Larz

Totally different animals, but when I run non-ethanol in my Harley, fuel mileage drops by 2-3 mpg, go figure

Interstate just makes you appreciate the good roads more. Yeah, hwy 12 was the pinnacle of the fun, fastest I've ever ridden it, but well within my comfort zone on the GT.

yeah I always edit my phone pics for color and pop ( if they were photo shopped they'd be much more exciting pics,eh). Blame the lack of badges on the "goo gone" thread ( but they were rather cheesy looking. Lucky you for not experiencing I-15 ;>)

With a little over 1200 miles on the clock, I took my first big trip on the GT: Phoenix area to Couer d' Alene Idaho and back, 3384 total trip miles; 3 days each way with 3 days up there visiting family and some local riding. Left on a Wednesday morning with a late start, so of course buried in traffic on I- 17 in already 90' +temps until out of the valley climbing up to Flagstaff- the GT in sport mode flexing some serious muscle for passing while climbing a decent grade. Hauling ass up US-89 thru Page and Kanab, up into Utah to hwy 20 and out to I-15. Baling for the night at Fillmore ( delightful little town where the Burger King and Costa Vida close at 9pm sharp). Slogging up I-15 in the morning thru Salt Lake. Into Idaho turned at Blackfoot onto US 26 towards Atomic City, trying to dodge the immense storm cells making their way across the valley. It was getting pretty wet by the time I made US 93, pulled over after a bit to put her in rain mode. Glad I did as I got caught in a hard cloudburst while descending the small pass before Challis. Stayed at the "biker friendly" Village Inn, where the cafe stays open till 10. A perfect blue sky morning, mid 50's so the Gerbing gets plugged in. I tear up US 93 towards Montana in 3rd gear with the RPM bar in the orange, too much fun.Gassing up in Hamilton Mt, I calculate my fuel consumption for that dance: 35.8 MPG Making Lolo Mt I turned back towards Idaho onto US 12: Lolo Pass freshly paved this year with much of the rest of 12 having been repaved in the last few years its back to being an epic ride worthy of its reputation. Stopped to visit an old friend in Juliaetta,Id :Canyon country. His place sits on a 35' slope with a gravel driveway. Never dropped my Dyna parking there; was doing ok with the GT until I put the kickstand down and it sank into the gravel. Some pretty deep scratches on the left sidecase. Up hwy 3 to Hwy 99 and out to US 95 and up to Couer d' Alene. Pressed for time on the way back, I ran I-90 to Missoula and back over to US 93 and the Village Inn at Challis. Down I-15 bucking a strong headwind the entire time, pretty much the length of Utah, to my daughter's place in La Verkin the next day. They live on a small farm with an old fruit orchard where I tented out. Rode the GT around in the tall grass and rutted dirt road no problem. East on hwy 59 and 389 thru Colorado city and Kaibab out to US 89 again and Page, Flagstaff, home. Awesome trip, the GT outperforming my expectations in terms of power, handling and comfort. p I-15 the next morning

Some of my favorite asphalt :>) I turned back into Idaho at Lolo. Lolo pass and hwy 12 are must do in the next 2 years or so- they just repaved Lolo pass ( very nice) and a lot of 12 is still good from recent repaving; Lost Trail pass still sucks on the Idaho side, however.

I thought the same thing prior to my trip up to Idaho and back- really consistent mileage. However, I ran Hwy 93 from Challis to just short of Hamilton Mt pretty much in third gear and the "Orange" the whole time: 35.4 MPG. Coming back on I-15 thru Utah- strong headwind, 80 mph speed limit ( everyone doing 90 and I like to pass peeps) fuel warning light came on at 130 miles ;>(

Yeah, my right mirror constantly walks itself back at freeway speeds, annoying. Going to have to make something to tighten it up

Great post, pgeldz. Romantic even and nice pics :>)

Shinkos are a bargain, for sure. How's the tread life? It's always subjective, but I think I'm a pretty aggressive rider overall- need something that will go better than 5k.

Touring/Sport riding application

Just about 5K on the clock- had to do a lot of Freeway ( ran down I-15 thru the length of Utah) on the way home from Idaho- rear is about down to the wear bars. Don't like how often these Dunlops kick in the traction control, so going to do both front and rear. What do folks out there like for tires on the Tracer?

4th Triple, cool, respect. Yeah, I'm finding it to be an exciting engine; it's only been Twins and an inline four on my previous bikes, this engine has some nice characteristics in comparison. I buy the extended break-in to full power. Been breaking in this engine with a lot of short rides, complete cool down in between: heat cycles, man ( I read too much, obviously). It's been interesting feeling the bike get smoother and more powerful with each little ride. But noticing it is still improving even though I'm stretching the rides out to a gas tank or so now that I'm over the 1k hump. Going to do a 3K round trip up to Idaho and back end of this week- that should have me close to 5K on the clock.

