Stinky

Mike....The track wasn't THAT bad where you needed a full enduro or dirt bike. The adventure bikes did just fine. What I really wanted was a little more clearance and a skid plate. I only bottomed out the front forks one time. I would definitely go back and do that again with Belle. I'm trying to get a skid plate installed this week so that should help.

Salish....the video was at the end of the ride where the roads were in pretty decent shape. There were some river crossings, mud bogs, and some pretty solid uphill/downhill sections that made for some tricky riding. Instead of Chile/Argentine...think about Thailand/Vietnam!!! Awesome places to ride

I looked at the Conti TK70's...but I could not find any for sale in Malaysia. The Pirelli Scorpion 2's were as close as I could get. The vast majority of my riding is on paved roads...that is why I went with an 80/20 type tire. My experience is that almost NOTHING does well in the mud, wet, and slime. I purchased a skid plate last year and spent one afternoon trying to install it...The plate won. I lost and put the skid plate back in the box. Now I have to swallow my man pride and go to a shop to have it installed:)

Hello from Malaysia!! I got an invite from one of the local bike groups to go on an adventure ride. The riders on this group all have "proper" adventure bikes. But as I have learned in my old age, people invite you to go off road when they need people to help shovel/dig/pick up things on the trails. The group I rode with yesterday were riding: BMW GSA 1250's, BMW GS 1200's, and a Triumph Tiger. I was on Belle...a 2019 Tracer. All of the adventure guys had proper tires with a definite "off road" slant. Belle was fitted with Pirelli Scorpion 2. These are an 80/20 on road/off road set up. The trip was to take the back paved roads almost up to the Thailand border where one of the guys rode some old logging roads a few years ago. The conditions were typical Malaysia....always damp and a little muddy but not greasy mud. We rode about 20 miles of logging roads with plenty of elevation and parts where there was no chance of a 4WD truck getting through. There were deep ruts, river crossings, huge mud bogs, and a few slick and muddy up hill and down hill sections. The conclusion on the Tracer as "off road": It can go off road if you can. The limiting factors are: ground clearance: 17 inch front wheel vs. 21 inch wheel on the adventure bikes. Pirelli Scorpion 2's are not exactly "off road" tires. Not having a skid plate under the crankcase and exhaust. The adventure boys kept talking about "Enduro mode"..I guess that is some magical thing that gives you skill and handling???? The upside it that the Tracer is actually pretty nimble and light compared the the big BMW's. And trust me...picking up a 600 pound bike that fell on a hill is no easy feat. So my thought is this: " take the Tracer off road if you wish. Be mindful of the clearance and stay away from big sharp rocks if you can. Crank down the dampening on the front and rear suspension and the Tracer will handle most off road items. Will true off road tires help? Of course....but at the end of the day, I was picking up lots more BMW's and Triumphs than my own Yamaha. Here is the Youtube link for the ride...this clip is about 12 minutes.

efs..I have the same set up and ride in Malaysia. NOTHING offers protection and comfort above 90.

I have the Motoport custom air mesh jacket as well. I live and ride in Malaysia where it is hot muggy and can rain at any time. I wouldn't call the Motorport mesh jacket "cool and comfortable" (nothing is cool and comfortable in tropical heat and humidity).....but it is pretty comfy when you are on the move. It is mostly waterproof (only bricks and fish are totally waterproof) and when it does rain the jacket dries out really fast. Build and material quality......You could probably build a tank out of the kevlar mesh and have no problems. The Motoport gear is custom made to your measurements and you can add lots of options and give it the look you want. I hope I never have to test it in a crash....but if I do go down, I can't imagine being in any other piece of clothing that would protect better. Motoport's primary business is making protective pants and jackets for motorcycle police forces around the USA. That is a pretty strong endorsement. The one thing you may not like....the initial price. But if you factor in this is literally the last jacket you will ever need to buy, the quality and strength of material, craftsmanship, and custom fit...it was an easy check to write....for my wife and me.

Thanks Winterdark....I was thinking maybe my Tracer had a 7th gear!!!!

Love the idea for the horn on the crash bars. I just bought an aftermarket horn and it is a beast. It was too big to fit where the stock horn is and I was about to return it. I'm looking forward to giving a few careless drivers heart attacks when they think they are about to get hit by a Mack truck😁

Thanks for the input....I'll download it.

A guy I ride with here in Malaysia just sent me a link for the Yamaha My Ride app. On the surface it looks pretty cool. But I wanted to see if anyone here has used it. MyRide – Motorcycle Routes - Apps on Google Play MyRide has been created with you in mind, the rider. The app allows you to...

