PhotoAl

I did them on my FZ6, not as difficult as would have thought. I bought the fork seal tool - one time use but if I ever need one I have it LOL! I believe it is 41 and every bike since then has been 43 so go figure. You can do a dump and refill which I probably should do at 26,000 miles if everything is working OK. Other things are restringing and then all the way up to guides and seals. Good idea to check for stiction while you have them off. I really need to service mine but only a bit over 2 years old so a dump and refill would probably be good enough for me. I'd like to go the full Ohlins route but then again suspension is OK (not perfect) and I do a lot of long trips and will probably trade the bike in 2 to 3 years (or less if something catches my eye).

Big thanks for the update of Bluetooth. Had a 2013 Chevy Volt with OnStar that used the old cellular system that was going away early 2022. Sold it to my son-in-law a couple of years ago - I didn't worry as he got a super good deal on it. Amazing how many cars were bought out on that. I like to keep my stuff for a while but more recently have gone thru Bluetooth headsets with a Cardio 1+ the a 4+ and then got a 2X when I bought a new helmet earlier this year. Dropped it a month ago walking into a restaurant. Was from a little more than waist high and no chips in the paint but will probably replace it next year. Had a Sent SMH10 for several years but had to buy a baseplate to be able to use earbuds with it. The earbud plug was a very short cable out of it and did not last that long. Cardio is much easier to use earbuds with, just unplug the speakers and plug in the earbuds. For local trips I use the speakers for on long trips or interstate riding I use earbuds. I have two helmets and can swap back and forth but wind up mostly using the new (dropped) one.

I live in Alabama but have a son who went to Auburn, Cal Tech and University of Florida and has a PhD in Chemical Engineering. They live in the Bay Area since he works in the semiconductor business. For housing either have a very long commute or a very expensive apartment. Yes the weather is nice a lot of the time and there are great outdoor activities close by. Spent a month there a year ago and was nice to be able to drive 30 to 45 minutes and be able to have a great hiking area. Half Moon bay is not too far as is a redwood forrest. East of the bay there are more outdoor areas and in the winter skiing is not too far away. Its a fascinating area with lots of retail and any kind of store you can think of. We didn't even think of going to SF. In my neighborhood in Alabama folks pick up the dog poo when waking their dogs - in SF it's different.... In CA life is good if you make a few million a year or more. Shipping into the west coast ports has declined markedly this year. Many companies are working to not have that supply chain bottleneck again. The west cost decline has meant an increase for ports in the south and east. Was an article about it in the WSJ this week. Yamaha has moved its US headquarters to Atlanta. I'm wondering what Yamaha is going to do when their dealers sell thru the 2022 inventory with no 2023 model coming. Bike sales are slow this time of the year but pick up again in the spring. A 2024 could come in the late summer to give the dealers relief. Not sure how good a shape the dealers are in. From my limited knowledge they have done OK with sales and were able to get good prices but had inventory problems. Shop work has been steady as long as there weren't COVID shutdowns. However think the rising interest rates will blunt sales. I keep hearing that car sales are still going gangbusters but am seeing a lot more car adds so something doesn't add up. I think the dealers are pointing to past sales and inventory data and trying to ignore current data and keep selling for MSRP plus as long as they can. Looks like the country is going into a recession (or is in one already).

You mentioned a concern about the battery in the electronic ones. In about 2 years of use I've never run my Dianese down. On a long trip it is one of the many things I charge every night but at home is not charged after every use and sometimes sits for a couple of weeks. No problems at all so think the battery system is pretty good.

Sending you a scornful look and scoff of derision 🙂 I get you on the MT-09, that's how I traveled on my ZX6R. Was fun until i hit stretches with speeds less than 45mph. Without the prop off the wind my wrists would suffer.

