petshark

9 hours ago, fjray said:

I did. I keep after my maintenance on the brakes.  I often bleed them more than once a year.  I can't believe I haven't replaced the brake lines yet.  Lazy I guess. 

It's just that there are people in this thread testifying to the rear brake being too potent even. Mine are now totally ok with organic pads, no bedding in and old brake oil...  so there  has to be something else going on with your rear brake.

As I understand the stainless steel brake lines are the icing on the cake for feel but it sounds to me like this will not solve your problem. That wouldn't make sense unless there is a serious defect in the brake line itself?

Could it be a stuck piston perhaps? I'm trying to help but I'm pretty new at brake maintenance so apologies if these suggestions are too obvious. Hope you find out what is causing this.

I would like to remove these stickers. What would be the best option? WD-40?

Thank you! It was both quite easy once I knew what I had to do. 
Now I’m confronted with the fact that the new cylinder is a little bit wider than the OEM one. I installed the same thing on my Versys a few months back and it was also tight but I could turn it in on it’s thread. That is not possible with the Tracer it seems.

@texscottyd how did you solve this? I don’t have any tools to enlarge the hole and am reluctant to have metal scrapings falling on the bike.

btw this is what the part looks like in the service manual

1. I'm trying to install a double USB/voltmeter instead of the standard DC port but I can't find a way to remove this pin without breaking it. Does anyone know how this works?

2. I also don't see how to disconnect the OEM DC. It's supposed to be with a screw collar but I can't get it loose.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I've considered ceramic coating my new bike but have settled for a spray sealant for the time being. The product is P&S Beadmaker. The bottom line is that I want to keep it in good shape but I don't want to go the full detailing route. So we'll see how that works out.

But while it's snowing over here I am wondering how do these things mix with something like ACF-50 to avoid corrosion because of salt. P&S beadmaker works on everything; paint plastic, metal, ... but it will probably not protect against salt, right?

Should I divide the bike in different sections and use different products?

1 hour ago, fjray said:

I'm happy your rear pads improved your bike.  I was so happy when I got the rear upgraded pads but I swear it made no difference.  At all.

Did you also scrub the rotors with isopropyl alcohol?

9 hours ago, betoney said:

Have patience, there are many height and angle combinations possible, it can take a fair bit of trial and error with pulling off the road and making small adjustments, once you find the right combination though, they work really well.  👍

I agree, the Givi is a lot shorter than the Vstream that I had on my Versys though and I was not able to get the same results with the X-creen today. But I will keep trying other combinations. If it's just too short I will have to look at another screen because I know for sure that the x-creen works very well from experience.

7 hours ago, Lone Wolf said:

You would need to rub a rag on the pads to see if anything other than dust comes off - it is really had to tell from a photo because pads have a lot of fibers and binders that goes into the "mix" and you add wear and heat cycles to that and it is just a confetti of particles.

I will check this tomorrow, thanks for the tip!

3 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

I hope you first cleaned the rotors with a red or gray 3M Scotchbrite pad and 70 or 91% isopropyl alcohol, and follow your choice of bed-in procedures...

When pads get glazed I use the sanding screens for drywall, 120 grit or coarser, then brush with a SS wire brush and rinse with 91% isopropyl alcohol.  I also put a thin film of waterproof silicone grease on the caliper pad pins and clean the caliper with a toothbrush and, you guessed it, 91% isopropyl alcohol.  Careful not to extend the caliper pistons out too far when you clean them.  

I did! It took me a while to gather all the stuff I needed for this job but I mostly followed the advice I found here.

I used a regular cheap non-scotchbrite pad and did notice some scratches on the rotors. I figured they will wear off from braking? Hopefully I didn't mess up here. I used pure isopropyl alcohol from the pharmacy. Scrubbed the calipers with a toothbrush, warm water and detergent (worked great) and used a product called plastilube, especially designed for brake caliper lubrication on the pad pins and backing plates.