What a great bike; really enjoying getting to know this machine. Like Coop said, it's just about the perfect bike for me: light enough, more than nimble enough with enough power to lose your license in a hurry. I appreciate the refinements Yamaha has built into the bike, while still retaining it's Hooligan soul. I've ridden out a gas tank on on the Highway- very comfortable with the cruise control ( got some extended front frame sliders, let me stretch my legs out a bit, that'll help on the long hauls). Done lot's of 30-50 rides in the twistys up in the mountains as well as slogged through a fair amount of stop and go traffic. The bike hasn't disappointed in any scenario so far. I'm finding the seat good as long as I use my knees to grip the tank- got some cheap grip pads, wow, what an improvement in cornering and braking control, going to have to get some better ones, it's a bitch trying to get them to stick to the plastic panels. The windshield is pretty damn noisy, I'm thinking of trying the MRA windshield for a little less noise. The suspension seems decent off the floor- good enough to wait for 20k or so before upgrading. The brakes are more than adequate. But the Fuel range is a bit short- although the bike seems to get about 42-43 MPG consistently, it be nice if you could confidently go 200 miles before worrying about fuel. I have to admit to a wee bit of a let down; albeit, a self-inflicted one. I rode the first 200 miles in Mode B with TC 2 ( getting to know the machine, haven't ridden anything this sporty since I was a kid with a Honda 400/4 SS ( ok a lot less sporty). Put her in Standard after that. Finally had enough miles on the clock to put her in Sport mode with the TC off. OK, I guess I was expecting fireworks- can't keep the front wheel down , going to need a new rear tire real quick scary kinda stuff. It is super quick, no doubt, and feels like it would not take much urging to loft the front wheel or spin the rear tire, for sure. But it wasn't scary :>0. That's good in a way- I've got 9k into a Blueprinted engine in my Dyna- and no it's not as fast as the GT, but it ain't much slower; and the GT is plenty fast enough, although I'm thinking full pipe and some airbox mods with a re-flash just for shites and giggles I'ts no wonder this bike is so popular in Europe- budget price with kickass fun and amenities built-in ;>)

Lovin' it!

That's good know, thanks

Mostly AZ- 88

So what do folks know about the 4 pin power plug under the seat? I'm guessing it's for the blank power port on the right side of the fairing, and is only 2 amps? Owner's manual ( Yes I've got to get a service manual) just says go pay dealership. And along those lines, what you all doing to run heated gear- direct to Battery or connecting a power block of some sort..... thanks in advance for any feedback

Cool, sounds like you gotta a deal. The GT should be great for lane splitting ( I don't know how anyone can handle commuting in Cali without a bike Yeah this bike is way too much fun,eh. 850 miles on mine so far- haven't put her in sport mode yet, waiting for the magic 1k mark. Would have a lot more miles, but decided to really focus on heat cycles for this bikes' break-in ( 17 full heat cycles so far, all those small rides have helped me get more familiar with the bike in a shorter amount of time I think).

Yeah Coop, you really let me down, man. It ain't Candle Apple Red with Yellow wheels ;>) Aside from that, it's the best bike I've ever ridden ( so far)

"I got one! I got one..." ( waving hand in air at teacher; " Dammit, sit down Little Johnny!" :>) The stock hand grips are way too hard, at least for my delicate digits. on the flip side, they are heated ( love that you can customize the heat levels).

Sorry about that, I did mean hwy 14 on the Washington side (apparent onset of senile dementia ). Usually baled for 84 at Biggs or White Salmon ( that' s funky bridge though) . I 84 is ok going East on a weekday if you need to make time

The Hubris of the Digital age is the culprit, IMO. Shite, Google can't even get Text auto-correct right- yet their full steam ahead with autonomous cars. Should't come as a surprise that computer driven mileage estimators aren't accurate or that the're seen as must include items by manufactures.

I'm assuming you were heading East? Or West on a rare day in the Gorge with minimal wind? ( Man I hate running out of gas, only happened to me once on my HD- but it had 4 major breakdowns that left me standin' on the shoulder in the course of 80 plus thousand miles. Guess I'll adopt a bit of old school biker wisdom with the Tracer: " After 100 miles, NEVER pass up Gas or Ass" ; ) Thanks for posting, Man ( 65mph, hats off to you Bro, I couldn't do that unless there was WaSP sitting right on my tail! Next time you're doing the Gorge, try the North side in Oregon. Much better ride

It's very nice stock; however, it is a bit twitchy and difficult to hold a steady 3-4k rpm when trying to do slow speed precision maneuvers like flying W's, figure 8's and u-turns inside the lines of a typical parking stall. I've only got 100 miles on my so far- just got it yesterday afternoon; maybe it will improve as it breaks in, but I rather doubt it. Seems to be the fuel cutoff and transition from closed to open loop fueling. ( precision maneuvers on a Sport Touring bike? WTF. Yes, like my favorite instructor ( motorcycle cop) says " any fool can haul ass down the road, and that same fool will drop his bike trying to pull a tight u-turn or negotiate his way thru a debris field at 10 miles an hour). Learned how on my gangsta Harley, and my Versys would let me show up most riders on bigger bikes. But the Tracer is being ornery in this category. I'll get it, it's a must to me, but a re-flash would certainly smooth things out.