Salish900

That sound...when you are doing 4K RPM and open the throttle fully and hear that deep throated guttural roar of breathing from the beast...that sound feels so...

I don't have the GT. The non-GT does not have remote adjustment. The wrench they include has no room to operate and is useless. I hear folks say the investment in suspension makes an enormous difference. I did already upgrade my front springs and oil. I guess I'm somewhat insensitive to my rear shock and have never ridden a bike with aftermarket. My Aprilia Caponord Rally had ADD dynamic suspension and that was truly a magic carpet ride, but I don't find the Tracer so different that I don't ride it normally. I guess I would have to do a before and after ride, or ride a buddy's bike with a nice rear shock and be blown away before I could drop $1,200 on it. That's a whole lot of gas, pizza, football tickets and ice cream.

Yeah, I'd like one of those just to look at! I keep wanting to upgrade my rear shock since I'm 200lbs and with gear and cases on trips easily top 250. Throw on the old wife, and though she's a sprite, and we are at 350. But then I see the price, and my hand pulls back from my wallet in a convulsive spasm of shock...

Well, you must have one clean bike and I better never post a photo of the underside of my beast on here for fear of the shame. In his defense, he does live here in rainy Western WA where keeping a bike clean is either a daily task or hopeless.

I've been meaning to post this. The spanners that came with my 19 for the rear preload adjustment are literally useless. From either side, you can't get it on the cogs and even if you do, it turns so little that you achieve nothing. There is so little space, and hoses and stuff are in the way. I've taken to using a long blade screw driver and just whacking on the cogs to get it to move. So hearing you say your spanner isn't hard to use means you either have some approach I haven't figured out or your year of bike is different. Fortunately, I don't change it much, and for my size and weight have it pretty much maxed out, whether pillion or not.

I'm wondering what sort of mounting plate you purchase for that Shad? Do you have a model number? I have the Shad side cases and am looking to add the top case for longer trips this summer.

Wow, did you do that yourself in your home paint shop or pay for it? What does that sort of thing set us back?

Yep, when I first approached this I didn't even consider that bolt could be going through to the other side, as other than axle bolts what else does? When I put it back in I coated it with ACF 50 as it seemed a low grade of steel and I couldn't tell how much it was exposed to the elements down there.

Good on them for owning up to it, but this quality control issue is exactly what Aprilia has. One faulty part in the whole engine and the engine is a chunk of useless metal in 10-20K. The ethos of the Italian bike is one thing, but for those of us without trust funds and daddy warbucks will not be swayed by the hype. I want my neighbor to have one. I want to look at them. I respect the idea. But owning? No way in hell. I'll make emotional decisions on bikes, but not on Italian bikes anymore.

You are clearly old school. Respect, sir. To be honest, guys now in their 50's and 60's and 70's will be the last generation on this planet to have grown up with manual cars and distributors and drum brakes and all the other perfectly reliable but far more maintenance intense mechanical wonders to come out of the dawn of cars and bikes. My sons have no idea what we used to do to maintain our machines. They never will. My yet to be born grandchildren will likely only know electric vehicles. That's all good, and I know for a fact that modern cars and bikes are far safer and more reliable. But the mechanic in me will always lament the loss of knowledge my dad had, who could fix any damn machine with a few wrenches, a hammer, and some colorful language. Men like him don't really exist anymore, or they are dying away quickly. Guess I'm rambling here, but you inspired me to think about the old ways of machines and men.

So happy for you. It's a great feeling. You are riding a work of art that just happens to 0-100 faster than 99% of vehicles on the road. Enjoy it and keep the rubber side down!

Congrats! I have the same year and color. I've said before it is the least attractive bike I've ever owned, not ugly just meh, but darn it is the full package for around town and trips. The engine is everything, and parts are easy and cheap. Help here is reliable and friendly. Can't beat the whole ownership package. Enjoy your new ride and farkle away!

Uh, is it not enough for us to be so darn civil and appreciative around here anymore🤪 In my experience, doing valves is a big enough deal that I wouldn't care too awful much if I had to remove one side or the other. It's just three bolts. But sure, if there is some trick for doing valves with them on, I'm all eyes! What if we promise not to ever bring up or comment on an oil thread again?

Yes, that too. Honestly, I don't see any advantage. Why would I go from a Road 5 or T31 or T32 to something less smooth, more likely to cup, be louder and feel lumpy? There is no practical way that tire is going to be better in the wet than the Michelin. Price seems no better. Color me unimpressed for my riding and bike. Looks almost as enduro as the Metzeler Karoo 3.