I used a torque wrench and copper grease on the bolts.. I only learned later that this is controversial and maybe a more old-school method? The manual says silicone grease and I found out that the copper is abrasive so not to use it on moving parts. I also went to the garage to get a new lock for my topcase so I can use one key for everything (that install also went great) and took the opportunity to talk to the mechanic who said that he still uses copper grease, even on the sliding pins so that's a relief in a way; if I had taken it to the dealer there would be a lot more copper grease on there. 🙂

2 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

It's funny, I'm really happy with my fronts, but my rear is laughably awful.  My old crazy heavy XJ750 stopped better with it's rear drum than my Tracer does with it's rear brake.  Maybe I should try a new set of pads for it.  Never really thought about it much as I only ever use the rear in winter 😃

1 hour ago, fjray said:

Replaced the fronts with EBC HH and love them.  The rear was really bad, stock. Replaced the rear pads with EBC, still crappy.  I think if I adjusted the pedal a bit it might be better but for now you might as well throw a brick out on a rope for stopping. Definitely going to put on steel lines.  I go mountain riding almost exclusively with the go fast guys.  The brakes are certainly adequate, though not too impressive.

Laughably awful is exactly how I would describe my rear brakes before today. Really weird how these brakes seem to differ from bike to bike.

So I did the test drive and did a lot of braking but not really the brake in procedure yet because EBC advices to ride normally for the first 300 miles. https://ebcbrakes.com/articles/motorcycle-bed-in/

I'm very happy to say that both the EBC HH in the front and the EBC organic in the back are immediately so much better than before, even without bedding them in. I feel safe again! Thank you all.

I will also bleed the brakes next week and that plus bedding in will make them even better while I'm already very satisfied with the way they perform now. Happy days!

I’ve installed the EBC HH’s and am going for a test ride and brake them in. Have to be careful though because there is some frost.

In the meanwhile, can any trained eye see if there are traces of contamination on these pads?

13 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

Hah I got a PDF of the Tracer 2018-2020 900 GT service manual and printed it.

Is yours also made up of scanned pictures of the pages? You can see the pixels and there are no links to go from the index straight to the page. It was made searchable using OCR but it's really not what I'm looking for in a digital manual. I might as well print it.

I'm just doing my first job with it and I'm having a hard time navigating the weird structure. It looks to me like parts of books of previous models thrown together with new parts. I would sure be interested in a better manual but something using flash is nothing I want to invest in.

I bought the MRA X-creen touring spoiler to put on the Givi D2139S Screen and will install it this afternoon. I will get back to you with the results.

11 hours ago, SortedGT said:

I've replaced these with proper waterproof automotive connectors which were soldered into the wiring loom, proper job. The fronts are wired seperately and they were fine then, last summer, but the NSF DRL is litterally now going on the blink. Good parts, very poor install.

I don't like the sound of that but good to know. Thanks for the info.

The logic behind using the killswitch to turn the engine off is to program our reflexes to flick that switch immediately in an emergency:

After a crash, pinned under the bike, engine on fire... in such cases (may they never happen to any of us) using the killswitch may just save your life.

That the Tracer’s ignition key is in such a hard to reach spot makes this even more important.

I’ve just managed to convince myself to again try and make this a habit. I only use the key most of the time. 

Thanks for the tips. Did you guys glue the entire thing (pull the entire rubber off first) or just a few drops here and there?

9 hours ago, whisperquiet said:

It was common years ago on the Honda ST1300 forum for members to use cut down plain keys epoxied in a cap for use with the luggage locks ..... looks good and works good.  The USA bikes use plain, non transponder keys that can be duplicated  at any locksmith for about $5.00 each.  I may create some short keys for my Tracer GT.

ST1300 Glove box Keys

 

No transponders on US bikes? That’s weird. Are they also cheaper then?

I like the caps! This can also be done for bikes with transponders as long as we don’t want a cap on the ignition key. 😁

12 hours ago, PhotoAl said:

Since my first bike have always used a bare key in the ignition.  a keyring or another key will mar the area.  When I travel always take a spare key on a keyring just to have a way to differentiate them.  Have been down to leave a key in the slot to unlock the seat.  This helps me keep up with the key and not leave it in a case or seat release and ride off with it.  When I took delivery of my Tracer GT they had a key fob with their name on it.  I didn't take the time to pull the key off and have ridden some 3500 miles with it like that with no issues.  Reminds me I need to take it off the key fob.

