Yamaha Tracer 900 GT

[manxie49]

I’ve owned the Tracer 900GT for a wee while so thought I’d say what my impressions of the bike were.  Nothing technical, you can find all the technical data on Google, just my impressions as an all-seasons owner / rider.

 

I bought the Tracer as a bike to not only tour on but a bike that I could live with every day, commutes and runs to the shops, and it certainly ticked those boxes for me. I test rode several bikes, including a Triumph Tiger and a KTM before making my decision on this one.  so down to the nitty gritty.

 

THE GOOD:  The bike is a pleasure to ride; it’s forgiving and rarely puts a foot wrong. The 847cc, in line, three-cylinder engine provides very smooth power delivery in all gears, although the “fly by wire” throttle, at first anyway, can be a bit snatchy.  That was something I was used to with my MT10 though.  The bike has a lot of low-down torque and a very useable mid-range which is great for the quick overtakes. If you want to enjoy the sportier side of the bike then you can change the mode settings.  I was actually pretty impressed by how much difference, sticking it into sport mode made.  The bike comes with the usual array of onboard electronics that are useful and easy to use on the fly.  The fuel tank holds 18.17Litres and I get about 160 miles on a full tank, this however is subjective and depends on how you ride it.  All in all, I would say that it is a very capable sports tourer.

 

THE BAD:  Stock tyres, Dunlop’s, were, for me anyway, not brilliant.  The bike didn’t feel planted, it was jittery on white lines and rough roads, I didn’t like them in the wet, and the bike felt like it was “drifting” into bends rather than gripping the road and powering around them, which is what I was used to.  I was advised to try Michelin Road 5’s, which I did, and wow, what a difference a couple of rubber rings made, definitely money well spent, it totally transformed the way the bike handled and felt, both on wet and dry roads, and I would have no hesitation in recommending them.  My next minor niggle was the seat, firstly it was uncomfortable, especially for a bike aimed at a part touring rider, it also, when braking, had a tendency to push you forward into the tank.  I upgraded the seat for the comfort seat, which is more comfortable, however, there are better seats out there. I would recommend, potentially, looking at having the stock seat recovered with gel inserts added, this actually would have been a cheaper option.  The last thing I consider to be bad with the bike is the suspension.  If riding solo then the suspension is brilliant and I have no issues with it, however, go two up and fully laden with luggage and it’s bad.  Firstly, the maximum recommended laden weight for the bike is around 180kg, me and my wife, fully kitted, with the bike laden, puts us well in excess of that recommendation.  Whilst you can still ride safely you do need to adapt your riding style, I’ve ground the Centre stand on two occasions, once on a roundabout and again on a tight bend. Secondly, fully laden, trust me when I say, you feel every bump in the road!  I’ve looked into this further and may, at some stage (overtime dependent), change the rear shock for Nitron and upgrade the front springs, it isn’t a cheap mod though.  The snatchy throttle can take a bit of getting used to, it can be smoothed out by having a reflash done, however, I have heard some people who have had this done say it caused them other problems in the long run. TBF I don’t really find it a major issue, just something to be aware of.

 

THE UGLY:  For me, the only thing that fell into this category was the stock screen.  The wind noise and buffering, for me at 6’1”, was horrific, even with good quality ear plugs in, my ears would ring after a blast over the mountain road.  I changed the screen for an MRA touring screen with flip up visor, whilst this did improve things slightly it still was not good!  After chatting to a friend, I decided to opt for an MRA sports screen and this appears to have cured the issues I had.  The wind now hits me in the chest, and I can put up with that, no more deafening helmet roar, and although it’s a sports screen, I’m actually being buffeted around less than I was with the touring screen.

 

MODS: MRA sports screen, Akra exhaust, comfort seat, LED indicators, engine bars, Denali DRL’s, Lightech chain adjusters, pyramid fender extender and hugger extension, Michelin Road 5’s.

