Getting second thoughts now

[Yami]

Sold my SuperTenere a while ago, very nice bike but to heavy for me. If it had come in 65 kg less I would have kept it.
I wish they had made the Tracer as a lighter XT850Z instead.

Started out looking for a lighter bike and my thoughts went for FZ8 and MT09. But then I spotted the Tracer. I fell for it
right away and especially the Race Blu one. Tested one at the dealer and it was only one big issue I didn´t like, maybe
nothing to do to fix it, the angle of legs towards the pegs. Not at all as the ST I liked so much. More like a R1 I would say.
Maybe I could live with it, what are you guys thinking of the leg angle going for daytrips at maximum 1000km´s with the Tracer?

Been thinking a lot of what to do to personalize it and there is some to do. Screen, seat, handguards, rear end and the
most important, stand up driving for long distancies, pegs down and handlebar up.

After all that I found this forum and read a lot of negative things with the Tracer.
Cam chain Tensioner still not fixed, gearbox issues and wobbleing tendencies as the worst things. WTF?
Please convince me not to have seconds thoughts about buying this nice looking bike.
Thanks.

 

[Tafy94]

Hi

OK, leg position is a personal thing but I find it fine, no problems on the longer rides I've done, up to about 500Km a day. Personally I've had no tensioner issues, gearbox has been fine and I've had it up the the rev lmit in top without any speed wobble. Over all I'm very happy with far more plusses than negatives, my biggest issue is the seat is a bit hard, but I can live with it.

 

[KatanaAl]

Hi,
I still have my Super Tenere and traded an MT09 in for the Tracer. I am just under 6' and have no problems with leg position. I find the seat uncomfortable on the Tracer and will have it customised by a local firm in South Shields. Probably going to change the screen, not sure which one yet and the clutch is a bit of a stretch with a non adjustable lever although I have had very recent success with Chinese levers off the MT09 (£14 for the pair).
I will not be selling my Super 10 as it is an incredible bike for longhaul touring as I am sure you are well aware. The bike is very heavy at a standstill compared to the Tracer which is my weapon of choice for days out and long weekends away. The engine is fantastic and I find the handling excellent although I have softened the suspension which I found slightly harsh on the standard setting. I have no issues with wobbles, cam chain tensioners (the MT09 had) and no gearbox issues, and the Lava Red looks very classy.
Go for it !

 

[Yami]

Hi

OK, leg position is a personal thing but I find it fine, no problems on the longer rides I've done, up to about 500Km a day. Personally I've had no tensioner issues, gearbox has been fine and I've had it up the the rev lmit in top without any speed wobble. Over all I'm very happy with far more plusses than negatives, my biggest issue is the seat is a bit hard, but I can live with it.

Thanks, for your input. No bike is perfect, there is always something you have to compromise with.
I guess the angle of the legs is one of those. I really like the look of this bike and the feeling driving it was very nice.
All in all I can´t complain of what you get for the money. A lot of plusses.
Yes, the seat is a thing you can live with or try to fix. I usually live with it and instead I stand up now and then during the ride
to let the numbness in the back disappear. It´s nice for the legs as well. But the bike has to be in some grade setup to do it.

I think I have to do another testride and talk some with the Yamaha dealer guys about the other issues.
It looks like the wobbling has to do with the suspension setup? If thats the case there is a cure. The other 2 issues,
seemes to be more of warranty issues if it happens. But for the CCT I really thought they had fixed it for the 2015 engine.
Can´t find any info of what type of issue it is but Yamaha had a similar issue with the early TDM900´s. When the cam chain began to
increase in lenght the tensioner became to short. The fix that time was that Yamaha made another one a lot longer.

