What did you do to your FJ-tracer-gt today?

[lolocastsb]

On 9/28/2021 at 7:53 PM, Wintersdark said:

So, the Tracer is getting it's winters put on right now as it's also being checked for that vibration issue, which is a bit of a frustrating irritant, but whatever - they insist it's the tires (T32's with still around 50% tread to the wear bars), or the chain (which is new as of June, as is the front sprocket, both bought from them, and which runs perfectly smoothly when the tire is spun and has been kept constantly lubricated with the autooiler), or the rear wheel bearing.  I agreed to replace the rear wheel bearing, and swap the bridgestones for my winters (and those bridgestones will go right back on in spring), and I'm just waiting for them to say it's the chain when it still happens.  Anyways, I digress!

I've ordered a box of 200 iGrip tire studs, which I'm going to screw into the stock Pirelli's on the T7.  This will give me the Tracer for clear and cold days where the winter's really shine, and the T7 for ice and snow.  

But yeah... Ontario winters are a LOT wetter than ours.  I dunno how much I'd push things there.  Here in Calgary, it snows only rarely and almost never much, and roads that don't get immediately plowed end up packed down and sanded right away.  That packed down snow stays forever, but it's not bad to ride on with the winters and I think studs will be hilarious fun.  I've seen enough pictures and video of Ontario ice storms, blizzards, crazy icy roads and general winter misery.  I don't think I'd want to go outside at all.  

 

and here I was thinking I was mildly crazy for planning on continuing to ride in Reno through the winter. Props to you!

[Wintersdark]

49 minutes ago, lolocastsb said:

and here I was thinking I was mildly crazy for planning on continuing to ride in Reno through the winter. Props to you!

Reno barely gets below freezing.  Some basic heated gear and some rain tires like Road 5's and you'd be set for good traction and warmth.

[Warchild]

I do recall a lot of assertive passing on curves while climbing Blewett Pass in central Washington this past weekend, but I didn't think it was too extreme.  Could be wrong, I suppose.  🤨 

There are Dunlop RoadSmart IV's with 8600 miles on them.

[glaschu]

My day was being busy removing the lowering suspension links and replacing them with the factory originals. Haven't gone for a ride yet, and forgot to properly measure before and after ride height, but can definitely feel the saddle higher when sitting on it. Thanks to the forum and members who helped with some documentation the switch went pretty smoothly.

Edited October 4, 2021 by glaschu

[About2break]

Installed new adjustable levers (from avdb moto):

 

[petshark]

1 hour ago, About2break said:

Installed new adjustable levers (from avdb moto):

 

Have the exact same ones and love em

[enx]

13 hours ago, Warchild said:

I do recall a lot of assertive passing on curves while climbing Blewett Pass in central Washington this past weekend, but I didn't think it was too extreme.  Could be wrong, I suppose.  🤨 

There are Dunlop RoadSmart IV's with 8600 miles on them.

Sill not available in europe🥴😒

[2and3cylinders]

13 hours ago, Warchild said:

I do recall a lot of assertive passing on curves while climbing Blewett Pass in central Washington this past weekend, but I didn't think it was too extreme.  Could be wrong, I suppose.  🤨 

There are Dunlop RoadSmart IV's with 8600 miles on them.

Impressive! 

Ran the originals and true multi compound RS2

The new RS 2 are single compound though

The Bridgestone T31 and T32 are pretty good as are the S22 for a lot less $ than the RS

[Wintersdark]

Picked her up from the shop, after having my low-throttle vibration issue fixed.  Turned out it was a failing rear wheel bearing.  Got the winters mounted as well as they also suspected the Bridgestone T32's, which had been wearing weirdly, so to rule out tires I figured I'd just have them get the winter change over with.

Conveniently, while I was picking the bike up, my OBR 3/4 Enduro Mitts arrived, so installed them too.  Good for winter!  I'm hoping the mitts+grips will be enough, so I don't have to faff around with my bulkier heated gloves. 

[2and3cylinders]

Ill be very interested in your opinion of the grip muffs!  Whay hand guards do you have, any pics of them.  I have the KTM Adventure guards.

Whose mirror extenders are those, they look just like my Bike Master extenders but mine are anodized semi-gloss black and match the mirrors well but have faded a bit in 5 years.

Also, what is that mounted to the bar between the risers.

Did you get the Arai Defiant-X in Modern Gray that matches your Tracer perfectly ?

[Wintersdark]

2 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

Ill be very interested in your opinion of the grip muffs!  Whay hand guards do you have, any pics of them.  I have the KTM Adventure guards.

