help! analysis paralysis- moving from 2019 tracer 900 to tracer 9 GT? other?

[ken Pryzgoda]

Any difference between a 2021 and 2022 Tracer 9 GT ? (besides the price). There is a '21 w/400 miles at a local dealer for $12,999. Thinking about offering $12K out the door. Note: will be selling my 2020 BMW S1000XR, awesome bike, but the most uncomfortable bike I've ever ridden. Comments??

[PhotoAl]

If you are going to keep the bike for a while I would go for the '21.  A little over 7 years ago I bought a 2014 Kawasaki ZX6R 636 ABS.  It was new but old stock and aI got a good deal on it.  It was just the same as the newer ones and did well for me.

For the OP, I have commuted on a Ninja 250, FZ6, CBR600RR and a ZX6R 363.  The sport bikes were very fun but had to keep them in the right gear.  The CBR would run very well but needed lots of revs.  LOL minimum speed was 7MPH so a hot afternoon in stop n go traffic was well HOT.  I rode in all kinds of weather and my minimum temp was 28 when I left the house although I did occasionally ride colder.  Got caught in the rain more than once.  I retired when I had the ZX6R and after a few months traded it on a BMW F800GT.  That bike was a good competent bike I  had lots of fun long trips on buuuuuut two problems.  Engine, going from 129HP at near 16,000 RPM to 90 at something much lower in a parallel twin was a massive change.  Picked up weight as well.  Bike hand good power and did everything I asked of it but fully loaded at higher elevations it didn't have as much zoom to pass folks as I would have liked.  I traded it on y 2020 Tracer 900 GT.  It is a wonderful combination of better sound but still good lower end power of the twin with much better high end power.  It would have been better at commuting than the sport bikes as the power is much broader.  It doesn't have the top end rush of the sport bikes particularly the ZX6R which would accelerate quite hard at 100.  About the only place to really romp on that bike was getting on the interstate but the Tracer is just as quick to 60 but is heavier and has more wind resistance.  When I went to Red Lodge Montana a couple of years ago the Tracer was wonderful in the higher elevations.  Yup it was down on power but so were all the other vehicles and it had enough power to easily pass folks going thru Beartooth Pass and on Chief Joseph's Highway.

I'm always looking and thinking about bikes and the Tracer (900 or 9) have good usable power in highway situations.  Most big cities I've been thru on the bike have very fast traffic in the city interstates and being able to easily run with the flow is something the Tracer does well.  I looked at the Triumph 660 and like it but not a lot lighter and down on power relatively.  I've thought about the Ninja 650, CBR 650, MT07, T7 and more but always comes down to the weight (low 400's) and a lot less power.  Good twin torque will make them fun at lower speeds but I need to have good power in the 70 + area.  On long trips I ride secondary roads with many of them being 2 lane where passing is inevitable.  Lower powered bikes will do it but when you get to the occasional idiot who wants to speed up it is better if you have the power to quickly move away.  The liter bike based bikes like the Ninja 1000 are interesting but more sport bike oriented and would be good at running 130 all day but I don't need that.  So I wind up right where I started - I like my Tracer 900 GT.  If I was in the market today I'd probably buy the T9.  I use the CC a lot on long rides - so much so I'm not good at keeping a steady speed with just my right wrist.  Around here we have lots of hills and I had a throttle lock on my previous bike but it was tough to get set well so that  could get a break.  With the Tracer it just works and works well.  It's also handy for puttering thru towns with low speed limits but 30MPH is about as low as it can go.

[Wintersdark]

8 hours ago, Ride365 said:

Tenere 900 please.......all the bells and whistles please. 

Yeah.  I was unsure of the idea initially, but yes.  I love my Tenere to bits, but it's more a big dirt bike than something you want to road trip on.  I'm really not into 500 mile days on it.

Give me a T7, with a CP3, electronic cruise, ride modes, but compete with the KTM890 - keep it as light as possible in the process.  

The Super Tenere is a good bike, but it's *very* heavy and while capable, it's not really competitive with the newer midsized adv's.

