Hi All,
My name is Shaun.
I recently decided to get back onto motorbikes after 25+ years away from them. I've been through a few bikes over the last 3 years trying to find one that "fits" the best.
I was looking for a touring bike, or at least something that would get me up and down the M1 comfortably, from Bedford to London, on a daily basis.
The other criteria was that my wife loves to be included in things (and why not!), so it had to be something she was comfortable on.
I started with the Kawazaki Versys 600cc......Was OK, a bit lumpy at low revs, but under-powered and seemed a bit small for the two of us. Next, I spotted a Triumph street triple....I just loved the look of it and bought it on a whim. Round town I found it quick and light, and the wife felt comfortable and happy on it. But, at motorway speeds, as you can imagine for a naked, it was a nightmare. The wind-blast meant you had to have really strong neck-muscles.
So, I bought a 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200s Tourer. Lovely bike! Bags of power and torque, fantastic front brakes (crud rear brake), electronic suspension, all the touring paraphernalia, almost ideal.....Except, it was too tall, and after nearly falling off it several times while stopped and trying to get the wife on and off, I decided I needed something lower.
Wife wanted to go to a motorbike show at Milton Keynes in May 2019....BIG mistake! I found the Tracer 900 GT and loved the look and feel (could only sit on it at the show, but it felt good), so I ordered a new 2019 model (in blue) and took off on it in June 2019. I also ordered the Yamaha colour-coded top-box and carrier so that I can remove the panniers when I'm not using them.
So far, I have added crash bars, spots, had both seats gel-filled (by an upholsterer friend) and had it re-mapped to iron-out some of the lumps-and-bumps in the throttle response (it has a much smoother throttle response now). Also added the extended hand-guards, a sat-nav cradle, and rear mudguard extenders.
Finally.....We decided that we were going to gear-up for a lot of touring over the next couple of years, so I started looking more in-depth at the specs. I found that the maximum permitted load by Yamaha is actually *less* than mine and wife's combined weight...and that doesn't include any luggage we might want to take. So, I bought an Ohlins YA537 rear suspension upgrade (at a staggering £1K UK Pounds!) and had it fitted a couple of days ago.
I haven't had chance to setup the Ohlins yet. A lot of the information seems a little daunting, but I'm sure I'll get there eventually.
For the 6 months I've had the bike it's been great. The brakes are superb, the height and stability seem just nice. The cruise control and heated grips are nice touches. The adjustable screen works very well and the quick-shift is enjoyable.
All-in-all I'm pleased with the bike and intend keeping it for some time. I do miss a couple of the bells-and-whistles that the Ducati had, but at an on the road price of £12K, I think it's a great bike for the price. I honestly can't see why anyone wouldn't splash out the small amount extra for the GT model over the base model.
I'll be trawling through the forum for any neat tips and tricks I can use, or anything I can contribute in return.
Thank you all.
Regards,
Shaun.