pilgo

4 hours ago, dazzler24 said:

I've never tried this on my current bike and it may be a silly question/statement to the wider brain's trust but is there any reason that you can't push/bump start these 'modern' bikes like we used to be able to do in the 'olden' days?

I'm talking about a time when those bikes were simple with magnetos and carburetors and no ECUs etc.

i.e.  Ignition on, select 2nd or 3rd with clutch in and push your bike (downhill and with help preferably) until you reach a pace conducive to dropping the clutch as you dump your weight on the seat and pray that the bike fires up.

It sounds like your battery was not completely dead as you mentioned that the bike fired up again after getting fuel so I'm assuming (never good) that the battery had something left in its tank, when it let you down, to power the electronics so I'm thinking (also never good) that this push start method may have been worth trying?

My logic may be off??

The biggest problem was the location I was stuck in.

It's a 2 lane , one way loop around El Capitan , and to push it down hill meant doing so into a blind bend which , if it didn't start , say it had been a more serious fault , I would of been stuck in the road , on a blind bend , with no where to then put the bike safely out of harms way. Plus the ' quality'  of the driving left much to be desired.

If I'd been with a buddy they could of held up the traffic , as I did on one occasion to help a very nervous tourist to reverse out of the layby ( mainly so he didn't swing into the bike ) 

Trust me , I considered it , but the lack of interest from everyone made me a bit hesitant in asking for that kind of help.

My wife said I was ' to English '  with my patience in waiting for AAA 😶 

5 bloody hours I sat in this layby !!

I asked a few random people if they happened to have a powerpack , I think my English accent confused a couple of them as they'd give me a strange look.

Most people didn't really care that I was stuck there , and most people there were clearly tourists in hire cars which they couldn't drive properly. One guy even scrapped the wing of his EV into a tree while reversing out , nearly hitting a passing car. Was actually quiet an eye opener seeing just how dumb some cagers are to their surroundings. 

Well , my little 2 day trip to Yosemite went a bit wrong after my battery died on me right opposite El Capitan 😶 

Spent 5 hours waiting for AAA to find someone willing or able to come get me out of there , they eventually even phoned the Park Rangers who kindly sent someone out to pick me up and they'd organise the bikes recovery ' sometime over night ' ......

It was the Ranger who had a powerpack , I had an inkling it was just a dead battery so we managed to get the bike fired up. He hung around while I let the bike run ( it's 7 20 pm by now and it gets dark up in those canyons !! ) 

I made the decision to do the 4.5 hour ride home rather than go to Mammoth to the hotel I'd booked as I was a bit pissed off by then , a tough ride on a bike with , what I was worried about , a battery that might let me down again when I would need to stop down in Lee Vinning for fuel. Thankfully she fired straight up again !! 

Two things I learnt yesterday ; 

1. Always carry a spare clear visor , riding at night with a gold coloured visor , which I had to keep down due to the thousands of suicidal moths killing themselves on my lid , made that 4.5 hour ride home just that little bit harder . 

2. I should of bought that battery powerpack that I nearly bought recently ( but put down as I ' couldn't justify the $100 ' it would of cost ) !!!! 

So , which ones do you guys carry / recommend please ? 🤔 

QNext stop , Yosemite 😎 

Quick 2 day trip up to Yosemite , over night in Mammoth then home the long way on a back roads route I've had suggested by a friend.

Excited much 👍 

Just out for a lazy local ride last sunday 👍 

I'm planning on a 2 day trip into Yosemite in a couple of weeks,  I'll be going in on the 120 from Lee Vinning. Looking forward to it 👍😎

1 hour ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Why 4.5 mo off?

Which helmet?

Work / christmas / coldest winter in years in this part of NV.

I'm a Brit living in the U.S , I've wanted this Lid for a couple of years but never seemed to be in stock so I grabbed it when it was available 👍 

13 minutes ago, Rick123 said:

You’re not attempting to kill her I hope.

I found out after taking this photo earlier that there was a bad crash on this crossing a few years ago , a semi ran the lights / barriers and ploughed straight into an Am-trac train , killing ( obviously) the semi driver and a few passengers on the train 😕

Oil / Oil filter changed , Coolant changed , new air filter , rear rack / rear tail pack fitted , side stand foot expander thingy fitted and a 2 1/2 hour local ride to shake her down and test the new Helmet i treated myself to and get the first ride of the year done. Was a long 4 1/2 months of no riding , great to be out again. 