I hear you brother!!! The fast BMW guy who rode my Tracer said it was the first time he had ever ridden a Yamaha. He was pretty impressed. I liked many things about the BMW. My two concerns in owning that bike 1) WA (Wife Approval) 2) Service - In southeast Asia if you break down in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam not much of a chance to get the BMW fixed. 3) Price - The BMW is a great machine but it cost $4,500 more than my Tracer. See #1 to compound this reason. That being said....if i was going to do more adventure biking on dirt roads and trails, it would be tough to stay away from the BMW 850 at any price. Good luck to you...and I'll keep an eye out for the unicorn BMW:)

At 127 kph in 6th gear I am running about 5,500 RPM or so (maybe a little more). It seems funny that a shift indicator would come on in 6th gear.....unless there is a 7th gear I have not found yet? I also have not noticed the light coming on any other time but at spirited freeway speeds. Pretty weird, I know.

Nope...Just put them on the stock rubber ones. Several guys I know ride with the TPMS and they ride FAST!!!! No one has ever mentioned putting the metal valve stems in. But I will ask around.

We just finished a 3 day ride around the Malaysian Peninsula. 1,700km in 3 days. The roads were mainly rural and a combination of serious mountain twisties and long sweeping turn roads. We only did about 250km on the highway. A little geography lesson on Malaysia. It is long (750km north to south ) fairly wide (350km east to west) A tall mountain range runs down the middle with the highest peak standing 2,200 meters (7,200 feet). Day 1 We started on the north west west coast at the island of Penang. First day was north and east into the mountain roads. The final destination was the resort town of Kajail. We literally started at 20 feet above sea level, climbed to over 7,000 feet and then back down again to end at sea level. It was about 650 km on day 1. 9 riders total. The scenery in Malaysia is just awesome. You have jagged mountains, deep dense green jungles, and beautiful beaches all in the same day. The group opted for the rural and mountain roads instead of the free way. See the first picture for the Day 1 route. Day 2 Starting at the resort town of Kajail and finishing at Frasier Hill. The ride took us through more mountain roads with great scenery with an awesome variety of road conditions. Some of the mountain roads were wide and sweeping. Some of the mountain roads were narrow and twisty as heck. Overtaking on the twisty roads is an act of bravery/stupidity and some serious divine intervention. See the second picture. Total distance was about 575km Day 3 We left Frasier Hill bound for home. The trip up and down Frasier hill is truly a heart acing experience. Very steep, narrow, and tight twisting road. Uphill and downhill are done on separate roads. One way baby!!! You can really see what you and your bike can do on this section. We took the scenic and challenging road home. We toured up and down the Cameron Highland roads which are tight, twisty, crowded as heck, and two way up and down. No need to go to the doctor for a check up. If your heart didn't give out passing cars and tourist buses on this road, you are going to live at least 10 more years!! More sweeping mountain roads that took us to the last stretch of highway from Ipoh back to Penang. 500km on the last day. Thoughts It was my first long trip on Belle. The Tracer did just awesome. I was very confident on the handling and acceleration for passing cars in tight quarters. Malaysia is just a great place to ride. We went as fast as we wanted to and in 1,700km did not see a single law enforcement car or officer. You are free to be as brave/stupid as you want to be. The roads come in two forms: Terrific and Terrible....not much in between. The major roads were a dream to ride on: smooth and well maintained. Some of the rural roads are just plain dangerous. Mainly due to the heavy agriculture based trucks that roll on these roads. The scenery is just beautiful. You can see beautiful beaches, awesome mountain lakes and rivers, jagged 7,000 foot peaks, and deep green jungle all in the same day. You can also see wild elephants there...no kidding!!! Check out the picture of the "warning" sign! Put Malaysia on your "bucket list" to ride...it is that good. Sorry Guys...I could not get Day 3 map to load. Thanks for reading

I installed a TPMS on my Tracer. I can confirm that up to 160km/hr there is no wobble or notice that the sensors on the tires are even there. Past 160?????? I didn't do any thing special. Just screwed them on the tires and off I went.

wordsmith....That is my super power. I make easy things difficult😁

Zig...you might have read my post wrong. The BMW is a monster in the 4,000-8,000 RPM range. It doesn't seem to have the same "pull" in the lower and upper RPM range as the Tracer. But in the middle it is crazy strong!!!

daboo...that is an excellent point. The BMW had more aggressive "adventure" tires. I didn't get a look at the size but the front and rear tires were much more skinny than the stock tires on my Tracer.