Whose mirror extenders are those, they look just like my Bike Master extenders but mine are anodized semi-gloss black and match the mirrors well but have faded a bit in 5 years.

Also, what is that mounted to the bar between the risers.

Did you get the Arai Defiant-X in Modern Gray that matches your Tracer perfectly ?

Just the stock hand guards, but these mitts work with everything.  Went for a ride with them on my Tenere tonight, and will take them out on the Tracer tomorrow.  They're totally no problem to ride with, and obviously keep 100% of the wind off your hands.  Don't interfere with controls at all, and it's easy to take your hands off the bars and back.  Lots of room.

They're AliExpress extenders, cost me $5 in anodized semi-gloss black back when I first bought the Tracer. They've faded to that metallic.... I don't even know what color that would be. Used to match well. They work great though.

Between the risers is the remote for my heated gear - fully wireless, and much preferred to the wired controllers some heated gear uses.  Gear has its own buttons too, but the remote is easier to see and operate while riding. It steps between off, high (red light), medium (yellow light), and low (green light) - which is exactly how the buttons on my jacket liner and gloves work too. 

 

And nah, I actually wasn't aware of a helmet that matched my bike, but I was all about the heated visor and I don't think Arai sells those Also, that Defiant-X is $969cdn.. oof.  

Edited October 6, 2021 by Wintersdark

[piotrek]

16 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

Just the stock hand guards, but these mitts work with everything.  Went for a ride with them on my Tenere tonight, and will take them out on the Tracer tomorrow.  They're totally no problem to ride with, and obviously keep 100% of the wind off your hands.  Don't interfere with controls at all, and it's easy to take your hands off the bars and back.  Lots of room.

Thanks for the quick review. I am guessing you're now below freezing overnight? Super excited for the temps to drop a bit over here... 😁

@2and3cylinders... these fit very well over the KTM guards.

[gerrychuck]

Got my new Corbin seat today and got it on the bike.  Black natural leather on the seating areas, titanium "carbon fibre" vinyl on the sides, blue piping, medium silver thread.  The "titanium" colour of the side panels is much lighter than the design simulation looked (disclaimer: they tell you straight up that colours in the design page may not be accurate) may not be what I would have chosen, but it actually integrates pretty well with the bike.  Overall I think it looks great.

Now, on the more important element: How does it feel?  In a word, great.  Far more even weight distribution than stock; with the stocker weight is really concentrated on the ischial tuberosities (your "sit bones" if you aren't a career physical therapist and simply can't make yourself call them that.  But I digress...) while with the Corbin weight is evenly spread over the entire surface of the seat, including weight going through the backrest lip of the seat.  I felt an odd warmth throughout my butt while riding, and realized it was circulation; my ass is not used to getting blood to it while on the stock seat.  Go figure.  I also like being able to push back into the rear lip of the saddle.  On the stocker, I could do that, but only with my butt slightly off the back edge of the front seat; not real comfy.  My only, very minor, niggle is that the seat pushes me a bit forward from the stock position, which at my 6'3" height is noticeable.  Only had a short ride today, and time and longer rides will tell the whole tale, but I am very pleased so far, and very optimistic regarding longterm results. I just wish it had showed up two weeks earlier, before I spent the past two weeks romping around the twisty roads of southern British Columbia, to the tune of 850 km.  My butt would have liked having it for that trip!

With the Corbin, and the MRA windscreen, I have addressed the two issues I thought needed attention on the bike as delivered.  I have nothing more I really want to change at this point.  We'll see how long that lasts lol.

 

[2and3cylinders]

4 hours ago, piotrek said:

Thanks for the quick review. I am guessing you're now below freezing overnight? Super excited for the temps to drop a bit over here... 😁

@2and3cylinders... these fit very well over the KTM guards.

THX!

[Wintersdark]

On 10/6/2021 at 3:13 PM, piotrek said:

Thanks for the quick review. I am guessing you're now below freezing overnight? Super excited for the temps to drop a bit over here... 😁

@2and3cylinders... these fit very well over the KTM guards.

Yup; snow expected this weekend/early next week, too.  Won't be much, though, just a light snowfall that should [damn well better] be gone by the next afternoon.  

 

And yeah, the OBRAdv mitts will fit over any handguards no problem, and are weirdly stable - I really expected them to move around a lot in the wind on the Tracer as it's handguards are pretty small, but nope - they just stay where you put them.  No movement, no flapping around.  They fit well on the T7 as well, which has MUCH larger handguards.