Jayzonk

I'm running a 2020 Tracer 900GT and yes, perhaps I will relent on my previous comments and submit to a suspension upgrade PRIMARILY for the fact that I want smoother actuation over highway bumps. I'm just wondering if someone can direct me to the threads that have the most tried and true setups for my model year. I'm thinking that a good modification might get me to the 2021 level of suspension performance on the new 9GT.

Year of the track? You're going to do some track days?? On what?

You have to be kidding me! After seeing the 9GT, this old FZ1 is welcome relief to my brain! What strange road has Yamaha gone down?? (and all of the other Japanese manufacturers for that matter!)

Stevesweetz, Have you gotten a Tracer 9GT yet? Here's my 2 cents on your concerns: 1) Get a red one. This gives you an entire year to convince yourself that you like it. That means you'll end up liking it for longer because you didn't drool over it for an entire year before getting it. 😊 2) Don't worry about the screen at all! I'm pushing back a bit here, but wanting to look at the screen too much is a crutch and an obsession that we all need to pull away from. The screen tilted toward your body is a good thing, as it's forcing you to spend more time looking down the road and not at your gauges. Because the TFT and navigation screen were located too much into the centrality of my vision, I sold a BMW R1200GS....I wanted them out of my way, not more in my way! I know it can be anxious when the gauges are right in front of you, but in the end, it'll be a much safer ride for you and you'll learn to trust your instincts if you aren't always looking at them. And you'll be surprised at how well you can gauge speed without it!

Personally, I would skip the Euro bikes in your list, unless you enjoy time in the shop and money down the drain. I'm not sure about the 950, but the RS660 has had issues right from day one. I'm wondering if it's coming down to seating position for you. How tall are you? Perhaps the 650 just feels like a tighter package overall because of the way you interact with the bike (ergonomics). I'm also wondering if you need to try a different set of road tires? I'm not sure if you can get some Pirelli Diablo Rosso's on the Tracer, but they were amazing on my Speed Triple. Have you considered a Triumph Street Triple? There's a reason that bike has a huge following...great ergonomics and an excellent handler. If you have to have a twin, I would also consider Suzuki's SV650. It has legendary handling and is used in twin racing in the UK. You can upgrade your suspension over time if you wish. I'd also give some consideration to Yamaha's new R7 or the naked version. I rode an older version of that engine and found it a bit rattly, but I think the new version is smoother.

Hey, wondering if anyone is considering Suzuki's new GSX-S1000GT sports tourer. It's getting a lot of interest in Canada and it looks like it's pre-sold out in my province. It looks like a really thoughtful bike. Suzuki is claiming a lot of interesting things here, like extensive wind tunnel testing, injection-molded plastic windscreen (better than heat-pressed they say), really good bags with an integrated mount, a good seat, and good suspension, although not fully adjustable. They really seem like they took the time to refine this bike. For me, I'm not sure that I'm ready to get into the more crouched seating position again, but I do like the approach they took to developing this bike. The reviewers are loving the layout of the bike, the upright seating position, wind protection, the TFT, and the engine for sure. I think the claims about the handling are somewhat neutral, stating that there's nothing wrong with it, but I haven't heard anything exemplary. More tests on that for sure. I like the new Tracer and my older version, but I'm tempted by this Suzuki. Perhaps I'm overlooking the new Tracer 9GT's improvements over the the previous iteration?

Let me know how it matches! Was that the only width available? Although the side panels are metallic copper, the OEM pinstriping is anything but...it's pretty flat, and it's a shade of orange/brown/copper that I couldn't name if my life depended on it.

Well, I've watched a friend of mine remove minor scratches out of cars very effectively. Rather than buffing them out, I suggest sanding them with a really fine grit, say 2000, then moving to a finer grit, say 3000. Then you can see what you think of them. You might decide to buff them then, paint them, or apply a vinyl wrap. I think buffing them from the first step could lead to some inconsistencies....high sheen in some places and low in others. Any autobody guys want to weigh in on this?

