KrustyKush

So, when I arrived at the dealer to pick up the new bike and ride it home, it wasn’t ready to go at the appointed time. Salesman said it was because the pannier locks have to be keyed to the ignition key, and the shop was swamped with work. The panniers were not attached to my bike while it was on the floor. I assumed the panniers are shipped in a separate container and not mated to a bike until the bike is sold and delivered. If the bags are shipped with the individual bike then there’d be no logical reason they wouldn’t be keyed to that bike in Japan. I asked the salesman if that is true and he said “yes.” One argument against that is the color differences between the red and black. My first impression of the Tracer bags is they are ugly and cheap. Nothing as luxo as my FJR bags had been. As far as easy to open and close, Tracer bags are about the same. They are easier to put on and take off. I use the dickens out of panniers. They open and close a dozen times every single day. If these Tracer bags are truly cheap I will know it before long.

The left pannier on my 21GT is stiff to open. A few days after I picked up the bike, I rode to the dealer shop and asked the tech to look at it. He agreed it is stiff, but suggested I just use it and see how it breaks in. I’ve had no problems other than that stiffness of the latch mechanism. It does seem to be improving with age and use. I like these panniers much more than what was on my 2014 FJR. I love that you can leave them unlocked. I never lock mine and hate to have to use the ignition key, as on the FJR. The FJR panniers we’re prone to cause problems, and we’re horribly expensive. I looked up the cost of these Tracer bags. I think they are less than $200 each.

cyclekeysonline.com I have used this guy a couple times to make extra keys for my bikes. I usually like to have a couple of spares, one which I will secret away on the bike itself, just in case. These guys are fast and cheap. Just give them make model year and they will ship new keys in a day. Just think: couldn’t do that with a chip key. I much prefer the dumb key to a chip or fob. My last Harley had only a fob. I never liked it.

My understanding is rotors can be warped by being unevenly worn around the surface of the rotor. Wouldn’t be able to see this with the eye but could measure it with a dial indicator tool. Because rotors are cheap and easy to replace, techs probably don’t measure. If the braking is pulsed they just say “warped” and to keep the customer happy they will quickly agree to replace. If one we’re to look into the Harley and other brand forums they would find many reports of “warped rotors” among new bikes. It is literally so common one might think all these rotors are made by the same factory in China, and maybe they are. Pretty sure Yamaha doesn’t make rotors, they are supplied from outside.

I bought my 21GT in a fit of suddenness, without knowing ANYTHING about this bike, or the general category it represents. As I looked it over on the showroom floor, the first thing that struck me was the exhaust, specifically the absence of ridiculously huge cans that take up space on the sides of the bike. This really attracted me to the bike, even though the stock muffler looks terrible, like a cow’s bladder. Appearance aside, from function POV the stock muffler is genius. And function is my goal. True beauty is found in functional superiority. Not a fan of aftermarket stupid-loud exhaust systems. When I was a child I drilled dozens of holes into the similarly-designed muffler on my 1964 Piaggio/Sears scooter, to make it louder, not better. But I’m not 14 anymore. Now I prefer a stout Martini to a can of Sprite.

Honestly, though, same can be said for every motorcycle, and airplane for that matter. They heavy like stone at a stop but lighten up beautifully once rolling above a walking speed. And therein lies the Big Problem for a geezer rider, or anyone with a disability. You put yours and the wife’s bodies on board, tank of gas, bags full of “stuff” and in no time at all you’re heaving more than a half ton of dead weight at the stop light, or in the parking lot. On a hot day. And you be 73 years old! That’s why Tracer9GT and leave the wife at home

Reminds me: The day I picked up my new 21GT last January, my very first impression of the brakes was that they were very weak and needed way much lever pressure. I even commented to my wife about it that evening. However within a couple hundred miles of riding, the brakes became very nice and strong. I thought it had to do with shipping spunk sprayed on, what we used to call cosmolene or such. And yes this is very common to have new bike with warped rotors. Lots of it among new Harleys the past few years. Also have seen it in the Japanese brands.

I also worry about supply. Recently bought my next set of T32 for the TracerGT. The shipper lost the front tire, CycleGear replaced it immediately, then the original tire was found and delivered. So I ordered another front to go with the extra rear. Now have about 6 months supply of tires on-hand. Judging from what my oem tires look like after 4500 miles I expect to get 6k out of a set. That’s about three months of riding.

I posted elsewhere on this. The way OP describes it as a “lunging” as the bike slows in-gear. I feel this too. I don’t see how this could be caused by warped rotor(s). Warped rotor would cause a rhythmic pulsing I think. Not a sudden “lunge”. Assuming we’re talking about the same thing. I’ve noticed it in particular since the recall flash. Not sure I recall it before the flash. It isn’t alarming in any sense. I suspect it is a result of ecu programming. Ok I re-read the OP. I think he may be describing a warped rotor IF the lunging is also a pulse. The pulse slows frequency as the bike slows under light braking. Just a rotor problem. No biggie. Very common.

Yes, I notice this on mine also. Not sure it wasn't doing this prior to the recall being done. It feels, to me, like when you're pulling a trailer with a truck and at the last few seconds when the speed drops below a certain point towards idle, the trailer brakes release, and you feel a little nudge.

In the early years of FI on bikes it was pretty crude. I had an 03 Gold Wing that was difficult to ride in a parking lot due to that choppy on-off throttle. I don’t find anything to complain about with my 21GT. It is smooth as butter. Road undulations cause my throttle hand to move a bit causing a sense of “surging” at steady speeds but this is true of other bikes (such as FJR) I’ve owned. After nearly 3 months and 4500 miles this 21GT is about perfect for me.

