2022 Tracer 9 GT Semi-Active Suspension Questions

[Wandering Dane]

So, I'm three months and about 6,000 miles into ownership of a new 2022 Tracer 9 GT.  Great bike, except for the suspension, IMHO.

First a short pre-amble:  I've been riding for more than 55 years, raced both on and off road, instructed professionally with a race school for almost 30 years, have owned more than 50 bikes, including brand new in the last few years a KTM 690 Duke, a Ducati Multistrada V2S and a BMW F900XR before getting this Yamaha.  My annual average is about 15,000 miles.  So, I'm far from a rookie motorcyclist.

The Tracer 9 GT is a really nice bike, except for the suspension, specifically the dampening.  Compression dampening is much too stiff, very harsh in fact, and rebound dampening is too soft, front and rear for both.  Perhaps this is specific to my bike because I read many reviews about how wonderful the semi-active suspension is - not so in my opinion.  Spring rates are fine, changing the electronic settings accomplishes no discernible difference.

I've talked with the service personnel at my local dealer.  They are nice folks but understand next to nothing about suspension technology.  Contacted the Yamaha corporate office in California, same response.  Contacted KYB USA, nobody there claim to have any idea of this semi-active technology and referred me to KYB's Japanese web site, good luck trying to find anything of use there.

So, I have a few questions:

1.  Does anybody else have similar experiences with the KYB semi-active suspension?  Or is everybody happy and thrilled with the semi-active technology?

2.  Does anybody know anything about possible re-booting the suspension ECU?  Or how to make adjustments to the suspension ECU, which is located behind the left fairing panel?

3.  Has anybody converted their KYB semi-active suspension to conventional RaceTech Gold Valve or Ohlins suspensions?

In closing, this is a big enough issue for me that if I can't fix it, the bike will be gone.  My 1976 Moto Guzzi and my 11 year old Triumph Tiger with Ohlins are both more comfortable than this Yamaha.

[RomKnight]

You have an option in the GT+ at least, to recalibrate the suspension.

I only used min in street mode and 1 or 2 up with or without luggage seems to be comfortable enough.

I did the 1000kms in 3 days and at first I felt the same but after the break-in period which I can't specify it got more plush. It's either that or it learned about the terrain as I ride. I do feel when I enter less smooth roads it's not as harsh anymore.

Never tried sport more than 10m but it was harder and only suited to smoother tarmac. But it is not needed for most situations.

Same with the brake lever. There are reviews about the wood feel. It does get a lot better with time and though it is like hugging a tree at start, fact.

[Brock]

Hi Wandering Dane,

I felt the same. I picked up my 2021 this spring and thought the suspension was terrible. Major shoulder and wrist jarring over small bumps even on the 'street' suspension mode. I checked the preload settings and they were at the recommended start or 'normal' position per the manual.

So in blatant disregard for the recommendations I backed the front preload off to 1.5 turns from the 7 recommended and the rear off a couple of clicks (I don't remember the number).

It transformed the bike. It's great on our less than perfect roads now and still performs really well out in the twisty turnies. I might but another click back in the rear (top box and bags), but if anything I might take bit more out of the front preload nuts. I wonder if there's an issue in assembly that leads to this. There could be 'built in' assembly preload on some forks. Anyway, backing it off made the world of difference on my T9GT.

Like you I've been around the block, riding since '67, eight years in vintage racing (VRRA), too many old bikes in the shed and 350K+ on my last sport touring bike (2000 R100RT).

Now I think it's a really nice bike. A Madstaat screen took care of the buffeting and wind blast and I'm a happy camper.

Cheers,

Brock

 

[Wandering Dane]

Hi Brock,

Thank you very much for your note.

Actually, I have backed off the preload front and back a bit but not noticing any real difference.  I just got a shop manual, will check the recommended settings to see where the settings on my bike are now and then follow your suggestions for softening the preload.

BTW, the shop manual does not offer any useful information on troubleshooting without the factory tools, except for the level of fluid in the forks.  Doesn't even identify the fork oil viscosity, just recommends Yamaha's fork oil product.

I mounted a little deflector on top of the stock windscreen and am happy with its effectiveness, it removed the buffeting.

Again, thanks for your suggestions and comments.