I feel like my flat black panniers are essentially unfinished. The gloss black ones you have just look like they got an extra level of attention LOL. No clue if they're more durable or not...

That's awesome. Just enough to give it some color but not too much to be distracting or even bother checking the actual match to the bike!

Agreed. Your panniers are not OEM. What are they? The stripes on them definitely look good! Mounting bracket required? Agreed, matching the silver might work; if I can locate a pantone for the burnt orange color, I can probably get a good match.

Rather than painting, there might be a good color wrap choice for the lids, with some minor trimming required around the reflector.

Yes, that's a lot. I'm thinking there must be a stripe match. If it doesn't match, perhaps there's a flat black stripe that could give the panniers a bit of depth at least. They could run alongside the rises long the side of the panniers, but not sure.

Just looking at my stark black panniers for my 2020 Tracer 900GT and wondering if adding some pinstriping to them might jazz them up a bit. Not sure if the local pinstriping company can find a match to the orange/rust color pinstriping on the tank or not. Is there a way of finding the pantone color match for those? Has anyone done any similar mods?

So many bikes are made with knockouts these days. If you buy a standard Africa Twin, it has a knockout panel underneath where the adaptive cornering lights go if you had bought the Africa Twin Adventure Sports. The manufacturers use this type of thinking to make their own production cheaper, but I think they could take it a step further and apply it to the end user. In the case of the Tracer, they could have already made the mounts, and set the purchase of the lights as a plug and play option. It must be harder to engineer parts this way than one thinks.

Is it an electronic deployment vest or is it on a tether cord?

So those are the stock auxiliary lights? They are listed as fog lights here in Canada eh. 🇨🇦 The website shows the lights and a mounting bracket, but no separate wiring harness. That's probably the nicest hi viz jacket I've seen. It takes some creativity to make the stuff look good.

Where is the easiest point for auxiliary light mounting on the previous gen Tracer? I have a 2020, and I think it would be good to add something. Anyone have a good setup? I don't even care if I have to stop and go around front and flick a switch to do it if need be.

With cervical issues, your other sport tourer must be a lot harder to ride comfortably now. What is it? Ninja 1000?

Are you talking about the rear brake light? Can't be that heavy, is it?

That is a TON of safety. Feeling pretty inadequate over here.

I know. The MT-09 looks amazing, especially in the blue. Haven't seen an SP version. Tough to justify having two bikes with the same engine, isn't it? But Yamaha makes a good case for getting both...

I remember seeing a video of a UK police motorcycle officer trying to redirect traffic on a motorway in a hi-viz jacket, and some car plowed straight into him. Yikes! He did rush out into traffic a little too hastily, so I think it's a little hard to say that the hi-viz jacket did nothing for him. I was trying to find it online, but I cannot.

Okay, I took a quick look online, so I think I understand this. it's a different setup, that's for sure. It looks like the top two lights are the daytime running lights, and the adaptive cornering lights come on within them. Underneath are two separate lights that are spaced apart like auxiliary lights, but they are the main driving lights. The one on the left (when you are facing it) is a high beam, and the one on the right is a low beam. Is this correct? It's actually pretty creative.

Well that's cool...the 2021 really added some nice features - the larger panniers, the auxiliary lights, the adaptive cornering lights, the ELECTRONIC SUSPENSION!...it's a bit tempting but I cannot justify making a change at this point. I just got mine last fall, and it's still the best bike I've ever had, which I can definitely say because I feel more confident on it than any previous bikes. At the bike shows, I never see the Tracer getting a serious amount of attention. The dealers always seem to have one or two left around at the end of the season as well. I guess the flashy bikes get all of the attention, but I really think the Tracer is the best kept secret out there for general purpose motorcycling, not even considering the price. For getting from A to B on the road, if I could somehow blind test a bunch of bikes and take them each on that path, I'm pretty sure the Tracer would come out on top, every time, so I'll keep mine for now, despite the improvements.