Grumpy Goat

7 hours ago, Suzukiguy said:

Ok, the Shinko update is in! I got 8,100miles out of this set of Shinko's. Granted I do not "carve canyons", and about 75% of those miles were highway miles, but I think I got my moneys worth.

Whether you carve canyons or not, your use case is every bit as valid as those who do, as are your mileage report. 👍

4 hours ago, Headgas said:

Any recommendations?

As mentioned earlier, auxiliary lights. I recommend Denali products - good value and excellent quality and performance. I have them on both my bikes and they make a huge difference.

9 hours ago, Smokamoto said:

I have about 200 miles on the comfort seat that I had to order from England since not available in the USA. It along with the seat slope mod definitely helped. I do recommend both!

Thanks for confirming that the seat slope fix is still needed with the Comfort Seat.

1 hour ago, CPD419 said:

Alixpress have to look it up my buddy with an account ordered it for me. I will try to take a pic underneath but basically it’s a metal skeletal frame that bolts on to the existing front fairing bolts then it has caps over screws that you take off and put back on after you bolt the beak to the frame. Easy peezy. I don’t know about the 900 gt have to enter your bike info. Probably though. 

Thanks. This search apparently comes up with many alternatives, and this one seems good at about $26 shipped. Have to think about it. I was thinking that it might hide my Denali SoundBomb (trumpet part) better (which is why I asked for the photo from underneath).

Looks nice. Any link? Do they have them for the 900 GT? Could you post a pic showing the underside?

5 hours ago, larolco said:

What the hell are you puncturing your tires with??? In my experience it's usually a screw or a nail, easily patched with one rope. In fact, I usually have to ream the hole out to make it bigger!

I wondered the same thing but didn't bother to ask ...

Same here on the one rope sized hole and reaming to make a proper seal.

Clegg78 - Looks like your slope mod business will continue with the 2023 Tracer 9GT+

That crap slope is the first thing that grabbed my attention. Bloody ridiculous.

1 hour ago, 1moreroad said:

Thinking about Mutants for the maybe 5%-10% gravel my fun rides always seem to include but they probably won't get the mileage of the 3s. 

They did not on a friend's RS. He was not overly impressed by them either ... they were OK but not as good for him as the RoadSmart 3 or RoadSmart 4.

3 hours ago, betoney said:

Best of luck to you, personally I have never made it to 10k on a rear tire of any brand on any bike.  I made it to 12k on a front tire once but it was well out of round and the handling was terrible.

Heheh ... I have ... more than once on the RS. Front tire just over 11k miles. Dunlop Roadsmart IIIs.

11 hours ago, dazzler24 said:

I know this is not the original posters problem but I think you were trying to think of the so called "Gronk" noise Grumpy where the cushion rubbers of the clutch basket were on the way out?

Yeah, but I am baffled as to why it is called a "gronk" noise. Mine sounds nothing like a "gronk" but is definitely a soft rattle that goes away with the slight pull of the clutch.

1 hour ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Why worry about Batteries you carry around when you've got one between your legs and a decent pair of waterproof gloves that are manageable even behind hand guards and mitts

Battery operated heating apparel only have one advantage ... they can keep you warm when you get off the bike and are walking around. I have found that - for me - the convenience of the battery operation is not balanced with protection, aesthetics, and price. Good winter gloves plus heated grips and, if needed, handlebar mitts would be the way I would go, although the handlebar mitts are typically fugly. 😏

3 hours ago, ParallelTwinz said:

Found the problem-PO wasn't big on cleaning or lubing a chain....what a mess!  Put it on the lift, cleaned and lubes the chain properly and guess what? Noise went away.....  AYAYEE!

Oh OK ... different noise.

7 hours ago, ParallelTwinz said:

Thanks, and yes, that's probably it, but makes more noise in lower gears at lower RPM range, can't hear it once you're rolling.  Probably nothing,  just new to this model and every bike sounds different...

If it is heard when stopped then that may the same thing others have The noise I (and many others have) is best heard when idling in neutral and the clutch level is pulled in very slightly, the rattle is heard. With the lever fully out there is no rattle. If that is the case search the forum for this ... there is a replacement clutch basket which those who have installed it says it works.

Describe "noisy".

I have the same bike and don't have a noisy gearbox as such, but I do that the clutch basket rattle, described in other threads on this forum. Is that what you're talking about?

5 hours ago, daboo said:

Just a few thoughts to add to some very good responses...

First, would this adaptive radar send false alarms to my radar detector?  Or my fellow rider's radar detectors? 

Unlikely as they operate on different frequency ranges, and on top of that in the case of your own radar detector going off .. it is mounted behind the business end of both the forward or rear transmitters.

1 hour ago, betoney said:

I have watched a few youtube reviews of the GT+ and in Europe they mention 3 models, the Tracer 9, Tracer 9GT and also the GT+ which has the radar. 

In North America the Tracer doesn't seem to sell well like other countries so we only get one model.

And I would bet its the 9GT and not the 9GT+.

Much as I like the sound of this new model, I have to agree completely with Turd Ferguson above - just tacking on these undoubtedly nice features and pushing the price into premium motorcycle territory will see a lacklustre uptake especially in this market. BMW already makes a bike in this arena and the Tracer ain't no S1000XR ... (which is also not a huge seller for BMW in this market).

Looks like I keep my Tracer for at least another year. Thanks for posting this.

2 hours ago, Darren69 said:

Dear brains trust-

as the resevoir is in a prime location to be damaged has any of you found a good product that protects the resevoir? 

In my experience, AliExpress is a good source for all sort of protectors. Have a look.

57 minutes ago, betoney said:

...He came out with a bottle of octane booster and put a cap full in each of our gas tanks...  😄

😁😁

On 3/26/2023 at 6:34 PM, Bob K said:

Has anyone tried using 87 OT in there Tracer 900 ?

Yes I have, on long distances where I do say 500 mile days and am burning through the gas. No bad effects and no noticeable knocking / pinging. Otherwise, I regularly use Extra 89 octane. For me, anything beyond is a waste of money.

6 hours ago, Ziggy105 said:

I'm seeing on CycleTrader listings for new T9GT's that are discounted as much as $2600 and low mile used bikes at even lower prices.

I don't know .... prices look pretty normal to me here. On second thought I was forgetting the MSRP was jacked up to $15k and a dealer in CA said this on their listing:

$14,999.00 PLUS FEES -$2,500 FBC DISCOUNT =SALE PRICE $12,499.00 PLUS FEES

They'd really have to drop absurdly low for me to get past the curvature of the seat and the dash. I expect I can grow to not mind the panniers. 😏

40 minutes ago, RaYzerman said:

The 2023 has not been released in North America.......... reportedly leftover 21's and 22's to get rid of.....

Bloody shame that ...

14 hours ago, Darren69 said:

Tell me about your chosen handguards if not standard. Am looking at Puig. Am thinking a bit more protection from wet and cold maybe. 

I have no issue with the standard handguards - the styling suits the bike, but when I thought that the protection was a tad lacking I went with Givi EH2139 Handguard Extensions and could not be more pleased. They look work great and don't spoil the aesthetics at all, IMO.

2 hours ago, Seawatcher said:

The reason I have asked for your views is because there are videos on Youtube of owners (various bikes) using power tools to spin the 'Bobbins' with a locked nut and bolt whilst spraying them with brake cleaner and I just wondered if that was a step too far?

I must admit I had not realised that the disc was supposed to actually 'float' on the bobbins so obviously if they get seized up the discs wont move very much. I have tried moving one with a locked nut and bolt and initially it was stiff to move but a few turns seemed to loosen it off. 

What is this crud that is causing the bobbins on a floating disc rotor to seize such that it cannot float anymore and requires these tricks to unseize them?

To me, the root cause of the issue is to see what is fouling the operation of the bobbins, and to remove that root cause. I have never come across any need to do any maintenance on the rotor bobbins on any bike I own, and as far as I am aware this is not a maintenance item beyond normal cleaning of the bike, including rotors.

This thread has me slightly intrigued ... 🤔