Wintersdark

The new CP3 is definitely an upgrade.  I'm pretty meh on most of the rest honestly, but the new CP3 doesn't have the kind of lazy deadband around 3.5-4krpm that the original version does.  I get around that personally with really extremely short gearing, but yeah, I think the new CP3 is substantially improved.

Not so much I'd trade up for one, mind you.  But it's improved.

My fear with the T9GT's suspension is that you can't simply swap springs to set it up for your weight, and no amount of active suspension gets past that.  I assume it'd be much better than leaving the stock springs on a 2nd gen, mind you, no matter what you weigh.   Of course, I'm a 300lb guy, so... That's a significant concern for me

On 4/3/2022 at 9:57 AM, Skidood said:

Ugh!  The horror!  I thought I was old school, and even I use a band style oil filter wrench.  Your channellocks must have nice new sharp teeth.

Nah, they're 20 year old Walmart ones.  I just set them tight enough to crush the filter sufficiently to get good grip.  

I actually own an old school band style stench strap wrench (what an odd autocorrect) and really like it,  but it doesn't go small enough for the little Yamaha filters. 

I've never found a correctly fitting cap wrench for a non-insane price here, but never looked hard either.

Mind you, I just use a pair of channel lock pliers and *grab* that filter, so I haven't looked in forever. Destroys it in the process, but it wasn't going back on the bike anyways  

23 hours ago, petshark said:

So what was the diagnosis?

Appointment isn't till Tuesday.  It's spring now so shops are super busy.

On 3/28/2022 at 8:52 AM, Grumpy Goat said:

Balls if you ask me. I have used umpteen and none have had any failures and the oil looks just the same as with the OEM BMW or Yamaha filters. I have used them on a BMW R1200RS, S1000R and now the Tracer 900GT. It is popular to knock K&N oil and air filters on the interwebs for various reasons. Of course everyone is free to make whatever choices they like and whatever they see as best for them.

I get the argument with K&N air filters - not that they're badly made, but that they filter less which is how they flow more.  *shrugs*  With that said, I feel it's like most of the internet arguments of which ~thing~ is better.  "X is the best, and if you use Y it's going to destroy your bike!" I dunno. I just think the difference between "the best" and "the rest" is vastly smaller than people tend to present it as.  I know lots of guys who swear by their K&N air filters, though, and none seem to have problems. 

I mean, oil filters?  Has anyone ever had one actually fail in any way?  I know I haven't, and I've gone through oh so many of them.  For sure you shouldn't have any issues with the OEM filters, particularly given the manufacturer is speccing those filters with providing warranty support in mind.  No OEM is going to sell filters that increase the incidence of warranty engine repairs. 

But to each their own.  I figure so long as you're not getting the absolute bottom barrel crap, it's probably not going to make any real measurable difference.  

2 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Uh interesting and nice job so far but does the pillion saddle come off easily with this mod?

Seems it could be tricky.  And access under the saddle will be more difficult. 

Given I gas up whenever in doubt on unfamiliar routes no matter what GPS, GasBuddy, map says, on tour carrying a couple of easily packable 1 qt. camp gas aluminium bottles has always been enough for me.

What sort of bottles are you talking about here?  I'm looking at a range extending solution myself and am waffling between a rotopax or bottles, but I'm not really sure what bottles would be good/safe/secure.

2 hours ago, petshark said:

Can you read error codes to see which switch or sensor is causing this? If not, I bought this cheap ebay wifi scanner in combination with a free phone app and it seems to read and reset everything but TBH I have not needed it for anything real yet so I don't know if the ECU gives useful info on errors like these.

Nah.  I've got a good odb2 reader (ScanTool) and a range of software, but they don't say which switch is doing it.  Could be either brake, clutch, or the throttle back-turn switch.  It's still under warranty so I'm actually sitting at a dealership waiting for it to open right now, gonna have them figure it out.  