Yes you did. Yes...yes you did. Just as we have been writing down words for a few thousand years and no one has done it better than an English gentleman named Shakespeare 500 years ago, some of the earlier internet content simply cannot be improved upon. Things are not always getting better...

It looks loud. The gaps and spacing makes it likely to feel lumpy. I don't ride my 900 on dirt. I ride slab that is dry or wet. Often wet! But I want smooth. Smooth, baby, smooth.

Yep. As a long term Concours 14 owner and active on that forum like I am on this one, those bikes are rock solid. Rock solid. No more issues than mama Yama or Mr. Honda. All far better than the Germans, Brits or god forbid the Italians. My Aprilia had a part designed and installed that was the Cam chain roller that was designed without proper lubrication and with cheap steel. Aprilia fails to recall. Every one begins to fail and rattle within 10K. Forums filled with issues on that one part. Major surgery and home engineering to try and fix and replace. Aprilia attitude is just, well, you bought Italian, isn't it beautiful? I'll stick Japanese, and admire the looks of the Italian bikes. Isn't that Aprilia 660 beautiful?

That was my assessment. I like how they cover what I want covered, yet are not massive and ugly. And the price is right, so cheap compared to more exotic offerings. They have three attachment points, and I don't doubt that if I drop the bike in the garage or low side at less than highway speeds, the engine will be fine, along with most of the plastic.

What's her/his/their name? I have the Givi skid plate and a similar amount of chicken strip and haven't had it scrape yet. I haven't touched pegs down yet either. Honestly, until I installed my engine guards tonight I've avoided going too low in the corners or in my figure 8 practices. Now I'll lean over some more.

Tonight I installed my Givi TN2139 engine guards and they were an easy and perfect fit, once @betoney helped my idiot self by pointing out the bolt you remove on the left side goes all the way through and you have to remove the nut on the right side to pull out the bolt on the left side! I also have the Givi RP2139 skid plate installed, and fortunately they play together nicely. With the skid plate installed, you do not need to use the spacers that would normally go in that spot, which is the forward most bolt location. Now I'm feeling pretty solid on by protection farkles. I've got axle sliders on the front, skid plate, engine guards, radiator screen. I can now go on long trips and not worry so much about a rock through the radiator, rock through the oil filter, or dropping the bike in a grocery parking lot in bumblecrap nowhere and cracking my engine case open.

Well damn, I'm a fool! Thanks @betoney! Back to work...

Hi Folks, I'm installing the Givi TN2139 engine guards on my bike and there is a bolt on the left side rear that holds on the shift lever. The bolt must be removed to install the guards. The bolt came loose with some persuasion, but now it just spins and spins with some tightness and does not come off! It's like it is stripped, but that's impossible as it has never been removed. Any ideas of what is going on with this specific bolt? I'm pointing to it with the allen wrench. How do I get the darn thing off?

Congrats! Honestly, if you can afford it, I see having a machine like that in the garage is just like a piece of art. Ride it once in a rare while, and park it. It's a piece of art. I'm not a suzuki guy, but more Kawasaki. I really think I'll get a green ZX-14 one day and just treat it like a sculpture. Ride it often enough to keep it working, but really, what a machine. My 900 is purely utilitarian. It's the least attractive bike I've ever owned. Purely functional. So the part of me that is artistic looks longingly at beautiful bikes, like the new Aprilia 660. Why not have art in our garages?

It was not so much the fling issue for me, as the fact that it burns off and doesn't stick well enough. As you know, the chain runs right next to the exhaust, and though I was using 80-90 weight oil, carefully and thinly applied with a brush and let soak in, it would smoke off and be dry after a few hours of riding in dry or wet. The little mess was really only along the chain guide and down on the center stand and below the front sprocket. I'm back to using Honda Chain Moly lube, which is both way faster to apply and leaves no mess whatsoever. It sticks. I'll try others over time, but the Honda stuff is great. The real shocker was that I found little bits of rust on my chain despite oiling it more often than 500 miles. Never ever had that with Honda Moly. I know people swear by it, but other than saving a few dollars it has no appeal to me.

I'm using Motopumps bar risers and I'm not sure the rise but it brings them up and back toward you. Works perfectly for me. No problem with cables.