petshark

I flushed a ton of transparant silicone lubricant through there and it came out at the bottom completely clean. With both ends detached you can see pieces of the cable that normally never see daylight and the cable looks brand new in every way. But.. you were right!! It is the cable. I used vise grips (with some cardboard in between for protection) to check the clutch arm on it’s own and it was completely normal. Great! I lubed the cable again but it is definitely binding somehow. When it’s not under tension it is super loose. I can twist and move it to its extremes but there is no way to get any hint that something is not right inside. When I pull on both ends and move it this way I can immediately feel the familiar jerkiness. I then spent a lot of time on the routing of the cable and disconnected the cable tie near the top. I was trying to change the angles to find if I could make it better or worse but had little success. So I guess I’ll get a new cable. 😁

Thank you all for your help. I will try to convince the dealer on Friday and if that fails open up the clutch myself. I went riding yesterday for 4 hours of twisties. The good news is that I can take back the "it's getting worse" part. It was only worse because I over-tightened the lever bolt (turns that it needs to be so loose that a torque spec would be impossible I think). So here are the facts: The jerkiness in the lever started in the middle of a 2 hour ride about 6 weeks ago. I had owned the bike for about a month and done just 1000 miles. At first it happened just once every couple of shifts but after half an hour it was every time I shifted. When pulling the lever without engine load (idle or off) you could not feel anything. Now that the lever moves free again I think the situation is the same as it was at the end of that first ride when it started. So something happened then but it did not really get worse I think. Important clues: What I show in the video shows multiple "bumps" throughout the entire travel of the lever but the real issue is felt when riding and shifting normally; where you briefly let go of the gas and pull in the clutch to shift. This way I get exactly two obvious bumps at the beginning of the travel. I would say where the clutch starts to let go. Yesterday I experimented at speed and found that it does not happen when I keep the throttle open and pull the clutch. The RPM sky rocket obviously and this is no way to shift but it may mean something to someone. Engine off / fixed RPM / climbing RPM / very low RPM (coming to a stop) = very subtle jerky resistance as in the video that is hardly noticeable felt during a quick lever pull. Engine breaking/under load while quickly changing gears = double "bump" that is very noticeable during a quick lever pull. I did an oil and filter change a week ago. I think there was fully synthetic in there and I changed to Motul 5100 10w40 semi-synthetic, because I still had 7.5 liters left over from my Kawasaki's. Just as with those bikes I immediately felt the gears were smoother but it did nothing in regard to the clutch issue.

I've always wondered we need that free play? I never liked that free travel of the lever, just like I don't like it on the throttle side. Do you mean from the outside or open it up? @Your_Boy_Yuriy Thanks for the video, the ease with which you move your clutch reminds me of how it used to be. I can feel it there. I checked the cable again and played with it, rotated it, max in and out and I really think it is still like new. The parts that come out when both ends are loose and normally never see daylight did not have a speck or rust. The transparent lubricant came out as clear as it went in so I don't think there is any rust in there. Then I checked the lever again and found out that you can in fact obstruct it's movement by tightening the bolt! So it needs to be loose to allow the lever to move freely. That means that I have been experiencing an enlarged version of the issue. The jerkiness was exaggerated by the resistance of the lever itself. That said, the video I made above is with that bolt completely loose so the jerkiness is definitely coming from the clutch itself. Now that I know this I should probably do a sanity check: This is with everything attached and tight like it should be when riding. Can anyone replicate this or is it just a smooth pull for you even if it requires some force?

I unhooked that spring for the purpose of the video to take its creaking out of the equation. That makes sense, would I be able to check that? The lever bushing is greased every time I take it out. It's moves really smooth.. just as the cable does on it's own. The thing that interests me the most is that nobody says that the jumpy resistance is normal so I will think of some further testing to see if I can rule out the lever and cable. Perhaps by connecting some sort of spring on a fix point to the clutch-side ball-end and to see if the lever moves as it should without the connected.

