Wintersdark

On 12/21/2017 at 11:20 AM, ghostrider1127 said:

Bought her in the middle of november 2017 as winter bike
 

M+S tires Anlas


 

Still around?  I'm curious how these tires worked out for you.

I ride year round in Calgary, Alberta.  Previously, I've done so on Michelin Pilot Road 5's, which were decent (respective to motorcycle tires in sub zero conditions, anyways) but I'd like to get something a little better.  These Anlas Winter Grip tires are pretty hard to track down here and tend to be pretty damn expensive as a result, so I'm curious if they actually work, at least reasonably so?  I'm not really hoping for actual snow usage, but I spend a lot of time riding at -10c to -20c, and random slushy bits.  Figure they're worth buying? 

On 9/8/2019 at 5:53 PM, norcal616 said:

Normal... It's a safety thing... It's easier for another to judge your distance with a dim and bright headlight setup vs one big singular looking light... 

Yeah, it's normal, but as to the rest?  Both appear to be the same brightness to me, so it's just angle.  From a safety/proper riding perspective, you shouldn't have the high beam on when riding in traffic anyways what with the eye poking distraction, so I'd question that rationale.

I suspect it's more simply that they two lights are the same units (lowering manufacturing costs), and single LED's not separate bulbs, so having one for low beam and one for high beam just makes that work and it's a very common setup across manufacturers.  

I too just lower the right hand light and leave "high beams" on all the time because I hate the single-light look, particularly with both "eyebrows" on.  Aftermarket lights cover the rest.  To each their own, though. 

On 9/11/2019 at 6:39 AM, bugie said:

You mean the gear shift light indicator? That comes on when you are at high revs and it is telling you to change gear. 

Can't see why it is coming on at 127kph in 6th gear though

Yeah, it comes on in every gear, it's just a light that illuminates when RPM's are higher than the set point.  It comes on in 6th gear as well, as silly as that is.  After all, the E CU knows what gear the bike's in, could disable the shift indicator in 6th, but whatever.

And, for reference, @betoney is correct - this is a function of the GT's TFT dash.  

@Stinky - I'm sure you've figured this out by now, but 5000rpm is the default setting, so that sounds right.  Note that you can change the brightness of that light (Shift IND Brightness), you can disable it entirely (IND Mode: Off) or make it flash rapidly (IND Mode: Flash).  

I like Flash, personally, but only when the RPM level is set high - I set mine at 8k - so I don't have the light bugging me at regular highway speeds.   Flash makes it pretty noticeable, so you want it high enough that it's only going to come on when you're really "On It".  After all, you can set the Tach bar color change setpoints for "regular" shift indicators if you want.  

On 5/25/2019 at 9:36 PM, stumpy said:

If anybody is considering purchasing a seat, I would strongly recommend talking to Terry at Terry"s custom seats.  The best $250 I have spent to date....not to mention the Givi crash bars with the highway pegs.

I'm a little late to the party, but do you mind posting a photo of the seat?  

Also: I just ordered that very set of pegs and crash bars 😃  Between the passenger pegs, regular pegs, and the front highway pegs, my knees and butt will have all sorts of options for longer rides!

Yeah, I'm a hard no on beaks.  I contemplated a v-strom when looking at options, and eliminated it as an option *purely* because I think beaks look ridiculous.

GMax MD01S.  

ECE rated modular helmet with heated visor.  I can't begin to say how awesome it is to have a visor that both keeps your face warm and will never ice over or fog up.  Comfortable and safe, nice quick-connect latch instead of d-rings that's really easy to work with gloves on, and room for a headset inside too.  Good stuff.

Downsides, it's a bit noisy (common to modular helmets) and a bit heavier (also, again, modular helmets).  

This one: 

GMax MD01S Wired Snow Helmet - Dual Lens | 10% ($25.99) Off!

---

The MD01S Helmet is a cold weather rider's best friend thanks to...

...except in black/grey, rather than the bitch'n pink.  Seeing this, though, I kinda wish I went pink.

