Jayzonk

It looks like SW Motech isn't making that bag anymore, but they have some others. What model is it? Capacity?

Yes, your bag looks amazing on there! Usually they look like such an afterthought. Are you saying you bought it from Yamaha? Looks great. Nice bike as well. So that's not the BF23 adaptor from Givi?

Not sure who has ridden any of the BDR routes, but I have been giving them some consideration lately. Obviously, they aren't for the Tracer (except the MABDR perhaps? Looks like it's mainly secondary tarmac with a bit of hardpack gravel), but I had been thinking about getting a bike so I could ride the MABDR (mid-Atlantic) or the NEBDR (northeast). So I watched a few of their promo videos... Northeast BDR - I see riders on BMW 1200's riding up rocky, wet trails with their rear wheels sliding around on the rocks. There were many many falls on the trails...I think everyone fell at least once and some riders had two and three falls, breaking all kinds of stuff on their bikes. One rider literally slammed her panniers into a tree as she slid sideways across the trail. It's funny to watch...someone falls over, and the others park their bikes and run up to help the person push the bike up. What fun! Ridic!! Idaho BDR - two major crashes on the first day. The first one took out the rider's bike, so he was done. The second one was a broken leg, requiring a helicopter extraction from the area. Lots of fun.... So the way I see it... 1) Take a full-sized adventure bike. No thanks. Being in SW Ontario, I would have to take a full-sized adventure bike to just get to the trails, which means I'm handicapped right away....there's no way I would want to take something that big offroad. I saw so many instances of people trying to put their foot down, only to find that it was hanging over a six inch rut. By the time their foot came down, they had too much lean angle and just fell over. It just tells me that it's not the way to get through there. 2) Drive down there with a dual sport in a trailer then ride. Don't think that works out either. So, perhaps I take a dual sport in a trailer to the NEBDR. Sure, I can get myself there, but then I'd have to try to pack enough stuff on board to try to get through the trail. So, suppose I can pack enough stuff. Fine. But the problem is that the routes are pretty long. The NEBDR is 1200 miles long, and over half of that is tarmac, so how are you actually supposed to do that on a dual sport? It would be really unpleasant, I suspect. Perhaps a KLR or a DR or a Husqvarna 701, but even those options aren't going to be fun on the highways, even at 50 mph. So the way I look at it, since I do not live near a BDR I don't see either option as a valid way to ride this thing. If I lived near there, it would be a different story, because I could pick up sections of the trail here and there at my leisure. So I've decided that it's best to stick with road (tarmac) touring. I'm thinking that I can piece together a road route that pretty much parallels the NEBDR without having to do any of the dirt sections at all. This would mean that I could cover it all on the Tracer, and likely see most of the things that you would see if you did the off-highway sections anyway. I'm a Roadrunner subscriber, so I might be able to piece together some of the routes in the magazine to essentially cover the same areas as the BDR's. I thought about a Tenere 700...driving it from SW Ontario then running the BDR with it, but, after sitting on it, I still think it's too big and tall. Maybe the MABDR but not the NEBDR. Hmmm

You know...it's interesting. Everyone on the site seems really well-versed with touring on the Tracer and it's just awesome to get all of this coaching...and trust me, I need it. I plan things out, but I never plan enough, and this has motivated me to slow things down and do a lot of preparing before going. Oil change, tires, of course. But getting lots of kms on the touring seat and windscreen are essential. Paper maps will be my friend, but having a handy place to keep them will need to be found. Givi tankbag - I have an XStream that's probably six years old and unused. I need to get the BF23 adaptor ring for it, but I think it should fit over the bolts and shroud at the front of the tank?

I know this is an old thread but just checking to see if using the BF23 ring allows the bag to clear the bolts at the front of the tank. I have an older Givi tank bag but it's in great shape. If I can make it work, it'll allow me to just use the panniers and not the top box.

I was thinking about skipping the top box and just going with the panniers. It'll be a bit tight but could work (I'd like to find some new FJR bags and put them on but they go for $4500 Canadian!).

A little morbid, but a good idea. Have you considered getting them for your kids? I'm thinking about it.

You know, of all the ridiculous apps that are out there, I think an app that pinpointed all of the motorcycle-capable towing companies across the world would be really useful. Because it's so useful, it probably doesn't exist lol.

I'm writing off the phone mount as I think the phone is just too distracting. Can a heated vest run off the DC socket?

Alright.

Mirror extensions? Do you mean having a small convex mirror attached to the original mirror for a longer look back?