Thank you for the suggestions! I've made a video to show the issue. Is the top nut on the picture on the right is supposed to be sitting that low? The cable is not coming out straight after all but the brake line does sit flush in the holder so I don't think it is an issue. I have an appointment on Friday to get the brake switch replaced under warranty (recall) and if I will try but knowing my dealer I'm pretty sure he will say that this is normal. The stock lever is back on until this is solved. 👍 I hadn't lubricated it before but I only have the bike for two months and the clutch feel was super light compared to the Versys. I forgot to mention that I had done this as well while trying to find out what was going on. No change however. I hear you and have told myself that as well but the previous problems were also very real. I don't know if you've seen the resolutions in my previous threads but the pads were contaminated and the brakes were dangerously under-powered. A bearing on the front wheel had no grease in it and the brakes were dragging so hard that I would come to a stop within a few meters when letting go of the throttle. All problems that I fixed with the forum's help and I don't think I should have ignored. I don't know what the previous owner did or if I'm just unlucky. 🤷‍♂️ On the positive side I am learning a lot about wrenching so it's not all bad.

I was really looking forward to just enjoy the bike after fixing the brake and bearing issues recently but now something else is wrong. I hope you all aren't getting tired of me posting one issue after the other. 😬 I'm planning a solo tour of the Swiss mountain passes in June so I really need the bike to be reliable. Here it goes.. There's a resistance to the clutch feel that seems to getting worse. It's hard to explain but it feels like there are steps in the travel of the lever. Like dragging over rubber but subtle... resistance builds up, then a little jump and this happens about 4 to 5 times from clutch out to pulled in. It's not super obvious and for a long time I could only feel it when shifting during a ride. When the bike was idling or turned off the clutch felt normal. Now I can feel it all the time but sometimes it's worse that others. I also think the clutch felt lighter when I first got the bike but as it went gradually I'm not sure. After a very spirited ride today it actually seemed to be a little better in the end. This started a few weeks back and I thought it was because of an aftermarket lever. That lever had been on there for a while without issue but still it was the obvious suspect. These levers fit perfectly, and were recommended on this forum and from a good brand. They say they sell thousands a year without issue but nonetheless they sent me 2 replacements under warranty. It just slowly got worse. After the second replacement I've started troubleshooting yesterday: -Tried all positions of the aftermarket lever -Put the stock lever back > still the same -Lubed the clutch cable (motion pro tool) > tested it with both endpoints disconnected and the cable is super loose on it's own, absolutely no resistance. -Only the Lever connected to the cable > no resistance. -The cable looks brand new, no loose strands or other damage anywhere to be seen. -Checked the routing of the cable and it's fine, as expected since the cable glides smooth on it's own. -Checked the angles of the cable on both endpoints and it moves straight in and out of the brake line. I'm afraid everything points to the clutch itself causing this. I've had the bike for less than 3 months and still wonder daily if the quirks of the engine are normal for this triple or if there is something wrong. At high speeds it feels great but I did some parking lot drills this week and feathering the clutch does not sound and feel like a healthy machine to me. It's getting hard to feather at all with the jumpy response of the lever. Some more clues: -The gears are not slipping. -There's no difference in which gear I am so I don't think it's gearbox related. -Just did an oil change (motul 5100 semi synthetic) and the gears are smoother but the clutch is not better. The bike is still under warranty for about a month but the symptoms I have are not as such that I can get a dealer to do a warranty claim I fear. They would need to investigate and I would have to pay for all that work if they can't find anything. So once again, any advice would be greatly appreciated. What more can I do? Take the clutch apart and investigate probably? I've never done that but it looks easy enough. Do you think the gasket can be reinstalled after only 6000 miles on the bike?

That is weird. Could be some kind of wear that stops when it reaches a certain point?

I saw Scotland and immediately caught myself scanning for the word wee and was actually disappointed to read "a small bit of free play". But... there was a wee in the end after all. 🥳 I don't know why but I just love that word. Thank you everyone, it looks like it's a none-issue.

Can anyone confirm if this is normal? I tried to tighten it but it won’t go any further.