Well, only had mine for a week and around 1000kms, but after some exploration of the modes, almost exclusively A mode.  I can see using B in very poor weather (ice and snow) and really bad traffic, but honestly I can't find a use for standard mode at all.  After riding A, standard just feels broken to me, with the bike not responding to inputs as it should.  Maybe it's different with the older FJ's pre-slipper clutch?  I don't find A at all jumpy or twitchy, and I expect to get all the zoom when I haul on the throttle.

Thankfully, the bike remembers it's last mode, so it's just always in A.

Oooh are those the givi crashbars?

Edit: the sw-motech ones, they're the ones that wrap in front of the rad, where the givi ones are a loop and extend much further down, but don't extend so far forward.

Yes.  That.  That is exactly what I want.

On 9/7/2019 at 9:07 AM, johnakay said:

this what mine will look like once I get all the graphics.

green colour not sure what yam call it olive?

Oh, this is amazing.  Really fantastic.  Love it!  I hadn't even looked at decals; I got a killer deal on mine but I dislike the color scheme (it was cheaper to take the deal I got and paint vs. getting the alternative for me, which was the black/silver)

Been thinking of vinyl wrapping it; gotta see if I can find those decal kits for the 2019. 

I'd love to go to that yellow/black Yamaha scheme with that style of decals.

7 hours ago, Dodgy Knees said:

Best motorcycle accessory I reckon.  👍

For sure.  Every bike I own gets them, and right away.  Even in nice weather on a long ride heated grips on low can keep your hands feeling much better; in anything remotely cold they'd damn wonderful.  Frozen hands are awful.

Brought her home   

Wow, what a ride.  I mean, the power is awesome, the handling great, the suspension much better than I expected, but... I wasn't prepared for how damn comfortable it was.  And while my old MT07 had the same, great, upright riding position being so much higher up gives you a crazy good view of traffic around you.  I was right in that the MT07 was more "raw" fun in that you push it to it's limits, and enjoy pure hooliganism, but this delivers hugely better performance, and feels way, way more stable at high speed while also feeling comfortable.  A lot of that raw joy on the MT07 is from things feeling faster than they actually are.  I mean, 180 on the MT07 you had screaming wind pressure, the motor howling, and kind of sketchy feeling suspension.   This does 180 like it's a Sunday stroll.  Wow.

There IS a noticable fuel economy change when you disable that.  It's not huge, but it's noticeable if you manually keep track of fuel used/miles traveled (it often won't really show in the bike's fuel consumption display).  

It's worth doing though, IMHO - you don't lose any get up and go (you're not changing the immediacy of the fueling) but rather you're reducing the engine braking so there's less sudden shift from engine braking to accelerating.  

I'm curious how this will apply with the slipper clutch on the 2019 Tracer GT, though - maybe it won't be necessary?  I'll know in a couple hours

Picking up the 2019 Tracer 900 GT I traded my MT07 in for today!  

On 9/21/2019 at 10:15 AM, betoney said:

To those who own or have ridden other brands, is the stock fueling as harsh and abrupt as Yamaha?  I have ridden several models of Kawasaki, Honda and Aprilia and have not experienced anything close to Yamaha's jerky throttle. 

Since the inception of the CP3, reviews praise the motor but always mention terrible fueling, my previous Gen II FZ1 had terrible fueling as well.  Since owning Yamaha I have had to adjusted my riding style with much smoother throttle input that I don't need to use when I ride other brands.

Is this unique to Yamaha?  Do any other manufacturers have these issues?

On 9/23/2019 at 8:20 AM, superfist said:

Like others have said, if you develop the muscle memory to be smooth with the CP3 engine, then everything else will feel buttery smooth in comparison.  I think Yamaha has the most abrupt roll-off injector cut though, and that contributes to the poor feel of the fueling because a roll off and quick roll back on will feel very jerky.

