larolco

With heated jacket/pants/gloves and a balaclava, I'll ride down to as cold as it gets in my neck of the woods, which is about negative 15 Celsius, or 5 Fahrenheit. At those temps, the air and ground here tend to be bone dry. I don't think I would ride for kicks in those temps, but I do commute in them. The worst weather is when it's just above or below freezing temps and wet. I hate having to clear sleet off the visor and the visor fogging (even with a Pinlock). It's not fun. I don't intentionally set out in that stuff, but get caught in it now and then. I've only ever had to park the bike once when a snow squall struck on the way to work. I was able to wait it out and the road cleared enough to ride back home. Never did get to work that day. I have to admit though, as I get older (50s), I'm less and less inclined to push boundaries.

This is an irritation to me as well. I always have to tuck in to get a better view. Maybe some day I will mount different mirrors or extenders. But then you have to make sure at full lock they play well with whatever windshield you have mounted.

Normal. Nothing to worry about. Just hot exhaust evaporating road spray. Ride in the rain more often and it will go away or you'll get used to it. One of those has happened for me.

For a brief moment, I thought about going that route. There are a few kicking around these parts, but the deals weren't significant enough for me to bite. Plus, I have stuff that bolts onto a 2020 but not a 2022.

So, I now have another 2020 GT with about half the kilometers the crashed bike had, and a few grand in my pocket to spare. I decided to spend some of that on a set of Michelin Road 6s. Pricey tires even at Black Friday sale prices and they will probably spoil me for any reasonably priced tires for the rest of my life. But, hell, why not? The bike still has a stocker Dunlop on the front. As soon as I have a left arm that's up to working a set of tire irons, it's coming off. I believe the new-to-me bike to be fairly gently used. The header is still shiny and its average mileage reads 4.2 liters/100kms (56 mpg). My old bike read 4.6 (51 mpg), so that says to me this bike has lived a life of fair weather recreational highway use and gentle right wrist. Plus the rear is not squared off but has chicken strips and the peg feelers have never touched the ground. Haven't ridden it yet and it will be a while before that's a possibility, I think. Still suffering some pretty bad whiplash a month later.

For sure I'm booking a ride when demo day comes around next spring. I wonder how much the 2023s will drop in price.

I've sat on a 2023. It's not as neutral a riding position as the Tracer, but it's not full-on sport bike posture either. I would have to get it on the road and feel what the wind management is like before I made a judgment. That extra 2" height should make for a nicer ride on less manicured roads, I would think. I don't mind a tall bike. In fact, I always felt the Tracer didn't have adequate ground clearance for my purposes.

That is true. I don't know that it would be a deal breaker for me, though. I don't think you can even put a center stand on that bike if you wanted to.

I think my plan is to ride the new-to-me Tracer for a few years and then look at perhaps one of those Suzuki 4-bangers. That was the plan 2 years ago when I bought the now-dead Tracer as well.

I can run Gerbings jacket, pants, gloves full blast on the 2020. No problemo. I really wouldn't worry about it unless you sit at idle with everything cranked up, which would cook you in short order anyway. A volt meter is always a good idea in case there ever is an issue with the charging system.

Well, after lusting over a whole bunch of bikes, the practical side of me won out and I put down a deposit on a very clean and lightly used 900GT. So, I guess I'll be hanging around this forum for a while yet. Still waiting on insurance to seal the deal. This whole process has been slow as molasses. I really miss the old days when you could make a phone call and talk to a human bean.

I do enjoy wrenching. If I had all the time in the world, I wouldn't hesitate. At the least, it would make for an interesting track bike without much of an investment. But, that's not my situation at the moment, so not going that route. Another Tracer of the same vintage is a real possibility.

I've already decided to let the Tracer go. Just waiting to hear back from the insurance company to arrange the transfer of title. Now it's down to what replaces it. I plan to check out a few bikes tomorrow at a local dealership (which also happens to be an MV Agusta dealer...). I won't buy the MV ($), but I will sit on it for shits and giggles. I've not ridden the KTM 890, but do have regular access to a 790 Adventure. It doesn't thrill me much. We'll see what tomorrow brings. I'm still a ways away from riding again, anyhow.

An interesting review. One of the reasons I went with a Tracer 900 originally was because I figured it would be a good commuter first, and a fun bike on weekends/trips second. It is certainly both those things. The only thing it lacks, in my opinion, is a more rigid chassis/suspension that would handle a passenger and luggage for weekend getaways. I haven't ridden the T9 but he ranks it higher than the MV as a daily rider. The MV isn't a serious contender for me (way too much dinero for my practical budget), but it sure does grab my attention. For the same reason, I don't think the T9 is in the cards either. I think if I was going to move up to that class, the BMW S1000XR is where I would put my money. That bike is a hoot. There's a used one available near me right now but it's a high-miler.

The new Tracer is going to be more than the budget will handle, but another 900GT is a possibility. There are a few kicking around in my market. The Tuareg and AT aren't really what I'm going for. Whatever I buy won't see anything rougher than gravel except through lack of planning. (One of the reasons I loved my old V-Strom was you could just head out and go wherever you wanted.) I've ridden an AT before but not the Tuareg. I liked the AT and, if I was a one-bike guy, it would be on the list, but I don't plan to sell the DRZ. I've got it set up to suit my needs and quite like it. It handles all my off-pavement riding nicely and I don't need anything for those purposes. I traded in my old beater Tacoma this summer on a new Tacoma. Probably I'll end up with another Tracer to replace the buggered Tracer. I did, however, come across this bike, which has me drooling: