New Tracer 9 GT owner

[Wiggly]

Greetings from Northwest Florida. New member here. I just picked up a 1 year old Tracer 9 GT and rode it 1450 miles over 6 days from Annapolis MD to Florida. Could have done it in 1000 or so miles but chose to ride the full length of Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway, then to the Cherohala Skyway, and down through north Georgia to Dahlonega. All those curves added a few miles and a whole lot of smiles.

The bike performed flawlessly as I expected. I had rented a Tracer 900 GT a couple of years ago so more or less knew what to expect. Took me a while to figure out how to set the modes, find items in the settings menu like the quickshifter on off toggle (why the PO wanted this turned QS off is puzzling), and to adjust the grip heat while managing the throttle with the same gloved hand and keeping an eye out for deer--it was 42 degrees on the morning of my second day. The hardest was figureing out how to change the time on the clock! (Keep on scrolling.....).

As discussed extensively on this forum, the seat on the T9 leaves something to be desired. Well a LOT actually. I was getting uncomfortable after 30 mins. And dying for a break after 60. My last day I did 350 miles in 7 hours with several butt saving breaks. Not sure I could have gone much further. I have to say of the 12 or so bikes I've owned including several sportbikes with fairly agressive ergonomics, this has to have the most uncomfortable seat of all. Probably, as pointed out already in the forum, because putting a sport bike seat on a bike with an upright seating position is not a good idea. I keep thinking of the guy I met at the first motel along the way. Loading up his BMW GS 1250 on his way to Argentina from Montreal. Not on this bike, no way!

Have ordered the wedge kit and am considering aftermarket seat options, of which unfortunately there are not many to choose from. Corbin diesn't seem to have solved it completely and Sargent has not yet developed a seat for the Tracer 9.

No bike is perfect, they all have their flaws. Which is why I don't still have 12 bikes. Hopefully I can get this aspect of the Tracer 9  sorted out for me, as otherwise I am very happy with it.

PS both my other bikes have three cylinders. Having tried most engine configurations (single, parallel and V twins, V4, inline four) I am pretty much fixated on triples. Next favorite would be V4.

[PhotoAl]

Welcome to the forum.  Can't speak to the 9 GT but my 900 GT seat is better than some bikes I've had.  I'm running an aftermarket seat with an air hawk and can easily ride from gas stop to the next gas stop.  600 miles in a day are a bit tougher but not too bad.  I had a CBR600RR with an aftermarket seat which was worse than the stock seat on my ZX6R 636 - which I rode 600 miles in a day but 0 the next LOL.  

Totally understand the heated grip control while riding.  I traded for my Tracer in Sioux Falls SD after riding 250 miles to get there and had 110 to go that afternoon.  Decided to take the bike for a short test spin before loading all my gear on it.  Less than a mile down the street I was pulling over to figure out how to turn them off - my hands were really hot!  Of course I'd rather have grips than can get too hot rather than those which can't get hot enough!  Last trip took my heated jacket for the cold weather - haha it was 104F in Montana!

And of course we need pics.

[robzilla]

Welcome to the Tracer world! I'm a newcomer to the triples coming from inline 4.

After all the mods and farkles I've added, I have to agree the seat is my next mod. It's not as bad for me since I ride road & mountain bikes but definitely on the longer tour days I can only last 4 to 5 hrs before I need to get off.  I've been researching and looking as well and there's a Corbin seat on OfferUp or Craigslist locally for ~$450, but seems that's still not dialed down or takes some serious break-in as noted from other forum threads. I think I'm going to try a local seat shop, Rich's Custom Seats and see if he can improve my seat.

https://www.richscustomseats.com/

Anyway, welcome again to your new Tracer!

Edited October 13, 2022 by robzilla

[betoney]

13 minutes ago, Wiggly said:

Have ordered the wedge kit and am considering aftermarket seat options, of which unfortunately there are not many to choose from. Corbin diesn't seem to have solved it completely and Sargent has not yet developed a seat for the Tracer 9.

