Why is it so...?

[wordsmith]

I have mentioned more than once on this Forum that the MT-09/ FJ-09 Tracer has been a very poor seller on the Australian market.   I am surrounded by Yamaha dealers, but other than at a planned meet-up with two other Traceristas some time ago have only seen one other on the road.   In contrast, the non-Tracer MT-09 hooligan sportsbike seems to perform well in its sales segment, and is seen everywhere.
 
Idly flicking through some on-line bikes for sale today I came upon a dealer’s ad for a new 2015 Tracer that had, if true, ‘never been off the showroom floor’. Amazing – but why is it so?
 
I’ve always thought the Tracer offered excellent value for money, especially as the OE hard panniers – worth at least AUD$1000 of anybody’s money – were included in the price.   ‘List’ price initially was around the AUD$16,500 mark, but I doubt if anybody paid more than AUD$15,500.   This new bike is offered for AUD$12,490, and could doubtless be had for less.
 
I’ve often pondered that one not-very-good reason for the poor sales has been due to the North Atlantic Shipping Container Dull Matte Grey paintwork initially offered here in Oz (which, BTW, I quite liked), but this particular one is in the sought-after Lava Red colour scheme, which looks pretty nice.   Or could it be the name, 'Tracer' being a pretty bland and meaningless moniker.
 
I’m just thinking aloud here, but I remain puzzled about the reception of the Tracer on our market, which may not bode well for the new GT.   It’s small wonder that Yamaha Australia appears still not to have made up its mind whether or not to import the new bikes.
 

[josh]

Could be that no one is picking up chicks on that bike. Lucky Im taken so it was not a factor for me.

[wordsmith]

Could be that no one is picking up chicks on that bike. Lucky Im taken so it was not a factor for me.

I could be on a Panigale and would still be out of luck!   (Taken for 57 years!).

[josh]

LOL me too

[nickest85]

Could be that no one is picking up chicks on that bike. Lucky Im taken so it was not a factor for me.

throw the beak on it and see if it changes that. 

[rustyshackles]

? beak

[vijay]

Not a great seller here in the USA either. I have seen no more than 4 or 5 on the road either. Don't k ov why. Truly a stonkin' good engine and a great buy ... pricewise as well.
 

[proast]

SydneySider here Wordsmith. I've wondered the same. Seen maybe 3 others in 28k km of riding on mine.
 
I've similarly been checking YMA website to see if there's any sign of the GT but coming up crickets....
 
I have the lava red and love it. In fact, was down at Manly beach Sunday with Mrs. for our regular breaky together and as we walked back to the bike...the angle of the sun glistened in the red bodywork and I fell in love with it all over again.
 
I was fortunate enough to ride a 950 Multistrada around Lake Como and Lake Maggiore north of Milan back in April and over just 3 days saw DOZENS of Tracers.

[ayrton]

Would you mind sharing how you came to ride around the Italian lakes?  Where did you rent the bikes?  How did you pick a route?
Thanks
 
 
This is from the north tip of Lake Garda at Riva Del Garda.  Recent bicycle tour of the Dolomites.
 

[jo1000]

I think write ups on the net might have something to do with it. People do their homework before buying, they hear about the limiter, the head shake at speed. Alot of people don't like triples there is a thought out there that might be somewhat true triples are kinda buzzy. I read one article about the FJ I think it was cycle world the only positive thing they said was something about the small turning radius and lets face there is alot of fine machines out there . There are people who can afford $20k for a motorcycle, KTM Ducati BMW comes to mind, skyhook type of suspension, more power. But in my mind all those bikes are not worth twice the price of our machines, I love my FJ09 it tours and it handles well and has enough power for me .

[FJr]

I love how the "the North Atlantic Shipping Container Dull Matte Grey paintwork" almost matches my duct tape repairs....

[gerdawg]

Not a great seller here in the USA either. I have seen no more than 4 or 5 on the road either. Don't k ov why. Truly a stonkin' good engine and a great buy ... pricewise as well.

I've seen quite a few out here in PA, just as many if not more than the FJR. 
 
Bikes are a niche market in their own right. Without trying to sound too snoody, how many people do you know that bought a 30K Harley and are lucky to get 2K on it in a year of riding. Unfortunately that's the majority of folks when it comes to bikes. Older adults typically have the resources to go hog wild on a 30K bike and feel that more is more...that's why (IMHO) so many BMW's are sold despite the high costs of maintenance which to me is an absurd deal-breaker even if I were a millionaire. I'd feel there are many older riders that look at the FJ and say, oh only 10K for that bike, must be cheap...why not buy the cream of the crop BMW for 20K and get what I want. The younger generations are riding out on the other iterations (cheaper alternatives) of the CP3 engine, such as the FZ9, etc.
 
