larolco

I find it smoothest to shift at around 8500 RPM. 

I don't bother with the QS at low RPM. Anything under 5 is kinda clunky. But I've never experimented with firm vs gradual input. I'll try that on the ride home this afternoon. 

2 hours ago, bootsandboots said:

I wanted to make sure I followed up on this thread in case anyone in the future was looking into a T-Rex rack for an FJ09.

 

After having to exchange twice due to the racks not remotely lining up with install points I ultimately returned and gave up for a while. T-Rex’s customer service was top tier and allowed me to return no questions asked. Two separate racks would not line up with the mounting points on the bike. Even with someone helping me put pressure on the rack while trying to tighten down the bolts I was unable to successfully mount the rack to the FJ09. After speaking to their customer service and providing photos it was clear that the rack was the issue.
 

All in all I would say Trex’s customer service did a great job but I would not recommend this rack for anyone looking for one for an FJ09.

That's too bad it didn't work out. I, too, had good experience with their support when I inquired about the T-Rex rack. In the end, I ended up going with the Givi rack and M8 plate. It's a pretty skookum setup. 

The way the peg and side stand are designed, they interfere with the motion necessary to deploy the side stand. That feeler peg is always in the way, and catches the cuff of my pants. Solution is as above: remove feeler peg. 

I find my boot touches down before the peg ever does anyway. 

It's not just the total weight, it's the distribution of weight. 

It's not a passenger-friendly bike to begin with. The rear will be collapsed and the front wheel will want to go skyward. The geometry does not make for good physics. It's not a good idea. I don't see it ending well. 

I've put  a few thousand kms on this thing now and knew from day one that an aftermarket windshield was in order. I've come to the conclusion that the Puig touring shield is likely the best choice for me. It's on its way. But who knows? Maybe I will be horribly disappointed. Can't be worse than the stocker, though, and I will need a larger windshield come winter. 

I paid the dealer an exorbitant amount of money to do the first one, so don't take my opinion to mean much. I have no idea what the oil looked like and don't care.  I paid Yamaha to figure that out. I did stick kinda close to recommended break-in procedure. 

But you should see some evidence of break in with the first oil change. That's the whole point of it. 

I'll be doing the rest of the maintenance on the bike and will pay attention to the oil then. I don't think the first change is going to tell you much. 

That thumbwheel is like something you'd find on a kid's toy. Not my only issue with the bike but, overall, there's a lot more good than bad. Every bike has to have its Achilles heel, it seems.

My Lenovo does not fit in Yamaha's GT side cases, which is a real bummer. I ended up biting the bullet and mounting a Givi rear rack and slapping my old 48L Kappa top case on it. Not what you're looking to do I know, but neither was I. I'm happy I did it. I just chuck whatever in there and go, helmet, riding gear, groceries. When I don't need the capacity, off with it. 

I hate the scroller wheel. Especially with winter gloves. But, I suppose, most bikes are not designed for winter. 

And, it's  probably a good idea to mess with that stuff when parked as opposed to rocketing down the highway. 

But the one control that should be easily accessible while on the move is the grips. A person could die trying to get their hands the right temperature with this system. 

I don't see the QS indicator on mine, but the system works. Can't remember if it is normally lit up or not. 

What I do notice is not functional is the menu function. Clocks changed here a while back and the bike is still an hour behind! Can't adjust it. 

My thinking is I am sure to cause this situation more than once (though I think turning off TC before spinning the wheel should avoid the problem recurring), so the scanner will probably be a worthwhile investment. Plus you can do other stuff with it too. 

I'm having mine reset by the dealer since I'm sending it in for its break-in servicing anyhow. They had better not charge me. If it happens again, I'll just buy the scanner. FWIW: The quick shifter works fine. Just the engine light is on is all. Weird your quick-shift is disabled. 

43 minutes ago, Yamajank said:

So if you turn TC off it won’t give you the check engine light?  

I imagine so. Not the immediate subject of this thread, but relevant to the CEL. If the rear wheel spins and the front does not, the TC system will detect the need for traction control. If you turn off the TC prior to spinning the rear on the center stand, there should be no fault indicated, I would think. I can't actually try that until I get the CEL cleared (going to the dealer next week for first service anyhow, so they can clear it and then I can test the theory and go by an OBD scanner if the theory only works in theory).

Problem is, the the TC turns on by default whenever you start the bike. You have to manually turn it off. Seems obvious to me now but didn't think about it at the time. Nor did I suspect the stupid CEL would come on as a result, but reading through the manual afterwards taught me otherwise. 

On 3/21/2021 at 1:53 PM, Ride365 said:

Yeah damnit this just happened to me, washed my bike and was just trying the warm/dry up the chain a bit while idling on the centerstand.....now my check engine light is on.  

Hah, me too. Put the Tutoro on it and ran the bike on the center stand to get the oil into the chain. Now: engine light on. 

Future me will turn of the traction control before trying that trick again. 

On 2/28/2021 at 11:15 AM, Ride365 said:

Many factors with buffeting, guess I was one of the lucky ones. No question the air is more clean though, and it looks great as well.

