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

[riding_tall]

Sunday I finally got to ride it  - the Hills were empty. Today I had the valves done. I did not intend it this way but as I put it back in the Garage it was exactly at 25000 miles. Some of the valves were tight.

[duhs10]

2 hours ago, riding_tall said:

Sunday I finally got to ride it  - the Hills were empty. Today I had the valves done. I did not intend it this way but as I put it back in the Garage it was exactly at 25000 miles. Some of the valves were tight.

TWO!! We need to get another FJ/Tracer group together... a couple of us met in Suches last year. Good times.

[beanburnham]

Installed Puig wind deflectors, Ermax screen, fleabay headlight protectors

[wordsmith]

Accepting that you have only just installed the headlight protectors, bb, how are they?   I have a pair on order, being attracted by their keen price of only AUD$25.21. 

Edited December 18, 2018 by wordsmith

[beanburnham]

22 hours ago, wordsmith said:

Accepting that you have only just installed the headlight protectors, bb, how are they?   I have a pair on order, being attracted by their keen price of only AUD$25.21. 

One ride in and they seem to be secure enough. The fit and finish is totally acceptable for the price. Don’t think they would stand up against much more than a rock on the highway but I’d way rather replace them than the headlight.

[wordsmith]

Thanks, bb.   That's all I want them for.   I've had AMHP protectors (an Australian brand, very well respected) but they are now > 3 x the cost of these.

[duhs10]

Didn't "do" this today, but decided to post about it.  Installed some Michelin Road 5s a couple hundred miles ago... Previously had a set of Conti Road Attack 3s.  Impressions are that the Road 5s turn in much quicker and feel more nimble. However they also feel a little less stable above 100mph (so I'm told 😉 ).  I don't know if its the general profile of the tire or if it is because the Contis had been worn a little flat on the center of the rear from many many miles of suburban and urban commuting.

Overall very happy with the Road 5s. Hopefully will get good mileage out of them.

[dingophil]

Cleaned and oiled my chain for the first time. Went well, but made a mess. Bought Pig mats so as not to make the see mistake twice. Found a nail I my rear tire (but no pressure loss...) And will have PR5s installed this weekend. Not a bad couple of days!

Edited December 20, 2018 by dingophil
Spelling

[nhchris]

Today I rode. Which in New Hampshire a few days before Christmas is a sweet deal.  Bike is at rest in my town square, where warm coffee shops abound.

Just ignore that sign above the bike and never stop riding, wherever you might be!

cb

Edited December 20, 2018 by nhchris

[enx]

We all know that Tracers have awful 'pain the ass' seats, so I send mine to auto upholstery shop, to install gel pad in it.

Today I received some cool photos of my seat.😎

It's gel pad with 1cm of foam on top, with original cover. To test it on the road, I'll have to wait another three monts.😣

[coachluciano]

2nd to last of the not-so-stock option upgrades. 

[duhs10]

Rode mine into work this evening despite not so ideal conditions...

[wordsmith]

Today I rode my new 06/ 2015 Lava Red home from the transport depot to which it had been shipped from its dealership, 1800km away.   I bought this bike sight-unseen, something I'd vowed a hundred times that I'd never do, but it was impractical for me to travel that distance to see it, and equally impractical to ride it home from there across that distance of sparsely-populated outback roads with little or no help at hand should things go awry.

So, with pounding heart in dry mouth and apprehension a-plenty, we (wife and I) drove the 40-odd km across town on this steamy, hot (39 deg C =  102 deg F) morning, in heavy pre-Christmas traffic to a little-known part of town.  The bike was already off the truck when we got there, standing in the forecourt amidst piles of other goods of all shapes and sizes, burly grizzled interstate truckies working hard in the blazing sun to complete their work before the Christmas break.

Unfortunately, the truck bringing the bike down had obviously caught the edge of Tropical Cyclone Owen, for rain had caused the typical outback-red dust to adhere thickly to the bike all over - panniers and all - and it looked a mess.

It wasn't possible to look under the dust, but the key was in the ignition, the bike started straight away, and I could see that it was full of fuel, so I had no choice but to ride home and live to check another day.   My wife drove on after me, with firm instructions not to try to follow, or to stop if I disappeared.

I must say it was a pleasant relief to find that I was immediately at-home on the Tracer, feeling as if I'd been riding it the day before, whereas it must be about nine months since I last sat astride one.

Everything was familiar, once I'd adjusted the mirrors: the engine seemed very smooth: gear-changes fine: even the usual chain-whine was absent as I'd had the foresight to ask the dealer to adjust the chain slack to the recommended ~30mm of free-play.   But I hadn't had the foresight to get the seat adjusted to the lower position, and although the difference is only about half-an-inch I found myself tip-toeing in an unpleasant and unsteady manner when stopping at the numerous traffic lights on the way home.

Tomorrow, I'll thoroughly clean the bike and check it out: adjust the gear-level and foot-brake positions to suit: make a tiny adjustment to the fork preload (it's nearly there): and start to plan adding the farkles. 

Happy days!

Edited December 21, 2018 by wordsmith

[betoney]

33 minutes ago, duhs10 said:

Rode mine into work this evening despite not so ideal conditions...

The subtle gold accents look really good, I added similar silver accents to my red bike, including the SH36 cases. 

[wordsmith]

Really, really like that, betoney!