Today I changed the engine oil for the first time. I went with my favorite oil from my Kawasaki 650 years; Motul 5100 10w40 (semi synthetic) and was very surprised to have the feel of the gears change to that of the Kawa! A lot less clunky and the engine seems to be a lot happier... I know oil threads are frowned upon so I'll leave it at that. I'm just really happy as this was totally unexpected. I also have a question. I have "crusher seals" but the Tracer has a M14 oil drain plug while I have M12's from the Kawa bikes. It's a fairly new bike so I thought, no problem, I'll just clean and reuse it this time but there was nothing on there. The bolt did have some kind of ring attached to it but it looked smaller than usual and I could not get it off with my finger nail and did not dare to take a tool to it, seeing that I had no replacement. Wasn't sure if it was part of the bolt of just stuck together. Then when I torqued it tight I found it weird that the bolt just rotates a few degrees from loose to the torque setting. Feels like there is nothing in between, not like any other bolt that I tightened Can anyone confirm that this is normal? The plug is not leaking after 2 rides so I guess it's good but I'm a bit worried that it might vibrate loose if it is indeed without a washer. I should have taken a picture...

Thank you but I've already ordered some. 🙂 I will let you know how it works out.

Nice! I bought my Tracer with the Yamaha branded tank bag, which is an obvious rebranded SW Motech. It was one of the first things I had to work on as the mechanism to remove it from the tank was catching on something internally. It's triggered by a fine cable and once it breaks that means no more gasoline. On the way home when I bought it, I had a scary moment at the gas station where it seemed that it would not let go. Took it apart completely after finding just one other report on the web by someone who had the same issue. It's a clever mechanism but not lubricated and it should just slide on it's own. It honestly could not find what was causing it to hang so in the end I used some silicone lubricant (Superlube). It didn't look like it helped at first but the next day it was already working a lot better and now, two months later, it's really smooth. It looks like they upgraded that system with the magnets so you probably won't have that issue in the future. I would never have thought to buy something like this but since it came with the bike I tried to find some use for it and I've really grown to like it and use it a lot.

yeah, it looks like the sellers consider these to be all equal and what you get depends on availability. Yours are almost the same as Brian's. You don't have the product inscription on the bottom and your rubber is attached with screws instead of rivets. I found the exact same ones as Brian's on Ali and ordered them for 9 euro including 10 day delivery. Thank you for your detailed recommendation, good to know that this variation is also up to the task.

What I meant is that I bought the bike secondhand and that dealer has not sold me anything except what I specifically ordered from him. The lock is a replacement for the top case lock which was the only one that had a separate key (also have the side cases). I wanted it to match the ignition key as well and it was only 24 euros.

Thanks! I'm also looking to buy these and have spent some time comparing the offers. They seem to be made by lots of different Chinese manufacturers and Amazon lists many duplicates but there are some differences in types. I've read a lot of good and bad reviews so it comes down to getting the good ones. The one Brian installs in the video seem identical to these. This type has the same pattern in the rubber, the same lip, and the same braces in the bottom and the same product code written in the aluminium. The link that is included with that video is a different type (other lip on the rubber, other braces and product code). Left: in the video | RIght: in the video link I guess that the two most important features are the fit and quality of the alloy; I've read some listed as aluminum and others as steel but I have no idea which is better and if we can even trust these specs to be accurate. So unless someone has better advice I'll try the ones on the left. Side note: They are unavailable in my amazon.com link but I can get them on amazon.de (no local Amazon in Belgium). There are many options with the exact same pictures to be found whereever you are probably.

This is the one I'm thinking of getting: Touring Screen for motorcycle Yamaha TRACER 900 2019 - Motoplastic PUIG ... The test look promising: I was not able to find any similar tests for the Givi screens. That combined with reports of bad aerodynamic qualities on the Tracer screen makes me think that Givi is not tested in this way so results will be hit or miss depending on your bike and screen type. I really don't like the look though which is what is holding me back. Maybe I should also try the spacer thing first. Let me know how it goes.

