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Hopefully coming back to the tracer.


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Currently got a kawasaki versys,but with my body telling me this is physically too big and heavy,had a go on the latest tracer 9 GT,its got the same bhp as my versys but is 100lbs lighter,physically much smaller and a lower seat height,crucially i rode it for over an hour and i did not know i had even been on it so that is the bike for me,just have to put up with the headlight [the reason i got rid of my beloved mt10] but i figure a set of spotlights is a small price to pay because i won't be able to ride my current bike much longer,it is only been for sale 1 day and i already have interest and a really good deal in place for the new bike,so all looking good,cannot believe how they made it so grunty[torquey] my sort of bike.Now they have made it capable of taking more weight the mrs is looking forward to it too.

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The 900GT or 9GT is a hard bike not to love. Great sport tourer, commuter platform and she really shines on twisty roads. The only thing I won't do with mine is take her off road. I Hope you are able to get your 9GT quickly. 

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He who dies with the most toys wins.

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1 hour ago, yamtracergaz said:

Currently got a kawasaki versys,but with my body telling me this is physically too big and heavy,had a go on the latest tracer 9 GT,its got the same bhp as my versys but is 100lbs lighter,physically much smaller and a lower seat height,crucially i rode it for over an hour and i did not know i had even been on it so that is the bike for me,just have to put up with the headlight [the reason i got rid of my beloved mt10] but i figure a set of spotlights is a small price to pay because i won't be able to ride my current bike much longer,it is only been for sale 1 day and i already have interest and a really good deal in place for the new bike,so all looking good,cannot believe how they made it so grunty[torquey] my sort of bike.Now they have made it capable of taking more weight the mrs is looking forward to it too.

I strongly, strongly prefer the Tracer to the Versys.  Just a WAY more fun engine, moreso than anything else.  The Versys is definitely not a bad bike, but... It's just not in the same league as the Tracer IMHO.  A buddy has the new, big Versys, and... Eh.  It's huge, but it feels huge, and while it's smooth and has good power, it's just not nearly as entertaining (IMHO anyways).  

The Versys would probably be better in a 70/30 on/off road adventure configuration than the Tracer is (not that I have experience with either), but if you're just doing sporty riding and on road touring...  All Tracer, all the time.  

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If you're a sporty type rider the stock suspension is sorely lacking for two up riding. I'm a bigger guy, 250 or so in gear and my girl goes about 180 in gear. For me the stock suspension was completely inadequate two up, everything would ground in a corner at speed and bottom out on the smallest of bumps! I took mine to traxxion dynamics and they fixed me up quite nicely, proper springs, new shock and forks. Pricey, but totally worth it for me. At the very least you will need to upgrade the springs front and rear.

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sabre85,i know what you mean that has always been the tracers achillies heel,i loved my original tracer but could only take 170kgs[TOTAL] thats both people and luggage,me and my mrs were 200kgs so when she sat on it it went down so much it was like riding a chopper,the new tracer 9 has 23kgs more payload and even though that is still 7kgs less than we need,the tech said they build in parameters of + or - 25 so we should be alright with the new one,its just the massive loss of my one month old versys maybe over £3000 in your currency 4000-4500dollars loss in a month,madness,and in england they say there is a massive shortage of secondhand bikes,i can see why when they are worthless after a month.

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wintersdark,I agree totally that the engine in the tracer more than punches over it's weight,certainly better in every way than the versys,BUT unfortunately yamaha seem to think that style over function is where it's at,otherwise why would they put a tiny "headlight" on it,totally the wrong shape,[pushbikes have a longer beam] and in our country only one on at a time,this is the ONE reason i sold my beloved mt10,could not see a thing in the dark,going down roads on bikes i have been going down for over 40 years and catching me out ,the "light " was so bad,and now they have gone and put it on the new tracer,i don't think yamaha think/care people go out in the dark anymore,but i can put spotlights on it,better than not being able to ride the big versys.