Well, you rarely get an owner of a new bike saying that they don't like it better than the old one, but perhaps we will get a more forthright comparison in a couple of years! I went from an R1200GS Rallye to the Tracer and couldn't be happier. Although everyone says that the weight on a Beemer is down low, just wait until you make an emergency stop while on an angle (in a turn) and tell me how "low" that weight feels. Happened to me twice and that was enough to find a more manageable ride for me. The seat was good, the wind protection was really good, and the standing position was really good. The "Get to the dealer!" warnings flashing on the TFT screen...really annoying. The rear wheel failure in first three months of ownership...also annoying. Damn I miss that thing..... 🫤

...so no mount required.

I've thought about it some more and I think I am going to leave the phone off of the handlebar. I've made a decision that motorcycling time means not being on the phone or electronics too much. Consequently, that means "knowing where I'm going" and having paper maps as back-up. It also means that getting lost is allowed, but leaving enough time so that I can still finish riding by late afternoon.

I have a Givi tank bag from 2013 that I used on my old Speed Triple. Perhaps I can find an adaptor that will fit my tank.

Good idea. It would also be a good idea to know where the motorcycle tow truck guys might be so I can access them.

Does the ball hold the phone better than the regular Quad-lock? Or is the ball there just to add adjustability to the phone orientation? It seems to me that it's an option.

I am thinking that applying the amount in the exact center of the handlebar will work well but I will have to measure the diameter at that point.

How do you get the drilled hole appearance up by the heads? ie. just inside your engine guard. Beautiful bike. Pipe looks great. What screen are you running? What front fender? Any other pics?

Thanks. I don't have that bracket and prefer to keep the phone directly out of my field of view. I may go the rearview mirror route.

Thanks. I like the idea of a tank bag but am unsure as to which ones won't scratch the tank...you'd need one that has the fitment ring for the gas cap. Who makes one?

At what age should my tires be replaced? It's a 2020 with the OEM tires, so really, those tires are four years old with 5100km. If I'm covering 400km per day over two weeks, that's 5600km. Perhaps I should change them before I go...would you say the OEM tires are good for 7500km?

I've heard all kinds of funny things said about the way bikes look on the forums over the years. It's rare that you get consensus on a bike being beautiful, but some are more polarizing than others. Had a VFR1200F that was very polarizing...even to me. If you looked at it from certain angles, it was menacing. From other angles, it looked almost like a bit of a scooter. Very different. I was reading a post on the V Strom forum where someone described the Tracer as "being taken off of bake in the oven ten minutes early..." so ridic! I have no complaints about the V Strom's appearance, but I don't see that it trumps the Tracer by any extent. At the moto show about four years ago, the big manufacturers were still coming out, and any and every bike being brought to Canada was there. After looking at all of the bling on the Beemer and Ducati side, the Tracer was an actual fresh welcome....in sort of that beautiful simplicity way. And size-wise, it was winning too. It's funny how the most sensible things fall into obscurity some times.

Went for the rust red/flat black. I originally wanted a shiny black/silver with blue accents and blue wheels but this was the unit that the dealer had in stock. Surprisingly, I'm not tired of it, and the flat finish stands up really well.

I've got a '20 900GT and have spent significant time on a '16 MT-07. If you do not need the additional height of the Tenere 700, I'd look at the MT-07 as it's got a steeper rake and the bike will in general be more maneuverable that the longer wheelbase of the Tenere. And I really don't think that gravel and curb jumping is going to be part of your daily commute, so I see the MT-07 as being a good fit. I personally found the SV650 to be interesting but I kept sliding forward from the seat into the tank so much that I sold the bike (I also found the brakes and lack of ABS a little unsettling). That being said, there's NO WAY that an MT-07 engine is going to give you nearly the enjoyment that the 900 triple would. Keep that in perspective. I've had lots of time and speed on an MT-07 and it's a great bike, but the engine is rattly and chuggy, and it just doesn't compare to the 900 triple. If you're merging onto freeways then jumping off, you're going to find the acceleration much smoother and sharper on the Tracer, and you're going to find the engine braking much better as well. Overall, the stability of the Tracer will be much much better at speed, fatiguing you less than the 700 twin. I think what you're experiencing is the curse of the Tracer...it's working well for you but you're looking for something better as an excuse to get a new bike! I know, I've been there, but I'm telling you, keep your Tracer. You'll always wish you did unless there's a groundbreaking change in the sport tourer segment that I haven't heard about. The curse of the Tracer is that it becomes incredibly difficult to find something better than the Tracer for just about any type of urban riding you're going to do. Short of venturing to Alaska (and I'm sure it could do that too), it's just so damned good.