thewrenchbender

Toward the bottom is my take on Gilles Tooling version. In Europe it appears they are available from MamaYama as a “factory” accessory.

Ran a no-name Chinese set on my FJR for 25k miles w/no issues. Little research I did-as indicated above-was that the clutch switch on the Tracer made those a little trickier to find/make work properly

Aside from the adjustability aspect, found the “straight” portion of the levers much more comfortable than the curved OEM levers when holding the clutch in for extended periods.

The Chinese clutch lever laid “flat” against the grip, when adjusted to the shortest reach, the Gilles clutch lever is parallel when is about 1/2” away, which as described, is when the 2nd clutch-side switch engages, and where the clutch starts to engage on the way “out”...

Hope this helps.

Mark
 

2 hours ago, Paulo Cz said:

Hi there. Can you put pictures from your 26 madstad? 

Best regards. 

I’ve got the 24”. Is a pic in the “tracer 900 for long rides” thread of what I think is a 26”.

Top edge is about at the level of the chin band on my helmet.

I useta run my FJR screen about 2” higher-not planning on going taller depending how this winter goes-haven’t has any cold weather time yet (just got it).

Did a search and didn’t see any info regarding Gilles Tooling adjustable levers. 
 

I acquired a set from Performance Parts Limited in the UK for $210 USD shipped, arrived in a week. 
 

My reason for ordering was the non-adjustable clutch lever.
 

With the Gilles lever at the minimum reach adjustment, and clutch slack in the middle of the book spec, the final clutch switch engages when the flat portion on the lever is parallel and about 1/2” from the face of the factory heated grip. Initial clutch engagement starts at about this same point releasing the lever.

Pretty much exactly where I wanted it.

The palm of my hand is 3 1/2” wide, and with my slightly out from the inboard rim on the grip, they are primarily 3-finger+ levers-are substantially shorter than the OEM levers, but are definitely not 2-finger length shorty levers.

Took a little tweaking, but readily found the sweet spot for the brake lever also, is adjusted “out” slightly from the shortest reach. 

Black finish looks great, there are some visible machining marks present.

Regards;

Mark

36 minutes ago, Paulo Cz said:

Hi all. 

I'm a happy owner of a brand new tracer 900 gt. I knew that the first thing I had to change would be the windshield simply because I am quite big. I'm about 6.5 (1.98m) and after a long search in this forum the madstad windshield it is the best in slot.

So three main questions to the guys with 6.5 and madstad windshield. 

-It really works? 

-Do you like the aspect of the bike with the screen? 

-No wobble in high speeds? 

Other question. I'm Portuguese and to use that windshield it must have homologation. I don't find any information about that. 

Sorry for the long text and for my English. 

 

Best regards. 

 

 

 

I’ve got the 24” Madstad (6’ 2” 33”inseam) and it could be taller.  Has a spot on the mount to place a RAM ball (one that has a u-bolt for handlebars bolts right on) for a equipment mount above the instrument cluster.

I prefer it in the more vertical position (for maximum height) and did have issues with it blowing back in the “angle” adjuster slots over a ton-up.

Made a set of spacers last night that essentially fix the angle where I want it, still have the vertical (2 3/8”) adjustment if I want to drop it.

Stability can be an issue (of the bike, not the windscreen) but is my current understanding that any of the oversized windshields have the same problem.

I am 195 lbs dressed and have to climb on the tank (front end is very light in general).

Hope this helps.

Mark

Am 6’ 2” 33” inseam, running 24” Madstad at almost FWD-most (closest to vertical) position. 

Was having issues with the angle adjustment “blowing back”.

Dusted off the 3d printer and made a couple blocks.

Did have to pop the snap rings off and remove the knobs completely to install.

Center of the radius on the knob ended up just a little too high. These fall apart maybe will tweak MK2 mod 2 a little...

On 8/3/2020 at 5:42 PM, quetech said:

Changed my fork oil out a few weeks ago during lockdown and was amazed at the state of it after 4500 miles.

Photo shows it after it had been sitting in the containers for a couple of weeks settling out.

replaced with valvoline 10w in the rebound and 15w in the compression and the bike seems a lot more composed at the front end.

I can get the viscosity if anybody is interested 

Did air-over-oil struts on planes for years, have only had an opportunity to change bike fork oil a fraction as many times. 
 

Not sure what the dynamic is-but both tend to come out really nasty.

First MamaYama factory fork oil change shocked me also...

On 7/28/2020 at 11:50 AM, keithu said:

Look at it this way: The Tracer has about the same riding position as a BMW R1250RT, and it's actually slightly more open and upright than a FJR1300. The riding position on any bike is usually expensive and difficult to modify, so that makes the Tracer an excellent starting point. All it really needs is a better windscreen and seat, and those are readily available. 

As you can see I've gone off the deep end with modifications for long distance riding. I have a custom seat, Madstad's largest windshield, 40L saddlebags, auxiliary lights, auxiliary fuel, and various other mods. I've done 1000+ mile days in comfort. And even with all my insane mods and a full load of 30L of fuel it still weighs less than 550lbs (250kg). 

