Wintersdark

15 hours ago, petshark said:

In this video the olmax features a bead breaker but recently you mentioned using C-clamps for that job. Is the Olmax bead breaker no good?

I don't use c-clamps to break the bead, I use them to hold the bead together and in the drop channel.  The bead breaker on the Olmax works just fine.  

There's lots of tools to do this, and I've seen pictures of people using wine corks and all sorts of things.  I just find c-clamps to be super easy.  Those trigger bar clamps are probably even better (rubber/plastic jaws are less likely to mark anything).

he biggest struggle for me before using them was when I'd get most of the tire over the rim, I'd REALLY struggle with the last part.  People would say things like "use lots of lube" and "take small bites" but neither where relevant.  The solution was getting BOTH beads into the drop channel.  I was just using my knees to push the bead on the side I was working on down into it, but the other side would work against me.  

Also, when putting tires on, c-clamps can work like Bead Buddies and what have you, preventing the bead from popping back out as you work your way around.  Generally not an issue with the Olmax but definitely one of you're just doing it on the ground.

Yeah, my dual lense visors get that lense flare at night.  It's vaguely annoying but not a big deal.  Certainly better than a fogging visor at night!

7 hours ago, Grumpy Goat said:

I will admit ignorance here, but I actually want to know the facts behind:

1. why do the throttle bodies need to be synced at all?
2. why do they need to be synced every 4000 miles?

In this modern day and age they cannot design a fuel system that is more robust than this? With first sync at 600 miles?!! I find it a bit absurd actually. My other bike makes no mention of this sort of adjustment at all.

Don't get me wrong ... so far I like the Tracer but things like this make me wonder ...

1. As characteristics of the engine change, this helps keep the engine running as smoothly as possible.  The real impact if it's not done is vibration, and that's (generally) viewed as a much bigger issue on a motorcycle than a car, being almost entirely engine and your handlebars being so susceptible to it.  On a car, there's so much more non-engine mass that it's just not a big deal.
2. The time period is really vague.  It doesn't *need* to be done at all unless you've got a problem, really - it's very unlikely to get significantly out unless you have a problem causing very uneven carbon buildup.  However, the Japanese love their maintenance.  But you'll notice the maintenance schedule has a LOT of things that don't ever really need to be done unless you have a problem.  

The Tracer isn't unique here, this applies exactly the same to every multi-cylinder motorcycle.  

7 hours ago, CJ3cyl said:

Oil light came on again this chilly morning on the commute to work.  Again, just after an oil and filter change yesterday evening. This time I just ignored it and it went away within a few miles. . 

If it's filled to the top line on the sightglass when checked (as directed in the manual), and you oil light comes on intermittently still just while the bike is running, I would not ignore it.  

But as noted above, the oil needs to almost completely fill the sight glass.  

Source: Lost a beloved truck because I did that, when what was happening was the oil pump was failing and non consistently supplying oil. 

3 hours ago, piotrek said:

I used one of these clamps for my RS3 tire change, and it worked very well. Locks and stays put. It helps to soap the tire contact surface of the tool just before working it onto the rim.

I'm a strong, strong supporter of using actual tire lube personally, I've had much better results with it anyways.  That said, for sure, if soap works for you then that's a lot simpler.  Just that I struggled a lot when learning (and damaged some tires) and it suddenly got WAY easier once I was just using tire lube.  

But yeah, I definitely agree with the tool lubing. I straight up dip my irons into my lube bucket before using them, and it makes a lot of difference.  

...working very hard to avoid making the obvious because-I'm-actually-13 jokes here.  

On 5/9/2022 at 8:23 AM, draco_1967 said:

That's interesting. I just had the opposite problem. I was removing a Dunlop RS2 rear that was stupid stiff. It took about an hour to get that beast off. The new Bridgstone T32 went on like butter. I need to pick up some beat helper tools, like this one, to keep the bead in the drop center. On the rear, it is much harder to do with those wide tires.

 

Those look interesting! I've just been using C clamps personally, they're cheap and readily available anywhere tools are sold, and they work spectacularly.   But those would be a fair bit more portable and light I think, vs. the big 8" clamp I use for the rear tires. 