I got mine done a couple days ago. The bike runs the same after. The shop also replaced my throttle pipe. Not sure why the whole shebang. Maybe it was cracked and I didn’t know it.

Where I live, riding season is 12 months long. I feel so much sorrow for those who live in winter wonderlands. Reading the OP joy at the new season where he lives, I want to say Yeah! At least he relives the joy as fresh, whereas here in CA we get a little jaded from being able to ride almost every day.

IMO, the panniers on the GT are a must. To me, a bike without luggage is a near-useless toy. I can’t justify spending $17k on a useless toy. Same goes for the other several features on the GT such as the heated grips and cruise control. These are not conveniences but absolute necessities on a vehicle that will be used first and foremost as transportation. Illustrating that every rider has to make his own decisions on the matters. What works for one rider won’t necessarily work for another. OP only you can answer the questions. If all one does is dart around town showing off, then panniers look dumb. But if she rides to work and needs to carry a pair of work high heels, or a coat, panniers are an absolute requirement. etc.

I’ve got an appointment for the recalls at my dealer shop in Temecula tomorrow. Bike is running spectacular! They better not **** it up. Not only is the Tracer running great but I’m making friends with the saddle after 2.5 months and 3900 miles. I don’t think I’m going to need that Corbin after all.

Menifee California. That's in Riverside County about 70 miles almost due east of LA in the Inland Empire. I'm surprised to find so many Tracer riders in the U.S. I was thinking most of you were foreigners...

Your experience reminds me of when I installed heated grips on my 2016 Harley FLHTCU. The instructions that came with the OEM kit were impossible to comprehend. So it isn't just Yamaha. I've got a feeling that a lot of these accessory items are built in China. Recently I bought a China-made tire changer (Weaver). The manual that came with the machine is a joke of strange English, much of it might as well have been written in Chinese.

Same here on the 9GT mirrors. I like 'em. It took me awhile to get them adjusted correctly, but then that's always the case with mirrors. I wouldn't say they're the very best mirrors I've ever seen on a bike, but they're mighty fine.

I read through the posts about the "loss of throttle control" issue that affectes the 21 Tracer GT model. As I recall from the reading, the problem exhibited not as an engine stall, but as a loss of throttle. Engines continued to run, but could not be controlled with the grip. Yamaha has apparently been fixing that problem with new throttle bodies. Since my bike was built in March of 21, it is an early production model so I am on the alert for this. So far nothing. My bike runs great. I could sometimes wish for more-perfect this or that, but mostly the bike is superb. The recall seems to point to another issue. The engine stalls, often during upshifting with clutch lever not fully pulled, or during downshifting with clutch pulled but throttle not fully closed. That's how I interpret the legalese in the recall. The stall may or may not be accompanied with a problem light, or problem lights may generally not appear even with a system malfunction that otherwise would have presented the alert. That's the part I sort of worry about, the non-appearance of, say, an oil light. The darned lights are hard to see in any case.

No motorcycle emission testing here in California, at least not where I live (70 miles east of LA). I moved to CA 5 years ago, and have marveled at how much deference the locals give to riders, not seeming to mind the lane splitting at 70 mph, or the very loud pipes on many bikes (not just Harleys). Here, a bike seems to be able to go as fast and make as much noise as the riders wants without much fear of enforcement. I sorta like the sound of my 21 Tracer GT. It is great when spinning into the high revs under hard throttle. But I like it less just potting around town. I wish it sounded more like my 2014 FJR did with stock pipes. I wish I could have lived long enough to see electric bikes a common reality. I've got a Chevy Volt and I really love the near silent power.

After reading the recall notice, I don't think this recall with the ECU reflash has anything to do with the "loss of throttle control" problem that many have reported.

Especially with this particular engine and its out-in-the-open filter mount. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a motor with a more easily accessed oil filter. A “nut” on the end of the filter seems like a gimmick. try removing the filter from a Ram truck 5.7 liter gas engine. You gotta be an athlete.

Don’t worry, the very next rain ride will wash the bugs off.

A topside pump must be a quicky trick for a shop tech in a hurry. Principally for cars and trucks, many of which must be lifted up to get to the filter and drain plug. Lifting and draining adds a certain amount of work to the job. Those techs don't care a twit whether they get as much old oil as possible out of the motor. And people who take their vehicles there don't care, either. But lets say you had a motor that had a stripped drain plug because the last "tech" cross threaded it (happens a lot) or over-torqued it and damaged the threads. You don't want to pull that plug out because it may not go back in. Maybe in a case like that, this would make some sense. An older car that you didn't want the expense of replacing the damaged oil pan. Something like that.

While getting broke in to this new Tracer GT one of the things that flummoxed me was the fuel fill. Here in California we have these vapor return lines on the end of the nozzle, and inside that nozzle is a switch that must be made before the pump will pump. They are fine for cars but a little gimmicky for a bike. I was unable to fill the tank all the way to the max without pulling the nozzle out and holding the vapor cap up by hand (to make the switch) and then gently pumping the last half gallon of fuel in. Point being, in order to get the tank full, a rider must pull the nozzle upwards so that the auto shut-off doesn't come on before the last half gallon of fuel goes in. Mostly, though, I don't do this. The Tracer has a good sized tank, and even with 4.5 gals in there it will go 200 miles before it dies. That's plenty. I can't take more than an hour or so on this bike before needing a break, so that works out well. I can't see any point in working hard to exactly fill the tank while riding around town where there are lots of fuel stations. Out in the wild where stations can be far apart, I would make extra care to fill it to the very top.