Lars

 

[Wandering Dane]

Update:

Shortly after my last post, I contacted Race Tech and had a discussion with a tech who appeared to understand my issues.  Sent the fork legs to Race Tech and just got them back.

The valves were re-worked (no details), 0.70 kg/mm springs were changed to 0.80 kg/mm, pre-load set at 15 mm and 5 wt fluid was used.  Seals and bushings were replaced.

So far I've put about 100 miles on the new fork legs.  There is an improvement, not huge but definite.  Whereas before I was constantly reminded of the forks' stiffness over virtually any bump in the road, now I mainly just forget about the fork action.  The jarring shock to my arms and shoulders is almost completely gone.  The dampening and springing are both firm, and rebound dampening is still marginal but I can live with it.

So, overall, I'm pleased with the change and I plan to keep the bike, which had not been an option previously, that's how much I disliked the original forks.

 

[mrslow]

FYI

https://www.kyb.co.jp/english/technical_report/data/no63e/product_introduction_02.pdf

[mrslow]

On 11/8/2023 at 3:59 AM, Wandering Dane said:

So, I'm three months and about 6,000 miles into ownership of a new 2022 Tracer 9 GT.  Great bike, except for the suspension, IMHO.

First a short pre-amble:  I've been riding for more than 55 years, raced both on and off road, instructed professionally with a race school for almost 30 years, have owned more than 50 bikes, including brand new in the last few years a KTM 690 Duke, a Ducati Multistrada V2S and a BMW F900XR before getting this Yamaha.  My annual average is about 15,000 miles.  So, I'm far from a rookie motorcyclist.

The Tracer 9 GT is a really nice bike, except for the suspension, specifically the dampening.  Compression dampening is much too stiff, very harsh in fact, and rebound dampening is too soft, front and rear for both.  Perhaps this is specific to my bike because I read many reviews about how wonderful the semi-active suspension is - not so in my opinion.  Spring rates are fine, changing the electronic settings accomplishes no discernible difference.

I've talked with the service personnel at my local dealer.  They are nice folks but understand next to nothing about suspension technology.  Contacted the Yamaha corporate office in California, same response.  Contacted KYB USA, nobody there claim to have any idea of this semi-active technology and referred me to KYB's Japanese web site, good luck trying to find anything of use there.

So, I have a few questions:

1.  Does anybody else have similar experiences with the KYB semi-active suspension?  Or is everybody happy and thrilled with the semi-active technology?

2.  Does anybody know anything about possible re-booting the suspension ECU?  Or how to make adjustments to the suspension ECU, which is located behind the left fairing panel?

3.  Has anybody converted their KYB semi-active suspension to conventional RaceTech Gold Valve or Ohlins suspensions?

In closing, this is a big enough issue for me that if I can't fix it, the bike will be gone.  My 1976 Moto Guzzi and my 11 year old Triumph Tiger with Ohlins are both more comfortable than this Yamaha.

Hi Tracer! have a look to this link:

https://www.kyb.co.jp/english/technical_report/data/no63e/product_introduction_02.pdf

 

cheers!

 

[Wandering Dane]

@mrslow: thank you very much for this link, great information, exactly what I have been looking for.

Cheers.

 

[mem94043]

Hi there Wandering Dane. May I ask who you spoke with at Race Tech and how much they charged? I just got my GT+ two weeks ago and am already thinking about selling it because the A2 suspension setting is just too damn harsh! There's so much I like about the bike but I bought it with intentions of taking long rides but I only make it about 120mi before I'm tired of being beat up by the front end jarring me.

[Wandering Dane]

Hi 94043:

Race Tech charged $605, including new springs (old springs were sent back to me), new dust seals, new oil seals, new inner bushes and re-valve (called LBR Street PR re-valve) and transport from California to Colorado.

Race Tech set the preload at 5.5 turns, which I considered still too much and changed to 1.0 turn, which is tolerable.

Matt Wiley and Sidney Ruge at Race Tech were very helpful.

At this point in late October, I have a bit more than 8,000 miles on the Race Tech mods and I am still glad that I made the change, although the forks are still less compliant than is my preference.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

WD

 

[johnmark101]

It seems I have read a lot of folks complaining about the harshness of the suspension, particularly the front forks, even on the earlier generation Tracers. 

