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wessie

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Yes, I've been quiet as I have been riding other bikes. 
 
The Tracer was a decent bike for the last 2 and a bit years and 17,000 miles but I have supped at the cup of sophisticated suspension and electronic gadgetry with my R12000RS bought last September. I have put 6000 miles on that over winter & spring and hardly any on the Tracer apart from commuting. The RS is a keeper but only for shortish journeys as the riding position becomes painful after 100 miles. The semi-sporty crouch kills my right hip joint.
 
After a few test rides I have decided to go back to a large Adv bike as these have all of the toys and a roomy riding position. I'm somewhat healthier than I was when I decided the Super Tenere was too big to handle. Friends have tried t persuade me to go to the orange cool aid of KTM - a brand becoming very popular in the UK. All are too tall for me and have chains. The R1200GS is too dear in the posh spec. My choice is a Triumph Tiger Explorer XRx which is currently being offered with £2000 of accessories - LED lights, side cases made by Givi, luggage/topbox rack, heated seats and engine bars. Tracer was part exchanged as it seems nobody wants a slightly rusty example with 17,000 miles.
 
Here it is, with the RS lurking in my all blue, all shaft drive garage.
 
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Looks like a nice bike, sorry to see you go.
 
You can always come back when you get tired of the Triumph!
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You dont have to leave the forum. You are welcome to stay, crack jokes, posts pics, be a wiseass and all that jazz. Seriously.
but I have 2 new forums to poke with a pointy stick but I imagine I will still be the top poster in the tables on here for a good while as I was not working when I first arrived due to illness
 
as for how it rides - pretty good but I have only done 50 miles on my bike and 2 hours on the demo bike
 
there is a long bank holiday weekend in the UK so I plan on getting most of the 500 miles on it so I can get the first service done - I may come back to write a comparison after the holiday next month to the Jura, Rhone Alps & Burgundy which will add around 2000 miles in 9 days. 
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Sorry to see you go. 
What about the shaft drive is so preferable to chain drive for you? Having never owned a shaft drive motorcycle, I am curious just how different they are.
I can't speak for Wessie, but having owned a shaftie the primary advantage is less hassle. Change the rear drive oil every 10-15k miles (usually a very easy job) and then just completely forget about it the rest of the time. No cleaning, lubing, adjusting, gunk flinging, replacement every 20k miles, etc.
 
I commute year round in Oregon so my FJ's chain sees a lot of rain and road grime. A shaft would be way better for my situation. Wessie is in England so I assume he sees much of the same.
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I also have never ridden any shaft drive bike, but I hear people saying the torque of the shaft can jack up the back end during heavy throttle usage and therefore change your geometry and mess up handling if you're not expecting it (is this even true?). Also one thing I do t understand is why sport bikes don't use belt drive, aside from needing more room for the belt being wider than the chain, it's maintenance free.
'15 FJ-09 with an aftermarket parts addiction
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I also have never ridden any shaft drive bike, but I hear people saying the torque of the shaft can jack up the back end during heavy throttle usage and therefore change your geometry and mess up handling if you're not expecting it (is this even true?). Also one thing I do t understand is why sport bikes don't use belt drive, aside from needing more room for the belt being wider than the chain, it's maintenance free.
Earlier shaft-driven bikes were notorious for "jacking" under acceleration. My '83 Honda Nighthawk 650 would literally raise straight up if you hit the throttle. On my FJR, there isn't much if any notice of the issue and other than the occasional fluid change and lubricating the rear wheel gears and shaft spline at a tire change, virtually a smooth & maintenance-free system.
I, too, question why the use of belt drive hasn't made it's way to more "standard" bikes.  I can see reasons for not wanting them for off-road use & long-travel suspensions.
Congrats to wessie on the new Triumph!
When I had seen the Explorer when they first came out I was surprised how heavy it seemed when I threw a leg over one at a bike show, could barely right it off the side stand, trying to imagine what it would have been like fueled up & having the panniers full for a trip. 
 
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Most manufacturers have figured out how to control "jacking". I've had two BMW's (which I dearly loved) that had shaft drives. Some of the pro's are low-to-no maintenance, they last a long time and they're quiet. Some of the con's are that they're heavy and can be expensive to repair if it breaks. I never had problems with their performance in curves or under hard acceleration. My FJ is the first chain driven bike I've had in 12 years and I'm having to get used to chain maintenance again - but I use it as an excuse to hang out in the garage and have another cold one. :-) The only reason I got rid of my last BMW and bought this FJ is because I was sick and tired of the horrible experiences I had for 5+ years at my local BMW dealer and I was unwilling to travel over 90 minutes for service. I also had a Suzuki cruiser with a shaft drive (oddly enough) and it ran fine too.
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  • 1 year later...
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and the Explorer had to go after 15 months of ownership. I rode it to the French Alps last year but over the winter my hip trouble worsened. This made moving the Explorer around difficult and I took my R1200RS to Germany this year, planning the trip to reduce daily mileage and using hotels as a base for 3 nights at a time. A combination of changing the way I tour and physiotherapy mean my hip is less trouble when riding. The days of riding 3-400 miles every day for 10 days are over.
 
I tried a few bikes, really fancying a R Nine T but the ergonomics were wrong. Pegs too high, basically. Tiger 1050 was nice but unexciting. I didn't like the S1000XR when I tried one a while ago but a used example with factory lowered suspension turned up locally. It also had a £340 HP Sport seat. This transformed the bike into something that really suits in terms of ergonomics and utterly bonkers performance. A very good part-ex price meant the XR was mine for under £500 so I went for it.
 
 
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Been there, done that, Wessie.   A sad day, but it comes to all eventually.
 
May I ask why you didn't return to the Tracer, especially now that the new GT is available over there?   I can understand the pull of the extra power of the BM, but found it very 'buzzy' and full of unwanted vibes when taking one for a long test ride some time ago, so I returned then to my Boxer roots.   The ease of shoving the Tracer around in the garage has been a great benefit in my creaky-jointed case...
 
 

Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia.   

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