Tracer 900 GT

okckeith

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2017 Triumph Trophy
I’m glad to see Yamaha building a bike people will want. It has all the options you will pay a lot more for on the FJR or the Tenere. Except for shaft drive.
The middle weight bikes are very popular. And very few offer the options this bike has.
No one bike is going to work for everybody. I’m just glad to see another good option to choose from.
My Tiger has a 21 inch spoked front wheel, tube tires, and chain drive. I’ll tour comfortably on it any day. And when the pavement ends, it just eats it up. And that triple motor is so much fun!
This is not a bike for everybody. But it is perfect for me.
 
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
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Baton Rouge, La
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2010 Honda NT700V
I sat on a FJ-09 at a local dealer. As I swung my leg over the seat my knee hit the "horn" on the hand rail. Ouch......
Kind of turned me off. Why the pokey thing on the handrail? Too many pointy things. Maybe this design aspect appeals to the millennials. Not so much to us older more conservative riders.

Look at my avatar of the PC800......no pointy pokey things in sight.
 
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sirepair

Let's RIDE!
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Jun 7, 2007
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Chillicothe, Ohio
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2003 ST1100P
STOC #
7105
The traction control on my '15 FJ-09 does a very good job of "killing" the wheelies. As soon as it thinks the front wheel is about to lift, it intervenes. Not sure if it shuts off a cylinder or what, but it is quite effective. Now, with a long-press of the TCS button you can disable that function and it will magically turn into a wheelie machine! (Don't ask how I know...)


Owners report chains easily lasting 20,000+ miles. I've adjusted mine once in 5000 miles, and then when I replaced the rear tire. The new O and X ring chains are great improvements over old chains and the new lubes cling to the chains better.


I know Yamaha is marketing the Tracer GT as a Sport "Touring" bike, and we with our STs, Connies, FJRs and other Mile Munchers realize what we consider short-comings of the platform, but I believe their thinking is good. WE might not consider it a LD bike, but for riders looking for something that offers more comfort and storage than the scramblers and street fighters, the Tracer GT is a great step up.


You will be able to walk in to the dealer, plunk down you $$ and ride off with a nicely farkled bike that is hundreds of pounds lighter than our big-ol bikes, has an astounding engine and HP/Weight ratio, all the latest 'letronic nannies and will strafe corners like a P-51, all covered by a factory warranty. You might not consider it LD worthy, but how many of us toured on RD-250s and CB-350s, because it was what we had. And this bike will be much more capable than those...


I know I'm very happy with my FJ. No, it's not a replacement for my ST1100, but man, is it a blast to ride!
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2007
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82
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Alief, TX, USA
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ST1300
STOC #
7461
I haven't had a chain drive bike since I bought my GS850G 35+ years ago, and don't miss the chain a bit. However, having said that I have to question some of the objections to chain that I am seeing here and have a question about the biggest of these objections. With the O ring and X ring chains that seal in grease applied when the chain is manufactured, what is the purpose of applying spray lube to the chain? Where does the lube go that could affect chain life and possibly reduce chain stretch? I would think that it would just fling off the chain onto the rear wheel and back of the rider's or pillion's jacket without any benefits for the chain. As for chain adjustments, I can see checking the chain after riding 300 or more miles in a day, but wouldn't expect many adjustments required in 4-5k miles.
 
Joined
Feb 25, 2016
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Northumberland UK
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VStrom 650
Don B, you have to remember that sealed chains only lube the rollers internally and you really want to avoid straight metal to metal contact between chain and sprockets. Lubes have come a long way since the 70's, I seem to remember most of it landed on the floor, your boots or your pillions trousers. Modern chain lubes can appear totally dry when applied, PTFE from memory is dry and grease lube hardly ever flies off. The back wheel on my CBF was never covered and you only needed to lube once in a while.
That said I love the shaft on my 11, but it would be cheaper and easier to change a chain and sprockets than the shaft, UJ, diff, duff splines etc.
By the way also had a GS850GT in the late seventies, silver and blue. Unfortunately mine spent longer in the workshop than I spent riding it.
Upt'North.
 

the Ferret

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002815
also had an 850G Root Beer brown. I thought it was a great bike. I always have at least 1 chain drive bike. I find them a PIA and have yet to find a lube that doesn't fling and I think I've tried every lube on the market. Maybe because I'm 67 now, don't have a lift and have trouble getting down and up off the floor. The new chains don't need adjustment as much as the old ones, but I have yet to find a rider of a chained bike that will take off on a 2500 mile trip that doesn't carry lube and chain adjusting tools. A couple years ago I rode to Cali and back with a guy on a chain drive Vstrom 1000. 5500 miles in 11 days. Checking tension on his chain and lubing it was a nightly thing at the hotel. It only required 1 adjustment that I recall, but on my ST, all I had to do was help him get his on the centerstand, then stand back and watch while he crawled around on the ground, a couple of times in the rain. I will never consider a chain suitable for a touring bike.
 

