Stew

Man, I really need to practice.

9 minutes ago, peteinpa said:

Not knowing the history of it, is it possible to install it wrong or adjust it wrong, maybe in an attempt to silence the rattle? 

In doing that can it push too hard on the chain slider?

My 2015 makes all sorts of noises , I get a whine and whistle from the engine . Runs like a dream though. The clutch in particular sounds like it has dreadful asthma when in neutral with the clutch lever out. It's almost embarrasing

@WKE002 just fitted one to his Tracer, I believe it is a generic one. Looks good. Have a look in the 'what did you do to your tracer' thread , it was very recent, so will be near the end.

1 minute ago, 2and3cylinders said:

1 How old is the tower and ruins?

2  Do you ever need to look thru the tinted screen?

3. Does the beak provide protection or down force?

4  is that a large sheep or small cow?! Jeesh!

1 Late 15th Century

Orchardton Tower - Wikipedia

2 No, but I can do if I absolutely had to.

3 No idea, it was on the bike when I bought it

4 I know, right.I only took the photo because there were a few the same in the field next to the tower, and I have never seen brown sheep with white faces before.
 

5 hours ago, maximNikenGT said:

I am 5 ft 11 inches tall with 32 in inseam and I'm only on the balls of my feet with just me on the bike in full gear. I have the same concerns of stability of I bring my lady on it and whether I can keep the top stable. I would definitely say you cannot flatfoot on this bike unless someone offers a low seat height option. 

It's more the seat width than height that is the issue for getting flat footed probably. You could probably get an upholsterer to narrow the sides a bit. I posted a link to a long discussion/review of the Niken, where the guy was raving about how great it was with a pillion, and how much his pillion loved it.

Here it is again in case you missed it....

Far too rural where I am, but I'm bumping this thread so it gets the love it deserves.
I might even have to go on a run to a city (eek), unless a 2nd division Scottish football team ground would do? Professional, but pretty bad

Hopefully it'll be something simple, like crappy fuel or something.
Could you run some injector cleaner or something through it, maybe just a bit of muck got in when filling it up?

Brilliant review of it that I came across...

25 minutes ago, maximNikenGT said:

Pardon my ignorance - what does the seat adjustment look like?

Well I can only speak for the Tracer (non gt). Take the seat off and there is a big plastic sort of lever thing that raises or lowers the seat position, then the seat clips back on in H or L positions (hard to describe, and the first time I tried it , both myself and my mechanic brother-in-law took a good 10 minutes of head scratching and panicking as we couldnt get the seat back on, until I noticed the H and L marks )

Out practising with the new suspension setup today, went round my nemesis, the 'other side' of the loch. Very successful, but on reflection I was trying to change my riding style, head position and a few other things. So, the bike was fine, but I overdid it

Just now, GTO MIKE said:

Just ordered one on Amazon. Cant stand the stock horns on Bikes. Thought I was going to have to run a dedicated circuit with a relay like I have for a dual set of horns on other bikes. Thank for the info .A lot simpler deal !

It's a 5-10 minute job, and the noise is awesome! Enjoy.

16 minutes ago, maximNikenGT said:

I am 5 ft 11 inches tall with 32 in inseam and I'm only on the balls of my feet with just me on the bike in full gear. I have the same concerns of stability of I bring my lady on it and whether I can keep the top stable. I would definitely say you cannot flatfoot on this bike unless someone offers a low seat height option. 

Is it like the Tracer with seat height adjustment? Low and High?

Did mine a few weeks ago. Denali Soundbomb mini, ridiculously loud and hilariously funny to watch the car drivers jump!
straight swap with the stock one. If you search on here for soundbomb you should find photos of it installed.

4 minutes ago, tktplz said:

Man I love me the smell of some Castor Bean Oil! I have a 2 stroke ZUMA 50 cc Yamaha scooter. Because you know.....scooters are like fat chicks. They are both fun to ride till your friends catch you on them, LOL!

I know. The smell of 2 stroke should be sold as an essential oil, for stimulating the heart and circulation.

1 hour ago, tktplz said:

Electric = instant torque!!!!! Yes I love the sound of different motors tho in my middle age, 60's, I now keep my bikes with a stock exhaust. I wear ear plugs and am not into the noise. Just get it to where I get 400 to 500 miles on a charge and I'm there!I I'm an old VMax owner, had 3. I used to say when I got to old to hold it up I was going to trike it and put a blower on it. Yes they do make a blower kit with a 4 barrel carb sitting on top. That way it will still smoke the tires, LOL! Yeah I can't wait for electric to mature. 

Bring back carbs! I know electric is the future, but man, there is just something lovely about the sound of petrol being tortured to death inside a motorcycle engine.
Sorry Greta (not really, in fact, not even slightly)
If only there was a 900 tracer in a 2 stroke variety,  I mean , can you imagine the sheer joy , the smell and the insane acceleration when you hit the power band!

5 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Great I'm very happy you're pleased with what you have, don't get me wrong. I've just found that no one setting, particularly set by someone else, meets all road conditions and speeds, tires Etc.  With all the variables that go into suspension and brakes and engine response means one setting doesn't meet every need. But again if you're happy with it based on the type of riding you do, however one dimensional, great.   I've been riding a very long time and through those years, decades, I've personally done a lot of work on all aspects motorcycle mechanics. And I'm very lucky to have my own well-equipped shop to do it in.

Running a zip tie is just a Tell-Tale of what you're Forks are doing and if you feel you don't need to know that's wonderful. I find myself doing different types of riding from sport to touring and I found I need to adjust my suspension accordingly. Same thing goes with the modifications I've made to the brakes and the engine.

You probably are a better Rider than I am most likely, even though I raced but on bikes that are light years behind even our FJ09s.  I have daydreamed showing up at Race track back in the day with for example, and FJ09 a plain brown wrapper.

I also in my youth, I too was a motorcycle Courier but not in London, in San Francisco! LOL. A very challenging City to ride or drive in and to learn your way around. Nowhere near as huge as London which just boggles my mind. I can't imagine being a courier in London particularly with the weather though San Francisco was no bed of roses in that regard.

 

 

Riding in London in the rain all day, with the insane traffic was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Sitting eating a bar of chocolate on the kerb in the pouring rain, thinking, I'm getting paid to ride my bike, was just the best feeling ever. Getting home at night exhausted but super adrenalined up, face absolutely black with road muck. Crashing, but the bike still rideable, got to get the package to the client, don't bleed on it when you deliver it. Delivering body parts from directly outside the operating theatre to the autopsey unit 3 miles away as quickly as possible.
Happy days. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but the internet killed it stone dead.

I spent a lifetime in i.t. , always chasing technology, always something better, always something more efficient. It broke my brain (long story) , so I deliberately avoid going down that route with everything wherever possible nowadays.
The bike handles and performs better than I can, that's all I need, and while I get exactly what you are saying, nah, it's not for me , not now. It works, the biggest limiting factor to the bike now is purely my brain and my skill level, which I work on as often as I can. (Although sometimes you just have to go and thrash it about and hope no cops are hiding round the next bend

A bit! You win understatement of the year, hahahaha.
I washed my vstrom twice ever, in about 12 years of ownership.

As the guys have said above.
I had the same with my vstrom, hit the pivot points with wd40 and a rag first, to clean things up a bit. Then some spray on grease. Work the stand up and down a bit to help it, and you should be good to go.

I appreciate your suggestion, but I'll pass , thanks.

I've been riding for 40 years now, I am no expert by any means, but I know how I like a bike to behave/react, and I have had some great bikes in my time, but never have I had a bike set up so perfectly for me.  I've worked as a motorcycle despatch rider in London, I've done IaM training, I've raced enduro, I've ridden motogymkhana, I've toured all over the place, UK and Europe, I've taken groups of riders on touring weekends etc.
I'm still learning, and always will be.
All that said, what it boils down to for me is.....

The bike feels amazing, and was set up to suit my requirements, my riding style , and the sorts of roads that I want to get the most out of the bike on. It was done by a suspension specialist, who can be found every weekend at race meetings in the UK, setting up race bikes. I spent time with him, in his workshop, discussing the issues I had, and what I wanted from a bike.
Have a wee look at his site...

TW Suspension Tech, North West's Motorcycle Suspension Specialists

---

We are specialists in complete motorcycle suspension set up, servicing...

The Booster Plug and suspension upgrade have transformed the bike from a great engine and decent bike to a superb bike with a superb engine.

Just now, betoney said:

That's a great description - "effortless".  I notice the same thing especially in downhill curves, I live near several mountain passes and riding fast downhill curves is my favorite, no drama, no fear and a lot of the times, less use of the brakes!  The front doesn't collapse under its own weight and holds firmly in the stroke with no wallowing, I find that I am more relaxed because I have much more front end traction, I can have a looser grip on the bike and just let it flow through the curves, like I'm just along for the ride! 😎

You will discover a whole new method to riding when you are confident in your suspension/tires.

Indeed. Plus I thought my tyres (tires) were garbage, in fact it was the suspension.  As you say, much less drama, much less happening that you need to deal with, or that distracts your mind. The amount of grip on the front is insane now. It'll take me a week or so probably to get used to this ridiculously smooth bike, since I had adjusted myself so much to dropping gears , slowing to a crawl, chucking it in and hanging on while it pogo'd around, then hammering back out of the turn, just in time to do the same on the next bend. No flow, and tiring.
I cannot wait to try the 'bad' side of the loch tomorrow.

Go for it. I only have a wee humble home, but an awesome bike!

1 minute ago, knyte said:

Wow, that's great news.  Really glad to hear you're enjoying it so much.

Cheers my friend. And I'm only a flight away. You'd have the time of your life riding around the roads here. All you need is a passport, a plane ticket and insurance to ride my bike , and you'd be more than welcome to use my bike to tour the area. It is stunning. Super twisty roads, and very little traffic.
 

Super cool. Anything that makes you grin like that is clearly a great bike

Bound to in a future iteration, I mean it is the competely logical next stage, or am I missing something completely?