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Haven’t ridden the Tracer 9 GT but adding a couple of small spots has really helped min 2020 GT at night.  I avoid riding at night but have a couple of times recently.  Spots really augmented the main beam nicely.  Have been on the road for over 2 weeks touring around the western US.  Bike is wonderful!  Able to cruse effortlessly on the interstates, get off on secondary roads and it is brilliant.  Handles well, lots of power to fling you past slower traffic even at higher elevations.  Went over Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph’s Highway twice - once in each direction.  Fun!  Have it loaded with full side cases and a 58 liter duffle on the back seat plus a small top case lightly loaded.  Oh and me with all my gear and a tank bag.  Suspension is on the soft side of sport but still good enough for spirited riding.  

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11 minutes ago, PhotoAl said:

Went over Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph’s Highway twice - once in each direction.  Fun!

Both of those roads are EPIC, riding them in each direction is... DOUBLE EPIC!  😎👍

A few years ago we did the same thing on Lolo Pass.  👍

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***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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4 hours ago, yamtracergaz said:

bowlin01,Unlike triumph who charge the earth and the dealers are mostly incompetent,with yamaha the dealers are great so i am spoilt for choice,usually use Alf England in Bedworth[nr coventry] and Flitwick yamaha.

Yes, I use Flitwick Yamaha, they are excellent

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The biggest hurdle has gone today,Sold my versys,nice bloke travelled down to me,paid and rode it away,now just got to get my dealer to "find"me a silver one before the next batch comes over in November.Happy but as i get older i am not patient so don't want to wait 2 months.

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Over the last 15 years have looked at Triumphs and wound up passing due to parts availability issues.  I really wanted a Daytona 675 but was afraid of not being able to get parts particularly if in a more remote area like Nebraska.  My BMW F800GT broke down in Grand Island Nebraska.  Wound up buying a used swingarm out of Las Vegas instead of trying to find a new hub from BMW.  All just to replace a wheel bearing!  If I had been at home would have disassembled and bought a bearing from a bearing house.

When you travel thru the western states like Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota it is easy to see why cruisers like Harley Davidsons are popular.  Roads are flat and straight and lots of HD dealers and more folks that know how to work on them.  Japanese bike shops are around but trying to get a Triumph, Ducati or BMW repaired can be quite difficult.

A part of my decision to get the 2020 Tracer GT a year ago was the Yamaha reliability particularly the engine and transmission.  Not that Triumphs are not reliable but Yamaha is good and parts here are pretty well available (partzilla.com for those in the US).  

Know you are looking at a 2021 and my 2020 is not the same.  Bought mine 54 weeks ago and currently have 17,500 miles on it!  Have done a lot of traveling on the bike.  Bought it in Sioux Falls SD, 2,400 miles on it when I got home.  Since then have taken 3 trips as my wife likes to tell me.  I claim 2 as the 2 day ride to Topeka was just to get a new seat 🙂  Is it perfect?  No but a really fine motorcycle.  It handles well and is able to cruse at whatever speed I want for hours.  Gas mileage is good and if I get in a pinch can slow down and stretch the gas.  Rode Beartooth Pass and Chief Josephs Highway twice!  Once in each direction.  One time the bike was loaded with all my gear and the other the bike was mostly empty.  I didn't bother to change the preload or suspension settings.  Bike handled well and I had lots of fun in the curves!  Still have descent chicken strips as that is not a place to go down, remote and higher elevation.  The ride home was days long and did more interstate than I wanted to but had a lot of ground to cover.  Again the Tracer was great!  Turn on the cruse control and let it eat the miles.

Tracer 900 GT is not a perfect bike but at the price point it gets so much right.  The changes made to the Tracer 9 GT only improve it.   I don't expect perfection but a great bike at the price.  A great middleweight (??) sport touring bike.  Small enough to still be very nimble but big enough with enough power to cruse long distances and pass on a 2 lane road going uphill at 6,000 feet elevation.

 

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Great news,my dealer has done a deal with another dealer to get me a silver one and he went and picked it up on friday,went over there yesterday and its in the showroom,so i will be collecting it on friday,really cannot wait,off to watch the bike racing on it 2 days later.I am a happy man.

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