ST Gui

240Robert
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the Ferret said:
I will never consider a chain suitable for a touring bike.
That's an individual decision but I'm right there too. I'm not against chain drive bikes but would not have one as my only bike unless there where no likelihood of doing any touring.

I remember O-ring chains in the '80s that supposedly didn't need to be lubricated but they did. I found no advantage in them after the first few hundred miles.

So newer chains are much improved. If they have to be lubed and if they have to be adjusted on a routine basis they're out. And then there's the chain noise. This would bother me when touring. On a 200mi day ride— no problem. 200mi/day for a couple or more days— I'm out.

The ST is my third shaft-drive bike and I'm spoiled. If I'm still riding when the ST gets too heavy I'll look for a smaller bike that's shaft drive.
 
Joined
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42.23n/83.33w/636
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looks like it might be a nice lighter weight alternative to our ST 1100 & ST300's but less than 5 gallons of gas, that would be a real problem for me
 

TPadden

Tom Padden
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..... I'm not against chain drive bikes but would not have one as my only bike unless there where no likelihood of doing any touring.
We agree, I haven't been limited by an only bike in at least the last 30 years :).

Probably only 250,000+ touring miles on chained bikes so I'm still in the maybe box; glad I didn't limit my choices, all wonderful bikes, even the little 600 Bandit went from Key West to Fairbanks without a hitch.









 
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VFR

"Uncle Larry"
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Jun 23, 2006
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Idaho for good, no mo Cal
That's telling 'em Tom!!! One chain on the VFR lasted over 60K miles. Another lasted only 45K, only because I was lazy and didn't want to stop on the way home from Moonshine to add oil to the chain oiler. Generally they only get adjusted twice during that time--and I might, maybe look at the adjustment from time to time....

What is this chain noise they speak of??? Never heard it on mine. And yeah, I have a few touring miles on them. And plan on putting more on.
 

ST Gui

240Robert
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VFR said:
That's telling 'em Tom!!!
No it's not. Hasn't changed my mind or choice one iota. Just tells me we're both happy.


VFR said:
What is this chain noise they speak of??? Never heard it on mine.
Maybe it's deafened you. :rofl1: I've heard it on every one of my chain-drive bikes. Switching back and forth between chain and shaft made it very apparent. If you don't hear it than good for you.
 

TPadden

Tom Padden
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.....and what a rider can make of it. But then I'm a glass-half-full not half-empty Gui. But I like this bike a lot and am willing to wait and see how it handles before burying it in an unmarked grave..........Hasn't changed my mind or choice one iota. .....
Wouldn't expect to change anyone's mind who would join a discussion on the side of a Goldwing being a sport tourer :rofl1:; but I would probably revoke your glass "half-full" membership card.

Tom
 

ST Gui

240Robert
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TPadden said:
but I would probably revoke your glass "half-full" membership card.
I like the new GoldWing and have a qualified like for chain bikes. There's no revoking my Half-Full card. But for me chain drive bikes only fill the glass half way.
 

TPadden

Tom Padden
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I like the new GoldWing and have a qualified like for chain bikes. There's no revoking my Half-Full card. But for me chain drive bikes only fill the glass half way.
My glass would have to be completely emptied at least 3 times before I could even understand your point, but I'm sure I will at least try sometime in the future .......
 
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OP
Mellow

Mellow

Joe
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Actually, I think final drives are only half full...
 

ST Gui

240Robert
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TPadden said:
My glass would have to be completely emptied at least 3 times before I could even understand your point
That's not my problem.


TPadden said:
but I'm sure I will at least try sometime in the future .......
Do. Don't. See above. I see your point. It's just not relevant to me.


Mellow said:
Actually, I think final drives are only half full...
Took me a second...
 
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