wordsmith Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 I have just read a review of the new 2021 GT, stating that its weight has been increased by a whopping 24kg. Surely that cannot be correct - and if it is it removes one of the GT's best assets in its original low weight, IMHO. Any comments or ideas on this, please chums? 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...
Buggy Nate Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 They might actually have inadvertently told the truth. I never believe manufacturers when they give their claimed weights. Dirt bikes have been on a steady decline for the last 20 years loosing at least a couple of kg a year... despite not using any exotic materials! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member roadrash83 Posted March 31, 2021 Supporting Member Share Posted March 31, 2021 I don't think the advertised weight of the 19-20 GTs included side bags. Maybe they are including the weight of the bags now and the rest of the up dates to the 21 bike could be 24kg. He who dies with the most toys wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoAl Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 It is the increase in fuel capacity to 5 gallons :-) Top speed has the weight without the side cases as 485 pounds. I think that's comparable to the 2020 model at 474 pounds. 11 pounds plus the side cases would be something less than 24kg i expect. I don't like the increase in weight but really considering what is included it's not that bad. My 2014 Kawasaki ZX6R 636 ABS was something like 424 pounds and had more HP (at a lot more RPM LOL). Considering what the Tracer GT can carry and do it doesn't seem too bad to me. I would like to ride a 2021 but comparing my recent bikes - 2014 AX6R 636, 2016 BMS F800GT and 2020 Tracer GT the Tracer GT is the heaviest ( by like 10 pounds) but is the easiest of the three to balance and maneuver at low speed. I still very much value light weight but what we are seeing here is the FJ09 hitting middle age and adding weight as it adds more capability and looses some of the youthful exuberance. More folks want to carry more stuff and be able to go 2 up and still carry a lot of stuff so the frame and suspension and subframe have to adapt. I like all the tech in the new bike but I do not go 2 up ever so don't need the extra capacity. For me 2 sidecases and a duffle on the rear seat are all the capacity I need. Still very happy with my 2020 goo GT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warchild Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 We should also keep in mind that the Gen III engine is new, and larger - 890cc's compared to the Gen II's 847cc's. Another slight source of increase in weight is the electronic suspension - thought it likely doesn't contribute a ton of weight. If it behaves as well at the ES found in the Gen IV FJR's, that suspension will be to die for. All that being said... still not sure about the bodywork changes, front end in particular. IDK... seems to be a pinch more boxy, a little less sexy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Jeffers Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 They actually switched to lead muffler bearings for the new model year. Something to do new California emission rules. 🤷♂️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamajank Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 37 minutes ago, Warchild said: We should also keep in mind that the Gen III engine is new, and larger - 890cc's compared to the Gen II's 847cc's. Another slight source of increase in weight is the electronic suspension - thought it likely doesn't contribute a ton of weight. If it behaves as well at the ES found in the Gen IV FJR's, that suspension will be to die for. All that being said... still not sure about the bodywork changes, frint end in particular. IDK... seems to be a pinch more boxy, a little less sexy. I think a lot less sexy. I’ll have my 2019 GT for a while. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waldo Jeffers Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 I seriously think it’s a beauty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted March 31, 2021 Supporting Member Share Posted March 31, 2021 2 hours ago, wordsmith said: I have just read a review of the new 2021 GT, stating that its weight has been increased by a whopping 24kg. Can you share the review link? Is it a true in depth 'review'? or an expanded spec sheet press release? 1 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZigMerid Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 (edited) 6 hours ago, wordsmith said: Any comments or ideas on this, please chums? According to the spec sheets I have, the Tracer 900 weighs in at 474lb without side cases and the Tracer9 weighs in at 485lbs not including side cases. So the 2021 Tracer9 is 11lbs or 4.9kg heavier. Edited March 31, 2021 by ZigMerid 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZigMerid Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 5 hours ago, PhotoAl said: Top speed has the weight without the side cases as 485 pounds. I think that's comparable to the 2020 model at 474 pounds. Yup. That agrees with the specs I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 (edited) This is interesting! Another review from mcnews.com.au says that the new GT is "a couple of kg lighter", which sounds more like it. I'll search again for the specific source of the earlier info (hoping it's wrong!) and will add a note to this post later. The AMCN article was rather better than the usual spec sheet manufacturer blurb. Edited March 31, 2021 by wordsmith 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...
ZigMerid Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 (edited) 25 minutes ago, wordsmith said: The AMCN article was rather better than the usual spec sheet manufacturer blurb. That may be so, but I doubt that Mr Yamaha is lying about these sort of details, consumer protection laws and all that. But I guess until someone puts both of them on a weight bridge with equivalent fluids, then it's all speculation. In any event, in case you haven't seen it, here's the Yamaha AU spec sheet for the 2021 Tracer9GT which specifies a wet weight of 220kg and here's the Yamaha AU spec sheet for the 2020 Tracer 900GT which specifies a wet weight of 227kg. So according to Yammie AU, the 2021 is 7kg lighter! If true, that's nice. Has Mr Yamaha used a different formula for wet-weight calculations between the two models? Frankly I'd be surprised as they will always want each model to appear as light as possible when it comes out. So, unless someone actually weighs the two variants, I'm happy with the manufacturer's spec sheet. Edited March 31, 2021 by ZigMerid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsmith Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 (edited) Thanks, zig. I found it hard to believe the suggested 24kg weight increase. I'm happy too at the claimed but yet-to-be-proven 7kg weight-loss, although yet another 'report' claims a 2kg drop! The fuel capacity appears unchanged at 18L, so that could not have contributed to the claimed 24kg weight-gain! Somebody has screwed-up - again. And speaking purely for myself, if I was in the market for another GT I'd look long and hard at a 2019/ 2020 model, which has everything I need, including panniers and cruise-control, yet without the electrological doo-dahs of the 2021. Edited March 31, 2021 by wordsmith 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...
ZigMerid Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, wordsmith said: The fuel capacity appears unchanged at 18L The fuel capacity has marginally increased from 4.8gal to 5.0gal (or 0.75 litres) for the 2021, so less than a 1kg wet weight increase, but in conjunction with a claimed 4% improved fuel consumption it should help on the "tourer" part of a sports tourer a fraction. 1 hour ago, wordsmith said: I'd look long and hard at a 2019/ 2020 model I'm of the opposite thinking. They seem to have shifted slightly more towards the tourer front which suits me: a bit more range, a longer swing-arm and torque coming in at lower revs due to a longer stroke so I'm hoping the reputed "buzz" at highway speeds is a thing of the past, or at least has moved to highway++ speeds. On the down-side, the '21 is significantly more expensive, it's a new model so likely some bugs to work out and some of the visuals are controversial such as the asymmetric lights and the Wall-E two-eyed dash. As for E-doodahs, even the 2020 model is well into that. Let's face it, all modern machinery is littered with little brain-boxes all over the place. As others have noted, dealers are not yet discounting their 2020 stock, so it's not as if you get a price advantage going with the older models. At least not yet. Maybe that'll change once the 2021s hit the showroom floors? Edited March 31, 2021 by ZigMerid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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