Sorry guys!!! I must have had 1200 shaft drive on the brain. Yes, the 850 is chain driven. Which makes the transmission that much more amazing. Thanks for the correction.

bugie is correct. It only comes on in 6th gear and always at 127. Maybe my Tracer has 7 gears???? I'll adjust the settings and see if it changes. Thanks guys.

On my first long trip on the 2019 Tracer GT I noticed that a turquoise blue light comes on at 127km/hr in 6th gear. It is on the middle right side of the display. It stays on from 127km/hr and up. It disappears at 126km/hr. I have not seen it come on any other time. I did not see any writing or letters on the light. And to be honest at 127...I can't exactly fixate on a tiny light to try and see what symbol it is. Does anyone know what that thing is or does??

Awesome trip!!!! Thanks for posting.

I did a 1,700km ride over the long weekend here in Malaysia. It was a lot of rural and mountain twisties for roads. The rural roads in Malaysia come in 2 forms: Terrific and Terrible. There really isn't an in between. The well maintained roads are a dream to ride on. The not maintained roads are just plain dangerous...huge oil pan destroying pot holes, lanes that suddenly go from fast and smooth to broken and gravel in an instant, and new to me, black asphalt with ruts deep enough to scrape your foot pegs on. We had 9 riders on this trip. The bike break down: 1)BMW 1200 1) Honda 500CB 2) Kawasaki 650 Versyis 1) KTM 690 Duke 1) Suzuki 650 1) Harley 1) Yamaha Tracer 900GT (mine) and 1) BMW 850. In short all the riders there loved my Tracer. They were all surprised by the power and acceleration. Almost all the riders were complaining about the potholes and rough surfaces...except the BMW and KTM riders. The guy on the BMW 850 is a SERIOUS street rider. He races on and off track. I saw him eyeballing the Tracer the whole trip so on the last day I asked him if he wanted to trade for 50km or so on the twisty mountain section. So we swapped bikes and off we went. Here is my assessment of the BMW 850 and the Tracer: You can't even compare the two as they seemed to me totally different bikes. Advantages for the BMW 850: 1) Suspension: The suspension on the BMW was a dream!!!! It absolutely ate up the nasty parts of the road. 2) Drive/Transmission: The shaft drive and shifting on the BMW was just awesome. Much tighter and more precise feeling than the Tracer. 3) Display screen: The BMW is HUGE and it also has the ability to pair a phone by bluetooth. Tracer advantages: 1) The engine; Tracer wins by a mile here. Even though the motors are the same displacement, the Tracer delivered more in all parts of the RPM range. The BMW was very responsive but only in the middle of the RPM range. From 4,000-8,000 the BMW was a beast. But I found myself bogging down in 5th and 6th gear when I went hard throttle. You have to downshift to get the acceleration. 2) Handing at high speeds: No surprise here. The BMW handles more like a dirt bike than a sport bike. 3) Comfort: It is subjective but I found the seat position much easier on the old bum than the BMW. The BMW is a great bike. But my feeling is that it is more of an on road/off road adventure bike. Benoit ( the guy who rode my Tracer) loved it. His assessment was almost the same as mine. In my best French accent: "This bike can go very fast. The engine is so strong." I cane away feeling that the two bikes are so different that one could not even compare on which one was "Better". The BMW is a better adventure bike. The Tracer is a better sport/touring bike. I'll post up on the details of the ride in another forum.

Man I am glad I saw this thread!!! I thought Gremlins were coming to my house at night and re-arranging my mirrors as a prank!!! It was driving me crazy!! I'll do the ground down socket and loctite>

Guys, A buddy of mine and I were talking about all the close calls we have had in our lives. And that got me thinking.....Who doesn't need a little more help from heaven? That inspired me to build my DPA (Deity Protection Altar). I don't have a particular religious affiliation, and here in Malaysia just about every major religion is pretty well represented. My thinking was this: "Why pick one? Best to cover all the bases." My build consisted of two small glass encased statues (Buddha and Ganesh), bottle caps, two part 5 minute epoxy, and some 3M double sided tape. I filled the bottle caps with epoxy, set the statues in by hand, waited for it to dry. Then found a place on the bike, added the 3M tape, and PRESTO!!! Help and protection from heaven!!! It seemed to have worked as we did our first day trip this morning. No issues with the bike, we didn't get lost, no close calls from cars, no police, and we beat the rain home by less than 5 minutes!!! I'll be adding the standard Plastic Jesus and I'm on the hunt for a Shinto "saint" named Jizo.....he is the Japanese guy for protecting travelers. And please guys...no religious wars...this is all in good fun.