Personally, I don't find the fueling too bad on the GT. 

What does bug me a little is the delay between my right hand and the throttle valves. I'm used to bikes with traditional throttle cables, direct control. 

This will drive me to retune my bike at some stage, I'll go over the fueling and ignition maps while there, but main goal is a 1:1 throttle grip to throttle valves ratio. 

In past, a C on the end of the model designated California model. 

This was in the 90's when California had more stringent emission regulations than the rest of the US. 

Probably unrelated to the current Tracer. 

Edit. Chitown beat me to it, I guess California models are still a thing. 

These guys sell decent gear, have easy to use software, after sales support etc.

They are also currently working on "race tools" for the tracer gt.

Race tools will include the ability to tune the quick shift. Auto blip on down shift. Launch control etc.

11 minutes ago, Stonegoat said:

Thanks for the input.  I'm wondering if the  fueling abruptness issues have been resolved in the 2019 Tracer GT model??  I really don't want to have to flash the ECU, especially as other motorcycle options with sensible fueling are available.

The 2018/19 GT is noticeably less snatchy than the older CP3 bikes. Not necessarily rectified via fuel maps, more so via throttle restrictions in the tune. 

13 hours ago, Luma46 said:

My experience so far has been that to use QS under full throttle, you have to be over 5k, preferably 6k rpm. As I very seldom go over 5k, I learned to roll off a bit of the throttle when shifting. I got to a point that 90% of my quick shifts are pretty smooth.

If you are rolling off the throttle, you are not using the quickshfter. You can roll off the throttle on a bike without a quickshifter and change gears. Disable the quickshifter and do what you described, nothing will change. 

5 hours ago, norcal616 said:

I would test ride both the MT-07 and Tracer900... My reason is the MT-07 has no "electronic throttle"- just a good ole cable system all the way to the throttle bodies... The Tracer900 has an "electronic throttle"- has a very small cable system leading to an electronic motor that opens/close the throttle bodies and very quick to react to stuble wrist movements...

Also both bikes have two very different engine sensations/ power delivery... The MT-07- tractor like torque feeling in all gears(low to mid range power)...Tracer900- caged cheetah always ready to run( low mid-range to redline power)...

The electronic throttle cables actually dull down the response, not enhance it. 

Even in A mode, it doesn't provide close to a 1:1 throttle to valve ratio. Snap the throttle to WOT and the computer tells the valves to open progressively (all in less than a second).

The difference in responsiveness more relates to the lessor capacity and torque. 

5 hours ago, Bimbim18 said:

Looking forward to it. Still looking for a windscreen worth it.

 

Shorter rider, 5'5" I love my GT but the windscreen and the fact a helm won't fit in the saddlebag are the only things I dont like about the bike.

At 5'5", what issues are you having with the stock screen?

Pulled the trigger on a Madstad, adjustable height and angle sold me. Will update on effectiveness. 

I started out at 17 on a 900 Ninja. I wouldn't recommend this. Wouldn't recommend a Tracer to a kid either. 

But for the guys asking, in his 40's and sounding sensible in his post, I can't see it being an issue.  

Never really looked at the screen when turning it off, but I'm wondering if it is something to do with the light level sensor that changes screen display colours. 

On ‎4‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 1:12 AM, AtoB said:

I think I know what people are going to say to this question, but here goes......

I am 44 yrs old, 6ft 1, and have very little experience on a big bike, though pretty sensible mindset etc., fit / pretty coordinated for whatever that is worth.

I have been driving a 135 scooter for about a year, every day - so have the little road sense that brings me (very limited I understand on something that is only about 10 bhp). Completing all the training to pass my test here (Malaysia) for riding big bikes, and then plan on doing all the other safety training I can beyond that immediately, plus practice constantly, carefully, do loads of slow maneuvering exercises - whatever I can do to get my skills up - thoroughly looking forward to it all.

Looking to buy my first big bike - will be used for mainly highway/motorway commuting - about 50 km a day round trip, with some longer weekend trips - roads here are pretty good and there are so many bikes on the road that the drivers are pretty aware of them - more so than many countries at least. Having sat on and given a brief test ride on all the obvious contenders [to me] (V-Strom 650, Versys 650, Kawa Z650, MT-07 etc.), by far and away the most comfortable for my height were the GT Tracer 900 and less so, the Kawa Versys 650.

Reluctantly, I would accept that the Versys is the more sensible first bike, though where I am living, the Versys does not come with ABS. The GT obviously does (though no panniers ?!). I love the bike and felt more comfortable on the GT than the Versys.  Though I am very aware that the GT is very overpowered for a first big bike.  Is there anything to be said for going for the GT over the Versys, just because it has ABS, Traction Control and using it in B mode initially, or am I better off going for the non ABS Versys and then trading up in say a year / XXX miles etc? (I accept I will likely drop whatever I have at some point).

If you feel most comfortable on the GT, sounds like it is the best choice. 

They aren't overly powerful. In B mode the throttle is tame. 

You are old enough and from your post, sound sensible enough not to get yourself into trouble on one. 

