PeterL

I'm curious, why the shortys? I agree on the yummy ergonomic goodness (probably get lynched if I didn't, but I do) of adjustability- just unclear on why losing the ability to use any or all your fingers seems preferred by so many? Yeah, I'm older than dirt, verified by carbon dating, and on my first watching of "The Great Escape" I sat there critiquing Steve McQueen's form on the fence jump, but I've tried the short form levers and just didn't gel with the missing length. Gawd, I hope I haven't just birthed the successor to the dreaded 'oil thread'!

I run in the mid 40's pretty much full time. The fact that I live over an hour away from any straight piece of road longer than ~1/2 mile might have something to do with that. But honestly, the fact that I've never backed away from the least excuse to twist the throttle *just* that little bit more is the most likely causative factor. Besides, it's fun! To quote the great sage Jimmy Buffett: "Growing older, but not up"

IF you care to run a tankbag, using the 'map pocket' (everybody remember 'maps'?) pretty well insulates the phone from most vibration. Downside is that the screen is not as easily viewable as betoney's setup.

I just added a Corbin to my 2019 GT, replacing a Yamaha Comfort seat. #1-5 MUCH more comfortable, no pressure point issues noted on a 6+ hour ride. #2-5 You sit in a very mild 'bucket'. Can easily move around, and the cutouts near the tank are as slim as physically possible. I reach the ground much easier with this seat. There really is no right or wrong answer here. If possible, try to test sit/ride other bikes with aftermarket seats. Even if the bikes are different makes & models, the makers underlying design philosophy will be presented and you can at least see what is or is not a good basic match for your 'sit bones' 😉. Good luck!

Is it pressure or tire selection affecting your feedback? (not a criticism, just a question) I have Michelin Road 5's on mine currently. Solo I run 34f/38r, and with a pillion I go to 38f/42r. The manual recommends 33f/36r solo or 36f/42r 2-up for my 2019. I just made adjustments based on what I felt while riding (I am ~235# in gear), and I do monitor my tire wear closely. I'll be spooning on some Pirelli Angel ST's in a few more miles and will probably have to baseline things all over again.

Interesting thread. I note my 2019 GT is much more susceptable to crosswinds/turbulence than things like my C14 or RT are. A good part of that is just good old mass, but the Tracer is also set up for a quicker steering response than a true touring bike is generally. It's uncomfortable but not unsafe per se. If your chassis is well sorted, you could consider a shorter windscreen. That can make a huge difference. A top box is also something that catches wind with astonishing efficiency. I'd like to understand how the handguards affected some contributors. I've not noted them to be that much a factor compared to all the other stylish but not especially aerodynamic features of the Tracer.

I just went from a Yamaha 'Comfort" seat to a Corbin. While I did not find it necessary to have the seat cut down, I find I am now closer to flat footing the Tracer by a good margin over what I could do with the Yamaha item. My inseam is also about 29".

Clem: I do not know if this is any more or less true when related to all the other manufacturers and seat types out there. Each is a completely subjective experience, unique to each individual. Many riders LOVE the Yamaha "Comfort" seat, but for me it was reminiscent of the Marquis de Sade at his best. Our profile modifications at Corbin were all to my wife's seat, the driver portion I did not touch as I could find no fault needing addressing. That's not saying that it will be the same for everyone, because it just plain won't. So while I could likely have been just as satisfied with a mail-order unit from Corbin, my wife wouldn't have. That made the trip worthwhile for me. Of course, my first unit from them for my V-Strom (a decade+ ago now) needed LOTS of mods to work for me, so there is just no telling. I'm sure they do their best to evaluate feedback and optimise seat profiles for the customer base at large. But you have no guarantee where exactly on the bell curve of possibilities you may fit. Judging strictly by the people I dealt with, from the folks on the phones to everyone on their shop floor right down to the lady cutting and sewing my panels together, each and every one seemed to be concerned with doing their job well and properly. I find that sort of commitment is much more likely to yield a satisfactory outcome than having the same tasks performed by someone who's just in it for a paycheck. I just wanted to give folks here a look into the process as we experienced it, never to say it is the only or even the best choice for every rider. My best friend was a heartfelt and lifelong advocate for Bill Mayer Saddles, he wouldn't think of owning anything else. I now own his K1200RS with that seat as well and while it is undoubtedly well made, the profile is not optimum for me. Different bodies, different criteria. Talk to owners. Talk to manufacturers. Do your reading and make your best choice. Good luck.

