Salish900

I'll add that I formerly lived on Bainbridge Island, an island just a ferry ride over from Seattle. There are a massive number of folks, men and women, who ride bicycles and motorcycles onto the ferry to commute because it saves you tremendous money and time. It's what prompts many people to start riding here. On that ferry during commute hours there are commonly 30-60 motorcycles. Of all types, but not much of the Harley crowd. Most folks on sport, ADV, and varieties of cruiser style. It's a beautiful sight really. So many bikes! 

By far the most common tires you see on bikes are the Michelin PR3-4-5. It's lived experience for folks who ride on wet steel, wet roads, and mysterious surfaces every day all winter. 

Awesome geopraphy and video work. Thanks for sharing. Once upon a time I traveled those roads, but in a cage. I can't wait to get some time in Southern Utah on two wheels, on Hwy 12 and the like. Your oil pan experience confirms my own fear of the way it is exposed so nakedly. I also worry about a rock piercing the oil filter, which is not apparently protected by the SW Motech. But spending $300 on a bigger sump guard is just, well, hard to do. 

7 hours ago, flyfifer said:

Salish900,

Forgive me but WHAT seat have you got

Just the stock model. Really don't quite understand why it fits me so well, like I explain above, but it does. Worst seat I've ever had was a Corbin the previous owner put on my Connie. Damn seat was hard as a rock. I did a long trip up into Canada (back when those good people allowed us rednecks and science bashers into their country) and had to purchase a little inflatable seat to put under my arse so I could not wince with pain after 30 minutes. But my stock Aprilia Capo seat was pretty good, and yet this Yamaha seat/foot peg position just fits me the best, now that the seat is raised and flattened. 

Good thread to find. Hey @Dodgy Knees, are those the Pyramid brand?

In other news, let's all remember to put links of any products we've used and recommend. 

Went to bed thinking about it, did a bunch of reading and comparing of all the brands here, read endless reviews on Revzilla, and no surprise, people tend to like what they buy, especially if they spend a lot. Notable exception is the Angel GT, which people seem to love or hate. What did I end up getting? The Michelin Road 5's.

I just decided there is not a single tire out there that does better in the wet, and most do worse, and I ride the wet an enormous amount of the time. The extra money ultimately cost me less than the stress of not believing my tires were going to hold the wet corner the way I'm used to. I've had the Metzeler RoadTec 01 and though they rode fine, they wore out far more quickly than the Michelin. My wallet liked the idea of the Roadsmart 3's, but my desire to not test my aging bones in a battle with asphalt made the difference for me. And oh, by the way, I'm an MSF rider coach, so I've already ticked that "extra training" box! 😜 

So I'm back from my 4 hour ride, about 240 miles, and all I can say is that I've never ever had a seat be more comfortable on any bike I've ever owned. In order, a Versys 650, an FJR, a Connie with a Corbin, and an Aprilia Capo 1200. None of them left me without sore buns after 2-3 hours. Today I rode and never even got the tingles. I realize the seat is basic, but something about the breadth and new angle, and my leg position, relieves pressure on my pelvis and buns in a way that works for me. And I found I stayed where I wanted to stay on the seat, and was neutral in my body position. I'm done fiddling with this seat and now know I can ride it on my longer 12 hour trips with no problem. 

17 minutes ago, Shizzle said:

What thickness and diameter washers are you guys using?

Hey @Shizzle, I honestly went to my local Ace and got their only thickness of stainless washers. I did happen to notice that the stack of 4 washers I placed UNDER the plastic thing, taped with Gorilla tape onto the bike, was a bit less than 5mm thick. I also placed two washers of that same thickness, so a smidge more than 2mm, under the rear of the tank bolts. When you do this, it is a bit more tricky to get your seat in, as you have to more carefully hook that front seat prong into the notch where it goes, and then without much force press down on the back of the seat to click it in. 

I'm going on a 4 hour ride this morning and when I get back I'll surely know more. But I rode for 30 minutes last night after posting here and it really makes a huge difference in making the WHOLE seat available for use, and no sliding forward. I've added bar risers and am 6'2", so my natural riding position is for my butt to be back on the widest part of the seat, which I can now do easily and stay there. And seat is not wobbly left to right. 

I could post pictures but they are more or less the same as @Wintersdark Good luck and let me now if you have any other questions. Riding up to Marrowstone Island today, one of my favorite local trips here in lovely WA. 

I've not yet put 500 miles on my bike but today was the first time I've ridden in really wet conditions. My Buddha! Those OEM Dunlop Sportmax tires had my bike going all sideways and squirrelly over every single tar snake and irregularity. It freaked me out. I'm used to Michelin's and Metzelers and never had a bike act this way. I've already ordered stiffer front springs and need them as I'm 195lbs but this wasn't that. It was straight up lack of grip. 

I was going to ride these out but now I'm thinking I can't go into winter with this crap on my bike. Shame to waste new rubber but I need to feel way more trusting of my tires. I dropped 25% or more off my normal wet weather speed because I was paranoid those OEM tires were going to put me on the ground in a slight corner. 

Today I installed my new National Cycle polycarbonate Touring windscreen and did the seat mod to raise and level the seat as discussed in that thread, specifically using the technique outlined by Wintersdark. Got my Shad SH36 cases today, which look sweet, and am waiting for the mounting rack to come. Farkleville around here. 

I just did this the way Wintersdark did, thanks, and from being in the garage it is already a huge difference. I'm one of these who find the stock seat pretty darn comfortable. I'll give it a few years and see how the foam wears. But getting the seat more level will really help a ton. Thanks to all for the ideas here. 

4 hours ago, Ride365 said:

The FJR and Connie 14 "per the dyno" don't have much more than the Tracer does, and yeah I owned a 2008 Connie 14 for 4 years.  Had my 2008 C14 dyoned and pulled 123hp, but that's also on a massive PIG of a bike which also feels that way.  

Hey there. Yeah, my 2008 C14 was awfully fun and when I hit the throttle doing 70 would quickly hit illegal speeds to pass trucks on lonely British Columbia two lanes. But it was a pig at low speed, and damn heavy. The power to weight ratio can't be far off. The Connie is smoother at high revs with that big 4, but not more fun. And once above about 6K rpm on the Tracer, it's like a jet engine. 

Crazy thing is that I've got a 34" inseam and with my seat in the high position, I can barely flat foot. That's a tall bike! I've added bar risers but I don't think I need peg lowering. On two hour rides, I'm not even butt sore, which I've never had on any bike I've ever owned. 

That "little" triple is just a brilliant design. 

The appeal of Aprilia is hard to resist, but as I recently parted with my Capo Rally 1200 I can say I will never again spend my money on a machine so likely to have trouble and without nearby dealer support or parts support. Spend time reading about their customer service before you buy one! If you live in Los Angeles and have lots of cash, go for it! They are so beautiful, and when working well, like a Ferrari, they are a dream. But I had the AF1 racing shop in Austin, Texas, who is the main parts supplier for Aprilia in the US, explain to me their bikes are so rare here it is easier to get parts for a Ferrari, well, that says a lot. 

I like working on my own bikes too much, and like my money staying a bit more in my wallet. 

But when I see one on the road I sure turn my head! 

13 minutes ago, DaStray said:

Salish900,

I wholeheartedly agree. I`d been out of the "bike scene" for quite a few years and very recently bought a new GT and am amazed on many levels. From the power of the engine to the electronics and even handling, this bike seems to have it all.

With only 100 miles or so on it, I`m learning new things every day and am looking forward to more.

Be safe

Glad to hear. Having a bike that works is such a joy. I'll admit to being bit of a sucker for a well designed machine, but take a step back and consider the metallurgy, the generations of scientists, the designers, and the manufacturing systems that go into us being able to buy a bike for that cheap, and have it work so well, and by all accounts, work so damn well for so long. It's a real testament to science and engineering and human creativity. Our ancestors were driving horse drawn carriages just a couple generations ago. 

For a bike to be smooth at low revs, roaring at high revs, fuel efficient, durable and comfortable. Well, let's none of that take that for granted as we are about the first generation on Earth to have this opportunity. 

I really appreciate the pictures because a while back I worked for Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center, which is an education organization up in that area. I know it well, and Jawbone Flats also burned. That old mining camp held such history, and will be forever missed. That organization will need help rebuilding, if you are in the area. Find them on facebook or online. It was easy to think that wet forest would never burn, but the old trees at Opal Creek held fire scars from the deep past. We just need to let our forests burn more often, but now we live among them. 

So I'm at about 350 miles now and my first impressions of my 2019 900 are just Wow. That engine is so incredibly smooth at low rpm's and I can easily cruise around the neighborhood in 1st gear and the engine doesn't bog down. It's smooth at 10mph, without herky jerky or lurchy murchy. Then when you get going the engine spins up so fast it just takes off, again smoothly. I know it doesn't have the HP of my past Connie or FJR, but I don't notice of miss them because the 900 is so satisfying in the way it gets you going. And when I'm on the freeway cruising along at 75mph I can give it the gas and pass anyone quickly and when I look down I'm instantly at 100. 

I now see what so many others have said, that this bike is just so much fun, so satisfying, that I don't miss my other, bigger,  heavier, "faster" bikes. I can't get over how smooth and yet throaty that engine is. I'm busy doing all kinds of farkles and adjustments for my size, and all of it just makes the engine and frame that much better for my needs. I've gone on several long rides, and now with bar risers I find the stock seat the most comfortable I've ever had. I've ridden for two hours straight and my ass doesn't hurt. Could never say that about the Connie or FJR. 

