My first Tracer ride ever!

[WastedMind3500]

I took delivery of my 2019 Tracer 900 (used, roughly 9000 Km) last Friday, so today I took it out for the first time.

Background: I started riding 7 years ago.  Up to last Friday, I had had only one motorcycle, a 2009 VStrom 650.

Today's ride was roughly 400km through villages north of Montreal, Canada.  It was not the first time I had done that ride, allowing me to focus on driving, and less on navigation.

The good:

• GREAT engine!  Coming form a 650, this one is powerful and very responsive!  I kept it in B mode and it still surprised me a couple times. I used to fully turn the throttle on my V in some situations, I cannot do that on this bike (yet!  hahaha!).
• Braking power is much better than I am used to.
• It carries its weight very well, super stable even in slow speed maneuvers.  Very easy to adapt to!
• The looks, I love it!
• And my girlfriend stopped calling my bike a "geriatric two wheeler" !

The bad:

• Riding position.  I will have to find a way to lower and move forward the pegs.  The seat is already at the highest elevation.  FIX: read up on pegs options on this site.  Which will imply lowering the rear break pedal, which I already find too high.
• The seat.  Oh my God...  Being firm is not a problem for me, it is just that there is an edge on the forward part of it, that cuts blood circulation in my thighs.  After about 1 hour, I feel effects from the reduced blood flow.  FIX: again, read on potential solutions, order something...  
• Wind protection.  It was about 12C (about 54F) when I left.  Trust me, the hand guards are useless at that temperature.  FIX: get larger hand guards to cut the wind.  I know it will help, I had large ones on my V, in similar conditions.
• Wind protection 2.  Windshield...  If you can call it that.  At the lower position, wind hits me at collar bones level.  At the higher position, it hits me in the middle of the helmet.   FIX: order a higher windshield.  I have add great success on my VStrom and my girlfriend's Versys with Madstad, I will read reviews here.
• The kick stand is too small, but I expected it so I did not drop the bike when I stopped for lunch (unpaved parking lot).  An enlarger has already been ordered.

So overall I am quite happy with my purchase!  Lets say 3.5/5 for now.  The farkles will help raise that much higher in the near future!

 

[Heli ATP]

Welcome, nice first post. Checkout the for sale section for a possible seat replacement.

[craz1]

Congratulation on your new bike. It does have a nice engine. By the way I started riding 50 years ago.

[betoney]

56 minutes ago, WastedMind3500 said:

 Wind protection.  It was about 12C (about 54F) when I left.  Trust me, the hand guards are useless at that temperature.  FIX: get larger hand guards to cut the wind.  I know it will help, I had large ones on my V, in similar conditions.

I agree, the oem hand guards are worthless at blocking air, they are way too far away from the grips.  The previous versions on the FJ09 were even worse because they were just as ineffective AND goofy looking.  I use VStrom hand guards on mine and they block the wind very effectively.

[Wintersdark]

Hah yeah, the windshield is hot garbage.  Maybe it works for really tiny people, but for me it's significantly worse than nothing.  I'm not a big windshield guy though; I'm happy just leaning on the wind.  So it's a much smaller windscreen for me, at least for spring/summer/fall riding. 

I've been considering making some plexiglass extensions for the handguards (bolt on with those two screws on the inside of each).  I like how they look, but they don't do much.  Again, in the summer I'm not concerned, but when it's below freezing anything that gets wind off my hands is good, heated gloves or not.  

 

Just wait.  Going WOT in A mode on the Tracer is a rush.  It's less of a unicycle than the MT09 due to the extended swingarm, but it really likes to go.  Add in the quickshifter (if you don't already know, use while accelerating and above 4000rpm - don't back off on the throttle) and it's crazy fun.

[Heli ATP]

Do a search for Hand Guard Extenders, they do help in the cold...

PYRAMID TOURING HANDGUARD EXTENSIONS YAMAHA TRACER

Puig Handguard Extensions Yamaha

YAMAHA MT-09 TRACER Matt Black Hand Guards - Powerbronze

[texscottyd]

12 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

Going WOT in A mode on the Tracer is a rush.

Just reading that sentence makes me smile...   

[WastedMind3500]

Thanks @Heli ATP, I will have a look.

Ouch, Puig are 217$!  I did not know they came with gold inlay

 

[CJ3cyl]

18 hours ago, craz1 said:

Congratulation on your new bike. It does have a nice engine. By the way I started riding 50 years ago.

47 years ago here. 🧐

[1moreroad]

Givi hand guards make a big difference and so do bicycle shorts or bike short liners. 

[WastedMind3500]

Considering availability and price, I finally got these farkles (most still in shipping):

• Crash bars: Heed
• Kickstand enlarger: R&G: received, installed, super tight fit
• Fender extender: R&G
• Tank bag adapter for my Givi bag
• 60L dry bag SW Motech (no top case for now, I already have side cases).  Comes with tie down straps, great quality.
• Hand guards: barkbuster (mounts BHG-052, STORM guards, bar end weights)
• Pegs: ordered parts from the FJR1300
• Windshield: Madstad
• Seat: I did not have the budget for a full seat, so for now I will try a seat cushion over the OEM seat, set at lower height.

Next and last item (I think), GPS + mount

[WastedMind3500]

Fender extender R&G received and installed.  The fit is ok.  Not perfect.  But it is sturdy and does not move.  The plastic connectors seem to be doing the job.  I have not ridden the bike yet however, so no comment if it rattles or not.

To install, you have to drill holes (9/64") in the fender and fender extender, and snap small connectors that come with the extender.  Since I found it inconvenient to do under the bike, I removed the fender.  It was much easier to drill it this way.

Result:

[tktplz]

Nice Job! 

[tktplz]

On 4/10/2021 at 9:19 PM, Wintersdark said:

but when it's below freezing anything that gets wind off my hands is good, heated gloves or not.  

Ah, Ha, Ha, Ha! I don't ride in temperatures below my age. I'm 61 almost 62. So I don't ride in temps under 62 now. Good thing about this is we were in The Hill Country of Texas last week and weekend. Friday they said it would be 97. At 1 point in the afternoon it was 104 on my thermometer. Yeah it was hot but I can stand the heat much better than the cold. That was with Mesh Riding pants and jacket along with leather gloves and tourmaster riding boots, waterproof. It's a dry heat as they say. I do like the heated grips on these. I took off my hand guards. 

Edited April 16, 2021 by tktplz

[NormR]

21 minutes ago, WastedMind3500 said:

Fender extender R&G received and installed.  The fit is ok.  Not perfect.  But it is sturdy and does not move.  The plastic connectors seem to be doing the job.  I have not ridden the bike yet however, so no comment if it rattles or not.

To install, you have to drill holes (9/64") in the fender and fender extender, and snap small connectors that come with the extender.  Since I found it inconvenient to do under the bike, I removed the fender.  It was much easier to drill it this way.

Result:

How was it "not a perfect fit"? Can you share a photo with more detail about what your talking about? Is there another option for the install other then drilling holes in the fender?

thx in advance from your neighbor in Laval