Ah, yep! The last photo shows it a bit, you wind up sitting in a bit of a dish, albeit not as extreme as a Russell tractor seat. This is the stock Corbin profile, we made only minor mods and most all of those were to the perch of She Who Must Be Conveyed, but they'll do whatever you ask. Flat? Humped? Non-euclidean geometry? If you ask, they'll do their damnedest. Now, rather than sliding the fun bits into the tank constantly, this has left me with room to spare and a lot of freedom to shift about as I desire. Our return took just under six hours of saddle time, and we both felt good when we dismounted. (Wait, six hours?! Yeah, blame a lot of that on SF. The chaos on Park Presidio was truly epic. Forget 'vehicle accident', think 'meteor strike' and you might appreciate the carnage wrought upon the traffic patterns!)

Today was the day for my long-delayed trip to Hollister, CA. Function and aesthetics were what I used as arguments to bring my wife around, but the whole story was that this was a last ditch effort to placate my butt, which had had quite enough of Yamaha's miserable excuse for gluteal accommodations thank you. Hollister is at best about 3.5 hours from our home, so we rode down yesterday and stayed in a local motel. We both woke up around 2am, which while frustrating in the extreme, did make it pitifully easy to be first in line when Corbin rolled their doors up. (the guy who came in 20 minutes behind us was a bit miffed to find 'his' space taken!) Once you're parked and settled and have confirmed the basics of what you want, they fit a 'blank' seat pan/foam unit and have you sit on and give an initial evaluation. They will then add, remove or contour the foam until you are satisfied, then you are sent out to give this a test ride. Some folks just circle the building. OK, to be fair it is a fairly big building. We went a couple of miles, around some corners and doing accel and braking tests to check it worked well in all areas. Once you are back, you discuss the experience with 'your' build rep and if necessary they will make further adjustment cycles until you are happy. Once all that is settled, it's swatch time. No, not those execrable watches, but two big freaking bundles of samples- one bunch leather and the other vinyl. Not only colors, but textures and finishes can make this a somewhat daunting procedure. I'd used Corbins online tool to mock up my desired configuration, and other than making one slight color change when I saw the difference between screen and reality, I was good to go. Corbin also offers a plethora of stitching patterns for the seating surface. I liked the standard offering quite well and stuck with that. But I think every single Harley present went with one custom pattern or other. There was even another 2019 Tracer represented, a non-GT model, and we had some lovely discussions as we both waited to see what was wrought from our differing concepts. Corbin not only allows but encourages you to walk through their production area. You can see the racks and racks and racks of various seat pans ready for whomever might want any particular type. Staff was kind enough to actually hunt me down when my seat was being cut and sewn so I could witness and photograph the procedure. When all was complete and we got to test-sit the finished product it was a revelation. The Tracer was not only fun, it was now *comfortable*! And I expect it will only get better as it breaks in a bit. My V-Strom saddle was just that way as well. Our trip down was mostly slab, as we wished to hold our suffering to the minimum. Our trip home, couched as a 'test ride' was in reality an excuse to revisit roads we'd missed since moving from the Bay Area. From Hollister, we went north to Saratoga on the interstate. Saratoga spawns highway 9 which though it goes through populated areas, has lots and lots of lovely corners. Highway 9 joins up with State Route 35, known generally as Skyline Boulevard. You ride the crest of a long ridge, the Bay Area pop centers down to the east, and to the west lots of varied terrain sloping away toward Highway 1 and the Pacific. We rode through periods of sunshine, fog and clouds. The latter were enough that the pavement was positively soaked in some places! A break was taken when 35 intersected SR 84, colloquially La Honda Road. Home since dinosaurs roamed the earth (I was one of 'em) to Alice's Restaurant. If motorcycling in the western US is viewed as a universe, Alice's is the black hole at it's center. If you've not been there yet, gravitational entropy will insure you do so eventually. After a lovely meal, eaten at a shaded picnic table in a grassy sward with a half dozen horses tied up at the periphery (they were eyeing our salad with envious eyes) and agreeing that thus far the seat felt marvelous, we went west and down to Highway 1 to spend the next hour or so cruising our way up the coast. Much fog and dampness here, but for a couple who've been trapped in 100+ degree days and single-digit humidity readings seemingly forever it felt freaking GREAT! Getting through SF was a nightmare. It generally is, but today was extra special. I rewrote several sections of the vehicle code on the fly and we made good our escape. Once over the Golden Gate bridge things got rather boring, as a combination of long stretches of freeway and enough cars to fill it to the bursting point meant roughly 40 miles of non-stop lane splitting. Nothing new for this area unfortunately, but for 10 or so of those miles I actually fell in behind a CHP motor officer and just enjoyed the spectacle as the cars scrambled to get out of his/our way. Felt almost like cheating, but in the end I 'm OK with that. The last hour to our home on a rural mountaintop is composed of very twisty and mostly 2-lane roads. I've been navigating this route for a decade now, so was in good position to note how much more connected I was to the bike with the new saddle. No longer searching for a proper perch, I now was very aware of how much easier it was to get the rhythm right, to hit or modify my lines as desired every time and to just -enjoy- the ride and road as never before on this bike. Corbin-exterior. Ride in bay in center We're number one! Lots of choices Panel discussion Parts and more parts Your butt goes here Side panel construction Mine all mine A nice piece of tail I rather like that