[OldBikers]

4 hours ago, ken Pryzgoda said:

Any difference between a 2021 and 2022 Tracer 9 GT ? (besides the price). There is a '21 w/400 miles at a local dealer for $12,999. Thinking about offering $12K out the door. Note: will be selling my 2020 BMW S1000XR, awesome bike, but the most uncomfortable bike I've ever ridden. Comments??

The 2021, 2022 and 2023 T9GTs are identical. The 2023 has a black color. 

[dazzler24]

Nice review of the 2023 Tracer 9 GT....

 

[Ride365]

On 4/24/2023 at 5:34 PM, OldBikers said:

The 2021, 2022 and 2023 T9GTs are identical. The 2023 has a black color. 

How can the 23 be the same as the 21/22, isn't there just a GT+ model for 23 or is there also a GT for 23 and it's unchanged?

Edited May 9, 2023 by Ride365

[betoney]

5 hours ago, Ride365 said:

How can the 23 be the same as the 21/22, isn't there just a GT+ model for 23 or is there also a GT for 23 and it's unchanged?

In Europe the bike is offered as Tracer 9, tracer 9GT and Tracer 9GT +

[Kenny A.]

13 minutes ago, betoney said:

In Europe the bike is offered as Tracer 9, tracer 9GT and Tracer 9GT +

And Redline,is no longer available. 😒

[OldBikers]

The 23 T9GT+ is available in white in Europe.  No news of it being available in the USA. 

[robzilla]

8 minutes ago, OldBikers said:

The 23 T9GT+ is available in white in Europe.  No news of it being available in the USA. 

Right, not available in '23 for US but supposedly coming in '24 from other thread & link

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/yamaha-tracer-9-gt-finally-coming-to-us-for-2024/ar-AA19zd6h?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=6350dc5ca0e34d12c6a7fbf332d547dc&ei=84

[miweber929]

4 hours ago, robzilla said:

Right, not available in '23 for US but supposedly coming in '24 from other thread & link

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/yamaha-tracer-9-gt-finally-coming-to-us-for-2024/ar-AA19zd6h?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=6350dc5ca0e34d12c6a7fbf332d547dc&ei=84

I’m hoping it’s in that black and grey with the gold stripe I’ve been seeing in the press. I’m thinking about one……

[Jayzonk]

On 4/24/2023 at 1:54 PM, PhotoAl said:

If you are going to keep the bike for a while I would go for the '21.  A little over 7 years ago I bought a 2014 Kawasaki ZX6R 636 ABS.  It was new but old stock and aI got a good deal on it.  It was just the same as the newer ones and did well for me.

For the OP, I have commuted on a Ninja 250, FZ6, CBR600RR and a ZX6R 363.  The sport bikes were very fun but had to keep them in the right gear.  The CBR would run very well but needed lots of revs.  LOL minimum speed was 7MPH so a hot afternoon in stop n go traffic was well HOT.  I rode in all kinds of weather and my minimum temp was 28 when I left the house although I did occasionally ride colder.  Got caught in the rain more than once.  I retired when I had the ZX6R and after a few months traded it on a BMW F800GT.  That bike was a good competent bike I  had lots of fun long trips on buuuuuut two problems.  Engine, going from 129HP at near 16,000 RPM to 90 at something much lower in a parallel twin was a massive change.  Picked up weight as well.  Bike hand good power and did everything I asked of it but fully loaded at higher elevations it didn't have as much zoom to pass folks as I would have liked.  I traded it on y 2020 Tracer 900 GT.  It is a wonderful combination of better sound but still good lower end power of the twin with much better high end power.  It would have been better at commuting than the sport bikes as the power is much broader.  It doesn't have the top end rush of the sport bikes particularly the ZX6R which would accelerate quite hard at 100.  About the only place to really romp on that bike was getting on the interstate but the Tracer is just as quick to 60 but is heavier and has more wind resistance.  When I went to Red Lodge Montana a couple of years ago the Tracer was wonderful in the higher elevations.  Yup it was down on power but so were all the other vehicles and it had enough power to easily pass folks going thru Beartooth Pass and on Chief Joseph's Highway.

