Popular Post wordsmith Posted October 3, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 3, 2020 (edited) After my last Tracer 900 GT ran away from home in late 2019 I had a short but unhappy dalliance with a BMW R9T, interrupted by the coronavirus shutdown. So that was gonna be IT as far as motorbiking was concerned, but try as I might the black hole-like gravitational pull of two wheels kept dragging me back in, so after much thought and research I lighted upon the Tracer's little brother, actually its predecessor, Yamaha's MT-09 SP. I very much enjoyed all my Tracers, and the GT was by far the nicest, but as I have aged rather rapidly in recent years I found the GT's 850 - 860 seat height to be an impossibility. The MT-09's 820mm is just about manageable, with only modest high-kicks being necessary, and my experience with the overall similarity with Tracers won the day. As did its modest price of $14,900 on the road, with a keenly-negotiated tail-tidy thrown in and installed free! It's a nice little bike, not made for touring IMHO (though one could cross Europe or America or Australia on a Vespa if one really wanted to!), but as long-distance touring is no longer in my plans that's OK. The seat may be the determining factor as far as longer outings are concerned - say a 500km day - but if necessary a new BAGSTER seat may feature. I may, slightly, miss the GT's cruise-control, and maybe the 18L tank (the SP has only 14L) but nothing else other than that. The bullet-proof CP3 engine and excellent gearbox are the same, seating position and ergonomics only marginally different, and overall I feel very comfortable on the bike. It's also a significant 30kg lighter than the late BMW R9T at only 193kg full versus 233kg full. And even the farkling will be pretty much identical! The SP appendix to MT-09 refers to the heavily-upgraded suspension over the standard MT-09, having fully adjustable KYB fork internals and an OHLINS rear shock. My GT was upgraded by me with an excellent full front and rear K-TECH installation by a suspension guru here, but it should definitely not be necessary on this SP. I hope I may still be welcome to use this Tracer Forum and continue to learn from others' experiences with these super Yamaha machines, and maybe to contribute some thoughts of my own from time to time. Edited October 3, 2020 by wordsmith 12 6 1 Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
showmerider Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Good to have you back! Hope your staying healthy over there. The new bike looks nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted October 3, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted October 3, 2020 Welcome back @wordsmith. Glad to see you still riding, congrats on the new bike. 👍 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 That bike looks super cool. Enjoy every minute on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Good looking bike @wordsmith. Glad to have you contributing again. Red 2015 Tracer, UK spec (well, it was until I started messing with it...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggy Nate Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Eh, not that dark matey! They are a cracking bike. If they didn’t have a thimble for a fuel tank I’d be on one too. I find the Mt-09 seat a lot more comfortable than the tracer. Glad to have you back matey!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgy Knees Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Welcome back Wordy...and I also think they are a cracking bike. Did you try the 700 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmark101 Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Glad to see you are back. Were I not touring I would also strongly consider the same bike. I am sold on the Yamaha CP3 motor!! There is nothing like spending a day riding with friends in the grip of a shared obsession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Baby Tracer... nice. Enjoy the road and stay safe. Let the farkles begin... Blue Lives Matter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northsouth Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Awesome bike! I wish they sold them in the US. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member texscottyd Posted October 3, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted October 3, 2020 Hey @wordsmith! Welcome back. Again. Excellent choice, and a beautiful bike. You look pretty happy about it yourself, too. I can’t wait to hear your updates and opinions. Glad to have you back in the CP3 family... what is this, number four? -Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 4 minutes ago, texscottyd said: Hey @wordsmith! Welcome back. Again. Excellent choice, and a beautiful bike. You look pretty happy about it yourself, too. I can’t wait to hear your updates and opinions. Glad to have you back in the CP3 family... what is this, number fourTEEN? -Scott Edited for accuracy @texscottyd. 😂 2 Red 2015 Tracer, UK spec (well, it was until I started messing with it...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted October 3, 2020 Author Share Posted October 3, 2020 Thank you, BBB, and everyone else with the 'welcome back'. BBB - I cannot divulge how many, as Mrs W is hovering and looking over my shoulder from time to time, and..... 2 2 Riding a fully-farkled 2019 MT-09 Tracer 900 GT from my bayside home in South East Queensland, Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rustyshackles Posted October 3, 2020 Premium Member Share Posted October 3, 2020 Good to have you back in the extended family @wordsmith IBA Member #59800 3 Nations Brewing Mug Club #100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member texscottyd Posted October 3, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted October 3, 2020 7 hours ago, wordsmith said: Thank you, BBB, and everyone else with the 'welcome back'. BBB - I cannot divulge how many, as Mrs W is hovering and looking over my shoulder from time to time, and..... You should ALWAYS have an answer ready to deploy to the ‘how many motorcycles’ question. My wife caught me flat-footed a couple of days ago with the ‘so how many bikes do you actually have?’ question, and I stumbled & stammered for far too long before coming up with “uh... three. Well, six. Let’s call it 4.5!” Fortunately she is an absolute saint about these things, and just smiles & shakes her head in mild amusement. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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