2023 Tracer GT+ What do you think?

[rlambke19]

On 11/12/2022 at 10:46 AM, Ride365 said:

Looking good Yamaha and they are obviously listening, do still hate that underbelly exhaust though. Just being picky here, but for the higher price why not also add in Brembo brakes, hydraulic clutch, "really uncork that engine" and car play? Yup, now I would for sure buy another with those changes!!!!

A belly pan or gravel guard/bash plate covers up/distracts from the exhaust.

I personally think the stock exhaust on the Tracer 9GT sounds great while riding. My uneducated guess is that the sound bounces off the ground and back up at the rider which is cool.   

[rlambke19]

On 11/12/2022 at 10:36 PM, OldBikers said:

The white color is nice but the grey not so much.  Also remember that the side cases have the matching panels in Europe and not in the USA or Canada, we get black and a reflector. 

These can be ordered in from Europe - I actually ordered a set for my '21 Icon Performance. I thought they were silver, but ended up being the white ones - which is wild as the new bikes weren't announced at the time. I was going to get them wrapped in silver.    

[jthayer09]

18 hours ago, RaYzerman said:

Tracer 9 GT - 117 HP, 69 ft. lb torque, 213 kg., 31.9" seat height

Tracer 900 GT - 114 Hp, 65 ft. lb. torque, 227 kg., 33.3" seat height

Versys 1000 - 120 HP, 75 ft. lb. torque, 257 kg., 33.1 seat height.

Ninja 1000 - 142 HP, 89 ft. lb. torque.

 

Just some rough numbers.  I'm not a convert yet, it will take some convincing to get me off the Versys, but open to the idea of a 900 GT...... If I had one, I see no compelling reason to go to the 9 GT.  I personally prefer the 900 GT.

The Tracer is lean compared to other sport touring bikes, less than 500lbs wet weight; I think that's what most of us Tracer riders took into account vs other options. Also, the new 2021+ CP3 engine makes torque super low, like 3000RPM it comes online and is very convenient vs having to wring out an inline-4. I think those two characteristics are something a spec sheet can't tell you, gotta ride it and feel if it's for you.

The Ninja 1000 is lovely and would be my bike of choice but insurance still classifies it as a super sport/liter bike instead of sport touring... ends up being like $1600-2100/year depending on provider for me to insure vs the $300/year I pay for the T9.

If Kawasaki could work with insurance providers to properly classify the Ninja 1000 I think it'd be the dominant bike in the segment.

[kingfisher]

I've made the complete progression, from '15 FJ 09 to '19 GT 900, and now to a '22 Tracer 9 GT. After the GT 900, it was the Versys 1000 and FJR, both bikes that I like greatly. But I missed the Yamaha triple, and gave thought to trading my older, 78,000 mile FJR on the new  Tracer 9 GT. The previous FJ 09 and 900 GT were great bikes, but lacked a bit in suspension and higher speed stability, to me. The new Tracer 9 GT looked promising in regards to the refinements desired, and I wanted cornering ABS, etc. So I made the trade. 

All of the changes made, really transformed this  bike, IMO. The semiactive suspension is superb in both ride quality and lesser front dive with braking. It feels like a more solid bike, similar to the ride on rails at speed feeling of the FJR, but with the agility of a lighter bike. The frame change seems to create a more stable platform also. That wonderful triple is still there, but with that great midrange torque coming on a little earlier. It still goes into warp drive from 7,000 rpm up. I'm actually surprised as to how much improvement of an already great bike has taken place. It was definitely worth the trade.

In regards to the '23 model, I'm not too interested in the adaptive cruise control and didn't want to incur the added expense. The current dash of the '22 is not the best, but is ok to me. 

Edited November 14, 2022 by kingfisher

[roadwarrior]

Seems like Yamaha continues to listen to their customers and the '23 GT shows it.

I'm a big fan of linked brakes on the few bikes I ridden with them. I love electronic cruise but think once active cruise control was needed, I'd just take over the throttle anyway to be in total control.

Of course with the extra features comes additional cost. With the price creep, it makes my '19 GT at $12,825 OTD seem like a pretty good price.

[PhotoAl]

Struck me this morning that what Yamaha has done with the Tracer is interesting.  The change from the original 2015 FJ09 to the current 2023 Tracer 9 GT+ is tremendous but has been accomplished gradually.  The biggest change was from the 900 GT to the 9 GT probably the biggest step.  Honda did something similar with the Goldwing but over many years.  Other than that I can't think of another Japanese bike that has evolved as much.

As @roadwarrior and others have said Yamaha has been listening to their customers