I'm hoping the Yamaha dealerships software is more useful.

~~~

As an aside, this is kind of an "it figures" moment, but last night was my first commute to work after swapping my winters for the Road 6's.  18C Sunday for our ride, beautiful.  Monday night shift, this happens: 

Rained, froze, then snowed.  Had to chip ice off the ignition and heat my key to start the bike.  Roads covered in ice.

Turns out Road 6's are very good on icy pavement, so there's that.

On 3/26/2022 at 9:28 PM, 2and3cylinders said:

45/16=2.8125

45/15=3.0 Interesting

47/16=2.9375 What I run (with 520 vs 525 and stock # links thus a bit shorter wheel base)

47/15=3.1333  Hmmm?  Wheelie Whore?

Hahaha I REALLY considered keeping the 47 rear on there, but it would have come with a very substantial cut to max speed and probably a major hit to fuel economy (thus far that's been mild, but I'm highway cruising at 5.5k/120kph now, going up two more on the rear would easily have me over 6k).

Seriously, though, even just 15/45, it doesn't care about those extra 2" on the swing arm, it's pretty happy to stand up 😀

On 3/26/2022 at 8:44 PM, peteinpa said:

When I first got my FJ I thought the stock gearing was perfect. Then I bought a 17 tooth front but couldn't install it, chain too tight. Now I think the gearing is fine again. Funny how some want to gear it down and some up.

Some don't like the engine running faster.  I don't understand that thought process at all; I only care about available power and speed potential(though I respect everyone has their own preferences).  I'm perfectly happy cruising at even 6k if the bike performs well there.  But I want as much off the line power as I can get without compromising practical max speed.

This is the first gearing change where my mathematical max speed will even be reachable, so going shorter has been (for me) completely without downsides.  More torque, and at 16/47 even more max speed.

And now? 212kph? I can live with that as a max speed.  That's OK.

13 hours ago, petshark said:

Did you get the front brake switch replaced under the warranty recall?

Yes. 

6 hours ago, Brian said:

15FJ. Usually when I hit 180 miles on trip odo, I find a gas station and put in about 3.8 gals.

Yesterday when I hit 180 miles, I sputtered to the side of the road. Limped it to a gas station and put in 4.3 gallons.

The only thing that I can think that was different was the 2 previous rides were in pretty heavy winds.

Is that the cause? Fill up after a 165 mile ride today was back to normal so no engine issues.

For sure, and particularly after ~70-80mph.  Drag increases with the square of speed, and in this case it's the speed of you vs. the air, so a 30mph headwind is the same as riding 30mph faster in terms of drag. 

The Tracer's aerodynamics aren't terrible, but they aren't supersport aeros either. 

So, yeah, long story short, wind has a *substantial* impact on fuel economy - at least at highway speeds.  This impact is pretty minor though below 50mph. 

First group ride of the year, did a nice 300km run, really broke in the new Road 6's.  Amazing tires, really solid feedback and super confidence inspiring.  Front felt a fair bit tighter in turns than previous Road 5's, rear felt exactly the same. 

Discovered that my cruise control is hinky; it randomly turns itself off (yellow light stays on, green set light turns off) after a few seconds riding - but not a consistent time.  Tested while riding, holding the throttle open a little (just in case it's reading "turned back to disable cruise control") but sadly it still happens.  Anyways, loosened the throttle free play to be sure, but that didn't fix the issue.  Looking back through threads here, I also checked out the rear brake lever and it's switch to ensure there's no tension at all on the spring when at rest, made a minor adjustment there.  

If neither of those, maybe the clutch switch?  

Still running stock levers.

No abnormal brake light issues - asked people riding behind me and they never flickered, and they do turn on and off properly with brake usage.

And man.  It's a *very* exciting bike to ride with 15/45 gearing.  Perhaps less so for those people who don't like higher revs while cruising, but it's perfect for me.  I liked the 16/47, but that little bit more is just *chef's kiss*. It pulls so damn hard. 

Finished up with the front tire, changed the oil, took her for a shakedown ride and wash.  

