5 Things You Need To Know About the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+
Recently, the Motorcycle.com staff had the chance to tour the beautiful Ontario countryside to experience the fall colors and to get a taste of what Northern Ontario has to offer. It’s a stunning place, and we thank our friends at Destination Ontario for making it all possible. Watch the feature video about our trip here or you can read about our trip here.
This trip was made possible by our friends at Destination Ontario. Click this link to help plan your trip up North.
When it came to picking out bikes for our Canadian tour, we wanted something that could tour but was also sporty. A lot of bikes made our list, but we eventually picked the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ as a worthy representative of the Sport-Touring category. We’re fans of the CP3 engine and the various platforms it comes in, and after putting a thousand miles on a Tracer 9 GT+, we came back with plenty to say about it.
Here are five things you need to know about the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+:
Light Makes Right
Compared to the Honda Gold Wing and Harley Street Glide that also joined us on this trip, the Yamaha’s 492 lbs made the bike feel like a toy in comparison. But even without the Honda and Harley, the sub 500-pound weight makes the Yamaha an unassuming bike to go touring with.
The 890cc Triple Is Fun And Playful – And Sounds Awesome
We’ve professed our love for Yamaha’s 890cc Triple in every bike it’s been in and the Tracer 9 is no different. There’s nice torque off the bottom and a healthy amount of power up top to really move you along. And once the engine is revving, it produces an addicting intake and exhaust note that leaves you wanting more. It’s the very definition of playful. We also appreciated the quickshifter and autoblipper, too. Not having to use the clutch for shifts is a treat, and the exhaust pops for each upshift sound cool, too. If we were to complain about something, the downshifts on our particular test bike felt notchy and unrefined with the autoblipper. We haven’t experienced that before on other CP3 engines, so maybe this was a one-off.
Wind Protection – Or The Lack Thereof
The Tracer 9 has a manually adjustable windscreen that’s fairly effective at diverting air, but ultimately, the Yamaha’s overall smaller dimensions compared to the Harley and Honda we brought along, also mean the Yamaha had less protection from the elements. Is that an unfair comparison? Sure, but those are the kind of straws we have to reach for with a bike we like so much.
Both Saddlebags Are The Same Capacity Since The Exhaust Is Under The Engine
This is an especially nice feature on sport-touring bikes – both saddlebags are the same capacity thanks to an under-engine silencer. Back when sport-tourers routed their exhausts along the side of the bike, the pannier on that side had to be shaped differently to accommodate, resulting in a smaller case. When you’re trying to pack for a trip, you want more space, not less. The Tracer’s bags give you that.
Electronic Suspension Is Nice For Varying Conditions. Also, Adaptive Cruise Control!
Electronic suspension is perfect for sport-touring because you never know what the road ahead is going to be like. We experienced all kinds of roads in northern Ontario and it wasn’t until after the ride was over did we realize that we didn’t adjust our settings once over the course of the 1000 miles we traveled. We didn’t feel the need.
And Yes, we’re squeezing in a shoutout for the adaptive cruise control. While it wasn’t perfect, it sure is a nice feature to have on a touring bike.
The Sporty Alternative
If your touring tastes skew towards the sporty end of things, the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ has a lot to offer. It thrives on twisty roads, but is also equally at home putting in the miles on the highway if you need to. At $16,499, you’re getting a nice bike for the money that’s packed with features to make sport-touring safer and more enjoyable.
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Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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As popular as the Tracer 9GT and its variants are in Europe, as unpopular as they are here in the US ... I think Yamaha is barking up the wrong tree with betting all their touring money on this platform. I owned a 2022 T9GT for 8 months and sold it because I could not get on with it. I am 6'4" and the seating position was uncomfortable, especially the forward slant of the seat and the engine fits the MT-09 extremely well, but is suboptimal in a touring bike. Long-range touring folks won't select the T9GT which shows in its abysmally low sales numbers here. Lastly, in it's current configurations it is crazy over-priced and it will never replace the FJR. Except for the MT series, the T7 and some of their moto crossers and dual-purpose Yamaha's model lineup has significant gaps with the lack of any competitive top-range tourer and no competitive top-range ADV bike.
On paper (and in reviews), this looks like the best package in the sport-touring world (aside from being a little tall in the saddle made worse by the seat being a bit wide). Unfortunately, seeing it in person is a letdown. It's not pretty and the ginormous exhaust piping below it looks crude (although it might appeal to steam punk fans). But the worse offense is that it comes over here only in the full-zoot package, meaning you have to take a couple of tech features many of us don't really want - like auto-application of brakes in certain circumstances. Give us lower seat options, and more basic bike configurations (with a lower price, 'natch), and maybe I and others can overlook the looks.
Like Turd F., I also had a Tracer 900 and sold it quickly as it always felt too small, too weak and fairly cheap in parts. I love that engine for around town, but at sustained highway speeds it doesn't have the pull of the larger bore touring bikes like the FJR, K1300, Connie or even the ADV bikes like the XR, KTM, Versys 1100, GSX-S1000GX+ and the like. Just not a great option for us great Western mile munchers.