2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT review

The 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT does not have an easy brief. Speed, comfort and handling – easy words to say but difficult attributes to deliver in the one motorcycle, and especially when you potentially add a pillion and luggage into the mix.

However, in creating the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT its engineers and designers had a solid foundation in the proven and capable Tracer 900, so all that was really required was a little tweaking here and there and the addition of some up-spec goodies.

Related reading:
EICMA 2017: MT-09 Tracer and MT-09 Tracer GT
2018 Bikesales Bike of the Year: Yamaha MT-09SP
2017 Yamaha MT-07 Tracer launch review

Yes, throwing a few extras at an existing model to create a 'new' model is a time-honoured technique used by automotive manufacturers of all persuasions, but Yamaha has done it well – very well, in fact – in the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT.

So, how does it differ from the base model? Let's start with the components Yamaha has tinkered with…

The swingarm is a little longer to aid stability and the seat has been sculpted for a bit of extra comfort. The handlebars are a touch shorter while the screen is a bit larger and the pillion grab rails are a touch wider.

The rear shock settings have also been revised, although as in the Tracer 900 the KYB unit comes with adjustable preload and rebound.

Up the front, the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT scores a fully adjustable 41mm KYB inverted fork, with gold fork legs to underline its 'specialness'. In addition to preload adjustment, it has a rebound damping adjustor at the top of one fork leg and a compression damping adjustor at the top of the other.

To all this add creature comforts like electronic cruise control, a quickshifter, a TFT (This Film Transistor) instrument display, heated handlebar grips and a pair of 20lt hard panniers, and the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT is pretty well ready to head across town or across the continent straight off the showroom floor.

The Yamaha Tracer 900 has been around since 2015 and the Tracer 900 GT joined the line-up in 2018. Yamaha Australia says its allocation of the Tracer 900 GT sold out in weeks last year, but now the 2019 Tracer 900 GT is here.

Bikesales Editor Mark Fattore gave the Tracer 900 GT a spin at the start of this year but I'd been hankering for a ride ever since, so when Yamaha Motor Australia said an example was available in my neck of the woods, I didn't have to be asked twice.

I spent a couple of weeks aboard the 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT, living with it day in, day out as a commuter through the week and tackling some longer runs in the countryside come the weekend.

It's a ripper sportstourer, with roomy ergonomics, impressive handling and performance and a bunch of nice features, and all for a pretty reasonable ask for what it offers.

It's a handsome beast too, I think, although its seat height – a choice of either 850mm or 865mm – may put off those of shorter stature. With the panniers in place, getting on requires a fair swing of your leg to clear the rear of the machine, but once you're there it's an immediately commanding and spacious ride position.

The handlebar is said to be shorter than on the Tracer 900 but the it's still pretty darn broad, and a fair bit of care is required when filtering (as it should be any time). At least the panniers are quite slim – if you can clear traffic either side with the handlebar, you shouldn't have any issues squeezing those hard cases through.

Speaking of which, the lockable factory panniers can be mounted or removed in a flash. As mentioned, they're not the biggest we've seen and they won't fit a full-face helmet, but they're entirely adequate for two-up weekends away or longer solo runs.

Actually, practicality is a real strength in the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT. It comes standard with an easy-to-use centrestand and there's a 12-volt accessories socket just under the screen. The screen itself has a manual adjustment system but you can slide it up and down through its range of travel with one hand while on the go. And I like how all the various suspension adjustors are easy to get to, and that the rear shock has a remote wheel for altering the preload – handy for whenever a pillion hops on the back.

The TFT instrumentation looks trick and it's easy enough to cycle through the various menus once you've got the hang of it. The switchblocks are pretty busy affairs though with buttons aplenty – I found there wasn't enough room around the indicator switch when wearing winter gloves, and I wasn't keen on using the thumb on my throttle hand to flick through the trip computer functions, including altering the settings for the heated grips.

Also, I found it a squeeze to get my gloved hand to the ignition, as there's just not a lot of space between the handlebar clamps and the TFT instrument display (and I wouldn't say I have large hands by any stretch).

The heated grips were appreciated though, and were used to great effect over several frosty Melbourne winter mornings.

The screen treads a decent middle ground between sports and touring and I didn't experience any undue buffeting, although I'm on the lanky side and even on the highest setting it directs the airflow around my head, not over it.

