SKYFLIX Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 Personally, I don't think there's any chance in h*ll of these pictures being real. At least, not for a "2021" model. The 2021 model of the Tracer is not being listed as a "new" model like the MT-09 is. Maybe these are tests for a 2022 or even 2023. 2021 Yamaha Motorcycle Guide • Total Motorcycle ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowerMalc Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 I know we have only seen a couple of photos so far and no official ones. However to me the sides seem very slab sided which reminds me a little bit of the Ariel Leader from the 60's as below. Also the front cowls over the part hidden lights seem because of their overhanging angular projection look like a throwback to 70's design. It makes the whole front area very heavy looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted October 30, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted October 30, 2020 19 minutes ago, SKYFLIX said: Personally, I don't think there's any chance in h*ll of these pictures being real. At least, not for a "2021" model. The 2021 model of the Tracer is not being listed as a "new" model like the MT-09 is. At least not yet. The 2021 Tracer hasn't been listed on Yamaha's website, they still only show the 2019 and 2020 models. 1 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 26 minutes ago, SKYFLIX said: Personally, I don't think there's any chance in h*ll of these pictures being real. At least, not for a "2021" model. The 2021 model of the Tracer is not being listed as a "new" model like the MT-09 is. Maybe these are tests for a 2022 or even 2023. 2021 Yamaha Motorcycle Guide • Total Motorcycle ... since they share a common mfg line... I think you are off on this. The Tracer will be announced in a few weeks according to dealers. The Tracer image doesn't mesh with the "Dark Side of Japan" launch they did with the MT-09. The fact the leaked pics show commonality of the exhaust/engine/swingarm/chassis would tell me these are very 100% true. The tracer needs to be updated to the same Euro 5 spec as the MT09 just was, that requires the new engine, new exhaust (which itself requires a new swing arm and chassis to accommodate), and new ECU. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 22 minutes ago, PowerMalc said: It makes the whole front area very heavy looking That is exactly my take... the bike looks big and bulky in ways I dont think it needed to. Especially with the tight and light look of the Tracer 700. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member keithu Posted October 30, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted October 30, 2020 It's also worth noting that Visordown posted these Tracer images and then subsequently took them down. That suggests Yamaha threatened them with lost advertising or some other embargo terms. I don't think Yamaha would do that if the images were fake. These images have to be real. The frame, swingarm, and muffler are a perfect match for the 2021 MT09. And nobody would purposely Photoshop such hideous bodywork; only Yamaha themselves could have come up with this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKYFLIX Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 5 minutes ago, Clegg78 said: since they share a common mfg line... I think you are off on this. The Tracer will be announced in a few weeks according to dealers. The Tracer image doesn't mesh with the "Dark Side of Japan" launch they did with the MT-09. The fact the leaked pics show commonality of the exhaust/engine/swingarm/chassis would tell me these are very 100% true. The tracer needs to be updated to the same Euro 5 spec as the MT09 just was, that requires the new engine, new exhaust (which itself requires a new swing arm and chassis to accommodate), and new ECU. The point I was trying to (and failed) to make is that I believe this is a real bike, and will most certainly be the future of the line, but that I don't think it will be for 2021. That's just not how development is done. When manufacturers release a major rework of a chassis / engine / whatever, they don't generally update every single vehicle BASED off of that. It's far more cost effective to update a single line, and work out any issues that might come up with it before moving your entire portfolio over to it. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the Tracer only needs to meet Euro5 spec if it's classified as a "newly homologated" model. They can carry over existing models without any legal problems. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride365 Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 The plastic master cylinder reservoir makes sense, hell that's what KTM, Ducati, BMW use and they are not cheap bikes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride365 Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 Sales manager told me nothing NEW in the works for the Tracer line in 21, perhaps he was right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 3 minutes ago, SKYFLIX said: The point I was trying to (and failed) to make is that I believe this is a real bike, and will most certainly be the future of the line, but that I don't think it will be for 2021. That's just not how development is done. When manufacturers release a major rework of a chassis / engine / whatever, they don't generally update every single vehicle BASED off of that. It's far more cost effective to update a single line, and work out any issues that might come up with it before moving your entire portfolio over to it. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the Tracer only needs to meet Euro5 spec if it's classified as a "newly homologated" model. They can carry over existing models without any legal problems. I am guessing a lot of it depends on how many Tracer 2020's they have laying around unsold. I am guessing the switch over to the new CP3 engine would mean the entire line switch over, because the inefficiencies of making 2 different CP3 engines, 2 different MT-09 based chassis, etc... would be not cost effective. There is a chance they just don't release a 2021 Tracer. Skipping model years is not unheard of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKYFLIX Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 And of course we all have to remember that Yamaha has previously delayed some models into the US. So it's entirely possible that Europe may get this new model 1 or 2 years before the US. THAT I can totally get behind. The US doesn't have the stringent motorcycle regulations, so Yamaha could get a few more years of use out of the parts and tooling. I wouldn't be surprised if Yamaha updated the VINs on already manufactured US bikes, slapped some new color panels on it and called it a '21. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member keithu Posted October 30, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted October 30, 2020 14 hours ago, rlambke19 said: That's what I've been asking on FB - these look like an amateur took them - terrible angles. But real roads with leaves down, so interesting to know the source. Everybody has cameras now. If prototypes are tested in the real world it's inevitable that someone will snap a photo. In 1998 I wrote for a small California magazine and got to attend the North America press intro for the R1100S. There was some controversy because the NA BMW importer accidentally scheduled their press intro before the German press got to ride it; this was apparently a huge faux pas. So we all had to sign embargo agreements to not publish any photos or details before a certain date. We did a ~300 mile loop out of their New Jersey HQ. At a planned stop in Connecticut we were spotted by some random guy riding by on an old airhead Boxer. I think he almost broke his neck doing a double-take at the parking lot full of 20+ BMW motorcycles of unknown design. He did a quick U-turn and rode into the parking lot, hopped off his bike, and whipped out a camera. Us magazine guys got a chuckle out of it, but the BMW employees were in panic mode as they swarmed him and tried to shoo him away. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlambke19 Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 11 hours ago, Bossanova said: I think I’m going for the old one at a big discount. If it had looked like the 700 it would’ve been a tougher decision. It's also interesting to note the potential name change - Tracer 9 GT as opposed to Tracer 900 GT. Maybe they wanted to get away from the "G00" GT moniker. I mean, they could have just changed the font or made the zeroes the same size as the nine. 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 3 hours ago, rlambke19 said: It's also interesting to note the potential name change - Tracer 9 GT as opposed to Tracer 900 GT. Maybe they wanted to get away from the "G00" GT moniker. I mean, they could have just changed the font or made the zeroes the same size as the nine. 😆 Huh I didnt even see that name change! Tracer 9 ... ehh not big on that, I like the Goo GT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride365 Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 I'll have no regrets no matter what technological changes occur with the new GT, I am quite smitten with my 20 and looking forward to wearing her the hell out. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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