 

Generally, I love the bike, it’s very easy to live with, reliable and ticks all the boxes.  Due to covid I haven’t been on any long tours yet but hopefully that will soon change and I’ll get to stretch its legs, first trip possibly around Kerry in the South of Ireland.  I would recommend the bike to anyone who wants a capable, dual purpose bike, that you can also use as the daily run around.  It’s easy to ride and very forgiving and would be ideal for a newb wanting to upgrade to a larger capacity bike.  If you’re going to use it as a tourer, especially two up, laden weight is a consideration, upgrading the suspension is an option, however, it is expensive!

[MikeHorton]

That's a pretty spot on assessment of the 900gt, Ive had mine 2yrs and over 10k on it now if it wasn't for lockdown it would be more like 16k. Agree with the suspensions, seat and screen niggles but I do love the engine. The menu selector wheel is the only other pain can be a bit annoying. Those tyres I wasn't a fan of either I opted for Avon spirits and like you say make it a new bike. Mine is used for everything too and has been great. I've chopped it in for an Honda AT  adventure sports es plus doing a lot more 2 up touring and this will do everything I need plus it's been a really shitty year for my wife and I and I thought I'd do something positive to make me smile!

 

[manxie49]

13 hours ago, MikeHorton said:

That's a pretty spot on assessment of the 900gt, Ive had mine 2yrs and over 10k on it now if it wasn't for lockdown it would be more like 16k. Agree with the suspensions, seat and screen niggles but I do love the engine. The menu selector wheel is the only other pain can be a bit annoying. Those tyres I wasn't a fan of either I opted for Avon spirits and like you say make it a new bike. Mine is used for everything too and has been great. I've chopped it in for an Honda AT  adventure sports es plus doing a lot more 2 up touring and this will do everything I need plus it's been a really shitty year for my wife and I and I thought I'd do something positive to make me smile!

 

You're right, the menu selector can be fiddly, especially with gloves on.  All in all though the bike was a pretty good choice for my needs, once you sort the niggles out it's brilliant.  How are you getting on with the Africa Twin?  I've heard a lot of good reports about those bikes....

[MikeHorton]

7 hours ago, manxie49 said:

You're right, the menu selector can be fiddly, especially with gloves on.  All in all though the bike was a pretty good choice for my needs, once you sort the niggles out it's brilliant.  How are you getting on with the Africa Twin?  I've heard a lot of good reports about those bikes....

It should arrive next week, I'm guessing I'll miss that silky smooth flexible triple but I'm just hoping it will be better for the touring. I'll post an update on here when we have done our first 2 up distance ride. I have a decent phone sat nav mount for the tracer which you can have if you need it. It fits into the screen adjuster it's been great

[Bender]

I thought the GT was supposed to have the better suspension, I think you've just put me off them  

[manxie49]

18 minutes ago, MikeHorton said:

It should arrive next week, I'm guessing I'll miss that silky smooth flexible triple but I'm just hoping it will be better for the touring. I'll post an update on here when we have done our first 2 up distance ride. I have a decent phone sat nav mount for the tracer which you can have if you need it. It fits into the screen adjuster it's been great

I've got a satnav mount on it thanks Mike,  good luck with the Honda 

[manxie49]

16 minutes ago, Bender said:

I thought the GT was supposed to have the better suspension, I think you've just put me off them  

I think it does compared to a standard Tracer although never ridden one in standard version.  The big issue I have is two up riding,  on my own it's perfect,  two up with luggage and it definitely isn't that good .... Now that's either because my Missus packs to much stuff or I'm just a fat t--t! 

[Bender]

I was looking at the tracer which has the not so good suspension it would be 2 up as well so back to the drawing board me thinks. 

[Ian Frog]

Could also try a diet !

Just saying.

Cheers

Ian

[MikeHorton]

5 hours ago, Bender said:

I was looking at the tracer which has the not so good suspension it would be 2 up as well so back to the drawing board me thinks. 

 Not sure what improvement the tracer 9 is with the semi active suspension and that takes more weight too. But if your doing a lot of 2 up I think it's not quite good enough 

[manxie49]

16 hours ago, MikeHorton said:

 Not sure what improvement the tracer 9 is with the semi active suspension and that takes more weight too. But if your doing a lot of 2 up I think it's not quite good enough 

Tracer 9 has a 193kg Load carrying capacity, still not brilliant but I suppose it depends on how often you go two up.  Like I say, in stock form,  it's still doable on the Tracer 900GT, you have to adapt your riding style a bit though.