I hope they do.  I'd seriously consider trading the Tracer in for a new, more naked Niken with that new CP3, given it's basically the same bike with fun front end stuff, and having that mechanical stuff exposed would be very cool.  

47 minutes ago, Grumpy Goat said:

What is the effect of the booster plug on fuel economy? I would expect that since the mixture is enriched (more gas is used) the consumption is increased.

Nothing measurable.  The changes only happen in open loop mode: low speed low rpm and hard acceleration.  

At low speed/low rpm you're using very little fuel so a bit more doesn't matter, and you're not spending much time under hard acceleration.  

Because when it's in closed loop mode using the O2 sensor, it doesn't use the air temperature calculation anymore and instead adjusts based on the O2 sensor result.  

So you do use a little more fuel, but it doesn't impact cruising fuel use and that's where the lion's share of your consumption comes from.  There was no change to my overall average fuel usage before/after according to the dash display or my overall range. 

You'd only really notice if you took it to a track or where riding stop light to stop light doing hard pulls at each light (guilty, occasionally) at which point you'd use up to 8% more fuel.

Obviously don't use it with a flashed ecu as that will already run richer, so it'll compound the result. 

On 5/6/2022 at 11:50 AM, edgarjessop12 said:

Cheers Ride365, That sounds interesting. Will get in touch with booster plug. Although I am sure it is a fuel problem that

is making the bike hunt, but worth a look thank you. Was going to take off the catalytic standard exhaust, fit a sports 

exhaust and get the ECU flashed or remapped.????

The booster plug adjusts the fueling, when at low rpm and under heavy acceleration when the bike is in open loop mode.  

It tells the ECU the air temp is 10 degrees lower than it is, causing the ECU to enrichen the mixture whenever it's using the fuel map to adjust fueling (vs. steady state cruising where it's using the O2 sensor).  This SIGNFICANTLY improves low speed throttle, and throttle response under hard acceleration.  

Flashing the ECU goes further, of course, and is more effective overall, but for most use cases IMHO the booster plug is great.  I ran one for quite a while and really loved it - only removed it as I'm replacing the exhaust this year, and flashing, because I want a pretty new exhaust more than anything else.  

While the booster plug does make a big difference when you first rip open the throttle (though no appreciable difference afterwards) the improvement to low speed/low rpm riding is outstanding.  Very substantial.  

And it's comparatively very cheap ($150usd shipped, IIRC) very non-invasive to install/remove.  

5 hours ago, Ferrett847 said:

Funnily enough for some strange reason it disengages aproxamtly 5 seconds after setting ,but not sure that a sprocket change would affect this or be the cause as I understand it's based on speed and being in 4th gear and above .Do you know something we don't .

Yes.   I just went through this myself.  You can't go that far in gearing.  You CAN run 16/47 successfully, but a 15/45 will break cruise control.  

Don't be like me.  I just spent $650 in diagnostics trying to get my CC fixed when it was purely my own fault with a $30 sprocket.  In my defense, who the hell thinks a single tooth up front will somehow break cruise control?  That's just *wierd*.  

What happens is the factory cruise control has a safety feature in which if the RPM's do not match expected ground speed it shuts off cruise control as a protection from over-revving the engine should the clutch fail or some such while under cruise control. 

But yeah, I REALLY loved the 15/45 gearing to ride.  Super fun.  The upside is that 16/47 is close and also good, and crucially it doesn't break cruise control, so it's not all bad.

To each their own.  I've used a lot of throttle locks in my day, and they're fine, but whenever I'm in a group, or riding around town, I use CC heavily.  If I'm leading a group, it's WAY better for me to set cruise specifically where I want it rather than changing speeds as I ride causing that wonderful accordian/spring effect... And when I'm in town, we've still got big open roads (Calgary, yo) but with low speed limits.  I get in trouble easily.

But going anywhere here, just to get TO a twisty road entails 30-60 minutes of big open straight roads.  Ugh.  Much nicer to just lock on CC and have my hands free.   I really struggle with my right hand in particular going numb, so being able to get it off the bars when not needed is a blessing (and, no, before the suggestions: in this case it's due to an old injury, not because I'm death-gripping the bars, and between my grip puppies and bar end weights, there's no vibration). 

