Acee

Lots of arguments either way but its a fact that oil filters do not catch all particles on the first pass.  I see a magnet as a very cheap bit of extra insurance against engine problems and, for motorcycle engines where gearbox shares the oil, it can only be a good thing.  The gearbox is really the only part of the engine with significant amounts of steel so I wouldn't say it's of any benefit on an engine with separate oil for engine/gearbox.

20 hours ago, skipperT said:

Hmm. That’s a new one to me. I doubt it.

If you use a quality Cable lube and don’t push a bunch of dirt and grit into the inner sheath it shouldn’t shorten the life of the cable, it should lengthen the time between replacements (if ever!)

the new version of the Motion Pro cable luber works really well - much better than the old one.  it’s worth the extra coin.

https://www.motionpro.com/product/08-0609

-Skip

It's an interesting one.  If you lube your cables regularly, you can use anything really, WD-40, engine oil, whatever.  Because when the inner sheath breaks down, it doesn't matter so much because the cable is covered in oil.  But you'll have to keep doing it.  If the cable is already stiff or notchy then the inner sheath is gone and you are metal to metal in the cable.  Lubing it will help short term but you're really better off just buying a new, genuine cable.  They're not that expensive given how long they last and it will give a much smoother action than a lubricated worn out one.  I have lots of experience with this over the years but now, the only lubricant I would put in a cable would be silicone-based grease or spray as this is the accepted lubricant for nylon/rubber wear points.

I just bought two sets of Earpeace, in the small size, I was previously using Auritech.  What a revelation!  All my life I've struggled to get ear plugs to fit (one of the reasons I now have 24/7 tinnitus) but these go straight in and so comfortable you can't even feel them.  Better still you get three in each pack, handy in case you lose one, and I can put the lower filters in for my off road bike and the full block filters in for my Tracer.  Brilliant!

Yeah, some of the reviews I read for the Tracer were talking about 40-something MPG!  No idea how they got it that low.

I'm really happy with B mode so not interested in a re-map.  I've used STD a few times on fast flowing, open roads but I like the laid back power delivery of the B mode for most riding.  I would like to get the frickin speedo fixed though.  Constantly having to calculate what speed you're actually doing is a right pain.  I'd prefer if it was very accurate.

Er, isn't that supposed to be replaced at 24k miles?

My 2017 averages between 60-65mpg depending on how hard I ride.  I'm using B mode as I like the softer power delivery and I find STD mode too twitchy for most riding.  I also noticed that the on-dash MPG figure is a little high.  When it shows 68mpg, which is nearly all the time, it's actually about 65.  I guess this is because the speedo is about 10% out.  At an indicated 70, my sat nav tells me I'm doing 63-64mph.

On 7/23/2021 at 4:11 PM, betoney said:

While on a recent road trip with a buddy who also owns a 2015 FJ, we swapped bikes and I immediately noticed how light the throttle turn is on his bike.  My throttle tube turns smoothly, snaps back like it should and doesn't stick even at full left or right steering lock, it just takes a fair amount of effort to turn, I had just accepted that as normal for this bike (first bike where throttle cable actuates a servo motor).

Since there was so much of a difference between the 2 bikes, I decided to investigate.  The bikes are identical (as far as motor and fueling, with 2WDW flash) the only difference is mine has the factory heated grips.  I took the throttle housing apart and disconnected the cables and checked that the tube rotated freely in the housing.  Next step was verifying the cable routing was unobstructed and the outer sheath wasn't pinched, kinked or damaged.  I tore the bike down to the throttle bodies, traced the cables all the way to the servo pulley and everything looked good.  So short of removing the throttle bodies so I could access the cable pulley and spring (complete PITA) I decided to try some Dri Slide cable lube, popular with mountain bikers for lubing control cables.

 

I filled the cables and worked them back and forth until the lube was flowing out the bottom end and ... WHAT A REVELATION, the throttle rotation was immediately and drastically improved, enough that I could turn the throttle with just my thumb and forefinger where previously it took MUCH more effort.

I put the bike back together and went out for a ride and WHOA, A-mode is super psychotic with a light throttle turn, now I understand when others mention A-mode possibly being too jumpy in the twisties - I definitely need to retrain my right wrist, its like riding a different bike now.

Just interested in what mileage you have on your bike?  Generally, I think it's a bad idea to lube control cables internally, as someone mentioned, it can destroy the inner cable coating, eventually making the cable much worse.  That's certainly the case on my Yamaha WR250F but not sure about the Tracer.  If it's high mileage (say > 20k miles) I would normally just replace the cable.

This is my setup for a Garmin Zumo 346.  I tried the Ram Mount handle bar option but I found them to cumbersome and it's much better with a high-level mount.  

Both items from Ebay and gives a really clean looking install I think.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284332886266

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124318165302

8 hours ago, betoney said:

I clean my air filter about every 5-8k miles (depending on the conditions I have traveled through) - remove all of the plastic panels and turn the tank around backward where the seat would go so I can remove the airbox lid, I don't know that it would be possible to do without having the tank completely out of the way. 

I replaced all of the airbox screws with hex screws so I can take them off quickly with a socket on a cordless drill.

How are you cleaning your air filter?  Is it the OEM one?  The manual says it shouldn't be cleaned with compressed air.

On 6/27/2021 at 2:16 AM, Garz747 said:

Ive just reached only 800 kms on my new "leftover '19 Tracer but decided to do the oil change a little early. Im not sure why one would use mineral oil in 2021 as full synthetic 10 w 40 is not that much more. 

Regular mineral oil should be used in a brand new engine as it allows some wear on the components so that they can bed-in.  Should really use fully synth after the first 1000 miles or so.

Slightly old question but if anyone is interested I used a KTM folding sag scale for measuring my rear sag.  I have a 2017 and I found that to get roughly 30mm sag front and back,  I had to set pre-load on the back to minimum and on the front to maximum.  I weigh 187lbs

The sag settings are crucial for the handling of the bike to be right.

How did you find the bars and seating position compared to the 15?

On 7/15/2021 at 9:49 PM, Butrzrulz said:

Installed pullback risers on my '20 900 GT.   Link here.

Installation took all of 10 minutes.  30mm up and 20mm back.  Doesn't sound like much, but good golly miss molly!!  I am now in a full on comfort zone, lol.   I am 5'-7" with a 30" inseam.  The stock position is slightly forward for me, and with these I'm in a much more comfortable upright position.

I installed these (ebay specials) on my 2017 Tracer a couple of weeks ago and it hugely increased the comfort, but I took them off during my first ride with them.  I found that I couldn't feel what the front end was doing in the corners and it kind of ruined one of my favourite features of the bike, the handling (after the engine of course  )  Also, for some reason they seemed to make the front suspension feel a lot harsher.  I've no idea why that would be the case and I'm sure I wasn't imagining it.  Anyway, the risers are now in my spares box.