wordsmith Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 FARKLING MY NEW 06/ 2015 BUILD 12/ 2018 REGO OZ MT-09 TRACER The new bike is being dispatched today from its current dealership-home in Far North-west Queensland, and should be here by Friday Dec 21st. I’ve been filling the time by ordering lots of farkles, the process being helped by the fact that this is not my first Tracer – though it will be my first red one! Today’s mail brought the first new item, the Stebel Magnum horn, one of the first two or three items I automatically add to any new bike. It’s not much – if any – louder than the stock squeaker, but its deep tone seems to cut through nicely to other drivers around me. Ordered on Dec 12th, arrived today Dec 17th. Fitting could not be easier, just plug ‘n’ play, using the existing bracket which just needs a little twisting to stop the horn from rubbing on the inside of the front fork leg. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 Dec 20th – the new ‘double-bubble’ screen arrived earlier, identical to one I had before. I’m almost in a minority of one here, in that I have never had any issues with the OE screen, but I bought the double-bubble because I liked its looks, and it’s cheap enough at AUD$45 delivered in only eight days. It’s an identical shape to the OE screen, but appears to be much thicker, with the added bonus of having an additional stiffening ‘rib’ running around the upper part of the screen. I found on the earlier model that as a result the top doesn’t oscillate back and forth so much, which I found quite distracting. The air-flow seems smooth and clean, and all-in-all it's a worthwhile improvement New bike arrives tomorrow, Friday 21st and the new screen will be an early fitment. Highly recommended. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 20, 2018 Author Share Posted December 20, 2018 The new headlight cover/ protectors just arrived. I must say that they are much thicker and stronger-looking than I had thought they would be for the modest cost of $25. Thickness and finish seems on a par with the ~$75 cost of the locally-made AMHP products: 3M Dual-Lock fastenings are identical. Bike arrives today...! Later edit: busy mailman also delivered the PosiTaps for some wiring tasks: the new rubber-topped foot-pegs (sans circlips): and the GSA-100 Modulator for my Skene-style flashing/ pulsing rear brake light set-up. Busy days ahead! Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 22, 2018 Author Share Posted December 22, 2018 Here's the first pic of me and the new bike, newly-cleaned after that long trip through the outback that left it covered in red dust. I look a little hot and sticky in this pic, for I'd just been for a short ride after the chore, in 35C+ heat and 70%+ humidity. The bike cleaned up really well and revealed what I had been assured by the dealer - a pristine as-new machine. I do like the Lava Red colour very much indeed - this pic doesn't quite do it justice. It's identical (to my eye) to the paintwork on some Mazda sedans sold here, and on the mighty MX-5/ Miata sports car - lovely. Since the pic was taken I have installed the new double-bubble screen, a straight two-minute swap: the headlight protectors: and the blind-spot mirrors. Also adjusted the clock! Will wait for the weather to cool down before attempting the next few farkling jobs, which include fitting the Stebel Magnum horn, and the new rubber-topped footpegs. Air-con in the house is excellent, but it doesn't extend to the garage! Later edit: Bugger! Once again the system does not accept the pic. What is going on? Any advice pls? Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdavis Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Maybe too large a file size? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 22, 2018 Author Share Posted December 22, 2018 5 hours ago, jdavis said: Maybe too large a file size? I think that may be the issue, jd, though Ii've never had this problem before. As I said, previously the method of posting pix allowed some form of size reduction. I've now adjusted the pic size format in my camera and we'll see what happens next! Later edit: the test-shot below comes in at 137kb size. I'll keep tinkering with the camera until I arrive at a size that's big enough to be worthwhile, not so large as to be rejected, although this seems perfectly OK. I think I'll leave well alone! Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted December 22, 2018 Supporting Member Share Posted December 22, 2018 13 hours ago, wordsmith said: Later edit: Bugger! Once again the system does not accept the pic. What is going on? Any advice pls? @wordsmith - When I attach a photo, it is already saved on my PC. If the file size is too large it pops up a warning and will not let me attach the file. There is no guessing why, it tells you straight up that the file size is too large. I simply open the photo, resize it smaller then save it and only then am I able to attach it. ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 22, 2018 Author Share Posted December 22, 2018 Thanks, betoney. I usually post direct from my camera's SD card. I'll be doing some more farkling this morning and will take the usual pix in my reduced-size format and see what happens. Thanks for the tip... But, how does one re-size an image that's already in the computer - I've never done this? Please give an answer suited to an eight year-old with learning difficulties and not much patience when it comes to such things! I was born far too early for this sort of stuff... Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 The first farkle of the day was the easiest planned, simply replacing the stock squeak with the much deeper twin-tone and (IMHO) more assertive and attention-grabbing Stebel Magnum horn (first pic below). I've fitted these to many bikes over the years, and now probably have the world's largest collection of unwanted OE disc-type horns! The horn, of course, is pointing downwards so as not to allow water to collect inside - I drowned one of these once when cleaning the bike too enthusiastically with a hose! Next time I'll cover the opening with a rag... Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 My second farkle for the day was really unintended, but I had found some strips of red (not orange, as the pic suggests) reflective sheet PVC, which I'd bought some time ago to stick on the rear of the panniers. But I spent just a few minutes cutting out two shaped pieces to fit into the front-facing recess on the hand-guards - I'd done this on an earlier Tracer too, and happily still had the original cardboard template. A small thing, but may help me to be more visible in close-contact fighting in nose-to-tail traffic. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 Not exactly a farkle - but when working around the bike today I noticed that the water-level in the coolant reservoir was at the low mark. I topped it up (what a tricky job!) and while at it put a few drops of blue food colour into the coolant, to make it easier to check the level next time. I've done this before, figuring that if it's safe for humans to ingest it cannot harm the cooling system. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 A one-minute farkle has been to put a small silicone 'bumper' - about 4 - 5 mm thick, designed as protective base to stop ornaments from scratching furniture - onto each of the metal 'arms' that are behind the screen. They are part of the height adjustment system and give a little rigidity to the screen. I found on an earlier Tracer that the flimsy OE screen flopped back and forth, and the extra little thickness and stiffening there seemed to help. Even with the thicker and more rigid aftermarket double-bubble screen I thought they wouldn't hurt, so on they went... Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 Final task today was to install the after-market rubber-topped and somewhat longer foot-pegs, bought off EBay for a mere AUD$16.34. Once again I have to ask how do they do it for the money! The lhs OE peg is secured by and rotates on a blind rivet, which has to be drilled or ground out - a chore, and for the life of me I cannot understand why Yamaha chose to install each side differently: the rhs OE peg's rivet is secured by a simple split-pin which is easily removed. But the new clevis pins are easier still. Note the shorter hero-knob, a.k.a. feeler knob, on the new pegs. I now have to extend the lowering-knob on the side-stand arm, for the new longer and wider foot-peg makes it very tricky to be able to readily locate it without looking down, = falling down! Here endeth today's workshop, for I am now awaiting a few more parts such as the Grip Puppies; front DRL LEDs, and the rear red LED strips for my flashing/ pulsing rear brake light set-up, to complete the farkling. For the time being... Oh, and I seem to have resolved the non-posting pix issue with a smaller format now selected in the camera. Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 Is this the quickest, simplest, and cheapest farkle ever (first pic)? And - these little silicone bumpers come in handy in other ways. As before, I super-glued one to the indicator button, which is tiny and must be hard to locate with thick gloves on (not that I wear them). The bumper makes it easy to both feel and move the switch... Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 Although I'm of only average height (177cm/ 5'9"-and-a-bit on a hot day) and with leg-length in proportion, I felt that I needed something on the sides of the tank to stop my rather coarse fabric pant knees from abrading the luscious red paint finish there. There are plenty of inexpensive off-the-shelf tank protectors, but some of them are heavily rubber-studded, which might suit my next S&M party, but not the bike. Also, I don't regularly hang-off the bike - too busy hanging-on! Others are simply too large, and I don't want to hide too much of the tasty paintwork on this bike. Enter some leftover carbon-look PVC sheet, which I'd used previously to make some stick-on tank-protectors. I tried hard - and failed - to align the 'threads' on the PVC sheet and the adjacent faux carbon bodywork, but I doubt anyone other than myself will notice! Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.