I've always thought of the Ohlins as being the best. However the quandary I find myself in is how to balance. Set it up so that it is a perfect canyon carver and it will be tough on the 500 mile ride to get there. Soft and comfy will be great on the way there but not so much when you arrive at the canyon. My last trip was 6,500 miles and didn't have enough curves - still a wonderful trip with lots of great scenery and memories. Been reasonably happy with the stock suspension with preload and damping dialed up. Best curves were on the interstate going into Helena MT. Later in Montana hit a road with lots of undulations and the suspension was perfect. Would come off of a hump and then drop into the depression where the suspension would soak up the forces as it made it way up the next hump. All the while remaining firmly connected to the road surface and not bouncing around. 3 years ago hit a similar but worse stretch south of the Badlands. Was on my BMW F800GT and at the speed limit it was no effort. Passed a motorhome pulling a small trailer. WOW they were really struggling with that stretch which went almost to Rapid City SD. By the time they got there they were probably sea sick. That is an area where the active suspension seems to be of value, soft but able to tighten up the dampening when needed.

for now, but with CA folks moving to Arizona will probably change.

which panniers did you go with?

I was in a bike shop the other day and they had several 400 to 650 bikes. 1 2022 Tracer 9 GT. In the past when they have skipped a year they sold inventory.

Good comment - I never trust ABS but it is there as a backup. If it fails in a situation in which I need it then I'll probably crash just like I would have if I didn't have it. For me it is there for those moments I do not see the oily patch or misjudge traction. I already ride with safety margins but the ABS is an additional margin above and beyond my safety margins which has not been relaxed due to having ABS. Bought a bike one time that the dealer swore had ABS - it didn't. On the ride home I resisted the temptation to see how well it worked - LOL it would not have worked at all. Later after carefully checking the bike discovered it didn't have ABS. Dealer gave me $1,000 and I took the bike and traded it on a new model with ABS - verified it before I purchased. Same reason I wear an airbag vest, don't ride wanting to crash and have a back protector in my jacket that is worn over the airbag vest just in case it fails. ABS it like the tether on my Garmin Zumo XT. I put it on very carefully and always check it but just in case have a tether. Tether has save it twice in 2 years and 30,000+ miles of riding.

As a racing photographer traction control has deprived me of some fabulous high side crash photos. I say that in jest as traction control has really reduced the number of high side crashes - people still do it just much less ofter which is a good thing. I agree that the most important safety feature is what is between our ears but like to think of stuff such as ABS as a safety net. I have had ABS on the last 3 bikes and have never had it activate in a big way just an occasional bump under hard braking which says I'm at the limit. Believe it is extremely important to know how to control the bike without nannies. Before ABS even experienced rider would occasionally lock up the brakes and crash. I welcome the additional safeguard but only as an emergency backup and not a riding aid.

Rode my 2020 900 GT today and went by a dealer who had a 2022 9 GT. They wanted list plus about $1,500 in shipping and prep and some other stuff so wound up OTD at just under $17,000. Seems a bit high and since I know a dealer 100 miles away who has already told me hell make me a good deal I'm not that interested plus not so fond of the color. On the ride over was noticing how smoothly my QS works when accelerating briskly - reminded me again of my old FZ6 which would be a pain to shift when just puttering around but when accelerating hard and at higher revs it was butter smooth. I'll take that tradeoff any day as when I'm accelerating briskly or full out is when I want the shifting to be flawless. So still tempted by the T 9 GT and if I was to buy a bike today that would be the one. But for now with 26,000 my trade in value is probably not so great, my bike is set up the way I like it and we are happy together.

LOL I didn't get my first motorcycle until I was 53. As I near 70 I can tell some of the effects of aging but still am able to ride with confidence. I'm more mellow and don't push as hard as I once did. However the thought of picking up a 500 pound bike is not a pleasant one. What I like best about riding is the feel of the open air and the uninterrupted vision. No pillars or roof and can look all around. What catches my eye are the CanAm Spider, the Vanderhaull, Ariel Atom and similar. Basically 3 or 4 wheel motorcycles. CanAm being the closest but the others are still close enough. I would still take a long trip and endure the weather - hot, cold, wet, dry just like I would on a motorcycle.

Came back to this posting after reading about the 2023 may not be imported. Contemplating what will that mean. Yea the GT+ has some interesting features Emergency Braking, ACC and new display but otherwise doesn't seem to be that different. Now may not be a bad time to buy. @LarzI'd hate to see what the other dealer is like but can imagine as seems like there are some bad ones out there. Anyone old enough to remember the Dodge dealers of old - "what price could I sell this POS to you for today" 🙂 Do wonder if they were working on remedying the issues but parts hadn't dome in yet. I'd rather see a bike with a problem that is easily fixed than no bike at all.