What an engine, what a bike! 

Ok, I have the connectors above and have wired everything according to the excellent instructions here but nothing happens. I'm just doing a dry run before attaching the grips and all, connecting the white wires together and into the grey connector. My connector above only has two wires instead of three, so I mapped which side of the connector the black wire is on in the instructions above and see it is the right side if looking from where the wires enter the fitting. On my connectors, this wire is also solid black. So I connected both white wires and placed into the fitting linked to the grey bike fitting and combined all the red and blue and fitted into the bike fitting that is black. Nothing happens. 

Any insights would be greatly appreciated! 

Solved! It turns out these connectors I got used different colored wires for the same spot on the two connectors. Black wire on one is in the spot that the black and grey wire is on for the other. Figured that out and Walla! The menu works and the grips heated. I'm so darn happy. Thank you all and I think I can now button this up. 

On 10/15/2020 at 4:50 PM, DavidS said:

I can 100% confirm that the ground is not level. - actually it was Pythagoras who first proposed that the earth was round sometime around 500 B.C.

That's a good one! Oh, I think the Polynesians knew the Earth was round long before Pythagoras, but he might have had better math to prove it. Those Polynesians were by far the greatest navigators this planet has ever known, and could read the water and clouds and stars and smells and birds and you name it, to go thousands of miles across the sea. It's one of the great losses of humanity that we let that knowledge disappear. Actually, we more or less killed it off through guns, disease, laws and the appeal of Western methods.

Anyway, back to motorcycles, my center stand fix has been working great and holding up fine. It's a winner. 

I'm going to add aux lights sooner than later and appreciate this information. What is meant by Aux light install 10 in each section? Is it only referring to the photos? Or is there some DIY narrative somewhere? 

Us here in the PNW are known to coat most of our entire bikes with ACF 50. It was one of the first things I did to mine, every nut and bolt and bit of metal, especially down low. We don't salt our roads, but it is wet for 9 months of the year. 

Ok, my fix worked. Like I said, I used Gflex epoxy, which is a West System product that stays slightly flexible when cured and is super useful for all sorts of bonding because it will bond most plastic if heat treated and is tough as nails without being brittle. NO, I don't work for them or know anyone that does. I'm just a sailor who uses a lot of epoxy. 

I cut and shaped a wedge from a side stand puck, which happened to be the exact height needed to level my bike. I checked, and there is no sign whatsoever of damage or bending or any issues with the center stand that would explain the 1/4" or so issue. 

With the bike on the center stand now, the bike sits vertical with that material in place. 

When we ride at the equator our wheels don't know which way to spin. Quite dangerous when they each lean different directions...

By the way, I have a fix in process where I used Gflex epoxy (which I love) and cut down a side stand puck and roughed it up. In trials it made the bike level upright. I'll let you all know if it works. When I get home from work I'll also check to see if anything looks bent or wrong in the structure. My bike was so new when I bought it the Odometer read "0" and it didn't even have a battery in it. They pulled it out of their warehouse! So doubt the center stand was damaged. 

9 hours ago, Dodgy Knees said:

Whilst on side stand,  have a good look at centre stand pivots, make sure all is fixed good. Could it be bent a little,  ?

This is a good point and I mean to check it better. My center stand operates fine, smoothly, but I need to crawl under there and look around. Since these stands must be made in jigs, you would think they would be uniform to within reasonable tolerances. 

1 hour ago, DavidS said:

Hmmmm,  carpenter level says mine is spot on. Is it possible some of you folks who are experiencing this phenomenon lean to the left or right?

Funny people here! My carpenter level held against the rear tire top and bottom has the bubble pinned to the side. Like I said, my bike leans a good amount. Super obvious. I'd attach a picture but I think a photo would be hard to interpret. 

1 hour ago, chitown said:

Mine leans to the right on the center stand... but not enough to notice until I read about it online even tho I use the center stand the majority of the time

Were I to modify it the only caveat might be to not have material of dissimilar friction/traction on the feet. 

That's a good question. I don't know that the bare metal has high friction, or holds it's place through friction of any great degree. I suspect you would be Ok so long as you don't use something really slick. If I could weld, I would use metal, but I could always epoxy or JBWeld some metal on there I guess. 

41 minutes ago, whisperquiet said:

Must be a Continental Divide thing.  My ‘19 Tracer GT is level on the center stand.  The side stand is not good as the bike leans way too far to the left.....I have ordered a “big foot” plate for the side stand.

Oh yeah, and in the southern hemisphere the bike leans the opposite direction...😁 I checked the level of the bike with my level on the rear tire. You can plainly see the tilt with your eye. I think I'm going to epoxy some wedge of fiberglass or plastic onto the appropriate side because it just bugs me. 

48 hours of ownership and the learning is fast and furious!