If you take a picture of your pillion grab rails and post it , I'll be able to tell , but I'm pretty certain they redesigned that part of the Gen 2 Tracer 👍

I truly can't answer that question , sorry mate.

No garage , she lives outside 365 sadly 😕 

Had the most snow here since 2009 apparently,  typical on my week off between Christmas and New Year ( plus I got sick ) so i couldnt even fit the new farkles i have stored away waiting for the free time to do so. PLUS either the DMV failed to send me my new registration tag that i ordered online or the USPS lost it !! 

Talk about kick a man when he's down 😁 

On the plus side , there is zero bike theft here in my little town in NV so I'm pretty chilled nowadays about leaving her outside like this , the security I have under that cover is mainly for my fear of someone trying to Nick it that i had all the years i had to leave my bikes outside when i lived in England 

Blimey , as I remember it when I first joined this forum back in early 2015 there was a dedicated thread just on this topic with all the info you'd need to ' cut n shut ' the stock exhaust 👍

I have no idea why those 2 pictures have posted sideways 🤔

Fitted the SW MOTECH rear rack and lined up the Nelson rigg tail bag , I prefer a simple rear bag for day trips instead of using the hard cases 😎 

Unknown make of rear rack for sale. 

It looks pretty good and well made , but I couldn't fit it as it means removing the OEM hard case mounting racks. 

It works with Shad pannier racks as that's what the guy I bought it from was using.

$60 ono ( Inc. Postage to the continental U.S ) 

My first Fall ride since moving to the States last year and passing my MSF course last February,  360 mile round trip from Fallon NV  to ride the June Lake Loop via Hawthorne , then home through Bridgeport / Yerington.  Cloudless skies and 77° 😎 

Does anyone know of any GOOD suspension shops around the Reno NV area ? 

Preferably a ' ride in , ride out ' same day deal.

Just got my 2015 FJ out for the first time since mid June and the front forks seem to bottom out far to easily for my liking.

The bike has rarely been ridden since I got her last November,  to busy and far to hot for this Englishman living in the desert to ride over the summer. Lovely weather here now so I fancied getting out and seeing the Autumnal  colours up around the June Lake area but those front shocks have made me doubt getting out on her.

The bikes only done just over 4,000 miles so I think I need to give her some love suspension wise ( and a bloody good service 😁 ) 

Obviously I'll have a look at the settings on the fork tops but I'm pretty sure it's probably more than that , ie the OEM oil is beyond it's best.

Fingers crossed someone local on here will know of someone Reno way .

Cheers 👍

On 6/19/2022 at 10:23 PM, betoney said:

If you want to venture outside of Fallon, this is a full- day ride, but its PHENOMENAL!

Ebbetts Pass, Sonora Pass and Monitor Pass

Cheers for that , looks like a good day out - once I get beyond Carson City,  anyway 😁

First time out on her for about a month earlier , just finding new roads around my part of Fallon NV.

Finally found a rear rack for sale , hopefully that'll turn up this week. Slowly getting the bike to how I want it 😎 

And came down 6 mile Canyon.  Then had the utter boredom of highway 50 back home. Gotta admit , I do miss the back roads of home back in England . But not the rain 😎  

Took the scenic road from Reno up to Virginia City 

9 hours ago, betoney said:

You're not kidding, there's a reason it is called "The Big Empty".  I have crossed Nevada a few times getting to Southern Utah and don't remember ever riding longer in a straight line without seeing another vehicle, wildlife or civilization.

I'm going into Reno next Friday to have the recall work done on the bike that the previous owner missed ( just the lower bar risers ) , I've heard of a great road from Reno down into Virginia City so I'll try to find that for the return trip. 

Strange , I used to do despatch riding in London part time yet I'm kinda dreading riding into Reno 😶

Finally got round to fitting the side cases today that i bought last November off a guy on this site , so nipped out for a quick test run afterwards.

The roads / scenery round here in North Nevada is a tad boring , so I'm having to stop at derelict old buildings to get my photo ops.

Hoping to get out a bit more soon and get some proper riding days exploring further afield 😎 

I love this small  SW Motech PRO magnetic tank bag I use on my 2015 FJ09 .

On My previous Tracer i had back in England I used a tail pack , so id put everything id need for a day out in there , but until i can source a second hand offical Yamaha rear rack I'll just have to squeeze just the vitals into the tank bag ( bottle of water , hat , snack(s) ) 

It's a pricey bit of kit , but great quality.