sabre85

I didn't give up my 5th Gen VFR when I purchased my Tracer GT. I have a love-hate relationship with the Tracer. Love the engine, handling, bags, cruise, and the heated grips. Hate the rider triangle (for me), seat slope, sound of the pipe, suspension (I have upgraded that, happy now), and the fact that trying to keep it clean is nearly impossible for someone who is used to fully faired scoots.

Not to brag, but notice the darkie. Two up at the Gap

Amazon has them in many different sizes and kits, not unreasonably priced. just another box set to add to the tool box

11 curves in 318 miles, and the highest hill is an overpass

Pricey but worth every penny!!

The yamaha stock rack DOES work with the stock bags!! The stock grab rails come off, the stock rack goes on in minutes.

Been going to the mountains for two or three times a year for 40 years now. Discovered "The Gap" when a little old man I was helping pull his small fishing boat out of the lake at the north end said to me with some astonishment "You like curvy roads?...go that way," pointing towards 129. At that time it was all sport bikes and locals. A few years later I started reading about 'The Dragon' in all the motorcycle mags and the rest of the world found out about the little slice of motorcycling heaven, and turned it into the noisy, touristy, cruiser clogged, squid crashing, cop patrolled, destination that it has become. When I go there now I kind of treat it like the big roller coaster at the amusement park. If the line is not too long...I take the ride. There are so many good roads in the area (NC SR 28 all the way into GA, Warwomen RD, Wayah Rd, NC SR 281, 215, 209,107, US 276, 64 when there is no traffic. ect) that the Gap is no longer the focus. Don't get me wrong, if your a sporty rider it needs to be done, but get a good map and find some of the real gems in the area.

If you're a sporty type rider the stock suspension is sorely lacking for two up riding. I'm a bigger guy, 250 or so in gear and my girl goes about 180 in gear. For me the stock suspension was completely inadequate two up, everything would ground in a corner at speed and bottom out on the smallest of bumps! I took mine to traxxion dynamics and they fixed me up quite nicely, proper springs, new shock and forks. Pricey, but totally worth it for me. At the very least you will need to upgrade the springs front and rear.

Got my 2020 GT in January, upgraded the suspension at Traxxion (AK forks, penske shock)and a Sargent seat. Have done the seat slope fix by raising the front mount as much as possible,(ride with the seat in the lower position) but still feel that seat slope push a bit. Handlebar up and back risers, new bars with more rise and pull back, and did a little rerouting of the cables to get some more adjustability (still not completely happy with the bars, could use some more sweep to the bar-ends - a little less 'elbows out' feel, more sport bike like). Here is my problem, I've still got too much weight on my hands. The reason I purchased this scoot was to get a more upright riding position, and not have the complexity and future black box problems that might come with the electronic suspension. I figured the traction control and antilock braking stuff was pretty much sorted. It's proly all the same black box, but one less place to go wrong. If I could move the foot pegs forward an inch or two that would probably rotate my hips enough to fix my problem, but I haven't seen an aftermarket solution. Anyone seen something like that? Edit - I'm a sporty rider -"old guy fast" - so a solution like TomTracer suggests (next post) about a peg LOWERING kit would proly not work for me. I'm not sure a full on custom seat, Russell Day Long, or one of the others will solve the problem. 🤔 Does anyone know where I might get a custom handlebar made? All my net searches have wound up at harley ape hanger type places. I really like everything else about the bike, motor, handling with the new suspension, weight ect. but this has got me stumped. HELP!!!!!!

Two up on NC SR 215 in Smokies on my 2K VFR

Sargent: [1] 5 considerably more comfortable, same for the passenger portion [2] 3 I have addressed the slope problem by shimming the front mount, did not completely fix the problem.

When I removed the foot peg feelers (they just unscrew) my problems with putting the side stand down were reduced quite a bit. My issue was not related to a being short, it was just that the feeler would interfere with my boot just trying to get my heel on the tang to push down the stand.

Just spent 4 days in the Smokies - Smokin roads and tires. Been riding dunlop roadsmarts on a VFR since they've been making them. The stock tires were not bad, but the rear is going to be toast before it gets to 2200 miles. Not as hard on the front (easy into the corners...hard on the way out) I might get 3k out of it. Felt the rear squirm a couple of times, but nothing that kept me from enjoying the motor. Looking forward to some premium rubber.

Got a big trip planed for 9 riders this coming weekend, May 14 thru 18. If you folks in the area (Gatlinburg south to the Georgia-N C state line and east towards Ashville Lake Lure area) have any updates about gas availability it would be appreciated. Went through this a few years ago and it was a bit of a hassle. I know it all depends on the pipeline folks gettin their act together, just hoping that you can shed some light on just how bad it is. The news makes it sound like there is a "gas apocalypse" but they just concentrate on the big towns. How is it so far out where the roads are? Any help would be appreciated!!!!!