New tires are the best.  Love them. Nothing extreme yet, but so far I'm very pleased.  Super happy with the new 15/45 gearing too, rides so much smoother tractoring around at idle and zero throttle.  Climbed a mild hill at 10kph with no surging or jerking and no throttle.  Should be down to a max speed of 227kph now, but that's fine.  I don't need to be going faster than that, and oh, the torque.  Mmmm.  So good.

49 minutes ago, whisperquiet said:

The OEM chain/sprockets on my ‘19 Tracer GT were replaced at 15,400 miles with a new 525 Primary Drive o ring chain and a set of JT steel sprockets …… it looks and feels great with just about 5000 miles of use since the change out.  The OEM rear sprocket showed almost no wear and was kept as a spare.  The sprockets are the same part numbers for my Tenere 700👍 

 

FYI….my original chain did not lose any o rings but was beginning to kink and develop tight spots when it was replaced.

Loving the shared parts between my Tracer and T7 too, that's really handy.

But to jump on this:

My 2018 MT07 stock chain was pants as well, orings falling apart in about 10000kms/6000miles.  My 2019 Tracer 900GT's chain lasted till I want to say 13k, where it was getting stretchy and stiff.  While I'm hard on chains with winter riding, they're always kept well cleaned and lubed.  Stock sprockets where fairly lackluster on both as well.

I don't think it was a bad batch so much as DID likely bid low on providing chains for Yamaha bikes, won the contract, then just shipped cheap ass chains.  Kind of the same as how stock tires are *never* as good as the same tire bought aftermarket, often with measurably less tread. 

Three modern Yamahas in and I've definitely come to the conclusion that you really want to just use the stock chains and sprockets long enough to determine what gearing changes you might want to make then pick out a good set.

I'm curious how long the T7's chain will last, personally.  I've already decided on dropping a front tooth when I do change it, as it currently tractors at 11kph and I'd like to nudge that down and it's already fun torque up.  

I know lots of people who are strictly off the bike filling people.  Me?  Nah.  I don't even have centerstands on both bikes - the T7 lacks one.  This hasn't changed that in any way; hell, while it likely wouldn't have been my crotch, I'd probably still have been splashed given how gas sprayed everywhere once the tank was full.  It would have saved gas in the crotch, but... Meh.  I'll fill from either side, though I generally prefer the pump on the right (being right handed), but that too, doesn't much matter.  My thinking is this: It's painful and awkward mounting/dismounting with my shot knees, general oldness and prior stupid youth.  Long gone are the days where I just hop smoothly on and off bikes.  I'm fine with a slightly higher risk of getting a bit of gas on me.  On the other hand, outside that, the only time you'd really not want to be on the bike while fueling is if it somehow started burning.  In that case, I can be off that bike VERY quickly.  I'm ok with that risk, given that (as I said in the first post) the autoignition temperature of gasoline is way above any hot surfaces on the bike.  It'd take an absurdly bizzare set of circumstances to actually have this situation result in flames. 

To each their own, though.  I definitely respect the reasoning behind off-bike fillers.  I'm just lazy and wimpy.

But in my defense, to be clear: I never use the latch when filling a motorcycle gas tank, and didn't engage it here.  The tanks are small, so there's no point in it. Most of our pumps don't even have them anymore. But they're supposed to be spring loaded (the spring pushing in the release direction, which is why you can squeeze the handle to release the latch) but this one apparently was lacking that spring so the latch engaged on it's own and wouldn't disengage.

18 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Thanks but I see that the original FZ09 bar end weights thread directly into the bars, which are internally threaded 16Mx1.5; i.e., no threaded insert, which on the 15~17 FJ09 has a 16Mx1.5 OD and 6Mx1.25 (or maybe 6Mx1.0) threaded center to receive the hand guard attachment bolts, and has a 14mm internal hex drive socket used to thread it into the bars. 

 

The Tenere bar end weights screw directly into the bars with the large 16mx1.5 threads, and have a smaller 6m female threading on the outside to accept handguards - bar end weights sit inside the handguards.  On the Tracer, you remove the handguards (6m shoulder bolts hold them on at the end of the bars), then remove the inner adapter which itself is 16m male threaded so you can screw bar end weights directly into the bars. 

