Thanks for the suggestions, I had the same idea to use high temperature gasket sealant but wasn't sure it would work, I'll do it as a temporary fix now and see what Fowlers come up with.
As for stripping it before sorting the parts, I didn't have much choice either way with oil pissing out of the thing but at least it's given me chance to get things cleaned up a bit.


As always nice to know I can rely on the foccers for advice and suggestions.

Well nothing is ever easy is it, followed Gnashers instructions and got the cooler off no problem, then spent 2 hours searching for places that stock the gasket and O ring, eventually ordered them from Fowlers who said they were in stock and took my £29 and told me they'd be here in 3 days. This morning I get an email telling me they are not in stock so they would have to get on to Yamaha to see if they had any which will take 7 to 10 days.
I guess I'll just have to wait but I'm thinking they'll come back with the same answer as everyone else, that these items are no longer available so I'm wondering what other alternatives I might have to get back on the road. Answers on a postcard please.

It's not obvious as it's tucked behind the downpipes and I haven't got a bike lift to get it up off the floor but when the engine isn't running you can't see any oil, when the engine is running though it's like a trickle coming from the underneath where the cooler housing meets the engine block but obviously that could be just where gravity takes it, I'm not an expert mechanic but I'm fairly competent and I've never seen this happen before.

Lots of interesting comments which show that it's a case of individual preference for any bike, most people I guess will overlook some minor niggles because the best points of any bikes are what we focus on for our enjoyment. I don't say that any bike I've owned has been a really bad bike, more likely that the niggles have tempered the enjoyment of the good stuff. I acknowledge that the Fazer is not a perfect bike in the real world but in my world it is perfect for me, and that's all that really matters isn't it guys.

As a Yamaha lover I believe that a Gen 1 Fazer was probably the worlds greatest all rounder, they were as advertised, brilliant for touring,commuting and not bad for scratching too, loads of power and you could tinker with them to make them even better. One thing that never needed any tinkering though was the riding position and comfort they gave you, all day long ability. Fairly cheap mods to the suspension would get great results.
In my opinion the Tracer 9 which was advertised as the new Fazer never lived up to the hype and was probably such a big seller because of the relatively low price and 0% finance deals that Yamaha gave, I took advantage of such a deal myself.
The test ride was good with the three cylinder cross plane engine being really responsive and the chassis being quite flickable and the bike felt stable in the bends. Living with the bike though it became clear very quickly that this bike needed lots of work to make it anywhere near as good as a Fazer.
First thing I noticed was the vague feeling you get from the front end at speed, like it wanted to wash out all the time, then there was that seat, 30 to 40 miles was all it took to get really uncomfortable with numb bum syndrome, Yamaha offered a comfort gel seat at over 300 quid but I read reports that it was no better than standard, the rear suspension was far too hard and was jolting over bumps and the exhaust was a one piece job so an after market exhaust would set you back 1200 quid. The throttle response was far too aggressive with that on off feeling you get with so many modern bikes so rolling on the power out of corners was virtually impossible whichever power mode you had on.The build quality wasn't the usual Yamaha standard probably due to the knock down price of 8 grand. The fuel guage was a joke too. I realise that Yamaha have addressed the faults and made the Tracer into a much better motorcycle but that improvement will cost you over 10 grand now and there are lots of more capable bikes for that kind of money.
So really too many faults and niggles to get on with so I took a 2 grand hit and traded it for a Kawasaki sx thou which was a lot better all round bike but wasn't any where near as comfortable as a Fazer.
So here I am going back to where I feel most at home on a motorcycle, a Gen 1 FZS1000 in gleaming black with less than 17000 miles on the clock, it might all go horribly wrong, who knows but I'm willing to take the risk if I end up being a happy biker again.

I'll definitely share photos when I get one. I think the Gen 2's are ok but I've heard a lot of bad things about them and they're supposed to be not as comfortable and not so good on fuel, I have looked at a couple though and to be fair my mate has one and he says it's the best bike he's ever had.

So in 2016 I made probably the worst mistake of my biking career which was to trade in my beloved 03 Fazer thou for a brand new MT09 Tracer having believed the advertising hype that these were the new Fazer. Well nothing in my opinion could have been further from the truth, I put it down to individual taste because I am aware that these bikes have a strong following but in short I hated it. I rode it for 3000 miles over a 3 month period because I wanted to give it a chance but I couldn't get on with it. Instead of cutting my losses and going straight back to a Fazer though I embarked on a merry go round of different bikes in search of the perfect replacement. In short I've decided there is no perfect replacement so last week I sold my Z1000sx and am now looking for a good Gen 1 FZS1000, I've seen quite a few advertised for top money, is this due to their popularity or a consequence of the lockdown. If anyone knows of a good reasonably priced bike I'd be grateful for a heads up, thanks lads

Hi all,


So after my original post about selling the Tracer and the few comments I received along with some research into what these bikes are worth on the second hand market I have had a rethink.
I have seen a pretty wide variation in what people are asking for them but none that are up for less than £7500 so I thought my asking price was very competative, but that would only be true if someone was willing to pay that price.So I thought what would be the lowest i'd go to get a sale so I could move on, and although it would grieve me to think I would virtually be giving it away I would be willing to let it go for £7000 but that would be the rock bottom I'd go,offers lower than that I would say were taking the mickey.
The insurance is due on the 24th of this month so I think if it hasn't sold by then I'll renew the insurance and keep it, so if there's anyone out there who's interested in a cheap nearly new bike please hurry up and let me know.


Cheers

Thanks for those words mate,nice of you to say.
If it's meant to be I'll be back on a Fazer soon enough.

Think it'll struggle to live up to the Fazer, my MT09 Tracer hasn't come close yet even if it is a very good bike.I'd be interested to know how you do get on with the Kwak as it was one of the bikes along with the SX1000 that I considered but in the end stuck with Yamaha.I do miss my Fazer though and wish they'd bring a newer model out [the MT10 is a street bike not a true all rounder like the Fazer].


Good luck with it anyway.

All I'm asking is why would'nt helmets be the correct answer and anyway as security goes it's not great when after three incorrect answers it just changes the question so bypassing any so called security ????????

No worries Des,Hope it looks good on the bike


Cheers,John

Hi guys, so I recently traded my Fazer in for a Tracer MT09, which may or may not turn out to be my best ever decision, but that's a future debate, anyway I took off most of the accessories to sell separately so if anyone is looking for some bits here is the list:- R6 shock conversion from devils yam complete with dogbones, only bought in April, Delkavic Carbon end can, very good looking and sounds ace,dark tint double bubble screen and standard screen, powerbronze carbon look belly pan with fittings and instructions,a carbon look hugger, a front fender extender and some Givi side arms for a rear carrier. I'm open to offers for all the stuff so message me if you're interested in owt. I'm in Grimsby if anyone is close by or I can get stuff delivered.