There’s a new, full colour dashboard that’s easier to read, with the various functions and settings now easily achieved via a thumb wheel on the right handlebar switch. New colour screen is smaller, but simplified in operation. No more wallowing, and with the longer swing arm, a more planted feel. You really only notice these improvements with a decent load, pushing through nice sweepy corners, where the old model would get a bit droopy in the rear end. The rear adjustments can now be achieved via an external knob, rather than resorting to the tool kit. The biggest change on the GT is in the suspension department, with a KYB front fork that is adjustable for compression and rebound damping, and a new KYB rear shock that has adjustment for rebound damping as well as the usual spring preload. Rennie Scaysbrook giving the new Tracer GT a workout in California. Heated grips are standard, and there’s an optional heated seat for $595.00. The seat on my Tracer is somewhere between a rock and a hard place, so the GT has more padding and is slightly wider, and can be adjusted between 850-865mm.
There’s a larger screen with more (50mm) of adjustment which is done manually, and the fairing itself is subtly restyled, along with slightly narrower handlebars and mirrors that sit taller so you can see something other than your own elbows. A pair of 22-litre panniers is standard on the GT, and now an option on the base model. The swinging arm is 60mm longer, which is designed to make the bike more stable, especially when loaded with gear and maybe a pillion. The standard model is still available, and $1500 cheaper, but the GT brings quite a bit more to the table. So not surprisingly, seeing that they have sold 30,000 Tracer 900s in just over three years, Yamaha has addressed that shortcoming in the new Tracer 900GT. So what’s not to like? Not much, but the suspension is a bit basic and the rear shock in particular cops some flack. The 850 triple engine is an absolute gem smooth, fast and with stacks of mid-range grunt. I’ve owned a Tracer 900 for 2 years and I love it a bike that is light and manoeuvrable around town and is also comfortable cruising the highways, should you need to do so.
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