I own a bike with an aftermarket seat ordered off the internet -Corbin- and a bike with a custom seat, measured, shaped and built for me specifically in person by a motorcycle seat builder.  There is no comparison, the custom built seat is superior in every way.  I don't like the Corbin and wont order a generic seat ever again for any future bike I get.

Given the choice, I would seek out a custom seat builder if you have any within a few hours ride from your location.

[betoney]

9 minutes ago, robzilla said:

I think I'm going to try a local seat shop, Rich's Custom Seats and see if he can improve my seat.

https://www.richscustomseats.com/

 

I got mine built at Rich's and LOVE it.  After getting the seat built, I left 2 days later on a 4,000+ mile road trip to Colorado, no issues with all-day comfort. 

Once the seat is built, they will allow you to come back for tweaks and fine tuning/re-shaping until you are happy.

[Wiggly]

Thanks for the welcome. I live in a fairly small town so unlikely to find a custom seat builder locally but its an idea I will look into. Rich's is a bit far for me--like 3000 miles. We do have a very good upholstery shop however.

Wearing padded motorcycle riding shorts on my trip helped a little but simply delayed the onset of discomfort slightly rather than alleviating it.

Photo is at the start of my approx 1500 mile trip in Annapolis as Hurricane Ian moved into the area. First ride was to Front Royal VA, about 100 miles, about 50 of which were in pouring rain. Learned the folly of tucking pant legs into boots in the rain. Thankfully motel rooms have hair driers, I made very good use of one for drying boots and gloves.

BTW on the Blue Ridge Parkway I was getting close to 60 mpg. On faster legs, just over 50. So a 200-250 mile range. Not too bad for a sport tourer.

[Kenny A.]

Welcome to the forum. Good choice of bike.👍

I have the @Clegg78seat mod,and the Yamaha comfort seat. Far better than stock,but not perfect.☹️

[KrustyKush]

I've got a Corbin on my 21 9GT, and I like it very much.  

OP give yourself plenty of time and miles to adapt to the bike.  I've had mine for 9 months and 13k miles, and just lately have come to feel completely at home on the bike.

The definition of "upright seating position" is squishy.  One man's upright is another's forward lean.  Different body dimensions, arm lengths, etc.  I prefer a slight forward lean, and this is easy to attain on the Tracer.  Some ppl seem to prefer sitting bolt upright, but not me.  Once I get to operating speeds above 75 mph, there is plenty of wind to cancel out the forward lean pressure...

[Ride365]

Welcome to the forum and the Tracer, and yup you never tuck your pants into your boots.  

[Wiggly]

Thanks KrustyKush. In a way that is encouraging. But 13,000 miles might take me a while!

Meanwhile I will try the @clegg78 slope mode, and moving the bars forward. My other bikes (Triumph Daytona 675 and MV Augusta F3 800) both have low clip-ons so I am no stranger to forward lean and how wind at speed takes pressure off wrists. However I can't quite see how you can get much wind-in-your-torso support with the large windshield of the Tracer 9.

[PhotoAl]

Yup never tuck your pant legs into your boots.  I always put the overpants legs on top of the boots.  If it's a short stretch thru the rain I'll put a rain jacket over my gear and not worry about the pants, may get a bit damp but the overpants do a good job of keeping most out unless its a deluge and water pools in my seat.  

One of my more memorable rides was from Moab Utah to Rock Springs Wyoming.  Knew there would be some rain but didn't realize how much.  Left with a couple of T-shirts under my riding jacket, ran into rain and put rain jacket on. Temp had been 99F the day before and was 65 to 70 when I left but dropped to 55 when I hit the rain!  Stopped for gas and got out the winter (waterproof) gloves and a fleece jacket to go under riding jacket and rain jacket.  Well I was headed thru a mountain pass as I had not carefully studied the route.  Temperature kept dropping grip heaters went to high and still temps falling 40s then high 30s (F) and I started to worry about freezing precipitation!  Finally at 34F reached the pass of 7,100 feet.  Well it VERY slowly warmed up and finally got out of the rain but was still only in low 50s when I got to Rock Springs.  Fortunately I had a tent site reservation at the KOA but even better they let me upgrade to a cabin with a heater!  Improvised clothesline with bungie cords and then off to the laundry.  LOL my heated jacket was safely back at home.  On that trip I changed my itenary and instead of Debois WY went to Fort Collins CO.  2 days I80 east of Rock Springs got 8" of snow but I was in Fort Collins in my tent where it was rain with 40mph winds and 60 mph gusts.  Seems like every long trip I hit some rain event.  