For sure, it's value varies a lot from person to person, but for me?  Like @betoney I'll never buy another long distance riding bike without it.  I miss it a LOT on my Tenere, even with a throttle lock.  It's definitely a 100% requirement for me going forwards.

7 minutes ago, betoney said:

Agreed, just like the Pan America, the best thing Harley could do is release something very 'non-Harley' to get the 'anti-Harley' consumer to take notice. 

A lot of (most) the people I ride with would never consider owning a Harley but the release of the Pan America stirred up a lot of buzz and conversation amongst us with most showing curiosity and at least some interest in taking one for a test ride.

Exactly this!

And really, Harley did the Pan America thing well.  It's not a perfect bike, but it's 100% a competitor with the best in it's class, and that's frankly shocking.  

They need to stop the silly crap they do with the Sportster ("Hey, look, this is so great, but... waaaaaait, lets just turn up the Harley here a skootch, just a bit...") and just go all in, make a GREAT streetfighter/naked bike.  Make something that'll make people turn their heads and scoff at the FTR.  You know they can do it, that their engineers are very talented and absolutely able to make something both super awesome *and* very much "Harley" - just so long as they're allowed to do their jobs and are not hamstrung every step of the way.

The bulk of the people I ride with are much the same.  Pretty much every single one was in the "Hey, that's a bike I'd actually like to own!" (Usually followed by... "If they would just make the damn Bronx!")

6 hours ago, draco_1967 said:

Thanks! I bought some Ammo Frothe waterless wash. We are going to be hit with some heavy water restrictions this year, so waterless will be the way for a while. I really like how it works, and it makes the garage smell pretty 😄

I mounted the new tires yesterday - Bridgestone T32s. The old Dunlop RS2 rear was a beast to get off. I did get 12k miles out of the RS2s, which is a record for me. Usually my tires are toast after 8-9k miles. 

The Mustang is a '67 fastback GT with an all aluminum 427 stroked to 482. My dad and I bought it in 2001, when I was in high school, and we started working on it together. Then I went off to college, and it sat for a lot of years. He sent it off to a shop in Carlsbad, CA, called AVS Fabrication. The owner, Al, is a freaking artist! The car looks better than new, and drives wonderfully with the new suspension, brakes, and mods. 

Oh, my god.  That is a thing of beauty.  Wow.

3 hours ago, mingo said:

I had one. I didn't like using it, or storing it. And lifting the bike isn't as quick as using a paddock stand. 

p.s. And for someone like me who owns multiple bikes, you need a different ABBA stand adapter for each one. With the paddock stands, you just need bobbins on the swingarms.. 

Yeah, for sure just using it for moving the bike around it isn't terribly efficient.  But if you work on your bike?  Having it lifted *and* off the front and rear wheels?  Ooooh so good for tire changes, suspension work, etc.  It's always such a HUGE pain in the ass to get both wheels off the ground.

The only reason I don't have one is that I do have two bikes and they did not (at the time) have support for the Tenere 700, but hopping over to their website for this I see they do have adapters for it now.  I'm absolutely ordering one next month.  So stoked.

1 hour ago, Heli ATP said:

I don't really have the room or time for the ABBA, I agree it works well. I just need something to turn the Niken 180deg after I drive into the garage. I looked at centerstand dollies but most are good for 500lbs and the Niken comes in at 570lbs stock. After farkling I'm more than that 😁

Niken on ABBA Skylift

Yeah, mine is actually a rear wheel dolly that has a sidestand extension for bikes that don't have center stands.  I just removed the extension and use it as is.  I've no idea what the official weight limit is, but it's 1/4" bent steel plate (and extremely heavy) - it can support my Tracer and my 300lb butt without the slightest bit of bowing. 

---

But yeah, those omni wheel paddock stands are *VERY* cool.  Very, very cool. 

The Dynamoto stand is nice, but at $665USD, why take that instead of an Abba Skylift?  The Skylift is $100 more, for sure, but:

https://abbastandsusa.com/product-detail.asp?item=sky-lift&pid=44

It's SO much better.