OK- putting on my official, logo'd "Old Fart" hat here: I like high-viz gear, except for the fact that after a year or two it just turns into 'faded yellow'. BUT- there are still a daunting number of _drivers_ (who oughtn't be if licensing laws were at all enforced) who still seem unable to see me even under ideal conditions. ie: clear day, dry, straight road. By my direct observation over decades, using a LEGAL headlight modulator in appropriate conditions, means more drivers will notice me and grant me equal access to the tarmac. Yes, they can annoy, and I am sorry about that. But I'd rather make it home intact than risk offending your sensibilities for the 30 seconds or so it takes to put you in MY mirrors. I like DRL's, brake strobes, driving and/or fog lamps, etc., and I will use any or all of these visibility-enhancers with gay abandon unless and until cagers everywhere learn to live up to the responsibility of piloting a vehicle that can end lives if proper care and caution is not employed tirelessly. And frankly, there appear to be damn few out there who DO! [soap-box mode: OFF] Do what you feel is best for you, and I shall do the same. But IMHO, everyone else's rights stop precisely where mine start. And vice versa.

I respectfully disagree. I went from an 1800g HJC to a 1500g Scorpion carbon lid. I not only can discern the weight, but where a 4 hour ride would leave my neck sore (trashed C1-C2 for me) for days previously, the cf lid leaves me almost unscathed after a similar outing. I will cheerfully add unreasonable amounts of visibility-enhancing lighting to my chassis. And to my topcase, which should be just as visible as a helmet mount light unit. But I'm actually considering upgrading my perfectly serviceable but somewhat clunky bluetooth rig (SENA SMH-10) to something newer/lighter just to lose a wee bit more weight from my helmet. YMMV.

Not for the Niken apparently, but one of my favorite garage toys is a front 'pin' stand, which inserts a pin (duh!) into your triple tree and supports the motorcycle chassis while leaving you free to dismantle the entire front end if you so choose. Safe and secure. There are a number of different size pins available, to fit the many variations out there. My kit came with 5 assorted pins, which has sufficed for every MC I've worked on in the last decade or so.

There is a happy medium in there somewhere. Too soft is the worst I think, as 'butt burn' can set in way before you reach the end of the block in the most extreme cases. SHAPE is probably next. Everyones 'sit bones' are slightly different. Many love it, but for me the Yamaha 'Comfort Seat' isn't. Full stop. Firmness is also somewhat subjective. But I think what some interpret as 'too hard' may have a lot to do with a poor match between their physiology and the shape of their saddle. Best experience I've ever had was the Corbin, which definitely runs toward 'firm', which we had made for my V-Strom via a ride-in appointment at their Hollister factory. A process my wife and I will be repeating next week for my 2019 GT. They will have you sit on the bare, not-yet-covered saddle and add, remove or shape the foam until you have the best possible fit for your individual requirements and comfort, then sew and install the covering materials you select while you wait. Takes several hours overall, but it more than makes up for it over the many years it will serve and the many saddlesores it can prevent. If you have the option to do a personal visit to the seat maker of your choice for customisation, I recommend it heartily.

I definitely agree with 2and3cylinders that headlight modulators go a long, LONG way toward getting cagers to notice and hopefully avoid you. Yes, they can annoy. But they have to be seen first which means they accomplish their mission. You can definitely notice the behavioral change of other drivers when running these versus riding without. Was also so-o-o glad to see that someone else uses "Squirrel!!" as a meme. (Yay Jayzonk!)

One reason I loathe the current trend of "limousine tint" on car windows. When I'm riding, I have always tried to watch cage drivers head movements for a clue as to what dumbass thing they're gonna do next to threaten other drivers (ie: me!). Now you can't see these cues, which makes it all that much sketchier for us all out there. "No, Officer, I wasn't really speeding. I was just demonstrably safer with him two counties behind me!" Eh, might work...

