Jayzonk

On 3/19/2024 at 2:58 PM, betoney said:

I have a few Dremel tools which I use on a regular basis but it can be easy to get ripples when sanding on a flat plane with such a small sanding disc.  For your application, sanding a longer flat edge, it might be easier to using a sanding block with various grits.  Even sanding a small area, the flat surface of the sanding block will help keep the flat surface of the screen edge even.

Yes I can do that. Would be good if the block was small so it could fit into the radius of the curve well...I'll use the edge.  

On 3/26/2024 at 7:15 PM, daboo said:

I look at things similar to you.  

First, the gen 1 Tracer was the greatest bike ever made according to the magazine reviewers.  Then when the Gen 2 Tracer came out, the earlier model was okay...but the new model is the greatest bike ever made.  And now that the Gen 3 Tracer has come out, what was once the greatest bike ever made...is not nearly so good.  The Marketing folks get paid to make us feel like we absolutely need that latest and greatest model, when the old model wasn't bad at all.

I look at how much the new bike will cost, and since it does the same purpose as the old bike does...how much improvement will I get?  And how much will that cost me?  Like you found, there's very little improvement...but a tremendous amount of cost.

And nothing against the owners of the latest generation of Tracers, but the Gen 2 models were beautiful bikes.

In order to compare apples to apples, you have to ask what is the old bike's cost.  The Retail value of the old bike may have made it a €4500 difference in cost, but it sounds like they gave you the Trade-In value, which was €3500 less.

 

Finally, back to the OP, if you only had 6000 km on the bike...it's still new.  You haven't even hit your second oil change yet.

 

Chris

Agreed. Staying disciplined and keeping what I have.  It's not a hard decision because I enjoy the bike so much. I have the comfort seats as well, so I'm invested in this bike.  I'll probably be due for tires halfway through the summer.  Wondering what people are switching to for some sporty performance,  yet still having some touring chops.  I'd probably want to stick with the same profile.  

I have a King rotary tool, it's like a Drexel tool.  Should work with the right grits?

It will be a small amount and will be recovered with the included edging material.  I suspect that MRA sands and polishes every finished windshield unit they make.  

Yes, I can roll them forward and back but I like the current position so I will narrow the screen.  I'd say I probably meed to lose 1 millimetre on each side so I'll probably try some 700 grit then 1000 grit sandpaper.  

Is IT DOT approved?  🤨 

You see all kinds of comical helmets at sturgess or port dover.  Viking helmets, leather, capes, let it all out!!

Where would the meet up be?  Any chance it could be SW Ontario?

Isn't there a really good newly finished highway that runs east-west from Huntsville?  I think it's just north of town.  

I'm sticking with my 900GT.  It does everything I need it to, be it short trips or long ones.  It's comfy and handles well, so it's definitely a keeper.  I added an MRA windshield but I find that the Handlebar touches it at full stop, so I'm going to remove the edge molding and sand it a bit.  

Which model do you find the wind protection better on?  Around the head?  Chest, arms , legs?

23 hours ago, Fleng said:

Looks good.  We don't get that color in Canada.  We do get the "storm grey" which is close, and just as nice IMO.  Added some internet images for comparison.  

17 hours ago, Fleng said:

The price difference between the 900GT and 9GT+ is in this part of the world “only” about €4500. So there is a difference where you live. 
I traded my 2019 900GT with 32000 km in for a 23 9GT+ last year and had to pay €9000 for it. Sounded reasonable to me, and more important to “she who cannot be ignored “.

Very happy with the upgrade, but only because I could. If it was not possible financially or otherwise I would still love riding the 900. No doubt about it.

Can you get a good mid-sized bike in Europe for 9000€?  Perhaps you could have kept your 900 and purchased a second bike.  I know that's not always practical.  

One thing I'd like to know...if the new ones have increased in price by 33%, why hasn't the used market price also jumped 33%?  I feel like I should probably be getting close to what I paid for it, new!

