New bike break-in & highway riding

dgunay said:
Sounds great, just need to make sure that it fits with the center stand before buying it
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Just FYI, the Akrapovic Ti exhausts for the Yamaha triples are quiet even without the optional catalytic converter - not much louder than stock. I have one on my FZ and chose it specifically because it's stealthy (not a fan of loud pipes) and I like the 'tucked in' look. The sound is bassier (vs. tinny stock), but not much louder, even at high revs.
Of course some people have removed the noise insert which is spot-welded in place and then the exhaust becomes obnoxiously, ridiculously loud. Plenty of videos on Youtube.

Also, Akrapovic calls it Ti, but for this system at least, in reality only the outer sleeve of the muffler is made of titanium. Everything else is stainless steel.
 
Good point. I didn't mean to imply that the system for the Tracer is full Ti.

Full Ti construction is only available on some systems, usually for recent vintage sportbikes.
 
The prior issues with that motor was cam chain tensioners. Many replaced on recall/TSB's. Hopefully that was corrected.
 
dgunay said:
Thanks guys for all input and great advice!

I picked it up and already put 1100 miles, I did not use cruise control and tried to vary speed, gear and load on the way back, as much as possible.

I would have changed oil myself but didn't want to take risk with 5 figure bike and took it to a dealer for the first maintenance for warranty purposes (at 650 miles). They put dino Yamalube 10w40 and so far there is no oil consumption.

For next oil change, I may buy the oil and filter from dealer (for warranty) or use leftover T6, but for sure I will change it myself. Planning to do it around 3k miles.





- Love the triple sound, need to get aftermarket pipe but it is pricey - I will wait next year to decide.
.
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I bought s Dan Moto for my R1200GS because it was cheap. It is pretty well made, not horribly loud. Starting on the 3 ed year for it.

I do put on the stock pipes for touring.

Rod
 
troop said:
The prior issues with that motor was cam chain tensioners. Many replaced on recall/TSB's. Hopefully that was corrected.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads-up. It's unlikely that they still use same part, but will check it out.
 
ragtoplvr said:
I bought s Dan Moto for my R1200GS because it was cheap. It is pretty well made, not horribly loud. Starting on the 3 ed year for it.

I do put on the stock pipes for touring.

Rod
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Thanks - usually I don't ride long distances. Maybe 150-200 miles once in a year but average 20 miles/day so aftermarket pipe should not be a big problem. Unfortunately it's a one-piece design so you have to take off everything to get back to stock. I wish we were able to put slip-on.

I bought this instead of XSR900 because of my size and extra features (better suspension, cruise control, heated grips etc) come with the Tracer, so I don't mind extra noise :)
 
Looking at a Tracer 900 later today, trading up from a FZ6 that gave me 12k trouble-free miles.

Skip the extended warranty, you likely won't need it.

I might be bringing it home...
 
andreigbs said:
Looking at a Tracer 900 later today, trading up from a FZ6 that gave me 12k trouble-free miles.

Skip the extended warranty, you likely won't need it.

I might be bringing it home...
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Tracer 900, cool looking bike, would love to have one in the garage. Maybe one day ...
Good luck, will be curious what you think.

BTW - the post you replied to was from last Oct 2020, we can only assume the OP has the bike now. I wonder if he has a post in here with photos?
 
When I Bought My Road King in 2014 it came with a 2 year factory warranty, I then for the first time in my life purchased an extended warranty, after market an extra 4 years for $1000 (no deductible, 100% coverage = total of 6 years.
What a mistake that was, here we are 7 years and 30,000 miles later, never needed a repair.
Never bought one until then in my long so far life, never will again.
 
alarmguy said:
When I Bought My Road King in 2014 it came with a 2 year factory warranty, I then for the first time in my life purchased an extended warranty, after market an extra 4 years for $1000 (no deductible, 100% coverage = total of 6 years.
What a mistake that was, here we are 7 years and 30,000 miles later, never needed a repair.
Never bought one until then in my long so far life, never will again.
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Hoping your RK continues to be trouble free. (y)No repairs under warranty for 6 years but you’re now into your 7th year of ownership and the warranty has expired....! Ummm, you know what’s likely to happen now..right? :eek: My sons CVO RK needed the extended warranty several times. Once in Indianapolis when the inner primary bearing went out and another time when he picked up a screw in the rear tire. He had also bought the wheel and tire warranty, and each time he paid $50 and was on his way. Like you I’m not an extended warranty kind of guy but his paid off for him.
 
alarmguy said:
Tracer 900, cool looking bike, would love to have one in the garage. Maybe one day ...
Good luck, will be curious what you think.

BTW - the post you replied to was from last Oct 2020, we can only assume the OP has the bike now. I wonder if he has a post in here with photos?
Click to expand...

