Salish900

Congrats and enjoy. This is about the most helpful and non-judgmental forum you will find for a bike. So much to learn here and people answer questions without generally making you feel stupid for asking.

Well I'm sorry to hear this as I was looking at my map and planning to do that very ride this summer.

That triple idles smoothly at resting RPM so I don't notice. And you are right about how it pulls smoothly from the start with even a lazy set of wrists. I wrote about this in another post. It's almost like an automatic or DCT in how far it can go in each gear smoothly and with my 2019 assist and slipper clutch it feels like I am merely thinking of shifting and the darn thing has shifted. Amazing engineering, if you ask me.

I have to admit there are times when I miss my C14, and have to talk myself out of getting a second bike to match a ZX-14 or Busa with my Tracer. I love the versatility of the Tracer as my go anywhere do anything have a lot of fun bike. But there are times when a pure burst of acceleration from a 1400 cc bike is just in order. Clearly I'm the kind of rider who leans toward sport bikes. But it's not only my wallet that keeps me from adding a bike to the stable, but my recognition that the only reason I would have one would be to do things I really shouldn't be doing at this age and style of life I have. So I just lust after those ZX-14's, and Busa's, and satisfy myself that 95% of the time I am happier on my 900 and more comfortable. Oh the hard choices we have right?

So a while back @betoney commented that he loved to ride Mt. St. Helens and I thought to myself, self, you should too! So last weekend that was so gorgeous around the PNW, I hopped on my bike and rode down 5 from Olympia to Hwy 504. I knew I was doing the right thing when right off the the slab there was a nice gathering of non-HD bikes, with a nice smattering of things from a ZX-14 to a whole bunch of liter bikes and 650's. A few Tracer like bikes thrown in. I went by them and waved, there must have been 60 or more. The road winds through rural Western Washington and slowly climbs toward the great volcano. Let me just stop and say the road itself, even if there were no views, is fun. Lots of sweeping curves and really awesome bridges. If you are less careful and more skilled than I am, you could carry some serious speed through these beautifully designed curves. It's a newer road so not some thing that was laid out for wagons and now used by cars. But you throw in the scenery and on this day, well, it was truly incredible. The volcano is right in your face, the snow was still on the ground up high, the trees were leafing out, and the creeks and lakes sparkled. The road was closed before you reached the Johnston Observatory but not far from it. I stopped at Coldwater Lake and enjoyed a nice lunch and a little stroll. Can't wait to go back with my family and hike around Coldwater. It was a truly special ride on a perfect day. Thank you @betoney for the tip!

Have a great time @Warchild So jealous and wish you all the best! Keep that rubber side down and come back with less rubber on those tires! Whoot!

That's crazy cool. Damn cops will soon have droid bikes that track you down effortlessly!

I have to say that of all the bikes I've had, I just can't imagine how my 900 could be any smoother. The darn thing is so smooth in 1st gear off the line and at all speeds 0-30 that my wrist feels magical. It's one of the most remarkable things about the OEM ECU and engine that it is so smooth at all speeds, and spins right up to the rev limiter like butter. It pulls like a bull, and is stead like eddy. My Concours, FJR, Capo 1200 and Versys all had much worse throttle response and smoothness. This darn 900 amazes me. I've heard the earlier FJ09's had a snatchy throttle and maybe an ECU flash would really help that, but for anyone thinking of a newer 900 I would suggest they ride it a good long while before thinking they need a flash. That's my $.02.

Well done sir. You rode as long as you safely could, and have made a good decision to stop. Respect. Now live life fully in the ways you still can.

I have the outlet and wonder if you have any other photos of how you did it? I know I have to take stuff off!

Sweet setup! I really want to join the video crowd. I do a fair number of beautiful rides here in the West too. Those are funky and nice RAM mounts you have. I like the clamshell squeezy thing that you use to mount to your handguards and engine protection.

Nice! Relaxes me just watching it. You are more restrained and steady with your right hand than I am. I find my wrist twitches!

Man I would if I could, but honestly, riding those passes just whets my appetite for backpacking the region. Let me tell you, south of Sonora Pass is some sublime country when traveling on two feet!