[betoney]

10 hours ago, PhotoAl said:

One of my more memorable rides was from Moab Utah to Rock Springs Wyoming.  Knew there would be some rain but didn't realize how much.

The same thing happened to us a few years ago heading for Rock Springs from Vernal, UT.  Nice sunny afternoon in Vernal but then the skies turned black, the temperatures dropped very quickly and the rain came down like I've never seen before.

As you know, in that area there are no service stations, convenience stores or highway overpasses to sit under and wait out the storm, it is just miles and miles of nothing.  The ONLY option was to keep moving forward, I have never experienced a more intense downpour.  Miserable at the time but the experience (adventure) is something we still talk about over beers. 🍻

[KrustyKush]

17 hours ago, Wiggly said:

Thanks KrustyKush. In a way that is encouraging. But 13,000 miles might take me a while!

However I can't quite see how you can get much wind-in-your-torso support with the large windshield of the Tracer 9.

Good points. I use the stock 2021 windscreen usually in the full up position. Yes, the windscreen is pretty good at keeping wind blast off the center body, but unless the rider is 3 feet tall, there is still plenty of human being out in the wind.

My fav position is tucked in, leaned on the gas tank with forearm, head down close to but still above the screen. Legs tucked in to tank. This is an extremely wind blast-free ride and can be maintained long term, with minor comfort adjustments as I ride.  In fact, the smallish windscreen makes SO MUCH turbulence to a head in the upright sitting position, it is pretty useless except in certain ambient wind conditions that naturally reduce turbulence.

Many comfort issues will naturally resolve by time and miles.  I approach a new bike with a mind of adapting ME to the bike wherever possible.  Some things require equipment mods but many, many ergo issues on a new bike are a matter of learning the new machine.  Like, if you were a Clarinet player that moved over to Flute, it would take you around 13k miles to adapt to the new thing.  Some things can’t be hurried.

 

[OldBikers]

For me the stock T9GT seat may be one of the most comfortable ones I've had. However, l do have to wear Depends undergarments and my bottom gets quite sweaty on a hot day but it's still OK to ride.  I did a 2K mile ride around Lake Superior and Michigan with no seat discomfort.  I did encounter rain from Escanaba MI to Chicago IL the bike ran great on the T32 tires in the wet.  My pants are TourMaster Caliber and stayed dry.  The only pant I stuff in the boots are race pants which are meant to be in the boot. 

I too came off a series of I-4 bikes but rented a T900GT in Spain and felt no loss of power on the mountain road (about 25,000 curves in 900 miles).  So when the T9GT became available I bought one and no looking back. I think it was a good choice and I'm beginning to appreciate all the rider aids it has (first bike with those).  Once you get used to the menu wheel it works pretty good.  I turn on the cruise control if I want to change the setting while riding.

Regardless, enjoy your new ride as it is such a sorted out bike. 

 

Edited October 15, 2022 by OldBikers

[PhotoAl]

8 hours ago, KrustyKush said:

My fav position is tucked in, leaned on the gas tank with forearm, head down close to but still above the screen. Legs tucked in to tank. This is an extremely wind blast-free ride and can be maintained long term, with minor comfort adjustments as I ride.  In fact, the smallish windscreen makes SO MUCH turbulence to a head in the upright sitting position, it is pretty useless except in certain ambient wind conditions that naturally reduce turbulence.

Sounds like a sport bike rider.  I find in more spirited riding I've got my knees gripping the tank and I'm leaning forward to that position.  Even though haven't had a sport bike for 4 years its still my favorite position for hustling down the road.

Also getting tucked in helps the gas mileage 🙂