2021 Tracer 9 GT 160mi First Impressions; is it worth the upgrade?

[jthayer09]

Been on the hunt for a new bike after my 2015 FJ09 got a hole in the engine; on a whim I called all the dealers within 250mi radius yesterday and asked for OTD prices on their 2021 Tracer 9 GTs. One dealer roughly 160mi from me gave me an awesome $15,295.xx OTD price ($13,899 for the bike) so I went and picked it up today. Remember I'm coming from a 2015 FJ09 so some of the below improvements may have happened on the 2018-20 GT models.

These are my first impressions with about 40min of interstate riding (75mph), 2 hours of state-route riding (wide sweeping turns and 55mph straights, 20min of that in a thunderstorm), and 30min of twisties in one sitting:

Engine & Throttle

Power comes online a bit lower in the rev range than my 2015 so I'd call it more "useable". This does not come at the cost of the top-end at all, it is up on power across the board and it is noticeable but only in a nuanced way. I didn't notice any jerkiness riding in mode 2... which I think is the equivalent of "standard" on the FJ. Engine braking is strong, it caught me off-guard the first few times.

Windscreen

Still sucks, either have it all the way down and and it's loud but clean air. Or have it all the way up and give yourself a neck workout from buffeting, but quieter. I'm 5"10 and lean a little bit into the wind.

Vibrations

Nearly completely gone from the foot-pegs, handlebar vibes are much reduced but it seems like they were just moved to the brake and clutch levers.

Seat

Much better, I was surprised this was such a big improvement: flatter, and much wider. When I noticed a hot spot on one side of my rear I shifted my weight for about 10 seconds and went back to normal and was comfortable again.

Brakes

I think these needs to be worn-in, they're really bad until about the 130mi mark when I noticed them start having bite.

Suspension

This is the big one. I had my doubts that a semi-active suspension would be adequate, especially coming from my '15 FJ09 Ohlins setup. I cannot stress enough how good the suspension is. I had it in mode 2 - "road" mode and the best way I can explain it is that it smooths out all but the largest of bumps without losing any feeling or adding pogo. I can pay it what I consider the highest compliment: I never had to think about it, I started to forget that it was there. I'm 170lbs for reference. Mode 1 tightens everything up and seems like it'd be great for aggressive riding but I'll have to test that further.

Quick Shifter

Has auto-blipper for downshifts. It's good! I don't have another point of reference but upshifts are lightning fast and smooth, downshifts take a firmer foot press but is equally smooth in how it blips the engine and shifts. The firmer foot press requirement makes it a little "clunky" to interact with, but the execution is flawless. There are two arrows on the digital dash that light up when you can use the quick shifter, one for up and one for down. The QS does not let you down shift unless you are off of the throttle.

Electronics

Cruise control is very intuitive; works perfectly and like a car's. The bike feels like it turns in "on its own". This is due to the traction, slide, and lift control systems of the IMU; TCS measures rear wheel slip, SCS measures lean angle, and LIF measures front wheel lift to keep you going through a corner as fast as possible. These are adjustable from levels 1-3 with 1 being least amount of intervention; I rode on 2 for today. ABS works fine, I found it a little less intrusive than my FJ09 but maybe that's because the brakes suck until worn-in. I kept in BC1 which doesn't have cornering ABS; will test BC2 on a more aggressive riding day.

Misc.

The silver paint is a deep silver, and the blue on the wheels are kind of a satin finish. I liked the red better in pictures but once I saw both in person the liquid silver and blue stole my heart.

Passenger seat is big, also max payload has increased over the previous chassis so 2-up touring should be more manageable. The seat is also flat with the grab handles which served as a large even surface to set down my backpack to change into rain gear when the storm hit.

Storage compartment under passenger seat is much larger than the FJ09.

Digital screen has a lot of glare, max brightness isn't bright enough and combined with a weird angle it's hard to read.

Needs more testing:

Heated grips, tires, fuel economy. 

All in all I'm happy to the extent that I'm ashamed I ever considered buying a different bike; got my deposit back from the 2020 BMR r 1250 r. If you're rocking a 2015-2017 model year FJ09/Tracer without any updates added to it like the slipper clutch, cruise control, suspension, or need more passenger room I think it's worth an upgrade.

Cheers,

J

[2and3cylinders]

"The QS does not let you down shift unless you are off of the throttle."

This makes no sense, I get holding steady or backing off  but OFF throttle?