Hello James. Congrats on the new bike. Lots and lots of folks here who know CA riding well. You may want to be more specific about where you are picking it up and where you are going. Folks may have specific roads to recommend. But when it comes to break in process, that's akin to oil questions. Half will say follow the manual and stay mostly below 6,000 RPM, which on these bikes is really easy to do and still go highway speeds. The other half will say ride it like you stole it right away. There is evidence and data on both sides. The more agreed thing is to change the oil WAY sooner than the recommended first change. Many here, myself included, did our first change at like 100 miles. There is manufacturing debris and early metal shavings that come out on this first change. Welcome here. Read a lot. Unlikely you will have a question that has not already been answered. Search!

What an awesome trip! How many days and miles? I've been to most of the places near your photos and know how rugged and outstanding it is. Thanks for sharing.

Congrats! Would love to see any photos you might be willing to share. Not that you had a lot of time for that! What was your average speed? I imagine it would be slow on back roads. Not doing 90mph all day like on American slabs?

So true. Because I live between launch and maybe 5,000 RPM, I sometimes forget how much space and power lives above that range. I was feeling frisky and got onto a local highway recently and just left it in 3rd to wind it out. It was so damn smooth and quick, and I looked down and was doing 90+ and I was at something like 8 or 9K as I recall. The flexibility of an engine that has such grunt down low, and is smooth at low revs, and will wind up to 10K plus is really something. When I am up at those RPM's I often think of how fast the pistons are going up and down!

Anyone here now how the titanium axle nut compares in strength or properties to the OEM steel? I'm thinking Ti is stronger but more brittle? Does it matter at all? Any metallurgists here? Update: Trying to answer my own question and found that titanium is not as strong as high tensile steel above 8.8 but is stronger than mild steel. So the question is what sort of steel that OEM nut is made out of? http://faqload.com/faqs/bicycle-components/bolt-tuning-replacing-heavy-steel-bolts-with-titanium-aluminum-and-carbon-fiber#:~:text=Titanium bolts come closest to,for high tensile steel bolts.

Welcome to the fan club of the 900 engine. It's no Feejer, Concours or Busa, but from 0-60 it's so much damn fun. And it does sound and feel better. My Feejer sounded like a sewing machine, just a muted rhythmic machine sound. My Connie sounded better, but still muted and a classic 4 cylinder smoothness of tone. But the 3? The 3 sounds and feels like it's trying harder, and is way more fun below 80-90. To get all that and have it be bomb proof is just amazing.

I hear you on not everything being either rational or financial. That titanium stuff is cool! What is the spec or model on that titanium axle nut? I find I have a very personal relationship with my bikes. I trust that thing to carry me safely through hell and back. When I'm leaned over in a corner at 80 I need to know that every single thing is solid. That't not purely intellectual. I have a saying: Love your machines and they will love you back! This means more than normal maintenance. I'm the sort of person who thinks about all the points of possible failure, and it's not from a worried or paranoid perspective. I just relate to my machines. Like they are alive, really. There are things I do for and on my bikes that make me feel better in terms of reliability or safety, even if they are not entirely rational. Nothing too strong ever broke. I live an adventurous life on boats, bikes, kayaks and my own hands and feet. I'm alive today because I play the odds and obsess about little things. I plan to play and play and play long after my age says otherwise. Buddha willing.

Hey, what are those hand covers you've got and do you like them? There are lots of varieties and I'm thinking about that route next winter.

I now wear a Shoei Neotec 2 and love it, but around town I still go out without it if I'm always below 45. So I know what you mean. You lose all the finer points of the roar if you have your earplugs in. It's really something. It's not that it's loud, we aren't the HD small prick low HP jerks, but it's tone and timber, depth and vitality, are really something.

That's sweet! Just hearing that sound is exciting.

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Coming from a Hot Rod family that juiced up Mustangs and everything else my Dad touched, when my parents got their first Toyota in 1976 we swore the gas pedal was only connected to a SPEAKER! If you mashed the pedal to the floor, there was a lot of discordant noises and growling, but no discernible change in the velocity of the vehicle. To this day, I refer to gutless cars like the Mini having only a speaker connected to the pedal! Our bikes on the other hand, well, that sound is a genuine reflection of violence occurring between our legs and if you roll the wrist and don't hold on tight, you will be road grease...