There's heaps of legroom and the ride position is pretty much upright, but I found the rider's seat a little on the firm side on longer runs. I also found that at first it felt like I was sliding forward in the seat a little, towards the back of the tank, but I acclimatised to this and didn't notice it so much after a few days in the saddle.

I also spent a bit of time as a pillion aboard the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT, and back-seaters are well catered for. Yes, it's also a bit of a climb up to get on the thing, but the seat is quite large and nicely padded, and the grab rails are chunky and easy to grip. There are far worse pillion bikes than this.

But how's it go? Like a bloody rocket! Okay, so it's no Yamaha YZF-R1 when it comes to output and sheer acceleration, but with its 847cc triple (115hp/87.5Nm) and a kerb weight of 227kg, it gets along just fine, thank you very much.

It's a belter of an engine, that triple – there's good power and torque pretty much throughout the rev range, and the quick-shifter adds to the fun when things turn sporty. To be honest, I initially thought a quick-shifter was a bit of a case of overkill on a machine like this, but it does add something when charging hard along a winding road. It's a uni-directional affair, by the way – as in it works when shifting up, but not down.

Not that's it's any drama to shift in the time-honoured fashion: the assisted slipper clutch is light and precise, as is the six-speed gearbox. The gear ratios all seem nicely spaced and it's relaxed enough take extended highway running in its stride – the engine spins at 4000rpm at 100km/h in sixth.

That stubby little underslung exhaust produces a nicely throaty triple note – it's quite stirring for a stocker when you get amongst it – yet it's still subdued enough under more regular throttle loads. You should be able to creep into your garage late at night without raising the neighbours' ire.

Fuel economy? I got an average of 4.7lt/100km, which gives a safe range of approaching 350km from the 18-litre tank.

Then there's the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT's handling – a real highlight in this well-appointed package. Now I never fiddled with the suspension settings bar the rear preload, and I found it was planted and confidence inspiring as it came to me. It's nimble without being flighty, the broad 'bars afford quick and easy changes of direction, and the chassis/suspension package smooths out all but the worst bumps and potholes our typically underwhelming Aussie roads throw up.

The ground clearance is decent too – I'd have no qualms in ditching the panniers (and pillion!) and hitting the odd track day on a Yamaha Tracer 900 GT.

There are three ride modes, ranging from the sharpest response and full output to a more subdued mode for use in wet weather and/or generally slippery conditions, and two traction settings that can be altered within each pre-set ride mode format. It's handy without being overly complex – and with non-switchable ABS it delivers on safety, while still allowing the odd little power wheelie if that's what floats your canoe.

The brakes hold up their end of the deal well, as you'd expect of a radial-mount, four-piston and twin-disc arrangement.

As a mid-forty-something rider I appreciate a bit of comfort with my biking thrills these days, and in that frame of reference the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT really delivers. It's roomy, it can scorch along a winding road, it can commute and it can haul a load, and for the money it's actually got a pretty compelling list of standard features.

Yamaha Motor Australia reckons it sold out of Tracer 900 GTs in short order last year so I hope it's upped the intake for 2019 – this is a very worthy motorcycle that's going to see owners grinning from ear to ear.

ENGINE
Type: Liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-stroke, three-cylinder
Capacity: 847cc
Compression ratio: 11.5: 1
Bore x stroke: 78.0mm x 59.1mm
Fuel system: Electronic fuel injection

PERFORMANCE
Claimed maximum power: 115hp (84.6kW) at 10,000rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 87.5Nm at 8500rpm
Economy: 4.7lt/100km (measured)

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Final drive: Chain
Clutch: Wet, assisted slipper

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame type: Aluminium diamond
Front suspension: Upside-down 41mm KYB fork, fully adjustable, 137mm travel
Rear suspension: KYB monoshock, adjustable for preload and rebound, 142mm travel
Front brakes: Twin 298mm discs with radial-mount four-piston calipers, ABS equipped
Rear brake: 245mm disc with single-piston caliper, ABS equipped
Wheels: 10-spoke alloy
Tyres: Dunlop D222 Sportmax – 120/70ZR17 front, 180/55ZR17 rear

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Rake: 24 degrees
Trail: 100mm
Claimed kerb weight: 227kg
Seat height: 865mm
Wheelbase: 1500mm
Fuel capacity: 18 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $18,563 plus on-road costs
Colours: Midnight Black
Test bike supplied by: Yamaha Motor Australia, yamaha-motor.com.au
Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres