Back To The Yamaha Fold But Not A Tedium

[dandywarhol]

After flirtations with KTM and Aprilia I've returned to the fold with a 900 - XSR this time. The Tuono Vee4 was just a bit headbanging (literally when I'd a complete front brake failure at 130 on a Knockhill trackday) but it prolly saved my life as a tumour was found in my chest by an eagle eyed radiographer at the local Kirkcaldy hospital. The fecker was removed by keyhole last November and apart from a few broken ribs still repairing after my ticker stopped post surgery and a few bouts of CPR gave it a reboot, I'm getting on just fine.  :good:

 

During a bit of retail therapy post op, I PXed the Tuono for a 2020 XSR900 previously owned by a 75 year old (I know, I know - even older than moi) who had only covered 2600 miles in 18 months after lavishing bolt on goodies (including a £1000 Akrapovic titanium system). The suspension was typical Yamaha "built to a budget pish" so I replaced the rear with a Shock Factory unit and fitting K-Tech piston valves up front.

 

The motor is a peach, with the Akra it's supposed to have around 120 bhp at the crank with 3 power modes - plenty enough power and good mid range for a triple. The fuel consumption is an impressive mid 60s overall and an outstanding 78 when pootering around!

 

Enjoying it!  :pimp:  

[dapleb]

Sminky xxxx and the boike looks good n'all.

[drewpy]

nice bike and glad your ok now :good:

[Catteeclan]

Very nice

[leehenty]

Ooooh very nice

[Matlock]

Loverly bike    Sorry to hear you've had "their knife in your glands" Alan, but glad the outcome is good. This kind of thing happens more often than you'd think, son No.2 is a radiographer and has spotted a few nasties when radiographing accident damage. He also has a few stories about other things he has had to locate, but that's not suitable for a Carpe audience  :rotflmmfao: . Here's to a speedy recovery and many happy miles on the XSR. Doubtless you'll be surprising a few power rangers both on and off track in the near future!

[Snowbird]

That looks very pretty indeed! Good to hear the dodgy bits got found and fixed, every cloud and all that. :good:

[Studley Ramrod]

Lovely bike, liking the colour scheme and gold wheels :good:

[hallrob1]

Nice looking bike   :good:  :good:

[chrisbee]

Lovely bike, loving the A/C Daytona paint 👍

[wicklamulla]

noice Yam but look at the private plate on that Merc!

[Studley Ramrod]

You're at it again Wicky Never miss a thing do you. 

 

Nice car Dandy :good:

[dapleb]

Funny ting is that ain't even his car!!! He just carries that plate abooot waiting for a photo opportunity.

[dandywarhol]

noice Yam but look at the private plate on that Merc!

 

Thanks for all the favourable comments folks.

 

I had to do a slight modification to put a finger up to the electric crowd................... :pimp:

This post was last modified: 01-04-2022, 04:49 PM by dandywarhol.

[Studley Ramrod]

Ha, love that. :good:

 

 

Funny ting is that ain't even his car!!! He just carries that plate abooot waiting for a photo opportunity.

:rotflmmfao:

[Dickiebig]

Excellent bike and the bridge looks very cool, now need the "wheel" in the background

[dandywarhol]

Excellent bike and the bridge looks very cool, now need the "wheel" in the background

 

Que?

[bjorge]

As mentioned, I wanted to do a writeup on 1 year of living with my Tracer 7 ('21, from new) - from perspective of being an Mk1 & 9er owner from 2005 until buying the Tracer 7. Here it goes:

 

1) The most important difference has to do with balance. On my Mk1 I always felt like hitting the right lean was a skill I never got to perfection. The 9er was better, but not perfect.

It shows clearly in 2 ways: a) on the 7er You point through the curve and it stays at that line. Period. b) On my TDMs, I started dreaming of new tires after some ~3000kms as they squared off and made cornering even less intuitive. The 7er has 6,5kkms on the clock, squared off rear tyre and still no noticeable worsening of cornering capability.

 

2) Engine / fuelling is simply better. It pulls better than the 9er at low revs and is quicker than the Mk1 at acceleration. Fuel consumption is normally 3.4-3.5L/100km, my record is 3.9 when taking it to a track day (80km track up to 170km/h, 120 km motorway at cruising ~125km/h + 100 km b-roads). Advert says 4.2 L/100km, I really don't understand how that's even possible... Engine is relatively smooth and versatile. What I still haven't figured out is whether the engine is beefy enough in the long run, ...a very poor market for used bikes has made me postpone the decision (thinking of a Tracer9GT).

 

3) It's very light and nimble. Nice on curvy B-roads, less on motorways :-|

 

4) Stock seat is actually comfy, mirrors vibe-free, seating position OK (closer to the bar than the TDMs) and screen is about as good as any - choose between wind or noise    

 

5) Suspension from stock is on par with the Mk1, better that the 9er (cartridge type forks). 

 

Part from this, things are more or less the same - but as my friend put it (driving a '07 Er6n): "It's like driving a magic carpet compared to this bike.", and "I would definitely corner faster on this bike - it literally asks me to!"

 

Is it worth the extra bucks? To me, yes. Issue #1 - balance - is more than enough for me. If I was to get a cheaper bike now I would stay away from TDMs because of this.