Tracer 900 GT

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In case you havenÂ't noticed, itÂ's summer out there and the roads are calling you. Specifically, they are saying this: “Come, discover us, get a cool motorcycle with sporty pretensions but which also has one or two comfort features your otherwise iron keister might appreciate. May we suggest for this purpose the sport touring class of motorcycle, perhaps the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT?Ââ€

Perhaps youÂ've heard these voices yourself. They have a point.

Sport touring is a fairly narrow sliver of the moto world, occupied at the moment by only the aforementioned Yamaha and a few other bikes like the Kawasaki Versys 1000 LT and BMW F 800 GT. There are loads of pure touring bikes that are bigger, heavier and more comfortable, but they donÂ't do as well when the canyons start to curve. And there are many, many sport and superbikes that are supreme on winding roads but abusive after an hour or two. The sport touring class theoretically offers the best of both worlds -– performance, handling and comfort. But maybe a little more performance.


First, some genealogy. Just as cars often share their roots with similar models, so too with bikes. To make the Tracer 900, Yamaha started with the MT-09 naked sport bike, a favorite among sport-bike knee-scrapers around the globe. IÂ've liked them every time IÂ've ridden them. They are great fun on twisty mountain roads. But, as I also found out, the MT-09 (formerly called the FZ-09) is not as much fun on the long ride to and from those twisty mountain roads. Like any naked sport bike, it gets uncomfortable after a while.

So a few years ago Yamaha added some comfort features to its MT-09/FZ-09 and made it into an FJ-09. Those comfort features included: a windscreen and wind fairings, a more upright riding position, a longer subframe, ABS, traction control and a suspension made to handle the added weight that came in the form of full hard cases and maybe even a passenger on the back.

The new 2019 model you see here, an evolution of the FJ-09, gets a new name: the Tracer 900 and Tracer 900 GT. So to be clear: The FZ-09 naked sport bike begat the FJ-09 sport touring bike, which begat the Tracer 900 GT. This ride concerns the Tracer 900 GT sport touring bike. Clear as gear oil now?


In addition to all the features that made the FJ-09 a more comfortable long-distance tourer, this new Tracer 900 GT sport touring bike gets fully adjustable KYB front forks from the MT-09, a preload adjustable rear spring, a 60-mm-longer rear swing arm for more touring comfort, standard removable hard side cases with a couple different optional top cases, a larger windscreen thatÂ's adjustable with a single hand while underway and seats that are easier to sit on for long periods of time, such as when discovering America.

All of the above bikes share the same torquey and powerful fuel-injected 847cc three-cylinder liquid-cooled four-valve engine, mated to a six-speed manual transmission, both transversely mounted in a slim and lightweight die-cast aluminum frame. Many motorcycle manufacturers in the U.S. donÂ't list power or torque figures (why not???), but if you simply look at the European websites you can get that information easily: 113.4 hp at 10,000 rpm and 64.5 lb-ft at 8,500 revs (as converted from PS and Nm). All that in a bike that weighs just 474 pounds.


So what's it like to ride? It is noticeably more comfortable than its predecessor without losing any of its sportiness. The previous-model FJ-09 had me standing on the pegs for relief after only about a half hour. With this new bikeÂ's new seat, I rode happily all day and never really felt seat pain. ThereÂ's an optional comfort seat with these little gel inserts that I tried out for a short stint (and which I appreciated); if I were ordering one of these IÂ'd get it, but the standard two-height-adjustable seat was fine.

The heart of the beast, the magnificent Yamaha triple, remains one of the best engines on the market, with surprising torque all across the rev range and loads of power up at the top half of the tach. Whenever I looked at the new TFT screen during my long day on the Tracer 900 GT, it seemed to be at or above 4,000 rpm, but I never felt the engine lugging at lower revs. When youÂ're out of gears in sixth and start winding up into higher and higher revs, the engine doesnÂ't sound or feel like itÂ's straining. ItÂ's just as happy at 8,000 rpm as at 4,000.

The transmission never faltered on upshifts, especially when accelerating briskly, but there were a few times when I was trying to downshift quickly coming up to stops where it didnÂ't seem to want to go from fourth to third or anything lower. I had to play around with the clutch a couple times to get it down. That could have been my fault for waiting too long to start downshifting.


Most of the day we rode in columns through the forests of Washington state, with andesitic volcanoes keeping an eye on us -- it was what youÂ'd call touring, and the Tracer was lacking for nothing. There are D-MODE selectable engine maps and switchable traction control options available if you want to customize the bikeÂ's responses, but leaving it in the stock settings produced an entirely livable compromise between performance and handling. Likewise, you can dial up or down the compression and rebound of the front shocks and you can twist a big knob under the rear fender to remotely preload the rear shock and spring. But again, with just me on the bike and nothing in the hard cases or on the rack, I was perfectly satisfied in the stock setting.

