ShaunL

I had this problem with after market levers.  Basically, although it looked good, the after market clutch lever didn't operate the switch underneath it properly, so the ECU thought the clutch was slightly pulled-in.  Switching back to the original levers cured it.

48 minutes ago, betoney said:

The Tracer GT has fully adjustable front suspension (spring preload, rebound and compression damping) but that doesn't mean that the springs are correct for your weight.  Springs come in many different rates for different weight riders, when I had my forks set-up, I reported 220lbs (about 99kg) and they installed 1.0 kg/mm springs.  Fortunately, fork springs are only around $100 and make a HUGE difference in front end feel and composure.

Ah!  Now, THAT is very useful to know! I'm about he same weight.  I'll see if I can find some. Any links would be very much appreciated.  Thank you! :-)

2 hours ago, betoney said:

If I were you, I would find a suspension shop or somewhere to help you set the preload on the rear shock.  I would get a setting for just you and then a setting for you and your wife so you know how to set it when you both ride together.  Meaning, the difference between solo setting and you and your wife combined might be 2 turns extra spring preload, knowing that setting (whatever it ends up being) will make it easy every time you change it.

Hi @betoney. Thanks for the advice.  I am having a little trouble at the moment, but it's the forks that are confusing me.  

I paid a motorcycle place £80.00 to setup the bike a few months ago....Unfortunately it was a complete waste of time and money. They set the static sag, but somehow managed to setup the rider sag without me, and without anyone else on the bike....Needless to say, it was terrible.

So, I've bought a "slacker" V3.  I've had no trouble setting-up the new Ohlins rear suspension.  BUT, I'm finding that (using the cable-tie on the fork trick) the front forks are bottoming out, even with full preload on them.  

Setting up the front static-sag with the slacker was a doddle, but at the initial setting I braked relatively hard, the forks hit bottom, the front wheel slewed out from under me, and I lost 2 pounds of brown stuff.....Managed to stay on the bike...just.

All this as a single rider setup....I've dialled-in the full amount of pre-load possible, but the front still bottoms on heavy braking.  Either I'm doing something very wrong, or the front forks are duff, or they're just plain not up to the job...or all 3.

I didn't really want to splash out for front suspension upgrades...But it looks like it's a possibility I'll have to accept.  This is getting expensive!

9 hours ago, bowlin01 said:

Welcome @ShaunL, I'm just down the road in Luton and a few of us meet up at the Cafe at the Shuttleworth Collection every now and then, hope to see you up there soon? 

Cheers

Steve

Thanks Steve,

I have been to the Sunday Shuttleworth meet a couple of times. I'll have to make it more often. :-)

My 6K service cost me £119.00 All Inc. at a Yamaha dealer in Northampton. This was in October 2019.

On 1/25/2020 at 7:54 AM, vincep said:

Careful.  Adjustable levers need to take into account the GTs cruise control.  There have been other listings on this site where the MT/FJ09 levers have not worked.

I know when I apply the front brake on my GT I hear two distinct clicks - I think there may be two micro switches in there.

Maybe a little late for this...But I had this problem with my GT900.  I bought aftermarket adjustable brake and clutch levers from Ebay.  Then, found my cruise control wasn't working.  I could hear one distinctive click when I released the lever.  I took my bike to a Yamaha dealer and he diagnosed it as the clutch lever causing the problem, and showed me there should be TWO distinctive clicks from the switch on the clutch lever side.  I swapped back to the original lever.  Got two clicks, and the cruise control worked fine again.

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.