2 hours ago, harraseeket said:

i installed a givi 2139. i am 6' and at the high setting it does put me out of the wind on the highway. but just barely over my helmet with seat at low height. so at 6' 6'' you will be getting at visor which wouldn't be good. the givi is borderline ridiculous looking at it's size, can't imagine what something bigger would look like.

at you height you might be better with a smaller screen and get the wind at your chest. anything above that but below top of helmet will cause buffeting at highway speeds ,which the worst scenario

It doesn't necessarily need to be bigger for it to work for me. Angles play a big part here. I'm tossing up between the givi and madstrad, the givi is 4" taller, but from what I'm reading, the madstrad could be a better option.

Older/less sophisticated quickshift systems, like on my Ducati, have a set ignition and/or fuel cut value for when it is engaged. As a result, they typically only work best at full throttle, as this is what they were primarily designed for. 

There is extensive mapping in the ecu for the quickshifter for each gear that dictates how much ignition and/or fuel cut is to be applied based on throttle position and rpm. It should work seamlessly at all points, but of course, it doesn't. Under high load it's pretty good, not so much under low load. 90% overall. 

It could be tuned to perfection if/when ecu tuning software unlocks this section of the ecu. The ecu also has the ability built in for throttle blips on downshift. Tuning software will offer this at some point I would imagine. 

The MRA one I have installed came with two mounting options, clip onto the top, or screw on. 

I went with the easy option, clip on. At full height there is a fair sized gap between the screen and the spoiler. 

I might try screwing it on, if I get the position right it might work out for me.

19 minutes ago, wordsmith said:

Whereabouts are you in the 'topics', Stealthy?   I'm in SE Q'ld and echo your being able to happily ride around screen-less - but I leave it on.

Although mine is NOT a GT, I did find that a so-called double-bubble aftermarket screen, nicely-made and pretty solid, from China (about $44) made quite some difference to the air-flow when I fitted it to replace the OE screen which so many folks here detest - although I did it mainly for appearance reasons, not performance.   I don't know if a GT version is yet out, but worth looking?   

And are you sure that your helmet is not contributing to the noise factor?

Best...

North East QLD mate. 

It is definitely the screen. At speed, I can position my hand on top of the screen to reduce it. My helmet isn't the quietest out there (Shoei Neotec) but as said, it is a much quieter ride without the screen fitted. 

6 minutes ago, wordsmith said:

Fixing annoying noise is far easier (and cheaper) than fixing other screen issues: just buy and use a good quality - preferably custom-made - ear-plugs.   I wouldn't ride without them.   On the very rare occasions that I forget to put 'em in before riding off I always (a) wonder how anyone can ride without ear-protection and (b) immediately turn around for home and and plug 'em in!

Good suggestion wordsmith, riding without them is very much ill advised. The damaged caused by wind noise is not good and irreversible.  

I always wear hearing protection. However, wind noise on this bike is still an annoyance. 

I had the same problem with my old VFR750, tried different screens and could not find one which made long highway trips tolerable.

My preference on the GT at present is no windscreen.  I live in the topics up the top end of Australia and could ride around here without a screen all year.

However, later in the year I intend to ride down the coast in climates which will be much cooler and require wind protection. Plenty of time to find a suitable option, I hope a few taller riders can give input to assist in picking the right one. Buying screen after screen to find the best fit becomes frustrating. 

1 hour ago, mike said:

The one I used is even smaller than the MRA unit. I paid $25 for it out of China. If the larger MRA unit does't work, this one probably will not either. If you want the ultimate in protection and adjustability, take a look at Madstad. I had their screens on my Vstrom and Tiger 1050, they are outstanding. They are pricey though.

Thanks Mike, 

They look promising. Various screen height options with a rider height cross reference.

It looks like they would do away with the stock screen height adjuster. This probably isn't a bad thing given how flimsy it is. Stock screen with MRA spoiler and it flaps around quite a bit at speed. 

Only real concern would be if the stock hand guards are compatible. Anyone have experience with Madstad screens on the GT?

1 hour ago, whistler said:

Welcome, Stealth!  Being a wee bit shorter than you, I can't personally testify to a screen that'll meet your needs, but maybe check out this link to another thread here on the forum, and you might at least get some ideas for tall screens that may work for you.

I do know that National Cycle V-Streams can now be had in a Touring model, and California Scientific makes a tall Touring screen for the GT as well; several riders here use'em and have good things to say about'em.

Best of luck!

Thanks Whistler, I'll have a browse later.

19 minutes ago, mike said:

I am 6'3" and just installed a small extension similar to this on my GT. (www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Windshield-Extension-Deflector-Motorcycle/dp/B06X3TS89H). This does not give you the perfect pocket of still air that some are looking for but does allow for open visor riding on occasion. I don't mind the original screen as far as wind protection is concerned but the noise level was terrible.  This unit smooths the air around my helmet an drops the noise level dramatically. Try holding your hand over the stock screen at speed and see if the noise drops to a level you can live with. If a flat hand will do the trick, this small screen may be all you need. Given the cheep price it is worth a try.

I will be looking for a stock screen to cut down for summer riding to give good air flow to my body and smooth air to the helmet in hot weather.

Hi Mike, the link provided doesn't work, but I'm assuming it is something similar to the MRA spoiler. I have added one of these to my stock screen, and while it is an improvement, it is only marginal. 

I'm wondering if this might work better for me fitted on either the Yamaha taller screen or mra screen.