I don't have my Tracer yet, but this was a problem with my MT07 too.  When you flash the ECU and have the injector decel cutoff disabled, it goes away completely and this makes tight twisties so much easier as you don't risk upsetting balance when shifting from closed throttle to open.  

I really struggled for the first while when riding super aggressively with that.  The solution otherwise is just not closing the throttle *completely* when you're going to want to start back into the throttle mid-corner.  

But seriously, at least for the MT07, shipping your ECU to 2WDW (or flashing it yourself) fixes it completely.

1 hour ago, piotrek said:

Test rode the FZ-07 and thought it was fun... then rode the FZ-09... and then rode it again, and again 😍. The FJ was the more sensible version of the FZ. Congrats on your new CP3.

Yeah, but I kind of expect that sensible/refinement aspect will - while objectively a good thing, and something I'll be really thankful for in longer trips - will go hand in hand with losing the crazy hooliganism the MT07 could do, particularly tuned and such.  

That said, I'm really looking forward to a better suspension (even if not a great one; at least a better one than the MT07 had), much more power, traction control, etc, etc, etc (there's a heck of a lot of etc's here)   

Welp, it's done, and now I'm the proud owner of a 2019 Tracer 900GT.  I'll miss the MT 07, which was the single most raw-fun bike I've ever owned, but REALLY looking forward to being less cramped, having that wonderful triple, and all the swanky stuff the GT comes with standard.

Alberta, Canada.  

For what it's worth (I'm here as I'm strongly considering upgrading to a Tracer 900 GT) - i run Michelin Pilot Road 5's, and get roughly 15,000kms per pair taking me down to the wear indicators in the treads.  On the second set on my MT07, and that's with very aggressive riding, year round, rain/shine/frozen wasteland (Calgary, Alberta), with (in better weather) week long jaunts.  

Typically both font and rear need replacing at the same time.  

I've used a lot of different tires over the years, but nothing has come close to the performance and durability of the Road 5's in wet weather, ice, and snow - particularly while also being pretty damn good in nice summer canyon carving.  If you ride in inclement weather, I honestly believe you simply can't do better.

If your a fair weather sort, there's probably a superior option, but IMHO if you ride in poor weather, it's best to optimize tires for that.  

Only drawback I've seen, and it's in the Road 5's but not the PR4's, is that the front can feel a bit.... Bumpy?  in REALLY aggressive cornering (peg scraping lean).  Still gets excellent traction, though, no feelings of vagueness or slip.  

16 hours ago, Tusk said:

Is there ANY chance your wife may get her own ride Wintersdark? The MSF course (or an equivalent Canadian riding class) is an excellent venue to learn to ride! I was lucky enough that my wife did the same and rides her own. If clutch work is a question, try the Honda CTX700 with the Dual Clutch auto trans. Arthritis almost sidelined her riding. She had a Kawasaki Vulcan 750. 

Stay encouraged! It sounds like you're doing your homework. I hope you find a solution and are able to share a ride with your wife! Good times shared together on a ride are memories that will last!

Oh, we've been together for 20 years, and I've been riding longer.  I've had her on bikes with me in the past, just not on my MT07 - more due to circumstances than anything else.

Long story short: Two young children, the youngest is autistic, no child care options, no family - one of the two of us always have to be there.  It's just that now we get two-three hours a day when they're both in school, so I can finally look at riding with the wife again.  

I've always wanted to get her her own ride, and we were looking at that before she got pregnant, but it was shelved then and will remain so at least until the kids are older.  It's a complex situation.

There's not really much that's a valid option at anything near this price point.  The BMW 1200GS is an amazing bike, but it's close to twice the price.  I decidedly do not want a cruiser, and the 13k CDN I can get the Tracer GT for new is pretty much an upper limit for me.  

Keep in mind, I'm coming from a 2018 MT07 with stock (albeit upgraded for 2018) suspension.  Maxed out the preload on the rear (front is not adjustable) and it's alright for me.  I'm pretty sure the adjustable, upside down KYB's will at least be an improvement on the stock MT07 forks.  I *am* aware that the Tracer is a fair bit heavier, though, so it may end up being a bit of a wash when all is said and done?