In the morning, the roads we took were mostly straight ahead with only a few turns here and there, cruising up and down the scenic Columbia River Gorge, definitely in the touring category. In fact, I began to wonder if weÂ'd ever get to the "sport" part of sport touring. Then after lunch we rode up a wonderful stretch of winding forest two-lane that paralleled something called Curly Creek and, man, did the Tracer come alive. Without even trying, I was scraping the foot pegs, leaning into one corner then flopping it over and leaning into the next. These were fast, fourth-gear turns, with some third-gear corners thrown in for thrills. The Tracer was easy to shift into the proper gears for everything, the assist and slipper clutch making the task as smooth as the seats we were riding on. Occasional superbikes roared up and down the canyon, suggesting this is a place well-known to the Portland moto crowd.

Back in traffic on Highway 14, I appreciated the TracerÂ's nearly 4 inches narrower handlebars, which not only made squeezing through traffic easier but effectively increased the steering response.

The base Tracer 900 stickers at $10,699, plus destination charge. The Tracer 900 GT gets those color-matched hard cases, the adjustable suspension, a quick shifter function, cruise control, heated hand grips and a color display for $12,999, plus destination. Both those prices are a few grand more than the naked sport bike MT-09 on which this sport tourer is based, but it may well be worth it. You could own this and commute on it every day, stowing your briefcase in the saddlebags or in an optional top case and winding through traffic with ease. Then you could adjust the suspension and take the same bike out on weekends for longer excursions that include spirited riding on winding mountain roads.

The sport touring category could easily represent the best of all moto worlds, at least for riding on pavement, and this revised and refined entry is perfect for it.


ON SALE: Now

BASE PRICE: $10,699 plus dest.

AS TESTED PRICE: $12,999 plus dest.

POWERTRAIN: 847cc three-cylinder, six-speed manual, rwd

OUTPUT: 113.4 hp at 10,000 rpm, 64.5 lb-ft at 8500 (Euro specs)

CURB WEIGHT: 474 pounds (mfg.)

FUEL ECONOMY: 44 mpg combined (mfg.)
(EPA City/Hwy/Combined)
PROS: An excellent mix of performance and practicality in a bike that just might do it all

CONS: Our test bike was over 13 grand


Read more: http://autoweek.com/article/motorcycles/first-ride-2019-yamaha-tracer-900-gt-keeps-sport-sport-touring#ixzz5LXKO3qfS

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Nice review. If I had to replace my BMW F800GT, it would be on the short list...but I'd still probably go back to the F800GT.
 
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Joe
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I can't wait to ride one.
Have you yet?... It's about time for me to make a change... this one is starting to speak to me the more I see/read about it... lots of great reviews. If it ever stops raining around here I may venture out for a test ride, several dealers have them in my area.
 

the Ferret

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my son has the previous generation. He likes it ok,.... not thrilled with it. he's got about 12,000 mileson it, several out of state trips, a lot of commuting. He's thinking about selling it and getting an MT-10. The new updates should improve it.

 
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I'll qualify this a bit by saying the Gen3 FJR is the best bike I've had..... it would take something to get me off that....... biker's post seems spot on and similar to other reviews I've read. I test rode a friend's Tracer GT a couple of weeks ago, he's also an FJR owner also. We both agree the Tracer is a lot of fun. It is very planted, unlike other taller bikes such as a V-strom, it comes with cruise and 20 litre bags (FJR bags are an exact fit), and the suspension is fully adjustable USD forks... I didn't feel I needed any more spring for the rear. Seat seemed good but I didn't have all day in it. I had the smallish windshield all the way down and had completely clean air.... got covered in bugs though. As usual, I'd be looking for an aftermarket windshield. Very impressive, excellent performance, light and nimble, smooth, happy at any rpm, coloured TFT display is kool. I'll just say this, when I got off the thing, the biggest thing I felt was my wallet trying to jump out of my pocket. A little pricey, so I'll just put this one on the radar and hope to find a good used one in a year or so... I WILL have one eventually and the FJR will go. If you test ride one, best leave the wallet locked up somewhere.
 

Dale_I

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It's the bag capacity that has me questioning it. At ~20 ltrs a side I'm giving up almost 40% of my storage... and I already have problems fitting everything inside!
 