 

[Yami]

Hi,
I still have my Super Tenere and traded an MT09 in for the Tracer. I am just under 6' and have no problems with leg position. I find the seat uncomfortable on the Tracer and will have it customised by a local firm in South Shields. Probably going to change the screen, not sure which one yet and the clutch is a bit of a stretch with a non adjustable lever although I have had very recent success with Chinese levers off the MT09 (£14 for the pair).
I will not be selling my Super 10 as it is an incredible bike for longhaul touring as I am sure you are well aware. The bike is very heavy at a standstill compared to the Tracer which is my weapon of choice for days out and long weekends away. The engine is fantastic and I find the handling excellent although I have softened the suspension which I found slightly harsh on the standard setting. I have no issues with wobbles, cam chain tensioners (the MT09 had) and no gearbox issues, and the Lava Red looks very classy.
Go for it !

Yeah, the ST is a great bike but the weight did not suit me. So you are not standing up riding very much on the Tracer or ST?
That handguards is getting off and then you can have some more options getting a customized wider screen. Had nothing to complain on with the levers.
But picking the handguards off will offcourse mean you have to have nicer looking levers.
Ok, you are softening the suspension, reading some they often go the other way on the Tracer.
Thanks for your input.

 

[KatanaAl]

I find the seat reasonably comfortable on the Super 10 and when I do need a break I find it very easy to ride standing up, don't feel very comfortable standing up on the Tracer. I only fell the weight of the Super 10 when I am pulling it out of the garage. When I park it up I am always careful where I leave it as it can be difficult if not impossible to pull it out of a parking bay facing downhill. A little thought when parking can save this embarrasment.

 

[drumwrecker]

Yami,
I'm sure this website is known here but it won't do any harm posting again Motorcycle Ergonomics
I find it very useful.

 

[Yami]

I find the seat reasonably comfortable on the Super 10 and when I do need a break I find it very easy to ride standing up, don't feel very comfortable standing up on the Tracer. I only fell the weight of the Super 10 when I am pulling it out of the garage. When I park it up I am always careful where I leave it as it can be difficult if not impossible to pull it out of a parking bay facing downhill. A little thought when parking can save this embarrasment.

I recognize that struggle. Once in the Alps fully loaded I parked a Little downhill far away from cars, had learned my lesson.
Explored some by foot and when I returned to the bike there was cars parked on each side.
Had to ask for help to pull it back, again. When I later dropped it in a similar situation I decided it had to go.

So you have tried standing up with the Tracer. Have you been figuring some if it can be altered to make it better standing up?
I haven´t got so much time with one so I could figure something out. Have seen some footpegs that can be altered
around it´s axle within 24 mm and one with 39 mm. But doing this will probably affect a lot of things. Maybe getting
the gear/brake levers to Close for the foot and make it touch the ground in corners more easy.

 

[Yami]

Yami,
I'm sure this website is known here but it won't do any harm posting again Motorcycle Ergonomics
I find it very useful.

Yes that one is known by me too. Very good site by the way.
Thanks, the issue is more clear comparing the bikes here. My concern is that the pegs are maybe
to far back/up creating a feeling that the foot wants to fall off the peg.

This is the very nice position the S10 offers.

This is what the Tracer offers.

Very similar to this.

Well, maybe I am to concerned with this. I can probably live with it and maybe is a better seat the way to go with this bike.

 

[drumwrecker]

At the moment I am riding a BMW K1300s and I have no difficulty standing up on the pegs to relax my numb bum.
I'm 5'9" with a 29/30 " inside leg. I don't think you have a lot to worry about there.
I have been looking to change to the Tracer but I find it a bit too upright and too high for me. Also I felt trapped in the saddle with little room to change position of my bum.
I did find the leg angle rather nice compared to the K13s but that is due to it being a higher seat.
Its all a compromise.

 

[Yami]

At the moment I am riding a BMW K1300s and I have no difficulty standing up on the pegs to relax my numb bum.
I'm 5'9" with a 29/30 " inside leg. I don't think you have a lot to worry about there.
I have been looking to change to the Tracer but I find it a bit too upright and too high for me. Also I felt trapped in the saddle with little room to change position of my bum.
I did find the leg angle rather nice compared to the K13s but that is due to it being a higher seat.
Its all a compromise.