Not a huge long distance touring guy, but put 40k miles on two FJRs in the last 6 extended NW Ohio seasons. That’s with a season and some change off for health issues. 

Have arthritis in my neck and degenerative damage in both shoulders (life-long aircraft mechanic),

Loved. The. FJR. Unfortunately determined seating position was aggravating neck pain/causing neuropathy in already not-great right shoulder/arm/wrist. High center-of-gravity 650ish lbs had become just too much.

Put 2k on my ‘20 Tracer GT since I got it about 6 weeks ago. Am 6’ 2” 33” inseam 195 lbs geared up.

With the seat in the high position and the bar risers in the close position pretty much achieved my desired chin down/totally upright position. Size 10 boots/bumps on the ends of the pegs in the center of the balls of my feet/fit perfectly-pillion peg brackets are “right there” but no interference. 
 

Madstad 24” windscreen went on immediately, have about 75-80% of the forward protection of the FJR with a large touring screen (VStream). Handguards are off for the summer/think will be perfect for extended season (thumbs got cold on the FJR/no handguards). Will have to wait until fall to get a feel for foot protection.

Get pushed around a little more by tractor-trailers on divided highways, is a little buzzier in the bars/can’t get as clear a view in the rear views/def more vibes in the pegs-could see where FJR pegs would make a big difference but at this point not feeling I “need” them. Handling-wise front is much lighter/turn-in effortless compared to the Feej. Grips aren’t the greatest, but fit my hand/are pretty much identical to the OEM heated FJR grips.

It is a lot taller to throw a leg over than what I expected. In the saddle (again in the high position) is about perfect for me.

Lighter weight/taller & what feels like wider bars has raised my shoving it around the garage confidence significantly.

Only issue I’ve noted is still reaching a little too much forward/down for the bars/had to have them rotated back a little much for my taste to shorten “reach”. Just fitted a set of Motopump risers today, along with adjustable levers (Gilles Tooling) to get the clutch engagement where I wanted it (much closer to the grip).

Lost the extended lid volume of the FJR, but bags/attachment identical/knew pretty much exactly what would fit in the bags. They are a little “sloppier” on the hooks.

 Have very high hopes and have had a fairly high standard for my GT set by my previous experience. Literally saw nothing else on the market for similar $$ that I thought would work as well.

Been 30 years since I’ve had to deal with a chain/was actually looking forward to it a little. I ride aggressively, set the chain to min slack at 1k, checked it last night at 2k, still at min, no tight or loose spots, gets wiped down with mineral spirits on a rag & chain wax every 500 miles.

Rear axle block has already started to be distorted by the axle “head”, have a set of the EBay FJ blocks coming from the guy in the UK (found in this forum).

Only other thought is I have to really really climb on the tank to stop the front end from weaving when substantially over a ton-up (US ver is e-limited to 132 indicated FYI). Have established there are no mechanical issues, have raised the fork tubes 10mm in the clamps. With me on it, is just not loaded up enough up front, OEM windscreen reduces tendency slightly, as did removing the handguards for the summer.

As others have mentioned in this forum, is undersprung if you are a big guy (using the handling gurus suspension settings aside from front end drop-so far tires look like compression/rebound are pretty close) and forks in stock trim are a little harsh/def not “plush”.

If you need it to ride like a Wing you will be very disappointed. If you are willing to give up more of the touring for as others have said for more of the sport...well it just might be perfect.

Sorry for the length- hope this helps.

Regards;

Mark

On 7/26/2020 at 1:37 PM, thewrenchbender said:

Thanks Scott 

Tracer GT (mine anyways) only has 2 pin/2 wire flat rectangular connectors instead of the round 3 pin front and rear.

Fronts are continuously lit as marker lights, then interrupted to signal. 

Mark

Took the front end back apart to tweak the fork tubes-brain fart-front is a “round” three wire connector. 
 

Need to do some re-thinking. 
 

I’ll blame it on Corona...

33 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

Hi @thewrenchbender - I swapped the stock pumpkin signals on my 2015 FJ for LEDs from a Super Tenere.   On the FJ, the front and rear signals use the same factory 3-pin connectors,  but the rears only have two wires connected (no running lights on the rear).    I would assume it’s the same setup on the newer Tracer models, although I can’t verify that personally.    

This thread has a lot of useful details, and includes a link to the 3-pin connectors I used for my conversion.   

Good luck!
-Scott 

Thanks Scott 

Tracer GT (mine anyways) only has 2 pin/2 wire flat rectangular connectors instead of the round 3 pin front and rear.

Fronts are continuously lit as marker lights, then interrupted to signal. 

Mark

Trying to locate 2 pin OEM type turn signal connectors. Indicator end, not bike end. 
 

Have found multiple sources for 3 pin connectors and 3 pin splitters. The closest I’ve found is MamaYama Europe shows 2 pin to bullet connector harnesses, but I can’t seem to find an online vendor that stocks/sells them. 
 

Would like to swap out the great pumpkin assemblies with the Yamaha Euro accessory replacements, can find the plain black and “carbon matt” signals, but am not going to cut the existing bike-side connectors off the harness to fit them...