I have a 2019 which I bought new and loved it except for the harshness of the front forks.  They worked fine on smooth roads but anything less than smooth and it was jarring despite all attempts to dial it out with adjustments. 

I consulted with Traxxion Dynamics and had them install their AK-20 fork cartridges and also bought a Penske three way rear shock.  First ride was a bit disappointing.  The bike handled the twisties beautifully and was super planted in spirited riding but 80% of the harshness remained.  Taking the compression damping all the way to almost zero did not help.  The preload measured 32 mm which normally would be about right.  I checked and it was 5.5 turns in.  I turned it back to three turns in and measured the preload at 40 mm which normally would be considered a bit much but now the harshness is much reduced but still not as plush as I would like, yet the bike still corners on rails.  I wonder if this issue is due in part to the bike having a very light front end???

By contrast, my 2013 Ninja 1000, which is a heavier bike, has the stock bits which Traxxion rebuilt with new springs and valves, a much cheaper alternative.  That bike handles twisty roads just as well, yet the ride is almost plush, with excellent bump absorption. The biggest difference between the two is that the Tracer takes less effort in changing direction and feels more "flickable".

[mem94043]

WD,

Thanks so much for the info. Gave me something to think about. I am worried about throwing money at this problem if it has high odds of being a disappointment in the final result. I got a real good deal on this bike so I could probably get most of my money back if I cut-n-run soon (sell it). So disappointing cause there's lots to like about this bike. However, if I cant take it for LONG rides without cursing it every time I hit a slightly rough patch of road... I think it might be a deal breaker. 

[Miks]

I would agree with the original post from Wandering Dane, as the suspension is awful on my 2024 9GT +!  Everyone has an opinion, but the fact remains - the suspension on this bike sucks.  I currently have two other bikes, both 2023 BMW R1250Rt and Harley Davidson FLHTCU or Ultra Classic.  My BMW has electronically controlled suspension, and man can you feel the difference between sport mode and rain mode.  I once was going down the Interstate, bike seemed rough between the concrete joints, so I thought - some days the bike feels plush, sometimes it feels rough, depends on if I just got out of my car.  I started to fiddle with the electronic suspension and realized I was in the wrong mode...definitely can feel it!  On my new Tracer, I have played around with the pre-load and adjusted my 'custom' settings for each of the two available, and don't really feel like there is a whole lot going on there.  I had a new Kawasaki Versys 1000 GT that had the electronic suspension, and it was a night/day difference on that bike similar to the BMW's active suspension.  Not sure what Yamaha was thinking on this bike, as when I measure my suspension travel, I have never even had 50% of travel from the shock, meanwhile my arms and shoulders could sure feel it!

[ledruide]

Same problem here with my 2021 Tracer 9 GT, front is very harsh even with minimum preload and very little difference between mode 1 and 2 , rear is better but smoother would be fine  for me.

[Wandering Dane]

All:

I agree that the two settings on the Yamaha barely feel any different; I have owned two late models BMW and Ducati with electronic suspensions and there were major differences in settings on both.  I agree with "what was Yamaha thinking?".

94043:  you mention "long rides"; do you mean day rides or multi-day trips?  I've found that when loaded for a week-long trip, suspension compliance improves noticeably, although rear rebound then suffers, but I can live with it.

As far as options for you, I can think of several:

1.  Have a discussion with Race Tech and ask for less fork dampening than they built into my forks, which I believe may have been the first Tracer 9GT fork that they modified.  If you talk with them, you are welcome to use my name:  Lars Hansen.

2.  Axxion, as mentioned above, may have a solution but I am not familiar with this company.

3.  Ohlins has two solutions:  complete fork legs, fully adjustable but pricey.

4.  Ohlins offers cartridge inserts.  These may only be for the non-US manually-adjustable KYB forks.

5.  In some markets, Yamaha offers the Tracer 9 with KYB manually-adjustable forks along with the electronic forks, the only version sold in the US.  I considered having friends in Europe source a set of manually-adjustable forks for me but went the Race Tech route instead.

6.  Finally, if you give up on the Tracer 9 GT, the just announced Triumph Tiger Sport 800 looks very appealing.

Cheers.