New member from MS

[roy826]

Hello everyone,

Just bought a 2020 Tracer GT yesterday 11-3, pick it up later today. Glad to be back on a Sport Tourer. My last one was a 2012 Concours big pig. Will be here learning the ins and outs on the Tracers. Not new to Yamaha I've owned a few over the years, most recently a 2021 Tenere 700 which I still have and no plans to part with at the moment. Just needed/wanted a more comfortable long distance street worthy bike.

I'll throw a pic or two up later on after I take possession of it. I have already ordered a GIVI tank bag lock ring for the gas cap to use one of the two GIVI tank bags I already own. Plus I ordered a GPS power cable, cradle and ram mount to move my GPS to and from my Tenere 700 to Tracer. I am 5'9" tall so I will see how bad the windscreen is before buying a different one. Might be interested in the oem heated seat during the winter. That is about it no big plans for mods except just ride it as is. Seems to offer a lot in the package as is.

Roy

[colorider]

Welcome to the madness!   The Givi Tanklock ring for the GT is a little different than other bikes in that it is taller and integrated (no separate metal ring and ABS mount) to clear the trim at the front of the tank.  What model tankbag do you plan to use?

[1moreroad]

Welcome! I PM'd you. I like to ride around Pickwick and a few other places. 

[texscottyd]

Welcome @roy826!    The GT is a fantastic bike, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it.  It seems like the perfect pairing with the Tenere 700.  

I've really enjoyed riding through the central and northern parts of Mississippi...  pretty countryside.    

[roy826]

46 minutes ago, colorider said:

Welcome to the madness!   The Givi Tanklock ring for the GT is a little different than other bikes in that it is taller and integrated (no separate metal ring and ABS mount) to clear the trim at the front of the tank.  What model tankbag do you plan to use?

Yes I am aware of the oddity with certain GIVI tank bags. My Africa Twin had a unique to it tank ring. I use the very small tank bags GIVI makes. I hated the huge one specific to the Africa Twins. Sold that thing pronto. I just need one big enough for honda polish small can with  polish cloth, Ruger LCP and my small cable lock I use for loose riding gear and my helmet when left on the bike.

I ordered the exact tank ring kit for the Tracer 900 GT so unless Revzilla screws that up I guess I will keep looking for the right one. Suppose to work according to their website even states raised up collar ring.

[roy826]

10 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

Welcome @roy826!    The GT is a fantastic bike, and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it.  It seems like the perfect pairing with the Tenere 700.  

I've really enjoyed riding through the central and northern parts of Mississippi...  pretty countryside.    

I live in the central part north of the state capitol near the Ross Barnett Reservoir. And we do have some outstanding ADV riding areas with a lot of history down near the Port Gibson area onward to Natchez. Great riding area for the Tenere 700 I have. Unfortunately the back roads here are kinda beat up and unfriendly to the sport touring type bikes unless you go really slow as not to damage the bike. But for ADV riding those things soak it up at warp speeds.

I ride a lot to the Smokey mountains starting in NGA up through NC, TN, NW SC and even as far as VA. Miss riding there on a bike. I have been trailering or trucking the Tenere 700 and a Suzuki sport bike I owned. Used to blast off up there on the Concours 14 quite often. That pig was a beast on the highway but was terrible in the curves once up there. Hoping the GT is at least decent on the highway for long stretches and as good as my past sportbikes once there.

Edited November 4, 2020 by roy826

[colorider]

17 minutes ago, roy826 said:

Yes I am aware of the oddity with certain GIVI tank bags. My Africa Twin had a unique to it tank ring. I use the very small tank bags GIVI makes. I hated the huge one specific to the Africa Twins. Sold that thing pronto. I just need one big enough for honda polish small can with  polish cloth, Ruger LCP and my small cable lock I use for loose riding gear and my helmet when left on the bike.

I ordered the exact tank ring kit for the Tracer 900 GT so unless Revzilla screws that up I guess I will keep looking for the right one. Suppose to work according to their website even states raised up collar ring.

You will be fine with Revzilla.  Also any of the smaller Givi bags should work fine.  I had tried my XS307 15L and it was almost too big.  I finally ended up with the MT505.