Coincidentally I just talked to the dealer about chain maintenance today. His view was that we can never outsmart the Japanese engineers and should just do as they say. In his shop they follow the service manual to the letter. This came up again when I told him I had just aligned the wheels using the string method and he told me to use the markers above the axle instead, because that is what the manual says. And another time when he commented that my chain was too dry. I explained that I clean it with kerosene and lube it with gear oil every 500 miles and he looked at me as if I was stupid. 🙂 I told him it was in the service manual (ha!) as well but I actually started doing it after seeing this FortNine video: He then went in his office and printed out the pages that I have already and proved that it didn't say gear oil, it says engine oil. Then he said just use chain spray. That is advise I will not follow as I'm very happy with my gear oil; it looks slick, is so cheap, and dirt does not stick to it but.. he was right that the chain was kind of dry. I think I overdid the wipe-down in the end. I like that he is quite passionate and has such faith in the brand. None of the manual specs seem to have caused him any problems up till now. He said that the tracers 900's are great bikes and you can't fault them. Now that's what you like to hear from a dealer (who hasn't sold me anything except a top case lock btw).

I had a 2019 versys 650 before upgrading in december to a 2019 Tracer 900 GT. I completely solved the wind screen thing with a National Cycle Vstream screen with a MRA Xcreen touring spoiler add-on. No earplugs, open visor at any speed. I now have a Givi screen and the same MRA add-on but it's not working for me. I tried all combinations. I guess it's just not high enough... I get by with the earplugs but will probably get a different screen in the end. I've researched it extensively and the Puig screens seems to get the most satisfied testimonials, perhaps matched by Madstad but I actually have never seen these around here so I think it's a US only thing.

Wheel alignment. It was a little off but not by much.

It is fixed! I took the wheel out again today and placed it on two stands. I then used a screwdriver as a stethoscope (thnx @knyte) and found out that the sound was definitely coming from the axle. I also inspected the center hub (thnx @peteinpa & @draco_1967) but there was nothing in there. I then proceeded with the advice from the dealer to try and add grease to the bearing. He said you could get in there with a straw but the one on my WD40 lithium grease spray can was not strong enough. So I tried to get some clearance between the rubber and the outer metal ring and quite unexpectedly the bearing seal came off just as easy as the outside seal. Below left and right are the opened bearings. On the left you can see a combination of what was in there and the spray grease that I was able to inject before I managed to pop the seal. The one on the right was almost full and I topped it up before remembering to take a picture. I can see no damage to the bearing seal of the outer seal and everything popped back in without an issue. I reinstalled, spun it and ... blissful silence! ) Some questions remain; Where did all that grease go? It was not on the outside. Could this be a manufacturing error? There is no dirt in the remaining grease neither so it looks like the seal was good... Really weird. I'm amazed that these bearings are actually serviceable. I get that you shouldn't do this with bearings that have seen 40.000 miles because the little balls will be worn but it does look like I won't have to buy new ones for now. I will check often to see if there are any signs of leakage and replace them if that is the case. But that is not all. I got some advice on the fz09 forum (thnx @Lone Wolf for pointing me to a similar thread there) about the pad dragging: I tried this and it worked! I get almost a full rotation now and rolling the bike back to it's spot when I was done feels a lot smoother. I think it's all fixed! Just need to bed them in again and they will probably stop dragging altogether. Thank you everyone!

That looks like a good solution and I agree that the ruggedness and bright screen are great features. It's not about the money for me, it's about live rerouting and map updates (in Western Europe). If they can get that fixed I would buy one in a second. Keep us posted if you do. Great project!

I was adviced to do this when changing the brake pads as they were contaminated. All was fine for a few weeks. I did have a talk with the dealer about this and he suggested salt crystals could be the cause. I would think that those would be scrubbed off just be braking but I could try cleaning the rotors again just to be sure.

The thread is getting to be too long it seems. 😉 I have done this test before writing the OP and have shared my findings in this thread a few times; the sound is still there with the axle resting on 2 stands but a lot quieter. Lots of theories have evolved and been tested but the mystery is still unsolved. Nice one! I will try this tomorrow... had not placed an order yet.

I’m considering buying an automotive stethoscope and to try and pinpoint where it is coming from. The sound is there when the wheel is off the bike but a lot more quiet. I just got excited that this could be the fix. Please don’t apologise, I’m very grateful for everyone’s suggestions. I will try this!

Yes, very smooth. do you mean between the bore of the wheel and the spacer that sits between the bearings? I would love to check this but I don’t think there is a way to do this without ruining the bearing?