I sold my Tracer 900 2019...

[Ride On]

I tried a non-dampened front sprocket on my '15.  The noise and vibration after the switch were terrible.  I went back to the factory dampened front sprocket after just 10 miles.  Much, much better.

 

I also switched to Rotella synthetic oil.  I was surprised that the shifting became smoother and the transmission a little less noisy overall.

 

22,000 miles on the bike now.  Great bike.  Still a keeper.

[bwringer]

There's obvious 6th gear whine on my 2015. I also just don't really care one bit.

I also really love the riding position.

Basically, preferences and perceptions vary a lot. I think there is also a fair bit of variation between examples. A few riders got quiet bikes (or maybe they don't notice it for some reason), most got 6th gear whiners.

One thing you see here and on every motorcycle forum is that there are so few of these things around (relative to super-common stuff like Harleys) that no one has much reference for what's normal. 

Mine is the only FJ-09/Tracer that I've been within 25 feet of, aside from a used Tracer being sold at a local dealership (but I didn't hear it run). In seven months of ownership, I've seen maybe two others pass by from a distance.

I know one guy with an MT-09, but real life is chaos, so we've never managed to get together for a ride yet.

 

One interesting source of noise for me is in fact my nice new rubber-damped front sprocket.

The new EK chain I installed is much beefier and higher quality than OEM, so there's a distinct "buzz" as the larger side plates hit the rubber harder than designed. It's obviously harmless and slowly fading as the rubber wears, so once I figured out WTF that noise was, I just decided to ignore it and that's worked well thus far.

Here's a photo comparison of the low-rent shagged factory chain next to the beefy much higher-quality EK. Yes, these are both 525 chains. The utter shiteness of the Yamaha chain is apparent, and it was beyond shagged when I bought the bike at only 23,000 miles. (And yes, I knew this and it was factored into the price.)

Edited September 28, 2021 by bwringer

[TomTracer]

Some days I hear my gt whine, most days I don't. When I hear it, it seems really loud but short lived when speed increases >65. I'd rather the be no whine but thats the bike I have.

[2and3cylinders]

I'm so tired of people whining about whining! 😁

I run a DID ZVM-X 520 Gold with a non-damped Superlite 16 front and 43 (+2) rear sprockets and love em.

Mine doesn't whine and the clutch is not too bad but does quiet down with the lever pulled. Installed a 16 XSR clutch in my fastest red 15.

Vibration is minimal. Fueling with a flash could always be better.  I've upgraded the saddle, some suspension and brakes.

My front wheel though is tough to balance and wants too much weight.

Not in love with it but it does exactly what I expected very competently and was a best buy.

[bwringer]

14 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

My front wheel though is tough to balance and wants too much weight.

No idea whether this is relevant, helpful, or new information, but... when I was installing a new front tire on my FJ, I checked the front wheel's balance without a tire and with the valve stem installed. I found that the true heavy spot was not in line with the valve stem; it was about 1/5 turn away.

This is common on vintage bikes with tubeless tires, so I always check, but this is the first modern bike I've seen this on. In any case, I marked the true heavy spot with a wee paint dot and mounted the dot on the front tire in line with this to minimize the amount of balance weight needed. As it turned out with this particular tire (Dunlop Roadsmart 3). no balance weight was needed. 

So far no parking lot squeakers have appeared to point out the tire mounting "error"...

[brewhaha]

On 9/28/2021 at 7:18 AM, Ride On said:

I tried a non-dampened front sprocket on my '15.  The noise and vibration after the switch were terrible.  I went back to the factory dampened front sprocket after just 10 miles.  Much, much better.

same here.

[peteinpa]

On 9/28/2021 at 8:18 AM, Ride On said:

I tried a non-dampened front sprocket on my '15.  The noise and vibration after the switch were terrible.  I went back to the factory dampened front sprocket after just 10 miles.  Much, much better.

 

I also switched to Rotella synthetic oil.  I was surprised that the shifting became smoother and the transmission a little less noisy overall.

 

22,000 miles on the bike now.  Great bike.  Still a keeper.

Its amazing how so many things on this bike are not uniform. You'd think there would be a clear consensus of damped or not. My next front is naked, if I don't like the sound I'll go back.

[gerrychuck]

I have done about 850 km of twisty BC roads over the past 2 weeks on my 2019 GT, most of it in that 80-100 kph zone, and much of that in 6th. I did notice gear whine when I shifted up out of 5th to 6th at those speeds, but noted it more as an interesting detail than as an annoyance of any kind; certainly wasn't enough to bother me in any way. 

Riding position is always going to be a very individual preference, but no one should confuse the Tracer ergonomics with those of a sportbike. I've had sportbikes, and somewhat sporty bikes, and the Tracer has the most upright and conservative riding position I've had in years. I'm 6'3" and this bike is the first I've had in 20 years where my knees aren't seized up when I get off after a couple of hours.  For what it's worth, I find the position to be an excellent balance between comfort and the ability to get your weight where it is needed for spirited cornering.  Again, preference re: riding position is as individual as fingerprints, but what this bike has bears no resemblance to "sporty" ergos. If your wrists aren't screaming in pain when you're sitting on the bike at a stop (or when braking), it ain't "sporty"!😄

[OZVFR]

Changing the way I ride has been the biggest issue I’ve had with the Tracer. 

Specially hard braking as I find it hard to not put weight on the bars. 

Both on my VFR and the Sprint I could brake really hard coming into a corner with very little weight on the bars as both bikes were wider and easier to grip with your knees and the tank held you in place. 

It’s hard to brake 45 years of muscle memory. 

I changed the bars as I found the stock ones kicked my elbows out too far, and changing the stock suspension also helped as it has very little dive now, but it will still take me a while longer to fully adjust. 

I do like how easy it is to change lines mid corner, and how much better the brakes are now with the ridiculous dive gone. 

Remapping to get rid of the fuel cut off on closed throttle has also helped as I didn’t like the excessive engine braking.

Like any bike, it takes a while to make it your own.