So if I have the fastest red 15 with slipper, McCruise, Razor R & front forks massaged, Flash, case guards, Sargent, Shad SH36 & SH46 top cases, Street naked bars, 3 screens, modified QR screen adjuster, skid plate, and many many more mods, it's not worth upgrading?  But for $15k, I'd maybe look for a used full optioned S1000XR...

[koth442]

Thanks for the comparison! Sounds like the '21 GT is a major upgrade. Congrats!

[jthayer09]

5 minutes ago, 2and3cylinders said:

"The QS does not let you down shift unless you are off of the throttle."

This makes no sense, I get holding steady or backing off  but OFF throttle?

So if I have the fastest red 15 with slipper, McCruise, Razor R & front forks massaged, Flash, case guards, Sargent, Shad SH36 & SH46 top cases, Street naked bars, and many many more mods, it's not worh upgrading?  But for $15k, I'd maybe look for a used S1000XR...

Yes it is a bit baffling, not sure if other bikes are this way too. This is my first bike with both up and down QS.

I did a deep dive into the BMW S1000XR when looking at bikes at sat on a 2016 before I put my deposit down on the r1250r. Issues I found were handlebar buzz is bad until 2018 when they revised the handlebar bushings. Then the 2020 revision came with a new seat that is generally viewed as uncomfortable and puts you in a seating position "in" the bike instead of "on" it. So the magical beast would be a 2018 S1000XR for <$15K 😎

Sounds like you got your fudge-9 sorted just the way you want it though.

[lolocastsb]

congrats on the new bike! sounds like a huge upgrade from the 2015. thinking out loud here, maybe there's a way to swap the newer forks and shock onto the older FJ09s from a crashed bike? similar to how sv650s swap on GSXR suspension?

[peteinpa]

Congrats, glad you got a new one!

[dazzler24]

Looking forward to more comparisons with the 2015 model as you 'bed' things down. 🙂

Congrats BTW.

[iamthedruman]

Nice review - concise and to the point. Enjoy your new ride! I, too, have a 15 MY without any functional upgrades so will be watching the used market over the next couple of years in order to move on up!

[roy826]

I have been contemplating a move to a 21 this week. Some of what you touched on has me re-thinking that decision. My current bike is a 2020 Tracer which I only wanted to move on from to a 21 just for the new electronics package. Not crazy about the new look on the 21s. Absolutely mothing wrong with my 2020 at the moment.

Thanks for the quick and informative review from a previous owners stand point.

[MightBeSasquatch]

15 hours ago, jthayer09 said:

Brakes

I think these needs to be worn-in, they're really bad until about the 130mi mark when I noticed them start having bite.

I only have 50 miles on mine so far and I feel the same about the brakes. The rear was almost non existent to start with! By the end of the 50 though there was a marked improvement but not enough to say they are good yet. 

[CRFan250]

My new 2020 brakes were the same and they got much better over the first 100 miles.  I would say they are good brakes but not Great by any means.

[OldBikers]

I have 340 miles on my T9GT and the brakes feel fine, not the greatest but OK, I did adjust the lever position which helped the feel.

[Kenny A.]

Nice one. 👍🏻

That was a very interesting read. Thanks for that.

Mmm. Will I or won't I ??

[2and3cylinders]

I have never been impressed with Yamaha brakes.  How can they put GG pads on a motor like the CP3?!!!

This year they went to a radial MC but still the same calipers and small rotors.  The Brembo radial MC & 320 rotors off an older (14) R1 cost under 350 new plus Speigler lines, which a de regure regardless, along with HH+ pads (EBC are cheapest but Vesrah, Ferodo, Braking, Galfer, etc all make fine stuff) are head and shoulders above even the 21 binder system.

I like a bit of travel which imparts more feel.  My setup is 2 finger and stoppies are easy even with the ABS.  Rear is OK cuz I use it only to balance turn-in with trail braking but HH+ may be too much in back.  Adjust the pedal to taste.  Different lever are nice too, as the clutch lever is fixed and needs to match the brake.  I've been lucky with the Chicom levers but micro adjusters they're not.

[jthayer09]

3 hours ago, 2and3cylinders said:

I have never been impressed with Yamaha brakes.  How can they put GG pads on a motor like the CP3?!!!

This year they went to a radial MC but still the same calipers and small rotors.

Agreed, when the FJ-09 & MT-09 were released they were "value" bikes and a 298mm rotor was acceptable as they were built to a price. 

I wouldn't consider the T9GT in the "value" segment anymore and it's unacceptable that it doesn't come with bigger rotors; the Ninja 400 comes with a 310mm rotor... even if it's only 1, still.