Yeah I still have the bike, put about 2000 miles-3500 kms. I should have a picture in the previous page, but I can add more later this week.

Still didn't buy extended warranty, I can still get it before warranty expires but I doubt that I will buy.

I have one manufacturer recall which I received it in January, front brake switch needs to be replaced. I'm very surprised to see there is a recall for a model that's been on the road for several years but I need to take the bike to the dealer for the recall.

Other than that, changed the oil twice, first one was around 750 miles done by dealer, this time I bought oil from the dealer and changed it myself today. No oil consumption so far.

Since I bought it I also added OEM Yamaha top case, it's expensive but worth it. Now it can put my helmet and other small stuff in it without a problem. Now I have top case installed 7/24 and I removed side cases and probably won't use them unless I really have to, but good to have them when I need. I also changed ugly blinkers with LED ones and DRLs in the front.

I'm still trying to decide to buy an aftermarket exhaust, it's **** expensive but it sounds great. Other than that the bike is stock. I may replace the tires with Michelin Road 5 maybe at the end of this year, or the beginning of next year.

Anyways, you guys should get the newer Tracer 9, it comes with a slightly revised/ bigger engine, better electronics etc. It's a great bike for the price. For me it's not worth upgrading it to the new 9, but my next step would be S1000XR or Multi V4S in the future (maybe in the next few years). For now, I'm very happy with the bike and highly recommend it if you need do-it-all type of bike.
 
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dgunay said:
Anyways, you guys should get the newer Tracer 9, it comes with a slightly revised/ bigger engine, better electronics etc. It's a great bike for the price. For me it's not worth upgrading it to the new 9, but my next step would be S1000XR or Multi V4S in the future (maybe in the next few years). For now, I'm very happy with the bike and highly recommend it if you need do-it-all type of bike.
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I have always been curious about one thing, I never had a bike with a chain, always shaft drive or belt. I love belt.
Chain scares the heck out of me! Maintenance? Is it really that bad?
How long do chains last? I guess chain makes something more of a sport tourer where you wouldn't go off road with a belt on a regular basis.
I wouldn't be going off road and chain maybe overkill.

Topcase would be a must, I assume easy to take on and off.

I know BWM now sells what is supposed to be maintenance free chain.
BTW, most likely would never buy another bike anytime soon but like anything, its nice to think things through in case, something really motivates you for any particular reason.
 
alarmguy said:
I have always been curious about one thing, I never had a bike with a chain, always shaft drive or belt. I love belt.
Chain scares the heck out of me! Maintenance? Is it really that bad?
Click to expand...

No. It's just additional routine maintenance. Everyone has their own routines for chain maintenance, but usually it'll be something like lube every couple of hundred miles, maybe clean it when it starts looking too dirty, check and adjust tension if necessary. Easy peasy - what's scary about that?
Bikes with centerstands (like the Tracers) make this process ridiculously easy.

How long do chains last?
Click to expand...

I'd say it mostly depends on chain quality, riding conditions, and maintenance. With a good quality chain and decent maintenance, you should be getting at least 20K miles out of a chain.

I know BWM now sells what is supposed to be maintenance free chain.
Click to expand...

Remains to be seen how well this actually works.
 
alarmguy said:
I have always been curious about one thing, I never had a bike with a chain, always shaft drive or belt. I love belt.
Chain scares the heck out of me! Maintenance? Is it really that bad?
How long do chains last? I guess chain makes something more of a sport tourer where you wouldn't go off road with a belt on a regular basis.
I wouldn't be going off road and chain maybe overkill.

Topcase would be a must, I assume easy to take on and off.

I know BWM now sells what is supposed to be maintenance free chain.
BTW, most likely would never buy another bike anytime soon but like anything, its nice to think things through in case, something really motivates you for any particular reason.
Click to expand...

If you are scared of chain maintenance, get a bike with a center stand - which Tracer 900 GT has it. This makes your life much easier.

Personally I lube the chain every 300-500 miles depending on the weather and road conditions, and wipe excessive lube (which also cleans the chain) but it never gets really dirty if you ride it on pavement, so no reason to clean it thoroughly. If you take it to off road, that's when you should definitely clean it regularly, but I doubt you'd ever take the Tracer off road, that's not what it's meant for.

Chain tension adjustment is not hard, there are hundreds of videos on Youtube. So far I only adjusted it once after the first oil change (around 750 miles), and I may need to adjust it one more time when I lube the chain next time. When the bike is new, the chain gets loose easily as it has a break-in period like the rest of the bike. After few thousand miles, it slows down quite a bit.

Slightly loose chain is not a big deal (mine is slightly out of spec for instance), if it's not touching the swingarm it's all good.
 
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