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

[Wintersdark]

2 hours ago, betoney said:

I'll be interested to see how those wear in a few thousand miles.  Either you got a defective tire or your road surfaces are seriously funky.

Yeah, I'm really curious there.  I got 15,000km/9300 miles on my last set, and they had a lot of room to spare (the rear in particular wasn't at the wear bars in the tread yet), but irritating cupping the front from running with low pressure over the winter.  Now, that was on the MT07, so I'd expect a bit less thanks to the added weight, but...  5000 miles?  Road 5's are praised practically everywhere for their longevity in basically every serious review or comparison.  

Meanwhile, my Tracer came with stock Dunlops that looked terrible at 800km, already sporting a flat spot.  However, stock tires are often not the same as aftermarket ones labelled the same - sure didn't make me want to give another set of Dunlops a go however.

 

That said, I'm riding primarily in Canada and the northern US (Montana, Idaho, etc), and the vast majority of my riding happens in relatively speaking colder weather.   A hothothot summer day here is 30C (86F), and that's just a month of the year.  Most riding is happening from 15-25C (59-77F).  Road 5's are formulated for good grip at lower temperatures - hence excellent rain performance.  Could just be that they're getting too hot in the Texas sun + riding heat, and wearing fast?  Just spitballing.

[nicksta43]

17500 miles on the original chain. Front sprocket showed a little wear nothing major. Rear was perfect but replaced them anyway. Oil change, coolant flush and brake fluid flushed as well. About time for a new rear tire. Have a Michelin road 5 ready to go on but the tire machine broke an air line so have to wait on that to get fixed. All in all a productive Saturday afternoon.

[nicksta43]

35 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

Yeah, I'm really curious there.  I got 15,000km/9300 miles on my last set, and they had a lot of room to spare (the rear in particular wasn't at the wear bars in the tread yet), but irritating cupping the front from running with low pressure over the winter.  Now, that was on the MT07, so I'd expect a bit less thanks to the added weight, but...  5000 miles?  Road 5's are praised practically everywhere for their longevity in basically every serious review or comparison.  

Meanwhile, my Tracer came with stock Dunlops that looked terrible at 800km, already sporting a flat spot.  However, stock tires are often not the same as aftermarket ones labelled the same - sure didn't make me want to give another set of Dunlops a go however.

 

That said, I'm riding primarily in Canada and the northern US (Montana, Idaho, etc), and the vast majority of my riding happens in relatively speaking colder weather.   A hothothot summer day here is 30C (86F), and that's just a month of the year.  Most riding is happening from 15-25C (59-77F).  Road 5's are formulated for good grip at lower temperatures - hence excellent rain performance.  Could just be that they're getting too hot in the Texas sun + riding heat, and wearing fast?  Just spitballing.

A lot of Texas asphalt is very much like a cheese grater.  Super gnarly stuff.

[BBB]

1 hour ago, nicksta43 said:

17500 miles on the original chain. Front sprocket showed a little wear nothing major. Rear was perfect but replaced them anyway. Oil change, coolant flush and brake fluid flushed as well. About time for a new rear tire. Have a Michelin road 5 ready to go on but the tire machine broke an air line so have to wait on that to get fixed. All in all a productive Saturday afternoon.

I’m amazed how quickly some people can work. You did all that in an afternoon. It took me an hour just to put the joining link and flare it to the correct specification on my new chain!

[texscottyd]

@Wintersdark - If you hadn’t seen it in the other thread (linked below... interesting discussion), here are the Michelin Road 5s in question.   5,344 miles, and that rear clearly should have been replaced at around 5,000 miles.   The front was worn & starting to scallop a bit, but probably had another 1,000 miles or so before it would have concerned me.    

For reference, the PR4s that were on this bike previously lasted 6,800 miles, and were in slightly better condition than this set when I replaced them.   To their credit, these tires were working fine until the very end, and still had plenty of side grip on the ‘enthusiastic’ 300 mile ride I took the morning these photos were taken.   My only semi-issue was with the lifespan, mostly because the Road 5 was touted as a step forward from the PR4, both in terms of performance (I would call it a draw), and mileage (definitely not in my case).   The Road 5 was still a great tire, but I decided to try something different this time... we shall see how it goes.   