~~~
 

Yesterday saw the rear removed and balanced - a process I find weirdly satisfying.  Just something about getting a wheel balanced just so that feels good.  A point in favour of the Michelin Road 6, it seems to have been weighted absolutely perfectly, as the only weights I needed was 30g exactly opposite my 90 degree valve stems. 

Broke the bead on the front, only to discover that my Olmax changer has a 20mm axle, but the Tracer front is a 17mm axle (rear is 20mm).  I've got a 17mm kit coming from Olmax, but today I'll just do it the old fashion way.  

1 hour ago, petshark said:

Thank you for sharing, What a story! I can totally imagine. I hope there is little or no damage to your Tenere and you got the gasoline off the bike and your clothes.

And I am going to start paying attention when getting gas. The latches are still there at most stations in Belgium and I often use them. No more after hearing this. 

 

I've often used them in the past (though not for bikes so much because filling a ~13l tank is pretty quick anyways)... but this time, I didn't even intentionally use the latch, I was squeezing the handle manually - normally those latches should stay retracted.  But not this one.  The gas everywhere was all on their janky broken nozzle, but dropping the bike just hopping on to it was 100% me, and just made the whole thing an absurd comedy of errors.  I'm glad it wasn't a comedy of errors that involved me being engulfed in a fireball, so there's that on the plus side at least.  

What's kind of weird is I still don't really know how I managed to do that.  Just getting on to the bike, and dumping over the other way.  I mean, yeah, it was a bit awkward and I was pretty stressed and upset, but... how do you even do that?  And yeah, the T7 is a very tall bike, but I'm also a pretty big guy.  At 450lbs it's not light, but it's also not really heavy by my standards.  Still, as we all know... There's a point (and it's a lot higher than most would expect) where the bike is just going down, no matter what you do.

No damage, though.  An upside of the T7 and it's crash protection.  I've binned it *hard* five times not counting this (3 dirt 2 pavement), and it's completely undamaged other than scratches on the plastic handguards and on the OEM engine guards (which are largely invisible with a bit of black paint on them).  I'm a REALLY big fan of the whole adventure bike setup these days; where you've got a rugged machine that's intended to be treated poorly. 

1 hour ago, betoney said:

I hate to laugh but I can only imagine someone watching the security footage...  WTF?... rewind... WTF?...rewind... 😎

I kind of feel for the gas station workers, because at that point.. I just left.  No idea what they're gonna do with their pool of gas, but I was *not* interested in talking to anyone.  And deeply, deeply thankful for my helmet.

Hah yeah, dump drops happen to absolutely everyone.  It sucks, and feels deeply embarrassing at the time, but... *shrugs* It's inevitable.  

I mean, I dropped my Tenere yesterday getting gas.  Getting gas.  I always sit on the bike while fueling, and was looking at the pump, holding the nozzle as one normally would, fully in the tank, expecting it to shut off when the fuel level got to the nozzle (still a couple inches down, so then I'd pay closer attention finishing the fill slowly), filling with premium at the appalling price of $2/liter. 

The auto shutoff on the nozzle was broken.  Suddenly, it's fountaining gas up in the air out of the top of the tank, all over the bike (and dousing my crotch as well. yay.)  Worse, the latch (which usually doesn't exist anymore in Canadian gas stations) not only existed on this nozzle, but had unbeknownst to me latched on *and stuck*.  Pulled the nozzle out of the very much overfilled tank, hosing gas all over the ground.  Couldn't get it to stop pumping till it hit the spend limit so another liter of gas on the ground. 