9000 € is about $13, 200 Canadian dollars, so I think we are facing similar pricing in our respective countries.   You, however, are getting a better trade-in value since your bike had 32,000 km on it and you're essentially getting what I would get for mine with 6000km on it.  

Have a 2020 Tracer 900GT.   Even though I found the stock seat comfortable, I have the comfort rider and passenger seat which I find to be the best motorcycle seat I've ever had.  I also have the top box and an MRA touring screen with the visor, so I'm really set up for some long-ish rides on it.  The seating position works very well for me and I always feel confident and commanding when I ride it.  

If I like my Tracer this much, I thought I'd consider the new one,  given the adaptive cruise control, the larger panniers, taller screen, and especially the electronic suspension.   

While I've read comments about the suspension and chassis being the potential weakness in the gen 1 Tracer, the general consensus is that the Gen 2 Tracer was noticeably better, but much much better in this new Gen 3 Tracer.  But I've never really had a problem with the suspension on mine.  I ride generally smooth roads, and it seems to me that the suspension is more than up to the task for brisk road riding.   

Given my satisfaction for the 2020, I haven't really seen the need to upgrade to the 2024 model, but am curious about how good the '24 really could be.  When I was at the dealer last week, I decided to inquire about pricing and a trade on my 2020.  For my low mile 2020 (it has 6000km on the odometer; I have other bikes that I ride as well so I haven't accumulated too many miles on it), the dealer offered me $9000 CDN.  With the new '24 coming in at $21,700, the dealer wanted $12,700 plus PDI plus taxes, which takes the total to over $14,000.  I think this is crazy.  I bought mine new for $13,200, which is less than the difference I'd need to trade up.   The new model is $21,700, or $8500 more (without taxes and fees), which is a gastronomical change in price.  I don't blame Yamaha for this - they added many new features to the bike which pushed the price up.  Coupled with the rampant inflation we've experienced recently, I don't think that Yamaha is gouging me , but I do think it's a difficult proposition to give up my awesome 2020 and basically shell out the same amount that I paid for it all over again.  If the improvements are marginal, then going new just doesn't seem worth it.  

Anyway,  I'll be keeping my 2020.  There's just too much value there to be giving it up and paying big cash for the new one.  I can and did adjust the suspension to how I like it ( I slowed the rebound in the rear a bit; just enough to make the one big highway bump i have on the highway more manageable)...the rest is just fluff.  Perhaps Yamaha is a victim of itself this time, where current Tracer 900 owners are too content to consider shelling out for the new model, which will reduce the number of new buyers, and increases the need to entice owners of other brands to be converted to the Tracer.  Am I alone on this?  Who made the change from the 900GT to the ew '24 GT+?  

Have a 2020 Tracer 900GT.   Even though I found the stock seat comfortable, I have the comfort rider and passenger seat which I find to be the best motorcycle seat I've ever had.  I also have the top box and an MRA touring screen with the visor, so I'm really set up for some long-ish rides on it.  The seating position works very well for me and I always feel confident and commanding when I ride it.  

If I like my Tracer this much, I thought I'd consider the new one,  given the adaptive cruise control, the larger panniers, taller screen, and especially the electronic suspension.   

While I've read comments about the suspension and chassis being the potential weakness in the gen 1 Tracer, the general consensus is that the Gen 2 Tracer generation was noticeably better, and much much better in this new Gen 3 Tracer.  But I've never really had a problem with the suspension on mine.  I ride generally smooth roads, and it seems to me that the suspension is more than up to the task for road riding.   