Just wondering if everyone else is having to wait on your dealer to get parts for the recall? Purchased my GT in January. The right side bag had been damaged in the transport or unpacking, they said no problem they would get a replacement. Not a problem for me either...it's January and I live in Ohio, couple of weeks for the part... no problem. I get the recall notice, call the dealer, they say they are waiting on the part, they'll call when the part comes in. Now it's May, still no bag, no recall part. Is everyone else having this same kind of problem with parts from their dealer?

You only own one pair of shoes, your best "Sunday go to meetin'" dress shoes, that do not have a shifter mark on the toe.

Kickstand down, bike off hands on bars, do not get off bike, could be seen as an aggressive move open face shield or modular helmet, don't take helmet off, could be seen as a weapon to a twitchy policeman, ask to remove helmet if necessary ask to get off bike if necessary to access papers or license. inform officer if you are going to reach into tank bag for papers ect. "yes sir, no sir" always with all the idiots, and road rage incidents, getting off the bike or reaching into bags for papers before the officer is informed could all be seen as aggressive moves. best to wait for permission to make any moves

Gentleman, thanks for your replies. Checked the bag latches, well only the one I have (one bag was damaged on the showroom, replacement on order), and all seemed to be good. Chain was adjusted correctly, thanks for the heads up Johnmark, will keep an eye out for that. That may help with my chain maintenance shortcomings! Randy, as for your take on the Roadsmarts, that is spot on with my experience. Tires are really a subjective topic, but for me after about 15 sets of the roadsmarts I highly recommend them. Brakes fall into that same category too, I have always gone for HH pads, like that initial quick bite. Took a short ride yesterday and took note of the rear brake and was satisfied with its performance. Probably going to have adjust my riding style a bit coming off 20 years on the VFR with the linked brakes. Randy I see you've also got a wing, had my F6B to Traxxion for the "full monty" upgrade... transformational on my wing. It seems from what I've read here that I'll be looking for upgrades on the Tracer. I think I read somewhere that the Penske shock that they use does not have remote preload adjustment. That would be a non starter for me. I love the Ohlins on my VFR, fully adjustable, rebuildable, and oh so pricey. Guess Ill have to wait for the weather till I can get out and do some "scratchin'" to see how much the credit card is going to suffer! Johnmark101 we should try and hook up when the weather breaks, we've probably covered a lot of the same roads. wrenchbender same goes for you too if your close enough in Ohio. Once again, thanks guys

New scoot and new member here. Got a couple of questions about my new 2020 GT ride and what to look for. First I guess I should introduce myself. I'm 63 yrs young, been ridin for 40 years, never put a knee down, but the toes of my riding boots are pretty well scuffed up. Live in Cincinnati, make at least 3 trips to the mountains a year in N. Carolina for the last 35 years (was riding the Gap before it became "The Dragon" and all the cagers and Harley riders (no disrespect implied) turned it into a tourist nightmare). Been a Honda guy most of my riding career. Owned a KZ 305 CSR (tiny cruiser), KZ- GPZ 550, 3 V65 Sabres, 2 VFRs, 1 GL1500 Valkyrie, and a GL1800 F6B. Still have a 2000 VFR that I've been ridin since it was new, and the 13 F6B in the garage. My trackday junkie buddies call me "old guy fast," they all love my pace in the mountains. I've done a couple of track days, and spent two great days at VIR for the California Superbike School riding a Beemer 1000 RR. Probably have about 300,000 miles of street time on me. 1 - Is there anything I should check on the bike as it comes from the dealer, are there any things that most of you have found that need to be tightened, any fluid levels that need to be checked, or anything that Yamaha has overlooked that y'all think I should look at? I already have a Sargent seat on order, had one for everything I've ridden except the Wings. The weather sucks here in cincy this time of year so I've only got about 50 miles of seat time on my new scoot. 2 - I'm a sporty rider, are the stock tires bad enough that they need to be replaced before the riding season starts? Been using Dunlop Roadsmarts on the VFR since they were introduced. 3 - I'm a big guy, not tall, 5-9, 250 or so in gear, and ride 2 up a lot. The VFR has Ohlins upgrades at both ends, I know how good suspension can transform a bike. Do you all think there enough adjustment in the stock suspension to keep me satisfied till it's time to upgrade? 4 - I know there is probably a warning label someplace that says you should only put about 6 ozs of stuff in the bags, yada yada yada.....How well do the bags and latches seem to hold up? Thanks for any input y'all have. These forums are a treasure of info and I'll be looking in regularly. Thanks again!!