After I posted my comment actually went and looked at a comparison review of the Ninja 1000 and the Suzuki 1000 xyzzy. They said the Ninja handled better in tighter corners where the Suzuki was good in big sweepers but not the tighter stuff. That surprised me a bit but the lack of center stand kills the Suzuki for me. @Bimbim18I'm with you on the Bluetooth. Seems like it is not that hard and it makes such a difference. Hard to say if emergency braking would have made a difference but still think its a good safety feature.

In the history of motorcycle manufactures it has been somewhat common for model years to be skipped. Also some years models didn't sell well and new inventory could be bought for a couple of years afterwards. Bought my 2014 Kawasaki ZX^r 636 ABS in February 2016 and it was a new 2014. During January and February of 2016 I ran across a number of 2014 and even a 2013 model or two that were new but unsold bikes. Did a little looking and at a glance looks like big differences Between GT+ and GT are display and ACC. The standard GT still has the twin 3.5" displays. To me the 2023 Tracer 9 GT looks very much like the 2022 model with the semi-active suspension. Not sure about the seat etc. I can understand avoiding litigious societies with the ACC but why abandon it all together? The Tracer 900 GT seems to be a popular bike in the US. My 2020 is doing just fine and only has 26,000 miles on it but if I put another 12,000 to 15,000 on it this year I'll be thinking about a replacement. I'm happy with the current performance in that it is soft enough and well damped for 65+ speeds on interstates and secondary roads for those long days but still firm enough for fun in the corners even fully loaded. Guess I'll sit on the sidelines until 2024 and hope they put the single screen on the standard GT. I do lots of long distance riding but really don't want ACC and the linked brakes. I could live with the linked brakes but want to be in complete control in more dense traffic. In heavy traffic I usually get in the left lane and "go with the flow" only pulling over the let the crazy fast folks by. I do not want ACC suddenly braking because someone cut in from of me and it has to get the follow distance back. I'm very conscious of those behind me and worry about being hit from behind as much as anything. There are some stretches on Interstate like I80 across Nebraska where it would be nice but my normal CC works just fine.

I knew of 2 in Auburn AL that the dealer wanted to sell, said he'd make me a good deal and sure wasn't talking over MSRP. Thanks for the review. I'm at only 26,000 but when I read reviews like this makes me want to jump from the 900 GT to the 9 GT. Do lots of long trip miles and would have had north of 35,000 but only did one long trip this year. Love the way my 900 GT is comfortable on long rides and soft enough to soak up some road imperfections but still be controlled and yet when I find curves roads it is capable of handling that nicely as well. Yea not as sharp in handling as my CBR or ZX6R but close enough. IMO a good balance and from the reviews I see the 9GT is a further refinement and improvement without loosing what makes the Tracer such a nice bike. Not too big and good power.

Struck me this morning that what Yamaha has done with the Tracer is interesting. The change from the original 2015 FJ09 to the current 2023 Tracer 9 GT+ is tremendous but has been accomplished gradually. The biggest change was from the 900 GT to the 9 GT probably the biggest step. Honda did something similar with the Goldwing but over many years. Other than that I can't think of another Japanese bike that has evolved as much. As @roadwarrior and others have said Yamaha has been listening to their customers

Over the years have seen a few timing chain tensioners. First must report my CP3 is running nicely with the new tensioner in and no issues. It is still my opinion that the tensioners do not receive much lubrication and after sitting in the same position for a while fail to advance to the next one. The FZ6 I had seemed to want a new tensioner every 10 or 12 thousand miles. I could pull the old one out, lube and exercise it and it would work fine for a while. My CBR600RR made it maybe 10,000 miles or more but I did replace it one time - bike had 18,000 miles on it when traded. My ZX6R 636 only had 7,000 miles on it when I traded it but had ordered a new tensioner for it. I distinctly remember one time it was making more than normal valve noise but after a good spirited ride it was quiet. Just need to jump to the next step on the tensioner. My BMW F800GT never replaced the tensioner it always made lots of noise but seemed to run OK. I would love to put the Yamaha CP3 in the F800GT. Would be a wonderful bike.