Same for me. I’ve always used the one key for the bike and cases and have a designated pocket in my jacket where it goes. I’ve never thought of carrying the spare with me but I’ve also never ridden more than a four hours from home so I can certainly see how it can be a good idea to do so when travelling.

This thread will hopefully make me more careful about leaving the key in any of the locks though.

I don't think anybody has mentioned the Yamaha Led replacements yet?

I had to choose between two young secondhand 2019 Tracers and both had these on so I figured it was a pretty common upgrade. But I don't see them often. I really like them but they are quite expensive.

Not sure what the proper English name is but it's called a weather strip in car doors. I can put it back and it doesn't look like it's glued in from the factory. It does not fall out on it's own but every time something in the case rubs against the lid when I open it that rubber strip comes out half the way.

Before I get to work with superglue, I wanted to check with the community if there is a preferred way to take care of this.

1 hour ago, Seawatcher said:

Having previously lost a pair of expensive ear plugs I decided to keep the small metal tube on my key ring; well that turned out to be a big mistake!  The tube is only an inch or so but somehow managed to jam between in the edge of the metal speedo bezel as I parked the bike turning the handlebars fully. Didn't really feel it due to the leverage, but saw the speedo vibrate as the the little tube put great force on the ignition key via the key ring.

Needless to say the key and ignition lock took the brunt of it and the key duly bent!. Fortunately it still works and I have new spare to use instead, my dealer says a new key would cost about £150!!  

Please check out what you have on your key ring, the gap is very small and the sharp bezel is seemingly able to grab things as the handlebar is turned!!

 

Thanks for sharing this. I hope you find a better price for that key, because that seems really extravagant. I recall from the manual that you need the red key to program the transponder to the new key.

There was a post where someone mentioned always carrying some blank keys to help out other riders on long trips so that seems to implicate that there are cheaper solutions. Hope it works out!

Back on topic:

The Tracer I bought has a Givi D2139S Screen. It's ok with earplugs but a lot louder than the Versys solution I had. So I'm contemplating putting the MRA X-creen spoiler touring on this one as well. Has anyone else done this?

8 hours ago, PhotoAl said:

Congratulations on the new bike!  

Really like the Tracer not being top heavy.  Before the Tracer GT had a BMW F800GT which is similar but prior to it had a CBR600RR and a Kawasaki ZX6R 636.  They were lighter but a lot top heavier, for me really had to practice slow speed maneuvers.  The Tracer GT is so much better at low speeds.  I do a lot of long trips and riding a fully loaded bike slowly into a campground on gravel roads is when a easily balanced bike is most appreciated.  

Went out for a short ride yesterday after I got back realized I didn't even think about the windscreen and wind noise.  Roads included a short stint on the interstate so a good mix of speeds.  Really like the Tracer GT and how it is set up it just works for me!  Suspension is good wind is good I'm happy!

Thanks!

I totally agree. I have a long gravel road to my garage. I had a conversation about this with the Yamaha dealer. He said he didn't understand why Kawasaki would place the engine so high and at an angle. The Versys does have more ground clearance and it's really easy to throw into a corner so that could be the reason. Then there is also the 21 liter tank.

I love the Versys but it's also really nice to have more of a grounded feel, I guess it's all a compromise.

20 hours ago, GTO MIKE said:

They went on great and worked perfect on the cruise control and all else. Very good quality.

Great! I think I'll get these then. My guess is that they are the result of French engineers doing good quality control on Chinese manufacturing as the price seems to be in between the cheap and premium brands.

Did you get the long, foldable or short ones?

On 8/11/2020 at 3:44 AM, GTO MIKE said:

Ordered mine from abdv-moto  from France over a month ago . Still waiting . Darn  Covid shipping  delays !

MIKE

May I ask your experience with these? No issues with the cruise control micro switch?

I have ordered the EBC HH pads for the front but still need to order pads for the rear. I’ve read some suggestions for organic in the rear.

What would you suggest?