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Joe
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It's the bag capacity that has me questioning it. At ~20 ltrs a side I'm giving up almost 40% of my storage... and I already have problems fitting everything inside!
I find I bring enough to fill what I have... lol.. Used to have a unigo and I'd fill that trailer... I don't have that anymore yet I still fill up what I have.. So, I would probably add a top box but on the SuperTen I don't stuff everything full as it is. I'm sure those bags would be fine. I'm somewhat of a minimalists when it comes to packing these days.
 
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It's the bag capacity that has me questioning it. At ~20 ltrs a side I'm giving up almost 40% of my storage... and I already have problems fitting everything inside!
The black saddlebag base is identical to the FJR's. The lids on the Tracer are flat and slim, so you lose 10 litres each compared to the FJR..... find a set of FJR bags, or just lids and 4 rivets each and you're done!
 
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The only problem with these lightweight touring bikes is you get beat up on the interstate getting to your riding destination. My NC700X is roughly the same weight as the Tracer and it just doesn’t have the protection I feel comfortable with on a long trip. If things work out like I planned my ST “upgrade” will only cost me $1000, a lot more bike for a grand.
 

okckeith

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Have you yet?... It's about time for me to make a change... this one is starting to speak to me the more I see/read about it... lots of great reviews. If it ever stops raining around here I may venture out for a test ride, several dealers have them in my area.
I have not rode one yet. I bought a BMW R1200RS back in August. You need to ride it.
 
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The only problem with these lightweight touring bikes is you get beat up on the interstate getting to your riding destination. My NC700X is roughly the same weight as the Tracer and it just doesn’t have the protection I feel comfortable with on a long trip...
It just doesn't always work out that way. Summer of 2017, I rode from Seattle to Utah with another guy who was on a Goldwing. We had several days of hard riding, with the intent to get past the boring part to spend more time in the fun part at the other end. We spent days in heavy rain heading south. When it wasn't raining, we had high winds. There were hours of riding in cross-winds that were so strong, I thought my helmet would've been ripped off if it wasn't strapped. We stopped once on the Hogback in Utah on Hwy 12. I wanted to plug in my Sena 10C to recharge. Within a minute, I realized I was going to be blown over if we didn't keep moving. The winds were that bad. Yet my 470 lb F800GT did great.

My riding partner weighed close to 300 lbs and was on that 900 lb Goldwing...and he got blown around as much as I did. When we got to our destination at each of the National Parks, he wanted to collapse in the motel room. I wanted to dump my luggage and head off to do some sightseeing. I was a lot less tired at the end of the day than he was.

Weight does not always equal better protection and touring capability. Never once in about 11,000 miles of touring that summer, and in close to the same amount this summer, have I ever wished I had a different bike. Not once.

Chris
 

okckeith

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Oh no, that's more money lol
It’s only money. You can’t take it with you. :biggrin:
You’ Have to take mine for a ride next time I see you. There are some good deals on slightly used ones out there. I know of one probably coming up for sell. It is set up real nice with low miles on it. You know the owner. Not mine.
 
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I am sure I would love the Tracer and definitely want to try a Yamaha with that sweet triple. I’ve been waiting for them to get that fueling thing worked out. Everything in life is somewhat of a trade off, I love the upright seating on the adventure styled bike but it does expose you more to the elements. The weight and wind protection of the ST seems to help keep me from being blown around on the interstate which I prefer to avoid when I can. It’s a two hour ride from where I live to the BRP, maybe I will just keep looking for more two lane routes but for now if I must travel any of the i’s it will be on the ST.
 
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Joe
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I am sure I would love the Tracer and definitely want to try a Yamaha with that sweet triple. I’ve been waiting for them to get that fueling thing worked out. Everything in life is somewhat of a trade off, I love the upright seating on the adventure styled bike but it does expose you more to the elements. The weight and wind protection of the ST seems to help keep me from being blown around on the interstate which I prefer to avoid when I can. It’s a two hour ride from where I live to the BRP, maybe I will just keep looking for more two lane routes but for now if I must travel any of the i’s it will be on the ST.
The one thing I really like about the SuperTen is the D-mode switch - S/T ... The S mode is a very responsive throttle and can get jerky at times but the T mode is relaxed and smooths out. Looks like the Tracer has STD, A and B - A being sporty, B being more relaxed and STD trying to fit in the middle... I haven't seen a review yet where someone played with those more for real-world riding.
 
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Flashing the ECU is a good fix for the twitch-i-ness on the Super Ten, apparently. Likely for other bikes with the same problem.
 
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Joe
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Flashing the ECU is a good fix for the twitch-i-ness on the Super Ten, apparently. Likely for other bikes with the same problem.
Many have done that and loved it... I never felt like it was needed.. T mode for a nice easy throttle.. S mode for the twisties.. If the Tracer's B mode is like the SuperTen T mode then it may be perfect for easy touring.
 
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