@nicksta43 is right:  Many of the Texas county roads I ride are very abrasive... kind of a high-aggregate chip seal surface.   Great grip, but they will eat away at a tire.   Plus, my riding style is kind of a momentum thing, and I rarely hang off a bike on the street...  this implies a fair amount of lean angle and mid corner speed, which accounts for the edge wear.   Add in the Texas summer heat, and maybe 5,000 miles is as much as I can expect from any sport-touring tire...   

More discussion in this thread: 

-Scott

[dpippin]

On 5/8/2020 at 6:35 PM, Wintersdark said:

Mind posting a photo of that?

Try this link About half way down the page

https://advrider.com/f/threads/yamaha-tracer-900gt.1266110/page-57

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by dpippin

[nicksta43]

8 hours ago, BBB said:

I’m amazed how quickly some people can work. You did all that in an afternoon. It took me an hour just to put the joining link and flare it to the correct specification on my new chain!

I say afternoon, it was like 5 hours or so. 

[tktplz]

On 5/6/2020 at 5:38 PM, Lazyshade said:

Cleaned and lubricated the chain. Also, I pulled off the taller windscreen the previous owner had mounted. I found my Shoei was getting buffeted back and forth at freeway speeds and felt like my head was in a paint mixer. Currently I am riding without the windscreen to see what I like and don't like. Considering a Higdonion aluminum windshield. Anybody out there ride with a really short windscreen or alternate depending on the type of riding you are doing?

I use the cheapy from Ebay or Aliexpress?   I love it but I'm used to the sport shield for the 1999 VMax.

Windshield WindScreen For Yamaha FJ 09 MT 09 Tracer 2015-2016 15 16 Black TZ

---

The windshield can protect motorcycle enthusiasts from the...

 

[1moreroad]

19 hours ago, texscottyd said:

Tried something new today...  after two sets of Michelins on the FJ, I decided to give a set of RoadSmart 3s a shot.   I haven’t run Dunlops in decades, but my local shop made me a deal I couldn’t refuse.    

I got 9500 out of the front and 7000 out of the rear including 1 track day. I do a lot of commuting so my tires were flat spotted when I replaced them. 

[phats22]

....received it???  😀   purchased online from out of state dealer, arrived this morning.  still getting to know one another but super excited

[2linby]

New shoes front and rear. Road Smarts this time. They definitely seem "harder" than my PR5's. But they had 10,000 miles on them, so we'll see.

 

Also Custom saddle from Mr. Ed's Moto (Don Weber) in Albany, OR. Faux Vinyl "Carbon fiber" sides with dbl red stitching. Fit to my butt. Only about 200 miles rode on it so far. Not cheap, but what is! 

 

Edited May 12, 2020 by 2linby

[betoney]

1 minute ago, 2linby said:

Also Custom saddle from Mr. Ed's Moto (Don Weber) in Albany, OR. 

My buddy, who lives in Bend, has a custom seat from Mr Ed's Moto on his FJ.  Its a very comfortable, quality made seat.

Nothing beats a custom seat made just for you.👍

[Soullancer]

7 hours ago, 2linby said:

New shoes from and rear. Road Smarts this time. They definitely seem "harder" than my PR5's. But they had 10,000 miles on them, so we'll see.

 

Also Custom saddle from Mr. Ed's Moto (Don Weber) in Albany, OR. Faux Vinyl "Carbon fiber" sides with dbl red stitching. Fit to my butt. Only about 200 miles rode on it so far. Not cheap, but what is! 

 

What size is yours.. (the madstad 😜)

Looks like you got some more surface area to sit on right now instead of sliding forward and sitting on the smallest piece! Nice

[2linby]

20 hours ago, Soullancer said:

What size is yours.. (the madstad 😜)

Looks like you got some more surface area to sit on right now instead of sliding forward and sitting on the smallest piece! Nice

21" Clear.  I have a light tinted 18"  as well. Bought the 18" used then added the 21" for winter riding as the 18" even in the highest and straightest position wasn't enough coverage in the lousy PNW winter riding.. I'll go back to the 18" probably later this month.  BTW I love the MadStad. Better than the GIVI and the Stock windscreen. Had both....Madstad is better.

Edited May 12, 2020 by 2linby

[keithu]

On 5/11/2020 at 8:39 AM, 2linby said:

Also Custom saddle from Mr. Ed's Moto (Don Weber) in Albany, OR. Faux Vinyl "Carbon fiber" sides with dbl red stitching. Fit to my butt. Only about 200 miles rode on it so far. Not cheap, but what is! 

 

 

Congrats! Don is a great guy and my seat is holding up well after ~25k miles. I only live about a mile from his shop.