I'm always looking and thinking about bikes and the Tracer (900 or 9) have good usable power in highway situations.  Most big cities I've been thru on the bike have very fast traffic in the city interstates and being able to easily run with the flow is something the Tracer does well.  I looked at the Triumph 660 and like it but not a lot lighter and down on power relatively.  I've thought about the Ninja 650, CBR 650, MT07, T7 and more but always comes down to the weight (low 400's) and a lot less power.  Good twin torque will make them fun at lower speeds but I need to have good power in the 70 + area.  On long trips I ride secondary roads with many of them being 2 lane where passing is inevitable.  Lower powered bikes will do it but when you get to the occasional idiot who wants to speed up it is better if you have the power to quickly move away.  The liter bike based bikes like the Ninja 1000 are interesting but more sport bike oriented and would be good at running 130 all day but I don't need that.  So I wind up right where I started - I like my Tracer 900 GT.  If I was in the market today I'd probably buy the T9.  I use the CC a lot on long rides - so much so I'm not good at keeping a steady speed with just my right wrist.  Around here we have lots of hills and I had a throttle lock on my previous bike but it was tough to get set well so that  could get a break.  With the Tracer it just works and works well.  It's also handy for puttering thru towns with low speed limits but 30MPH is about as low as it can go.

You're experiencing the curse of the Tracer....you get the wandering eye for a new bike but you know that it will have a hard time being better than the Tracer 900 or Tracer 9. In fact, chances are that it won't perform as well, and you just shelled out how much?

Edited May 16, 2023 by Jayzonk

[Jayzonk]

On 4/24/2023 at 5:17 PM, Wintersdark said:

Yeah.  I was unsure of the idea initially, but yes.  I love my Tenere to bits, but it's more a big dirt bike than something you want to road trip on.  I'm really not into 500 mile days on it.

Give me a T7, with a CP3, electronic cruise, ride modes, but compete with the KTM890 - keep it as light as possible in the process.  

The Super Tenere is a good bike, but it's *very* heavy and while capable, it's not really competitive with the newer midsized adv's.

A 900 triple on gravel likely has too much midrange power and not enough low rpm  range power.  I don't know how you'd tone the power down enough to do tighter stuff while maintaining torque.  

I think your T7 is as close as you're going to get to a do-it-all bike for mid-length trips, BDR's.

[Ride365]

10 hours ago, Jayzonk said:

A 900 triple on gravel likely has too much midrange power and not enough low rpm  range power.  I don't know how you'd tone the power down enough to do tighter stuff while maintaining torque.  

I think your T7 is as close as you're going to get to a do-it-all bike for mid-length trips, BDR's.

The Tiger 800 is a triple, and does quite well off pavement.  

[Wintersdark]

22 hours ago, Jayzonk said:

A 900 triple on gravel likely has too much midrange power and not enough low rpm  range power.  I don't know how you'd tone the power down enough to do tighter stuff while maintaining torque.  

I think your T7 is as close as you're going to get to a do-it-all bike for mid-length trips, BDR's.

That's where power modes and TCS come in, but for sure it's always a matter of compromises.

After all, the KTM 890A is generally viewed as a strictly superior(and more expensive) dirt machine to the Tenere, and it's pushing very similar power to the Tracer, with very, very similar power curves, particularly at the start.  The Norden 901 is extremely well reviewed too.  The Tiger 900 Rally Pro, which is pretty much exactly what we'd be looking at (their 900cc triple), is also very well reviewed.

Clearly, it's entirely possible to make a strong midsized ADV machine with those power characteristics.

You'd gear it differently, of course.  I ran my Tracer for a while with a 15 tooth front sprocket, and that definitely gives you a significant amount of low end torque (without actually impacting top speed, as you're drag limited, not RPM limited).

The T7 is kind of a terrible bike for a mid length or longer on-pavement trip in comparison to the Tracer.  It's not even close.  Maintaining speeds of 80mph+ causes it to gulp down gas in a crazy way, around 7l/100km or 33mpg, which limits it's range enormously.

Now, I'm in no way criticising the T7 here - it's an EXCELLENT machine, it's just that longer road trips at high speed is where it really falls down.  That doesn't matter in the dirt, where you're rarely exceeding ~60mph, but is a problem when you want to cover a lot of miles in a reasonable amount of time.