[texscottyd]

26 minutes ago, roy826 said:

Hoping the GT is at least decent on the highway for long stretches and as good as my past sportbikes once there.

That's really the sweet spot of the Tracer/FJ line.   Comfortable enough to cover long distances, and sporty enough to really enjoy the entertaining roads once you get there.   The stock suspension is more than adequate, but there are many of us who have spent money on high-spec suspension upgrades (myself included), and everyone seems to believe it's money well spent.   There's a legitimate real world sportbike hiding under the lightweight touring covers...  Trust me, you're going to love this bike. 

[roy826]

13 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

That's really the sweet spot of the Tracer/FJ line.   Comfortable enough to cover long distances, and sporty enough to really enjoy the entertaining roads once you get there.   The stock suspension is more than adequate, but there are many of us who have spent money on high-spec suspension upgrades (myself included), and everyone seems to believe it's money well spent.   There's a legitimate real world sportbike hiding under the lightweight touring covers...  Trust me, you're going to love this bike. 

I usually upgrade suspension on just about anything with two wheels. I road raced with WERA for 17 years and rode tons of trackdays so yea the suspension is the first upgrade after brakes for racing or track. I had Ohlins front and rear on my Africa Twin and a K-Tech rear shock on my Suzuki GSX-S1000. My Super Tenere back in the day had Thermosman revalved forks and a Penske rear shock. I'll see how good or bad the Tracer is for me out of the box. I am on the light side of things at 135-140 lbs depending on the day lol 

[roy826]

41 minutes ago, colorider said:

You will be fine with Revzilla.  Also any of the smaller Givi bags should work fine.  I had tried my XS307 15L and it was almost too big.  I finally ended up with the MT505.

Good info, mine is even smaller it is the EA123 and the other one was the model preceeding it so it is small as well.

[texscottyd]

32 minutes ago, roy826 said:

I usually upgrade suspension on just about anything with two wheels. I road raced with WERA for 17 years and rode tons of trackdays so yea the suspension is the first upgrade after brakes for racing or track. I had Ohlins front and rear on my Africa Twin and a K-Tech rear shock on my Suzuki GSX-S1000. My Super Tenere back in the day had Thermosman revalved forks and a Penske rear shock. I'll see how good or bad the Tracer is for me out of the box. I am on the light side of things at 135-140 lbs depending on the day lol 

Oh yeah...  you're going to fit in just fine around here.  Can I interest you in a 320mm brake conversion? 

I wonder if our paths crossed somewhere along the way with WERA, possibly at Little Talladega for one of the WERA National events.   Interestingly enough, I think my roadracing spanned 17 years as well...  provisional novice in 1990, ran my last sprint race in 2007, then instructed for a local track day program for several years after that.   Good times.   

[roy826]

2 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

Oh yeah...  you're going to fit in just fine around here.  Can I interest you in a 320mm brake conversion? 

I wonder if our paths crossed somewhere along the way with WERA, possibly at Little Talladega for one of the WERA National events.   Interestingly enough, I think my roadracing spanned 17 years as well...  provisional novice in 1990, ran my last sprint race in 2007, then instructed for a local track day program for several years after that.   Good times.   

Could have, I started at Tally in late 2000 and wrapped up racing in 2017. I raced C Expert class on 600s until late 2005 then took a break and track day'd a lot then came back 2013 in A Expert class on the 1000s. My tracks were Talladega, Road Atlanta, Nola, Barber. I primarily focused on the Mid Central sportsman and some national races thrown in. 

 

BTW the 826 number in my member name was always my competition number from the beginning until the end. Still have my Expert license.

[texscottyd]

Entirely possible we crossed paths or banged fairings at some point along the way.   I ran C Superstock & C Superbike on my 636 from 2003 - 2007, mostly with the CMRA (south central WERA affiliate).   My out-of-region time (Talladega, Road Atlanta, Memphis) was primarily running the WERA National Endurance series.

True story:  I'd never been to Talladega, but had seen the big NASCAR super-speedway on TV, and was thrilled to be going to another Daytona-like speed palace.   You can imagine my surprise when I showed up at the 'other Talladega' bull ring, and found myself standing in ankle deep mud on a cold and wet Saturday morning...