I won't lie, when I first sat on the FJ-09, I felt the design and components were cheap @ offered MSRP compared against many other bikes. It was only after they updated the design, technology and shocks that I felt it was worth the price of admission at around 12,400.00 which is what I bought my tracer for.  Adding remote shock adjustments, tuneable upgraded shocks, LCD display, cruise control and heated grips made it feel like a worthwhile sport tourer to me. Otherwise I wouldn't have bought it. That was the sell for me because I like the CP3 engine and the reduced weight that the tracer has to offer. Previous to that I had the FJR and while I enjoyed that bike it was very lacking in the fun factor for the type of riding I do. I REALLY enjoyed my Kawasaki Concours but again, to offer a sport tourer without at least cruise control (for 16K none the less) seems absurd. I believe the Tracer checks a lot of boxes for a reasonable price range in comparison to other makes and models. The best part will come after the sale in maintenance costs compared to a lot of the alternatives out there. At least that's my thoughts. I'd be surprised if the Tracer wasn't a decent seller for Yamaha....it has a lot of great features when compared to the competition and it's a very reasonable bike to own. I think the biggest downside people will complain about is it's use of a chain instead of a driveshaft. For me that was a non-issue in comparison to the other features I was looking for. 

[captainscarlet]

I think write ups on the net might have something to do with it. People do their homework before buying, they hear about the limiter, the head shake at speed. Alot of people don't like triples there is a thought out there that might be somewhat true triples are kinda buzzy. I read one article about the FJ I think it was cycle world the only positive thing they said was something about the small turning radius and lets face there is alot of fine machines out there . There are people who can afford $20k for a motorcycle, KTM Ducati BMW comes to mind, skyhook type of suspension, more power. But in my mind all those bikes are not worth twice the price of our machines, I love my FJ09 it tours and it handles well and has enough power for me .

This to my mind highlights the pluses and minuses of the wonderful world of the web.  On the plus side we all have access to an enormous wealth of information.  The down side is much of this information is, to put it politely, not what you'd call reliable or well informed. 
If we take a couple of examples specific to the Tracer.  I am of the firm opinion that the head shake at speed is caused by people holding the bars too tightly, even though they don't think they are.  This is not a problem of the bike but all it takes is a few people on the forums and suddenly the bike is one wobble away from killing us all.  I did a quick Google search on steering wobble for other bikes and within seconds was presented with loads of hits and pages of forum posts from Triumph Tiger 800 owners also claiming that their bikes are faulty because at speed they get a steering wobble.  In amongst these posts I found one very enlightening one which I quote:

There are a lot of references to steering/bar wobble on this forum, generally at higher speeds though.
 
I did my first Tiger Ton last week and did indeed get the wobble around 95 (mph (unless the authorities are watching in which case I mean kph :007:)).
Just relaxed my grip and it sorted itself out - setup is a Roadie, original tyres, AMC topbox with only a laptop and my butties in...
 
Another example is the hoards of FJ-09/Tracer owners demanding that their perfectly functioning CCTs be changed out.  Now I'm not saying that CCTs haven't been prone to failure, some have.  But many, including mine, are still functioning perfectly.  However suddenly there's some info on a forum and everyone is rushing to their dealer demanding action on a recall that isn't a recall at all but a TSB.  
 
To my mind the Tracer is brilliant.  It's a well screwed together fun all-rounder at an amazing price point.  Some of the components are obviously cheap but what do you expect for the price??  I think you are bang on jovrider when you say that KTMs and BMWs costing almost twice the money are not twice as good because they simply aren't.  A visit to any one of the numerous KTM or BMW forums reveals people complaining about seats, screens, suspension etc. and spending money on changing these items.  The only difference between them and us is that their starting point was considerably more expensive.
 
All IMHO.
 
CS

[wordsmith]

To my mind the Tracer is brilliant.  It's a well screwed together fun all-rounder at an amazing price point.  Some of the components are obviously cheap but what do you expect for the price??  I think you are bang on jovrider when you say that KTMs and BMWs costing almost twice the money are not twice as good because they simply aren't.  A visit to any one of the numerous KTM or BMW forums reveals people complaining about seats, screens, suspension etc. and spending money on changing these items.  The only difference between them and us is that their starting point was considerably more expensive. 
All IMHO.
 
CS
That's an excellent summary that nails it 100%.   My first (of three) Tracers cost me AUD$15,300.   I was as much seduced by that low cost, which included OE hard panniers (a 'must' for me as touring was then my big thing) as by anything else.   By then I was fed-up with BMW prices for everything, while conceding that otherwise my experiences with the brand were very good in terms of reliability, 'pride of ownership', and so on.

[josh]

captainscarlet I 100% agree about the head shake