[manxie49]

Update to my review, Suspension:

 

The one thing I’ve never been 100% happy with was the Tracer suspension, I could only describe it as adequate with room for improvement, more so when riding two up and fully laden.  So, I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade,  didn't intend to do it this soon but I thought what the hell.  I’ve had plenty of time to save during lock downs so decided to invest what I saved on a Nitron R1 rear shock with remote preload adjuster, and I upgraded the front springs and valves with K-Tech.  So, what’s the difference!  The first thing I noticed was ride quality, much “plusher” ride and not so harsh, especially felt on some of the rough, poorly maintained roads, the bike turns in a lot quicker now and the handling feels sharper and more precise.  Two up and fully laden the rear suspension no longer bottoms out in dips or when cornering, which in itself wasn’t particularly good as it had a tendency to make the bike run wide.  It also appears to have cured the low frequency head shake that a lot of Tracer riders report at speed.  One other issue I noticed, usually when riding solo, and shall we say, “making progress”, was that the bike felt as though it was fighting against me when I cranked it into a bend, I messed around the rebound damping on the OEM shock but it didn’t seem to make any difference, that said I’m no expert when it comes to suspension set up, but I did have a mate look at it who does know his stuff, but we couldn’t cure the issue.  I put it down initially to my riding style and years of riding sports bikes.  However, the new suspension set up seems to have cured that problem.  The Tracer isn’t a full blood sports bike, and I don’t ride it as such, I do, on occasion, enjoy a spirited ride though and the new suspension allows me to do that with confidence.  The Tracer is a great all-rounder with a few annoying little niggles, for some, me included, the suspension was one of them.  The ride is now night and day different, if you intend to keep the bike for a period of time then this is a great upgrade, you’ll never recoup your dollars when you sell.  If you’re a critical twat like me when it comes to handling then the upgrade is most definitely worth the money spent.

 

[MikeHorton]

It's worth the investment if you are hanging onto it and ride it a lot. After all the purchase price of the tracer is good sounds like a great investment to me. My tracer I part ex's is now up for sale at Sutton's in Bromsgrove 10k miles but in mint condition. I'm already putting the miles on the Africa Twin now 

[Bender]

Suspension is a reoccurring theme on the tracer, glad your happy but having to spend that much on a new bike isn't great. 

[manxie49]

1 hour ago, Bender said:

Suspension is a reoccurring theme on the tracer, glad your happy but having to spend that much on a new bike isn't great. 

You're totally right,  The Tracer is a good bike in so many ways but to keep the price down I think Yamaha have cut corners in certain areas, one of them being the suspension.  I intend keeping this bike for a good while so to me it was money well spent, it actually rides now like it should have done straight from the factory.

[manxie49]

2 hours ago, MikeHorton said:

It's worth the investment if you are hanging onto it and ride it a lot. After all the purchase price of the tracer is good sounds like a great investment to me. My tracer I part ex's is now up for sale at Sutton's in Bromsgrove 10k miles but in mint condition. I'm already putting the miles on the Africa Twin now 

Thats what I thought Mike,  I ride year round as well.  I'd be a fool to sell the bike now I've ironed out all the niggles so going to be keeping it for a good while,  hoping to get away in September, stretch it's legs a bit.  Good to hear you're happy with the Africa Twin,  good bikes according to the reviews but you never truly know till you own one.

[bazza950]

so I am in the market for a Tracer 900 GT- not the latest one which has the twin clocks.I like the 2018-2020 one in blue!

But after a Honda NC 750 and then a VFR1200 -both DCT -I got fed up with the first]s lack of power and the seconds sheer bulk-best part of 300 kilos.

Both suffered from crap suspension so both had full Maxton upgrades.The seat issue has been the same on EVERY bike I have owned since 1990 - why the hell can't they make them for bigger  people rather than little far east folk?

so It seems that you buy a bike then if you are going touring-rather than a cafe visitor -you have to budget for seat,suspension and the screen for a Tracer! Oh and tyres -so say in all about £1500-2000

Seems that the Triumph 900 hasn't got all these faults -but costs £3k more- maybe that's it ,built down to a price.

anyway if anyone has one like I want would welcome you to contact me-in north shropshire.