Kickstand down, got off, grabbed paper towel and went to work trying to mop up as much of the gas on the bike as possible, then to try to get as much as I could out of my pants too (priorities here).  I'm not the "act out" type when I'm upset, but I wasn't in a very good place and was very distracted as well.  Took another look, mentally crossed fingers and started the bike up... I know that gas isn't particularly contact flammable in these cases, but there was a LOT spilled over the bike.  And the bike *and my crotch and legs* were still fairly soaked.  Bit of a stressful button push.  In retrospect, it probably would have been smarter to wheel it away from the pump and massive puddle of rapidly evaporating fuel as well first.

Once it was running, I hopped on.  But I was kind of close to the gas pump (pump on the left side of the bike) and getting on was a bit awkward, and I was stressed, wet, and fumbled.  Went over to the right, and just kept going, couldn't get footing on the wet ground in time, and then it's lying on it's side, and I'm doing the shame filled "look and see who saw that".... and of course as this is immediately following spilling gas everywhere, everyone is looking.

I had resolved to never tell this last part of the story and put it behind me, however, in the spirit of @petshark's share, I felt it was necessary.  I'm going to go hide now.

On 3/23/2022 at 10:16 PM, dazzler24 said:

They look like they are the exact same plates that I got.  Go for it @Wintersdark.

Awesome, thanks for the offer!  Ordered a set.

On 3/24/2022 at 2:31 AM, petshark said:

About these block off plates:
The ECU tuner asked if I wanted to keep the AIS or not. I chose to have it disabled in the Woolich software and that should keep the valve closed (according to him).

He also said that the AIS is the reason for pops and bangs when closing the throttle and that some people like to keep it because of that. I have to admit that I do like them and don't get them anymore.

Are you guys with ECU flashes installing the plates only for ease of access or is there another reason to do this? You know how it is. All the cool kids have block off plates and I don't. 🤣

I'm just doing it for the ease of access, more than anything else.  I found the AIS system to really be a pain in the ass when I was last doing my plugs, and as it's Plug Set 2 time coming up shortly, I figure I'll just remove the AIS plumbing one last time and toss it in the trash.

On 3/22/2022 at 10:56 PM, 2and3cylinders said:

Winter,

Will the T7 bar ends work with the 15~17 hand guard bolts, hand guards (or KTM Adventure pieces) and 6Mx1.25 center internally threaded - 16Mx1.5 OD threaded bar end inserts; or are they similar to the original FZ09 bar ends which have 16Mx1.5 male threads which screw directly into the corresponding female internally threaded handle bar ends?

The T7 bar ends have the same threads the Tracer does, and screw directly into the handlebars.  I'd *assume* this is the same style the FZ09 bar ends have - they're just massive male threads, no insert or anything.  I'm assuming 16mx1.5; but don't have a way to verify that.  

Of course, they've got the same female threaded hole on the ends as the Tracer does, and I'd *assume* (using this word a lot I see) that's the same as the 15-17 models.  The T7 bar ends are a bit wider - I want to say a quarter or half of an inch? - so I don't *think* the stock Tracer hand guards will fit.  I'll be back out today finishing off the Tracer maintenance, and I'll take some pictures playing with the bar ends while I'm at it. 

I'll bring out a scale and compare them though.  Those T7 bar ends are insanely heavy.  So much so that I've totally lost interest in the ones I bought for the Tracer, as a single T7 bar end outweighs both of the aftermarket ones. 

50 minutes ago, dazzler24 said:

These arrived today.  No-name aluminium AIS block off plates for when I do my upcoming valve lash check and adjust.

I never had these on my list of changes to make but I have given in based on the advice of others who say that it makes working on the top end so much easier when all that plumbing and associated bits and pieces are out of the way.

