Warchild

I keep going back and forth on getting a lift. I have managed without one for over 60 years now, and stories like this continue to give me pause. I don't think I would 'petshark' my Tracer putting in on a lift... but that damn BMW S1000XR is another story altogether. It is a seriously top-heavy oinker when pushing it around in the flat garage. Rolling it up an incline just doesn't sound terribly appealing. IDK, there are good arguments for me to just forgo it at this juncture. I may be a bit crusty with age, but happily, I appear to still be quite limber and agile for a gent in his mid-60's, so I'll continue to sit crossed-legged a nice strip of thick carpet to work on the bike. And spend all the money saved on tires and chains.

Today I got to enjoy installing simple yet elegant machined parts - the Graves Racing AIS Blockoff Plates: Thanks again to @2and3cylinders for setting me straight on some breather vent line confusion. Now future maintenance work in this engine bay will be a lot easier to deal with without all that messy plumbing in the way:

I wasn't going to hang a bunch of adv-rider-ish hardware on my 900 GT, but the factory configuration leaves the lower half of the bike without any protection at all. So some amount of Creeping AdvRider-hardware is finding its way onto the bike. It started with SW-Motech Crash bars: Next up: more SW-Motech protection... after I drill the oil plug access hole, I am going to have this plate shot with Rhino Truck Bed liner. 👍

Do you mean you scored a brand new (leftover) 2019 model last year in 2021? 👍

Yes sir, that is a SW-Motech rack, with the Shad-specific baseplate. 👍

I didn't even go that far, I just removed the two upper bolts, and tilted the radiator forward. Then there was sufficient room even for my sausage-fingers. I was pleasantly surprised that the cooling system remains intact when you do this; no draining occurs after unbolting/tilting forward. I have had mixed feelings about doing this in the past - probably just some old wives tales about that grease not doing well in a blistering hot engine bay over time. I can definitely see a little dielectric grease on the spark plug terminal, no question about that. Of the three coils, it was the #1 coil (far left as you sit on the bike) that was a real bastard to remove, so I am inclined to try the silicone grease

I bet the technicians among us recognize the classic preparations here for spark plug replacement before the Throttle Body Synch: I have a renewed appreciation for those having tiny, girlie hands/fingers to be able to easily work around in this engine bay; my sausage-fingers and ham-hands are a poor fit here. 😕 Removing that AIS plumbing was a real treat, and it is not going back in; a set of Graves Blockoff plates are inbound to replace that AIS mess. I have a fair amount of electrical work to to before final reassembly anyway, so no prob to wait on the Blockoff Plates to arrive. 👍

We are now in the third month of 2022, and the Tracer has not been on the road yet. 😥 That got fixed today with a little 125-mile jaunt around the Columbia Basin. I was pleasantly reminded how lovely the cross-plane triple engine sounds under high RPMS: I am continuing to beef up the lower protection a bit more. I started with TRex sliders on lower engine case, SW-Motech bars, and R&G axle sliders. Next up: aluminum belly pan, just haven't decided which one yet: Rest Area high above Prosser, WA:

That is paint - these are from a 2003 FJR1300. The owner of the dealership I bought this Tracer from had them sitting in a back-room, collecting dust, so he just gifted them to me. I migrated the key locks over from the factory bags, so one key still does it all. FJR1300 side cases are a direct fit on pre-2021 Tracers, and of course hold considerably more than the stock hard bags. It can hold a full-face Shoei - not even the 2021+ Tracer hard bags can do that.

The situation is not exactly improving. Fresh snow this morning. Dumb winter. 😥

When the bike is set up properly for your weight/riding style, and you are using top-shelf hardware, the 900 GT is a dream ride:

I know the FJR1300 footpegs fit the 900 GT natively, just like FJR1300 hard cases do. I don't recall if the pilot/pillion footpegs are interchangeable, tbh, but it stands to reason they might be.