Another alternative I found worked well, for me anyway, was a bead seat cushion. They are available for motorcycles, but I bought a (cheaper) car unit, cut it apart, then restrung the beads on HEAVY nylon filament. That way I could tailor it to fit my saddle (V-Strom with a Corbin) but leave the front/sides bare so my little bitty legs could still touch down easily. Used this a lot during the summer months and the sub-gluteal airflow made an appreciable difference in comfort levels. When the temps dropped, it came off in 2 minutes. YMMV.

I bought a set of the adjustable levers for my Tracer on eBay. The were quite comfortable, more so than the stockers actually. I had to revert on my clutch side, as their tab was just slightly short to properly work the switch in the lever housing. This had the effect of disabling my cruise control. FWIW- the ones I purchased were labelled "3D levers" and they had a textured outer surface for additional grip. Works well, especially in rain or snow. Yep, snow... There are some things you just never want to know!

Interesting. Never been an Ironbutt type, but it makes sense they'd know a fair bit about it. I spent a week one afternoon riding back from Yosemite on I-5. I'd gone in via 120 (mountains, trees, cool), but a fire had closed that route for our trip home. Wife and I were in standard non-mesh gear and we felt like dying. No amount of drink, food, or supplements seemed to help. It was probably 110 F or so, and that road is the WORST! Straight line for hundreds of miles. You can go hours between tree sightings. And you'd think the state bird was the CHP helicopter, nemesis of everything fun. Never was I so glad to see the sun go down. I like the mesh with a moist baselayer when it's hot, as that works best for my personal biology. But then I tend toward bikes with copious luggage spaces that I can use to carry lots of spares. Naked bikes have it a lot tougher.

With the heat index rising to uncomfortable levels, just as we're all looking to get back out there, it's vital to make sure you are safe, alert, and as reasonably comfortable as possible. Hydration is number one- I like to carry a camelback, either under my jacket or in my tankbag. It's really nice to be able to wet my whistle whenever I feel the urge. If you can't do that, at least carry a bottle or so with you, rather than having to look for a store that might be 2 hours away. If you don't need it, another rider might. Salt pills are also a good addition to your kit. I love mesh gear. I love it even more when I put it on over a lightweight base layer I've soaked with water first. The evaporative cooling while you ride can make even a hundred degree day feel comfortable. For a while anyway! If that isn't an option, consider a 'neck cooler'. These are bandanna-like tubes that are filled with a water-absorbent polymer. You soak them in water (or carry it in a wet ziplock) and when you tie it around your neck, the evaporative cooling while you ride means you have at least some defense against the heat. My wife and I made a bunch of these a few years back as part of a benefit for a rider injured in a local club race, adding a few extra inches to the 'normal' length to allow more secure knotting. We still have folks wearing them to events here, and asking when we're making more! What else do you do to cope with the heat? Let us know. Ride safe all.

Not having an SJ, this is only a conjecture- Have you checked the condition of the well nuts? (these are used to hold on most every windshield I've ever had, excepting some BMWs) These ARE made of rubber, and do deteriorate/crack/disintegrate over time from UV exposure. Luckily, they're cheap and easy to change!

I was under the impression that the GT version was solely made for heavier bikes, the carcass being more heavily reinforced. The tread compound is exactly the same. The Tracer shouldn't need the extra heft, and I'd imagine the GT version might actually negatively impact the feedback somewhat when pushing the pace.

Yeah, but I actually took mine on a 3-corners tour of the US. (Hey, I was 20 at the time!) I woulda done all four, but there was this girl in Pennsylvania... Actually had a great time, no real issues other than a fairly amicable discussion with an Arizona trooper on my first day out regarding speed limits and the inadvisability of pissing off truckers by shattering their windows with close flybys and attendant sonic booms. No ticket though! Ignorance truly was bliss. If I'd known a fraction of the risks I was taking with that trip, I'd have hidden under my covers until I was 30. At least.

Profile indicates that adjuster last visited in March 2019. The Gen2 Hayabusa shocks list as 330mm, which is the same as my 2019 Tracer. Researching upgrading that bike is what led me here. I believe the same measurement holds true for your model. Thus far, I've not found details on the clevis sizing for the Suzuki though. Will update further if/when I acquire better data. March 14, 20

Concur. If Yamaha ever tries to recycle the "TZ" moniker I foresee mass uprisings and burning effigies of Yammie executives. Which will use 2-stroke oil to get the flames going natch. As a proud owner and survivor of an original Kawi H2 750 triple, I still get peeved that Big K chose to reuse that designation, no matter how nice the engineering of the new bike. There are LOTS of other letters left, guys! Show some originality!