Here's the Australian link for them if anyone is interested.  Bargain at ~AU$22

 

Sent him a message. The listing is pretty non-committal about international shipping (and in the FAQ it says no) but .  I've love a set, as the only ones available here end up coming out to the same price as the Graves plates... Not worth $80-$100 to me, but $22?  I'd happily pay twice that or so for them shipped.   They're one of those things I've always wanted just to clean up that area of the engine and make maintenance work easier, but didn't really care about otherwise.  

13 minutes ago, dazzler24 said:

Please, you must give us some feedback on your impressions of these after you've done a few K's on them.

I'm disgustingly excited about them.  I really liked Road 4's, the 5's where objectively better, and the 6's highlight feature is using an updated dual compound on the front.  

Also - at least according to Michelin:

• 15% increased wet grip due to higher silica compound (Side note: This will also get much better ice grip, and better traction on frozen pavement, which is very worthwhile if you ride around the edges of normal riding seasons)
• 10% more tread life. 
• 2CT+ technology which applied to the rear tire only previously also on the front.  This purportedly offers tougher sidewalls and thus sharper feedback in corners (worthwhile, the front could be a little vague in hard cornering - it was never a problem for me, but I get the complaints) and more stability and cupping resistance under hard braking.  I'm really interested in this later bit, as I've a long history of having to swap out fronts as fast as I do rears because they tended to cup pretty badly under hard braking. 

But, that of course is Michelin's Marketing Babble.  I always found their wet grip extremely good, so.. eh?  And another 1500 miles is nice but whatever.  What I'm really, really interested in the new fronts as they were always the weak link.  Will review after I get some miles on them.  

Tucked into a good bunch of maintenance on the old girl.  New chain and sprockets (now 15/45, going a little shorter than the prior 16/47), swapping out the winters for nice new Road 6's.  Swapped on the summer Puig Sport windshield.  Got the back end all back together, got the chain slack *just so*, and was just starting to torque down the rear axle nut when I realized I forgot to balance the wheel.  So now it's time to have a break and something to eat, before heading back out to the garage to pull it all apart again and spin the wheel around a little. 

So damn frustrating.  Ah well.  On the upside, this was the first time I've used my Olmax Motors tire changer for the Tracer, and it worked admirably.  Really, that thing is *ABSOLUTELY* worth the $275 CDN (shipped) I paid for it.  That's three tires changed on it now, another (the front) to do on my next day off; that alone will cover the outlay vs. having a shop change the tires with the wheels loose.  It's surprisingly effective.

To do: 

• Balance rear wheel
• Change and balance the front wheel.
• Change oil
• Install new Grip Puppies.  
• Remove handguards and install bar end weights (which are lighter than I'd like: I'm seriously considering ordering another pair of T7 bar end weights as they're significantly meatier)
• Wash the poor neglected thing.
• Clean up the disastrously messy garage. 

So excited.  New shoes and a more aggressive drivetrain is gonna be a good time.  

6 hours ago, PhotoAl said:

probably won't lean like a sport bike but not too bad.  Not a bike I would pick for a track day but a fun town bike that can zip around.

Max lean is listed as 43 degrees; kind of low for a naked but lets be real: That's more than the vast majority of riders ever use, and for such a tight wheelbase you're not going to have maneuverability problems.

1 hour ago, PhotoAl said:

It's fun when you know what it's going to do.  Front wheel didn't come up on either bike other than 1st gear.  85MPH was at the top of 2nd gear on the sport bikes I had.  Again not something to tool around town in.  85+ on the street in the curves is not a place to go down.  Save that speed for the track.  

That's why the FTR caught my eye and left me with a big grin.  Easy to hop on and just ride, get where you are going easy to balance in parking lots etc.

The FTR is dead sexy, too.  Straight up, that is an awesome bike, sounds ferocious.  I've heard they get crappy mileage (more a tank size problem than fuel economy) but as an around-town bar hopper that doesn't matter much. 

They're so cool.

(And come on, HD, how can you look at Indian's FTR and not compete with that?  Give me a Bronx, damnit!)