petshark

I mean the opposite of spongy, like you say "firm" is a better word. When I squeeze the lever pressure builds up and I quickly get to a point where I cannot squeeze it further. It feels like a really strong brake but this is not transferred to the rotor. Thank you for that tip, I will try that when I'm installing the new pads. I have done something like this but maybe not 4 times. I will try it again unless I get the new pads before the weather clears up. 😃 That is intriguing! I'm mostly discussing the front brake here because it is so important but the rear brake is actually a lot worse. I usually use it for slow speed stops at traffic lights and with this Tracer I need to start a lot sooner as it's scrubbing of speed so slowly. This is yet another clue that something happened to the bike causing all brakes to go bad and air in the lines is therefore unlikely. The dealer did use a product to make the bike shiny so that seems to point to contamination of all pads during my test ride.

Good point! But there seem to be many riders with lots of miles who also have issues with the OEM pads and claim the EBC's are like night and day. I will be interested to hear your experience with the EBC's when you get them. That could be a way to find out if there are indeed two different brake experiences at play here.

From learning online about bleeding the brakes I think I've got a better idea of what air in the system will feel like and I don't think this is the issue with my bike. I feel a lot of counter pressure when I squeeze the brake. It does not feel spongy at all. I feels at least as good as my previous bikes, it's just the braking response that I'm getting that is very weak. As I said it's almost impossible to trigger the ABS. Just wondering if that is a good indication that it's not the oil but indeed the pads that are at fault? (I will change the oil anyway) *Sorry, for the multiple posts. Not sure if it's better to put it all in one post?

Thank you for this tip. Just to see if I'm not misunderstanding; this will not work the same way as a check valve, right? I would still need to open and close the caliper bleed nipple each time but this trick makes sure that no air can get sucked in if I make a mistake. With the check valve I can just pump oil through the system with the lever because the valve closes on it's own.

This reminds me of the many vlogger reviews that I've seen about the Tracer (18-19-20). The opinions about the brakes are so polarized that I'm really starting to think that not all Tracers are created equal. They might have sourced a bad batch of pads perhaps? I did immediately notice during the test ride that the brakes were very weak. Because the rear brake almost did nothing I asked the mechanic to check that. He did a few stops and said that this was the normal feel for these brakes... At the same time he was comparing my first Yamaha to other Japanese bikes and said that Yamaha is known for their superior brakes. But my precious Kawasaki which is about half the retail price had a lot better brakes. The entire thing remains an mystery to me. I hope to get really stellar brakes by doing the brake bleed and pad upgrade. Maybe I can post pictures of the stock pads as they are now and who knows maybe we can get to the bottom of this.

Thank you all for the info! I have been educating myself on bleeding brakes and feel confident to try it. Unfortunately I cannot order the L and LL (lenght) speed bleeders where I live. I'll get the motion pro brake bleeder with the check valve instead. Cheaper as well and no worries about speed bleeders seizing after some time like I read in some amazon reviews. I have also ordered dot 4 oil from Brembo which was on sale and will buy the EBC HH pads. It might take some time before I get to it but I'll keep you posted on what I expect to be a huge improvement.

So I bought this young Tracer GT with 5000 miles on it. I love the bike but there's something wrong with the brakes. They have no bite and I can only stop the bike by using maximum grip pressure. I've cleaned the disks and that does not help. What would you do next? Is there a way to see if there is air in the system without bleeding the oil? First get new pads? I've never worked on brakes before but I know my way around tools and am willing to try and learn. Thanks!

I bought one! The Versys is definitely more comfortable, especially in the feet/leg department. But once you get used to it and find a position the Tracer is ok. I like that it's more compact, less top heavy and the power is insane. The only thing that I'm not happy with are the brakes. I'm going to write a separate post about this.

Went to the dealer today but the roads were wet so we postponed the test-drive. I will share this observation though; It small compared to the Versys 650! I had expected the 900GT to be a little bigger but it's really not. If looks and feels smaller in every way. I knew the weight is exactly the same if you only put 18 liter in the 21 liter Versys tank. Ergonomics seemed ok which was my biggest worry. But I'll only know for sure when I get to drive it. The dealer told me he drives these at +highway speeds with the stock screen and he experienced no extreme wind noise. He also said that he has sold so many of them and only 2 people have requested screen upgrades... according to him the screen is just fine. I know that doesn't mean anything as most people don't need their garage to fit a different screen. But I'm really curious how bad it will be now. Fingers crossed for dry weather.

Interesting! I also found this thread where most seem to prefer the Puig option over the Givi:

The 2018-2020 range.

No, only the 700. I have an appointment for a test ride on the 900GT tomorrow but it looks like it's going to rain and that will postpone it as they want to keep it clean. 🙂

Thanks for the tip!

Thank you! It really is a great bike. For me it was the other way round, I wanted a Tracer 700 on paper but when I tried it it was really uncomfortable, my knees wouldn't fit under that tank. There was a Versys there after the test drive and I just sat on it and it fitted like it was made for me. So I'm just testing the water with the 900GT. What set this off was the need for heated grips and cruise control and then you start thinking why not more HP, traction control, etc... And I'm really interested in that CP3 engine which gets so much love, but actually the Kawa 650 engine never leaves me wanting more (I never ride 2-up) and I love the playful character.

@Paddy01 may I also summon you back to this thread to share your experience almost 7 months later? You are exactly the same height as me and in my experience an inch more or less can make a big difference. I don't need perfection and I also wear earplugs. I want to hear the engine clearly on top of the wind noise. With the Versys I almost couldn't hear the engine because of the buffeting, even with the much taller Vstream screen. The MRA x-creen spoiler solved this. I almost joined the many that have given up on this problem in the forums and was so happy to finally ride noise free. So I would like to solve this even before I buy the bike or I should probably stay with the Versys where this is all solved.

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly! Really sorry to hear that it didn't work for you. I don't have a Tracer so my advise is not really worth a lot here but what worked for my on the Versys (which has the same problems according to the forums) the combination of enough height and a spoiler is the sweet spot. In my case this is the Vstream that I mentioned above and the MRA x-creen. But I understand that buying these both is really not a risk you would want to take. It's also not subtle as you can see.

May I ask your experience with the Vario screen? I'm considering switching from a Versys 650 to a Tracer 900 GT but had the same issues with the Versys and finally fixed it by adding a MRA x-creen spoiler to a medium tall National Cycle Vstream screen. I'm 6' so your opinion can really help me decide if I want to go through all this again.