Really run into that, though: The Tracer 900 GT is a hell of a lot of bike for a really low price.  I'm not opposed to swapping springs, as I figure I'd end up with a lot more for the dollar than otherwise.  Most similar bikes are substantially more spendy.

48 minutes ago, betoney said:

Even with adjustable suspension, you are still quite a ways outside of the spring rate, even before luggage and/or passenger. 

Then as @wordsmith pointed out, the frame has a carrying capacity of less than 400lb, not to mention it might be crowded between the tank and rear of the passenger seat depending on you and passengers girth. 

I would suggest test riding several different bikes, with passenger, to see how they fit.

All of that being said, if you enjoy the MT07 riding solo, you will LOVE the 09.  The GT has been out almost a year and a half and there have been many actual ride reviews beyond press releases.

I generally can't test ride bikes with a passenger due to weird timing issues with our kids and no child care(Ignored the no-two-up issue with the 07 as at that time there was NO way we could both be away at the same time, but now there's a 2 hour window Monday through Thursday mornings we get sans kids!)  However, local dealerships not allowing off-season test rides really is problematic.  Seems everyone else thinks my year-round riding in Calgary is bizarre. 

Neither of us are particularly girthy; I'm just generally bulky due to a lifetime of heavy blue-collar work.  

1 hour ago, wordsmith said:

You are indeed a B-I-G guy, wintersdark.   The Tracer has a weight-limit of 395lb/ 179kg according to my 2019 GT's Manual in front of me.   Unless your wife is elfin-like in size and weight, you may be pushing things a bit - literally - if she is on the back with you, and even further if you take advantage of those hard panniers and load 'em up..   The stock Tracer/ GT is still pretty ordinary as far as suspension performance is concerned - better than on the Gen1 Tracer model, but still pretty low-rent.

If I were you I'd be looking at alternatives: having said that let me add as an always-solo 85kg/ 187lb rider fully-kitted I love my GT!

Best of luck with your search...

She's pretty small.  We'd still be a bit over, but not by so much as with the 07.  We'd fit inside the Versys limit; and just be at the edge of the VStrom; but only the VStrom is inside the budget.. and they're ugly   AFAIK there's not really much else that fits where the Tracer does in the sport touring lineup - ADV bikes push a lot more into off-road, which I don't do at all, so much of that's wasted on me.  The Tracer (at least that I've seen) seems pretty much the only one that's almost more naked bike with touring addons vs. a big touring bike (eww, no!) or much more ADV based (See: Africa Twin) 

99% of my riding will remain one-up - I commute to work daily, and take extended road trips fairly often.  I'm most focussed on more power than the '07 has, but as little weight as possible. The bulk of my riding is ultimately 1-up street riding, so agility is paramount.  I've considered just moving to an MT09, but that still leaves me needing to manually add everything else that the Tracer already has, and doesn't get me the higher seat height either.  

BMW/Triumph/Ducati tend to be substantially more expensive.  

Is there something I should consider otherwise?

I've got a 2018 MT07 right now, and love it desperately.  Amazingly fun bike to ride, and I ride it year round, around 15k per year.  

However, I'm a 6'4" 300lb guy.  It's got a 364lb weight limit, and this rules out riding two up - I'd like to take my wife out from time to time.  I'm happy with the MT07 on road trips, but it would be nicer to be more comfortable and have carrying capacity, and the significantly higher seat height would be very welcome.

As well... I push the MT07 to its limits every day.  I could use a little more umph.

I considered the base Tracer 900 with a set of bags (significantly cheaper) but tbh, I really want the whole add-on package - quickshifter, color TFT, heated grips, etc.  

Being a big guy, a fully adjustable suspension is very valuable as well.  

All that said, anything I should keep in mind here?  Reviews online are basically just the Yamaha press boilerplate and specs readouts.  As owners, any pros and cons I should be aware of, particularly for someone coming from an MT07?