New bike on way!

[wordsmith]

Ordered my new 2016 Tracer today – pick-up on Wednesday. I took a new demo bike (only 77km on the odometer) for a short ‘refresher’ ride just to see that I was happy with it.   My earlier MT-09 was sold in August last year, with an intervening BMW boxer twin.  [strong] Colour[/strong] – dark blue side panels, lighter silvery-blue (almost denim-like colour) tank. I do like the new-for-2017 Electric White colour scheme, but this is not yet available in Australia.
Happily, in Oz MT-09 Tracer comes as standard with the OE Yamaha hard panniers, and the out-the-door pricing remains extremely attractive.   Yet despite extensive travels I don't recall having seen another MT-09 on the road here, except when meeting-up with Suncoaster some time ago.
 
Nothing had changed!  [strong] Seat[/strong] still rock hard, and will be a very early replacement with a Seat Concepts kit, which I’ve had before and found a good – if not perfect – improvement.
 
[strong]Engine[/strong] – the Tracer’s finest point I believe – still has Exocet-like acceleration, and the gearbox was fine too – perfectly matched.
 
[strong]Ergonomics[/strong] still suit me perfectly, very close indeed to my personal Gold Standard of BMW’s R1200 GS.
 
The well-known annoying whine from the [strong]drive chain[/strong] seemed rather more muted than on my earlier Tracer, but I know that I can reduce it further to an acceptable level – further muted by my custom close-fitting ear-plugs - by increasing the ‘slack’ to 25mm or so.  I’ll let the chain stretch a little over the first few hundred km and then make the adjustment at the first service.
 
It was only a brief outing of some 40km, but I got the impression that the [strong]suspension[/strong] seemed rather less harsh and unforgiving than expected from previous experience.  In any case, I have kept notes of my earlier suspension settings and it will be an easy job to work from there if needed.
 
I know exactly what worthwhile bling-free add-ons will be purchased in the near future, all from previous experience and previous installations, and other useful ideas contributed on this Forum.   In no order of priority:
 
• New seat kit from Seat Concepts
• front conspicuity Cree LED spotlights
• louder attention-grabbing Stebel Magnum horn
• Grip Puppies (the real ones, not those cheap ones that you can see through when held up to the light!)
• Skene pulsing rear brake LEDs (or my own DIY version thereof)
• mirror risers/ extenders
• 2” diameter blind-spot auxiliary mirrors
• FZ9 rubber-insert rider foot-pegs
• DIY side-stand peg extender
• Adjustable/ folding levers
• Rear carry rack and small 28L hard top-box 
 
Happy days ahead!
 
 
 

[suncoaster]

Welcome back !
Does it have the drain plug on the bottom or front ?
 
Are you going to option it with the factory radiator shield, and extra cig lighter power outlet ?

[wordsmith]

Welcome back ! Does it have the drain plug on the bottom or front ?
 
Are you going to option it with the factory radiator shield, and extra cig lighter power outlet ?

[em]Thanks![/em]  Will have to let you know about the drain plug - didn't think to look.   I have some s.s mesh from which to fab a very strong Exocet-proof rad shield, and [em]no[/em] to the extra power outlet.   I assume this might be for GPS, etc? EDIT - I now know the official designation for the nicely-matched colours to be Gunmetal/ Blue.
https://en.responsejp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/1013769.jpg
 

[wordsmith]

I took delivery today of my new ‘015 Tracer, finished in very attractive dark blue – fairings, rear panels, handguards – and the tank a very nice high-gloss metallic blue-grey gunmetal. All very much nicer than my previous Matte Grey version, although I was perfectly happy with that at the time.
 
Somewhat pleasingly, Mrs Wordsmith pronounced that she likes the look of the new bike better than the last one (a BMW R1200 R LC).
 
The Motorway ride home over 66km was uneventful. Apart from a brief test ride earlier in the week I’d last been on a Tracer about eight months ago, but it all felt very familiar and I was instantly at ease.
 
One thing pleases me very much: in my post of a couple of days ago after my short test-ride I commented that I felt that the suspension was not as harsh and reactive as I’d hitherto experienced. And [em]lo![/em] – eye-balling the bike once back home I found that the front fork preload was at almost exactly the setting I’d established on the last bike – front preload (engraved circles showing ) about 17mm to the top of the nut on the assembly [em](see pic below).[/em] My setting last year after much trial and error was 18mm, so that’s close enough and I’ll leave it as is for the time being. I don’t know if other suspension settings front or rear have been changed, but I assume this is now the ex-factory setting.
 
At my request the dealer slackened the free-play on the chain to about 20mm, and that too seemed to have the desired effect, with chain ‘whine’ reduced to a more acceptable deep ‘hum’.
 
I’ll have more time and better light to look at things tomorrow, and the farkling will commence with a couple of minor changes to the bike, as well the ordering of some of the higher-priority after-market parts that I want. I plan to defer ordering the new Seat Concept kit until I’ve had some time on this new bike just in case (probably a forlorn hope!) I find that I can tolerate the OE seat and avoid the expense of a replacement.

[wordsmith]

[em]Thanks![/em]  Will have to let you know about the drain plug - didn't think to look.   I have some s.s mesh from which to fab a very strong Exocet-proof rad shield, and [em]no[/em] to the extra power outlet.   I assume this might be for GPS, etc? EDIT - I now know the official designation for the nicely-matched colours to be Gunmetal/ Blue.
https://en.responsejp.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/1013769.jpg

  Drain plug is at very front of sump.