So this is the "Touring" version you have? I'm trying to narrow down the contenders. Puig is an option, as is Givi and MRA. Perhaps the Vstream as well. Whatever I go with, it will be a tall screen. I'd like to avoid a spoiler. 

For context, this is a guy who lived with the stock screen on a V-Strom forever. Yeah, there was some buffeting but it kept the Canadian winter cold off my neck and shoulders. I even put a massive Parabellum on my DRZ to make it a feasible winter highway bike. I ride high speed in cold weather. Windshields are important to me. The Tracer stocker ain't going to cut it. 

TRACER 900 /GT (MT-09) - Touring windshield "TM" 2018-2020

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The touring windscreen (TM) for this sport touring motorcycle is 53cm long...

Well, I've had this 2020 Tracer GT for a few weeks but weather kept me from putting it on the road until today. 

Two things that need addressing are immediately apparent: 

I can't get the damned sidestand down with the stupid peg feeler in the way. That's got to go. 

And, the windshield will only be tolerable in the warm season. I will need a replacement by next winter. 

I'm riding with the seat in the "upper" position and even with the windshield in the "upper" position, that puts the windstream right at my chest/collarbone/neck area which is not nice when the temperatures are low. I plan to ride this thing well below zero with a full complement of heated gear (which, according to the volt meter I have installed, seems to work just fine on the bike's electrical system, so hurray there). 

My thinking after 100 kms is the stock windshield will be sufficient in the warmer seasons, but the cold will demand an upgrade. From shifting my head position about, I think it will be about more than height and must consider shield angle as well. Maybe Madstad is a consideration to let some air behind the screen. 

Anyways, that's thoughts so far. 

With my Gerbings set-up, I like to run the coax cables up from the front of the seat (dual circuits). I've seen guys install ports in a bike's paneling but that makes me shudder. If you leave the cables dangling from between the seat and tank and you get off the bike having forgotten you're wired to it, the cables will simply detach. Plug into a fixed port and do the same thing and you've just wrecked the port and/or wiring. Not that I've ever done such a thing.... 

10 hours ago, peteinpa said:

If it's the gizmo I think it is you have to mount it precisely the same (angle, level, direction, etc.) since it's the tip over sensor that kills the ignition when the bike crashes.

Just got to do a search, it's been done already.

The gizmo in question is just a relay. It's not the tip-over/lean angle sensor (that's located at the tank mount).

Not sure what the relay is for: G8HN-1C4T-DJ - Omron 

It could be related to traction control or ABS. Haven't yet found anything on it in the manual. 

Well, I pulled the plastics and tank off the bike today and had a poke around to see what I've bought. Part of that process included looking at the under-seat area. Right away, I see there is an electrical gizmo mounted off a hanger in the storage tray. I also notice there is a perfectly good and unused electrical gizmo hanger about three inches forward and to the left. So, slice open the harness an inch or so and presto: electrical gizmo is relocated and under seat stowage capacity is improved. Then I got out the Dremel and removed the partition between the front and rear stowage areas. Tidy up with a knife and now there's a useful stowage compartment for air compressor, patch kit, tool kit. Also located the heated seat connector in the same area and determined which spade connectors I need to make the dummy plug useful. Same connector style behind the windshield. Sumitomo p/n: 6187-2311 and 6180-2321, you need the ribbed version you can see here, or just buy the spades and seals and install them into the dummy already on the bike: 

 I've ordered from them before and recommend. 

I now have a 600-odd-page paper copy in a 3-ring binder, printed from digital file, thanks to a member here. (I won't name names because I don't know if that sort of thing is kosher.) Anyway, I'm as pleased as punch. I can flip paper (my preference), or scroll digitally. Maybe it's not "searchable", but I know how to use an index and a table of contents and can search the old-school way. It helps that I have access to a high-speed printer.

2 minutes ago, Ride365 said:

Then you’d need a relay. 😆 

Yes, a relay is probably advisable. That's the setup I have on my Suzuki, but the relay was already there for a Stebel I threw in the garbage. Two Fiamms might work together without a relay. Horns are a quick draw and done. Not like headlights or something that are a continuous draw. Well, if you ride in New York, it might be a different story. 

54 minutes ago, Ride365 said:

Bless your heart.........

 

Urban Dictionary: Bless your heart

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The most Southern 'phuck you' there is. Can be put at the end of a...

 

I plan to sell the bike and let the second owner adjust the chain slack. This sounds too complicated for me. 

Brought a shiny new GT home on Friday, just as the first flakes were beginning to fall. It's been snowing ever since. Kinda frustrating  because I've ridden every day through winter until now. But it's given me time to browse around here and think about which fuse block, voltage monitor, top rack, etc, might work best on this thing and learn how to remove all the plastics and tank. And, I've realized top cases are scarce out there these days. Anything I might want is out of stock. 

32 minutes ago, Ride365 said:

FIAMM freeway blaster low tone......no relay needed and louder than hell.

Pair it with a high tone, and twice as nice. 

Wow, I'm surprised there isn't more discussion on this topic. It doesn't seem like much thought went into designing the under-seat storage area. Or the tool "kit", if one can even call it that. 

Before I started carving away, I thought I'd have a look and see if anyone else had come up with a better idea. 

Someone with a 3-D printer could improve upon the design, I would think.