18 hours ago, mingo said:

I always struggled to turn my bike around in the garage.. I finally broke down and ordered these:

https://www.dynamotousa.com/?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_campaign=02002ac2e1f0&utm_medium=ad&gclid=Cj0KCQiArt6PBhCoARIsAMF5wagyisYGGDWksoee5oAoi79c4dpbLjlLaNKmE4B8cCEEFV8-XQnZaicaAhMyEALw_wcB#

 

Very well engineered and a high quality product. Now I can spin the bike around with ease..

 

Hey, those are so cool.  I've got a dolly for the centerstand myself, which works pretty well (and was only ~$60) but those are awesome.  

22 hours ago, micah2074 said:

Now, they need to use that engine and it’s like in other platforms. 

They are!  It's in the Sportster S which, IMHO, is a huge disappointment - they were so close to making a really great bike, but then had to go all Harley and screw it up.  

Still, there's the 975CC version in the new Nightster, which is pretty interesting, and the leaked ID for a 975 powered Pan America (which IMHO is extremely interesting; midsized ADV bikes are much more practical than big ones).

More interesting too is that it was the 975 that was included in the prototype Bronx... God, I want them to make the Bronx

There were some early QC issues, but overall it's a really great bike, very well reviewed overall even by very non-HD-friendly outlets.  

Definitely a very strong entry in the large ADV/Tourer category, easily a competitor for bikes like the GS.

6 hours ago, Ride On said:

When I was a kid (supposedly a long time ago) I switched out my front sprocket on my dirt bike for one that was one tooth smaller.  You see, I had a buddy with a similarly fast bike, and I was looking for faster acceleration to consistently beat his @ss.  So I stealthy upgraded to the smaller sprocket.  A solo test ride confirmed this thing now screamed.  Fast up shifts and wild acceleration.  It was time to go ride with my unsuspecting buddy.

Unbelievably, I was now getting smoked.  Every time we accelerated.  Every time.  What seemed faster riding alone was actually an aural and seat-of-the-pants hoax.  Riding together it was painfully obvious I made a horrible mistake, my bike now much slower, much to the amusement of my buddy.  Getting roosted was my punishment for the rest of the riding day. 

My misfortune ended with the stock sprocket being reinstalled that evening.  The Universe had tipped back into balance.

At 16/47 on the Tracer, I was side by side with my buddies Hayabusa up to 140kph, and I definitely wasn't prior.  Also, the 16/47 actually netted me +10kph in top speed as well (power v. drag, as you can't get anywhere close to redlining the bike with stock gearing in 6th)

You can definitely go to low, of course.  You start significantly losing top speed, and you're shifting more.  For the Tracer with a quickshifter the later is not really a problem however.

11 hours ago, peteinpa said:

Wow!  On both the labor cost and on why the cruise knows/cares what gearing you have.

Surprising that a worn tire doesn't cause it. Weird. 🤔🤪

There's a big gap before it happens.  A 16/47 gearing doesn't cause the problem, for example; so there's a fair bit of leeway.  But at 15/45... yep.

18 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

I thought you were going to fit and test the 16 BEFORE you took it in?!  What did they charge you for, 4.5 hours of labor? 🤔

It was already in the shop - it was an option to take the bike back and try the old 16 on myself, but I figured it wasn't really worth the hassle as even if it did work, I'd need to order a new 16t sprocket and locknut anyways, then change it AGAIN once they arrived... ugh.  And even if I did the above that, my bill would have ended up pretty similar (less 1hr labour).

They spent 9 hours testing looking for the problem before we got to the sprocket as a "last guess" sort of thing (and I've got all the data logger results and diagnostics for neat bedtime reading) - of which I had to pay two hours labor.  Plus a new sprocket and locknut (my old one having been off and on a few times), and another hour labor for swapping the sprocket + locknut and testing.  $125/hr labour, shop supplies, taxes, sprocket, locknut.  

I'd have saved ~$150 if I'd tested with my old sprocket, I'd guess, but... eh, at that point, I just wanted my CC back and I had the T7 to ride while I waited.  And of course if the problem still existed with the 16 tooth (which honestly I kind of expected) then that would have been a huge waste of time and hassle, and the cost wouldn't have mattered because it'd almost certainly have been a warranty issue.  

21 minutes ago, kilo3 said:

@Wintersdark

Just confirmed this as well on my 2020 GT 5 mins ago. 15/45 is a no go for factory cruise control in 4-6 gears. Mine only cost me. 15T sprocket. Thanks for the knowledge, I would have been cashing my tail as well.

What really sucks is that I still have the old 16t sprocket in my garage and if I had any inkling this was the cause I could have swapped it back with just a few minutes,and saved myself $650.  Know we know, anyways.

Picked it up from the shop, now $650 poorer. We've got confirmation now though: at least for the 2019 Tracer 900GT, a fifteen tooth front sprocket for 15/45 gearing will break the factory cruise control.  

Expensive and very stupid mistake, but in my defense... Who would think that would be a problem, at least without throwing a diagnostic code?  +/- a front sprocket tooth is hardly an unusual thing to do, and at 16/47 it worked just fine.

Well, time to put that nightmare behind me and just be happy I've got my baby back with CC again.

1 hour ago, texscottyd said:

Welcome to the internet!  I’ll be your tour guide for the day… 

lol yeah; my expectations are usually quite low, but there's things where you can tell that doing something incorrectly may render the whole job useless or even harmful.  I feel that generally when people are showing how to do something without using the proper tools, when the proper tool is both readily available and inexpensive, I need to question their judgement overall.  

And while I'll admit to not knowing a lot about calculating torque, I do know that if you're doing it wrong and not accounting for the wrongness, you're applying the wrong torque.  When the whole job is to torque bearings to a specific value (and in this case, two specific values) if you're doing it to the wrong value, you could well be making things worse.  

And it's really amazing how many super-janky steering head setting videos there are out there.  

26 minutes ago, skipperT said:

Bars have to come off, yes.  Creative way to do this is have a buddy hold it patiently or suspend it from the ceiling and protect the windscreen, ICluster, etc.

Tank plastic may not have to come off depending on your indivdual needs to get in there with your spanner adapter. And Yes, ANY adapter has to be 90 degrees to the torque wrench when using the SUGGESTED torque value selected on the wrench.  You can use it straight ahead (in-line) with the torque wrench however the wrench setting must be LESS. How much less depends on the length of the extension, and there’s a formula to figure out what setting to use instead. It would be the same scenerio if you used a dogbone wrench on there.  Usually I set my rig up 90 degrees and carefully use the shortest extension possible to clear the plastics, tank, etc.  not 100% accurate but *good enough* in this case. (I support the extension wrench adapter rig carefully so that the torque im reading is not from binding up the rig while tightening, difficult to explain by typing).

It’s also easier to get the upper triple clamp off if the front end of the bike is elevated slightly (front tire just touching the ground, you get a feel for it) as this causes less “binding” between the forks and the steering stem. it will still usually need to be “persuaded” with a rubber or plastic mallet/hammer. 

-Skip

Supporting from the ceiling is a good idea, and definitely the way I'd go, having no patient buddy support hands.  That's a good idea, though, and solves what was one of my first problems.  

I think I understand what you mean regarding the extension - in that you want to avoid rotational force on the adapter/wrench other than in the intended direction; so to prevent the extension from pitching/yawing relative to the adapter and steering stem.  I dunno if I'm saying that right, but I feel I've got a pretty good idea of what you mean.  Same principle as just using a torque wrench with an extension normally, but a bit more fiddly due to how the whole assembly will move on the extension. 

Thanks for this

On 4/15/2022 at 1:41 PM, skipperT said:

@SALISH things will be much better with a new front tire. Cupped/worn front tires=steering wobble. 

also I realize that you didn't “feel” anything loose in your front end steering bearings.   However Yamaha calls for a 2 part torquing sequence. Might be a good idea to retorque them anyway. 

-Skip

I've never actually done this, just check via the classic front end elevated/check for play test.  My issue is that I can't really work out *how* to do it properly; mostly in terms of getting proper access as there's so little room around there.  

I mean, you'd have to remove the handlebars and the tank plastics, right?  Is there a good guide you can recommend on how to do this *properly* on the Tracer?  I've seen a few youtube videos, but they often end up with people not using the correct tools or saying things that make me strongly question whether they actually know what they're doing or not. 

I've got a torque wrench and the spanner adapter thing, and I *think* the torque wrench must be at 90 degrees to the spanner adapter, right?