Given my satisfaction for my 2020, I haven't really seen the need to upgrade to the 2024 model.  When I was at the dealer last week, I decided to inquire about pricing and a trade on my 2020.  For my low mile 2020 (it has 6000km on the odometer), the dealer offered me $9000 CDN.  With the new '24 coming in at $21,700, the dealer wanted $12,700 plus PDI plus taxes.  I think this is crazy.  I bought mine new for $13,200.  The new model is $21,700, or $8500 more, which is a gastronomical change in price.  I don't blame Yamaha for this - they added many new features to the bike which pushed the price up.  Coupled with the rampant inflation we've experienced recently, I don't think that Yamaha is gouging me , but I do think it's a difficult proposition to give up my awesome 2020 and basically shell out the same amount that I paid for it all over again.  

Anyway,  I'll be keeping my 2020.  There's just too much value there to be giving it up and paying big cash for the new one.  I can adjust the suspension to how I like it...the rest is just fluff.  Perhaps Yamaha is a victim of itself this time, where current Tracer 900 owners are too content to consider shelling out for the new model, which will reduce the number of new buyers, and increases the need to entice owners of other brands to be converted to the Tracer.  Am I alone on this.  Who made the change from the 900GT to the ew '24 GT+?

Yes, I sat on one and it's VERY sporty!  

It's hard to think that the FJR isn't somewhat like the VFR, but it's probably worth a test drive.  I was surprised at the price of used ones (FJR's) in the market....they seem to hold their value well around SW Ontario at least.  I doubt the FJR has the same grunt as that Honda V-Four.  Didn't realize that it was a collector's bike in the making, but a lot of these short-run Honda's become that, I guess.  

Compared the Tracer, the FJR has about 2 inches less legroom?  

Been missing the planted, solid feel of my 2010 VFR1200F since I sold it ib 2018.  Keeping my '20 Tracer GT as I feel it's practicality is irreplaceable, but thought an FJR would be a considerably different riding experience.  Wondering if anyone has experience with both the VFR1200F and the FJR1300 and could comment on how similar the ride and handling are between the two bikes.

So far, i've been living with it.  Some of you are likely really good mechanics but i dont feel comfortable loosening my handlebar bolts and retightening, even if i had the proper torque specs.  

Fair enough.  Sounds like a good trip.  For me (and possibly you did this as well), I would therefore be looking at trailering a bike to the start of the route if I was going to do it on a dual sport.  I think I'll do a "semi-BDR" route based on the MABDR, but using all paved roads, so I get an idea of the whole area first.  The following run could be more off-road based.  

That being said, I understand that the MABDR is all secondary highways and gravel roads.  Wondering if anyone could clarify; if that's the case, I could take the Tenere 700 on the 1100km trip to the start and ride it all the way through and back.  

I presume that date is for the US, but I'm sure Canada will be close to the same.  I hope it's a good seller.  At 20.5K in Canada, that's still ten to twelve thousand less than a BMW S1000XR (and I'd choose the Tracer anyway!).

Great news!  I did not see anything about a release date.

Runnijg everything stock.  I could rotate the bars back but I'd have to adjust everything on the bars back into position plus find suitable hardware bolts for the handlebar.  The Yamaha dealer can likely get me the proper grade of hardware.  

4 hours ago, Ride365 said:

Over the years and owning many bikes, I will say that aftermarket is usually superior to OEM.   All you need to do is slightly loosen the 4 pinch bolts at the bar, rotate the bar back and bit and then torque/tighten them back up.......easy peezy.

Yes, I think that was a bit too broad of a claim made by me in a moment of frustration.  I did buy a lot of parts for an R3 and had some issues but yes, there's obviously lots of good aftermarket stuff out there.  Sometimes there are better parts but there are fitment issues that get in the way of making that product a real success.  Had some issues with rearsets, front fenders, and other things with the R3.   I also find that the included hardware seems (don't know for sure) a bit on the crappy side.

4 hours ago, Heavy said:

I hope you didn't take my reply as being wise-ass ... I was serious about selling my shorty screen.

Oh, and the manual calls for 22 N-m, or 16 ft-lb as torque spec on the handlebar bolts.  😉

Re: the screen.  You're not using it anymore? And you cut it down from the normal height?