I've has less expensive stands but Pit Bull is certainly the best. I just use the center stand and if needed a jack stand under the skid plate or exhaust. On my old FZ6 I did all kinds of work on it with just the center stand, pulled the swingarm and the steering head bearing that way. For my sport bikes used a rear stand and a front stand but wound up going to a Woodcraft stand for the front that went into the bottom triple clamp. PitBull quality is fantastic and if you buy one used it can always be resold for what you paid for it.

You have to let us know how it turns out. I always thought of Yamaha as a west coast organization but during the Barber Vintage Festival met one or two folks that were Georgia based.

I bought th factory service manual off of the internet in PDF format. Is it legit, have no clue but it seems to be fine. If it's a copy not only did they copy the good stuff but got the errors as well. The link @ReSTored posted looks like the one I got. Between the threads here and the info in the manual it has been good to work on my bike. However some stuff is very difficult to find either place - for example the size of the allen wrench to retract the cam chain tensioner. Wiring diagrams are good and help a lot. In my experience the 3rd party manuals leave a lot to be desired.

Welcome and of course we need to see photos of your lovely bike 🙂 It is not the easiest engine to turn over. Do not think the cam chain tension would affect that. Since this is not your first time, have you done a larger multi cylinder before? Seems like its a bit more effort than my 600 i4s I've done before - but my 49cc Honda Metropolitian was much much easier to turn over 🙂 I pulled the plugs first and that made it easier. I tried turning it with the rear wheel but changed my mind as I didn't want to get my hand dirty - really that's why and I'm not changing my story. I found the clearances to be a bit tricky bt did it with the chain tensioner installed. Turning the engine without one in really makes me nervous. At 17,000 miles all of my exhausts were tight but the intakes were fine. That was back in July and now it has 26,000 miles on it. I posted my before and after clearances in one of the threads. Very few folks that check clearances find they do not need to adjust the exhausts but the intakes seem to be fine.

Welcome and great writeup. As you have discovered there is a lot of good information and knowledgable folks here. Looks like you have already had a good time sorting some of the issues of the bike. I have a 2020 Tracer 900 GT with the longer wheelbase and has been rock solid at all speeds even fully loaded. I haven't done anything to the suspension but adjust preloads and dampening but for me it does well enough. It is soft enough for the long rides getting there (wherever that is) and yet firm enough to be enjoyable in the mountains. It won't handle like my 600 SSs did but doesn't beat me up on a 600 mile day either. After 7,000+ miles with the Michelin Road 6s I'm impressed, good grip and wear and they seem to be sportier than the 5s. $1,400 seems high but if it was tires and several other things then not so bad. Michelin Road 6s will set you back nearly $500 and then they will charge to remove the wheels and mount and balance. You are into it for close to $700 at that point. TB sync does take some time to do right with removing the panels and lifting the tank to get to stuff so again not a $50 job either. Thinking back on some of my BMW services it is not unreasonable - but it's not a BMW. At 17,000 miles I would have had the valve check/adjustment done as the CP3 seems to need early adjustments.

I've toyed with the thought of trading for a 22 but the 23 with the new instrument panel is nice and love the idea of CarPlay being available. I have a Garmin Zumo XT and when trying to find a spot to mount a cheap Samsung phone to run Wayze or Never on it is hard. Haven't looked into what the GT has but if it has CC, IMU and side cases would go that route. Not a fan of ACC. Seems like the linked brakes are part of the GT+ and ACC. I paid $11,500 for my 2020 GT and love it. It's a great balance between slicing the twisty roads and long hauls to get there. I'm at 26,000 miles and if I take a couple of long tips next year it will over 40,000 miles. Yes it will last a lot longer but Like a newer bike when on a long solo trip in remote areas. For the folks talking about a big version of the Tracer, I'd like to see a lighter version but without loosing the performance I have now. The Yamaha 700s are nice but would not work for me. My BMW F800GT had 90HP and was generally fast enough but there were occasions when the 90HP was lacking. The Suzuki 1000 alphabet bike is intriguing but big and I don't need that much power. No center stand kills it for me. The Ninja 1000 is also interesting but big and don't need that much power. Still not in love with the stying of the newer Tracers - not in love with my current 2020 GT either. Yamaha is in one ditch and Honda with their new competitor is in the other.