Yeah, that position on the pegs looks the same as on your K1300S.
But it got to be difficult standing straight on yours, it´s almost a position like on a racebike.
My dealer seemes to have closed the business for a couple of Days, all the staff is in Milano of some reason.
Have to wait. Think I´m gonna try the Little sister as well, MT07 when I´m at it.

 

[drumwrecker]

Why do you want to stand up straight, I thought you just wanted to relax your body a bit.
If I want to straighten my back I can do that when riding just by taking my hands off the bars (at the appropriate time of course).
Numb bum etc they say is caused by lack of circulation and I have worked out some exercises to do on the bike that really help but nothing beats stopping and having a walk .
On my trail bike we spend a lot of time standing on the foot pegs and I am still bent forward, not nearly as much but still leaning forward. Standing up on my K13s my back is bent forward more but the weight is off my bum and that is what was painful.
Having sat on a Tracer I was impressed with the saddle to footrest comfort but not with the seat to handlebars, it was too upright.
I have since found out that the Tracers bar risers can be reversed to change that reach. Wished I had known that when talking to the salesman. Does anybody know what difference it makes?

 

[solomon]

Apart from my Clutch cable breaking (it was replaced under warranty) I have nothing negative to say about the Tracer. It is a wonderfully balanced bike that rides confidently both very fast and slow speeds. I did change the stock tyres (I did not like them at all, hard, moderate grip and forever to warm up) to Michelin PR4's. I also did several adjustments to the front and rear suspension to get the ride right for my weight and style riding. I ride mostly 2 up and for 100's of kilometres at any one time. The leg angle for me is perfect. I am 1.86 metres tall and love the ride position. You will absolutely get used to this position after a few hundred kilometres on this bike. If I was to give any criticism about this great bike, it would be wind noise from screen, hard seat, and some vibration from engine at revs above 6000rpm. All of these things can be easily fixed if you wish. There is no other bike like it !!! It is a joy to ride and actually gets better and better with time. I am on 7000 km from new now, and I enjoy it more now than ever. Get one !!! You wont regret

 

[Yami]

I really like the Tracer so far. The look and how it behaved on the road. Will do some more investigation on the little stuff before I make my mind up though.
Most likely this is a buy. Thanks for the input.

 

[Yami]

Forgot to ask, what are your fuel consumption?
Thanks

 

[solomon]

I have averaged 4.6L / 100km and I ride with pillion on STD mode 90% of the time. I ride a lot up mountains and touring. I am by no means a hooligan rider, but we ride usually 50% minimum above the indicated speed limits. Some corners in the mountains are a 60kmh limit, we will usually be going 100 kmh as an example. The bike handles great with Michelin PR4's and correct suspension setup !!! It is a lot of fun indeed

 

[drumwrecker]

I think there is another thread here on fuel consumption.
Why don't we just compare miles per litre and keep it simple, if you want MPG from there do the maths.

 

[Triple Trouble]

I think there is another thread here on fuel consumption.
Why don't we just compare miles per litre and keep it simple, if you want MPG from there do the maths.

Yes there's a very big thread on MPG

 

[Yami]

Yes, found the thread. Thats very good numbers, almost to good. I thought the FZ07 had the best fuelconsumption of the 2 bikes.
Taking an average of those who has posted their numbers gives 56,8 mpg. thats 272 miles or 436 km on a tank.
I get it they just read the numbers on the panel and not doing the math themselves, Count the gallons in and compare it to miles driven.
Then it can be some percentage wrong. But still very good.

 

[Yami]

Still, if I take the lowest values from the posted fuel consumptions, make an average on that and cut off 10% I get 235 miles on a 4.8 gallon tank (376 km), thats very good.
Sounds as a bike that can have a low fuel consumption regarding how you handle the throttle offcourse. Thats good for touring. A BIG +