[MikeHorton]

Hi Bazza great bike I had one for 2 years before my Africa Twin, great roads in Shropshire too

[fullscreenaging]

1 hour ago, bazza950 said:

so I am in the market for a Tracer 900 GT- not the latest one which has the twin clocks.I like the 2018-2020 one in blue!

But after a Honda NC 750 and then a VFR1200 -both DCT -I got fed up with the first]s lack of power and the seconds sheer bulk-best part of 300 kilos.

Both suffered from crap suspension so both had full Maxton upgrades.The seat issue has been the same on EVERY bike I have owned since 1990 - why the hell can't they make them for bigger  people rather than little far east folk?

so It seems that you buy a bike then if you are going touring-rather than a cafe visitor -you have to budget for seat,suspension and the screen for a Tracer! Oh and tyres -so say in all about £1500-2000

Seems that the Triumph 900 hasn't got all these faults -but costs £3k more- maybe that's it ,built down to a price.

anyway if anyone has one like I want would welcome you to contact me-in north shropshire.

I owned a Tracer 900 GT from new when they first came out back in 2015. Did a week’s trip to Germany on it and it didn’t miss a beat. 
However, after 2 years of ownership I wanted something with power. 
I also founds it’s limits quickly with higher speeds. It was unstable. 
 

I have owned a Versys 1000GT from new since 2017 and love it. I have no intentions of changing it any time soon. 
I do have the Tracer seat professionally altered for comfort and I do have a comfort genuine seat on the Versys (found a mint used one in FB market place a couple of years back)

I also put Hyperpro front spring in and a HP rear unit in. Which haS made a difference to the V

[Bender]

Think if you look into it even the improved suspension on the gt is no brilliant, you need a good ride on one. 

[MikeHorton]

I had a 2019 with the slightly longer swing arm, stability was good, yup the suspension needs an upgrade for sure. GT panniers on the 2019 didnt fit a full face so I had a kappa top box 46l fitted. Cant knock the build quality and for me it had enough power  but wasn't ideal for 2 up touring. 

[manxie49]

Even with upgraded suspension, 2 up and loaded, it still isn’t the best,  I wouldn’t want to travel far in that scenario.  As a solo ride it’s great.  My only other real gripe is the snatchy throttle,  it’s caught me out a couple of times, and isn’t what you’d call a pleasure when slow riding or manoeuvring.  I believe a remap will sort it but have also been told that can cause other problems.

[MikeHorton]

The screen was odd for me I changed to a vario but still seemed to get a lot of buffeting off it. 1st thing I noticed on the AT was clean air and less noise, admittedly its a bloody big screen. 

I am surprised Yamaha haven't tried to put the triple in an adventure type new bike 

[manxie49]

13 hours ago, MikeHorton said:

The screen was odd for me I changed to a vario but still seemed to get a lot of buffeting off it. 1st thing I noticed on the AT was clean air and less noise, admittedly its a bloody big screen. 

I am surprised Yamaha haven't tried to put the triple in an adventure type new bike 

I agree, screen was also a nightmare!  I went for the MRA sports screen which cured the horrific helmet roar!  I suppose as far as ADV's go Yamaha have just hung their hat on the Tenere,  popular bike, especially in the 700cc format.  I reckon Honda, BMW and KTM have the market pretty much cornered though.  Twin cylinder seems to be the engine of choice for manufacturers when it comes to Adventure bikes.

[Cam78]

I became the owner of 2018 900GT a month ago. Really enjoying it, having upgraded from the 2007 versys 650.

Like a few people have said the seat is one of the worst things. The versys was very comfortable so it was a shock to the backside. I bought an Oxford air seat which makes a difference. The menu wheel is very sticky for me, but don't use it that much. My biggest problem at the moment is the front brake stop switch, I know there was a recall on these in US, but as this is a second hand bike in UK I couldn't find anything, so I bought a replacement assembly but can't find any videos on replacement. Looks easy but I can't trace the connection, any ideas?