I had similar concerns when I brought over these Oberon Racing Pegs from my 2005 YZF-R1 to my 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa, but ran them for 12 years before trading in the Busa, now they reside on the 900 GT: However, Warchild-wife was having none of the factory pillion footpeg business, she directed me to bring back her comfortable FJR1300 rubber-covered footpegs. Yes, ma'am.

These really do look quite nice. The grip tread certainly looks aggressive. Are you finding you have to adjust your shift position (and/or shift-assist linkage), since this footpeg arrangement has your boot sitting both outboard and lowered from stock? I am guessing that contributes to the outermost portion of the shift rubber being worn first.

😥 😥 😥 😥 😥 😥 😥 No end-of-the-year ride. Likely no New Year's Day ride either, is my guess.

Cold temps are not really the issue, by themselves. It's cold temps and high humidity levels, that is where I draw the line. Even on a cloudless night, if the relative humidity is high and temps below freezing, you only have to ride over black ice once to fully appreciate the terror it causes.

This task is only completed today, thanks to a very unusual Sprocketcenter mistake: they sent the wrong rear sprocket. They were very good about it, they sent out the correct one right away. I also decided the ZV3 gold chain is more for the Tracer than it is for this 165hp XR beast, so I scored an all-black DID 525ZVM-X chain... and a spare master link. Cleaned up that gnarly front sprocket area, and pulled the chain thru... Looking good. Still need to torque axle /front sprocket nut, then I am set. Happy this is done - pity it's just in time for the next snowfall. 🙄

For weeks now, our weather has been windy, rainy/snowy, low 30's temps.... just bleech! 😖 I admit riding though thick wildfire smoke was pretty gnarly, but right about now, the heat and dry sure look inviting in this July, 2021 photo at a Rest Area stop in central Nevada: It will soon be the Solstice, then the countdown to summer... 👍

This is going along okay. I am past the only point in this task that gave me any pause: removing the front sprocket. I've heard stories of this sprocket being a bear to remove the first time due to over-torqueing at the factory, but not today! I used the old standard of having a thick wood broom handle slid between the swingarm holes and run the rear wheel forward told hold the spokes against it, then Warchild-wife pumps the brake pedal a couple times before standing on it. After that, the 7-amp electric impact gun made short work of the 34 mm nut, thankfully: Now the rest of this task is straight-forward, routine stuff. 👍 Glad to have this maintenance out of the way, because next year's riding plans are just nuts , and nobody wants to deal with chain woes while touring. 😀

This is always a tedious task, and it has to be done right. Factory chain only lasted 16.6K miles, which is typical for this 165hp race bike. Got the pellet stove cranking out the BTUs in the shop - it's 33-degrees F outside. Soon as the shop breaks into the 50's, I am taking these replacement parts out there and start the process. Wish me luck - hey, it's a BMW, what could go wrong? 🙄 Pics to follow.

A common theme, the more mature gentlemen rider wanting to go for something lighter and smaller. 😃 This is the exact reason I traded in my 4th FJR for the 900 GT last March... I have been on FJRs for 20 years before the Tracer. Re: 2-amp aux plug: it was really intended for common lightweight power consumers, such as a GPS or cell phone charger, etc. Not really designed for heavier consumers like heated clothing or similar high-draw accessory. Welcome aboard. This forum is both informative and fairly drama-free, which is pretty nice compared to the sewer the FB groups for the Tracer can be.

Upon review - the weight aspect is a fair point. One of the fundamental reasons I went after the Tracer 900 GT was that a fully-laden FJR1300 with pillion was just getting to be a bit too dicey in low speed, parking lots maneuvers. I so appreciate a lighter machine as I get more crusty and elderly, and our CP3 motor is awesome and makes the bike fun to ride at all speeds. 👍

I've sunk so much $$$ into my 2020 900 GT that I have to stay married to it for a good few 3+ years, I'm thinking. But by 2026 or so, the aftermarket should have fully caught up making goodies for this beast here... I could be tempted, maybe....