Yamaha Tracer 9 GT & Tracer 9 GT+

That is for adjusting the seat height to the highest position, my seat is always in low position so I have never used it.

Anyone come from a 2015+ Versys 650 to this bike? Opinions?

I see it now in the book on p. 5-27. They call it a "cap" and it's not part of the height adjustment. It's just discussed as part of removing and installing the seats. I'm guessing its purpose is to lock the latch for the front seat in place so it can't release when you're riding. I don't see that it does anything else (or is even necessary).

You find the part in the section “adjust the height of the drivers seat”. It is a part in the process of adjusting the drivers seat, ( to remove the seats this parts is not needed ).
It should be possible to ride the bike in high position without the part there, but the seat would not be properly attached.

I guess it’s best to go out and try it to see exactly what it does.

/Daniel

That is the rubber insert that locks the lever from releasing the seat.

Might have been the last real ride of the season. A bit nipply up there, but the colors on the way up were great.

Got a quick sit on a used '20 and new '21 at the dealer today. There is quite a difference in the two with the '20 seat actually being a bit more cushy. The looks of the new bike are really an improvement, both were red. My wife even commented on how good the '21 looked.
Dealer is asking $15,500 for the '21 (of which they have 3), if there's no seasonal give there I'll just hold off for the '22 bikes.

I'm sure you know this already. But MSRP is 14,899. I'd offer that out the door and see what happens. Yamaha still offers 2.99% financing.

Red is my fav color on them. I'll have a red one some day. My new bike savings wad took a big hit when I stumbled into two older Hawks. It's bouncing back tho.

My local dealer had one Tracer. It was on the floor for only 3 weeks. Now Yamaha's locator says nearest bike is in MD!

Hawk GT's?
Don't rely on the locator, it didn't show the two new bikes still at this dealer for whatever reason...

Yes, Honda Hawk 650 GTs.

The locator say that a dealer has one, but their website doesn't list one. So I have no clue anymore!

Wait, you said 3 before. Now 2. Did you buy one?

Really like the red/black look with the bright red. Is it solid or metallic?

Miss my Hawk, great collectable.

The website lists 3 of the 21's but only 2 have pictures and were seen so the 3rd is an unknown and may have sold. I'm still on the fence and looking at the BMW 900XR as well (similar price).

.

Thanks! It’s solid red. The finish is very nice and glossy, though. It was the only red one in Florida when I bought it. Yamaha really seems to love the liquid metal combo, but I think the red tones down the bug eye look and is much prettier.

Didn't matter, either one will look great. I just like the contrast when the red is bright.

I rode another Tracer on Friday. Progressive bike show in Conyers Ga. Saddest show I have seen yet. But it did rain all day. Most of the manufacturers were delaying the rides.

I rode my ST1100 down and back. To compare to the Tracer. My thoughts are pretty much the same as the other time I rode it. It is nice. But not as big a difference as I thought between the two.

The quickshifer is addictive. Seriously. It was working much better for me this time. Smooth. Seemless. Almost instant. I don't know if the bike improved or I did.

This ride has more parking lot speeds. I noticed that the throttle was a bit jerky. Trying to hold it a hair above closed to maintain a slow speed really free attention to the jerking. Bike wanted me to either speed up or coast with the clutch in. It did maintain the speed I wanted tho. Just a tad bit of feedback. Like a horse not completely wanting to comply. In comparison the ST does this perfectly. I might be spoiled.

Tracer had better brakes. I never got into them but they felt decades above in tech. Cause they are.

Motor had a bit of rumble to it. I'd love to hear it with the Acrapovic full system. Had plenty of low down grunt. Which is where I stayed mostly. Can't really get in it while on a group ride. Especially so when it's misting, damp roads and the group leader stuck his neck out so you could ride it. He really did. Shout out to Barry for talking his boss into a ride.

That said it really didn't have the power I expected. On paper it has more hp than my ST. Weighs less too. I'd love to ride one while on my own. To see what's it made of. Maybe it does have loads more. I just don't know.

Side cases were a bit of a puzzle to open. I just wanted to open one and put my hat inside. I asked if I needed the key to open them. Guy says ho ahead, be my guest. I'm now certain he didn't fully hear me. Cause I tried to open one with the key. Which leads to the bag coming off. Then not wanting to go back on. Which gets Yamaha guy involved. He can't get it back. Which leads to random show patron getting involved. Yamaha guy gets muscles out by patron. He can't get it. I take it completely off and put it back on. Putting a little more weight into clicking it in and folding down the lever. Combine trying to get ready for a ride, not wanting to break the show bike, an audience, and unfamiliarity, and you get an awkward hat storage sequence. lol To get the bag open push down the square. Lever now pops up. Pull it toward you while pulling lid open. Reverse to close. No key needed. I assume it will not work while locked.

I could not get the heated grips on. I didn't try until we were moving. Not being able to focus on it while riding really hurt the hunt for the settings. I couldn't really pay much attention to finding the dang menu. So I gave up. A dedicated hard button would be very welcomed here. Not sure how they would add that tho. The switchgear seems almost cluttered now. Too many buttons.

The two screen dash and Gonzo like nose didn't bother me at all this time. I did find the way to change the four data points on the right side. Which was much easier to do while riding than turning on the heated grips!!! Stupid. I'll have to check the owners manual on how to do sick a simple thing. I did see that the bike was averaging 48 MPG. Or at least the computer thinks so.

Wind protection could have been better. But I'm comparing that to a full fairing touring bike with a large windshield. Had screen in it's high position. No buffering. Smooth air. Handguards didn't block as much as I thought. The mounting for them looked weak. I'd probably take them off. Not much wind blocking for your legs or arms. A nice suit would be essential in cold or rain. My Roadcrafter keep me dry.

A comment on accessories. Why does the American site show nothing for it? Why do I have to go to the EU site to find out what's available from Yamaha? Why can't I buy those things I now know of? Can't buy the tank pads. Can't buy the crash bars. Can't buy the fog light bracket. Can't buy the color panels for the bags. Can't buy the rear rack. Can't buy the topbox. Can't buy the color panels for the topbox. Can't buy the axle sliders. I know there is a global shortage of stuff. I'm sure they are using all the parts they can get to build bikes. I just don't want to buy a new bike then run it because I can't buy stuff to protect it. The aftermarket is the same. Not much avail yet, what is out there, isn't in stock.

I think on the way home I decided that as much as I love my 130K mile ST1100, it's days are coming to an end with me. Which makes me genuinely sad. I truly love that bike. I have it almost set up exactly as I need. Almost a member of the family. Beloved. Cherished. Reality is I must sell it as I need the shed space and the money will go towards a new bike. The useage of the two overlap too much to rationalize keeping both. I do not have much free time anymore. I certainly don't have enough to ride lately. Much less enough time to ride them both.

Thanks for letting me ramble on. It helps to get all my thoughts down in words. Perhaps it will help somebody else.

TL;DR I liked the Tracer the first time I rode it. I liked it more the second time. Engine throaty. Brakes awesome. Enough rust aids. Handled well. Lightish. Red one please.

You didn’t get the real experience unless you took it to about 9k RPM. I had an ST1300 and I think this would wheelie past it on acceleration. The D2 mode takes the edge off the throttle response with no power loss.

It took me a couple hours with the manual and the bike to sort out how to navigate the settings and menus.

I played around with the bags today too. Seems like the switchgear was overthought. Bags are ugly as hell too. I got the heated grips to work today but noticed something that I like about my ‘19 better. On mine I can just select which setting I want and then after a couple seconds it is set. The new one you have to select it and then press the wheel again. Seems the thinking is taking a step backwards, not forwards.
Mode 1 was nice but Jesus Yamaha, put the throttle response on the Tracer like the MT09 has. Granted, it was the SP that I rode, but still.
I’m thinking of getting another bike next year (the new Suzuki alphabet soup GT) and really just rode the Tracer9 to compare to my Tracer 900. I like my ‘19 much better, to be honest.

{edit for more}…and the dash? Holy shit what a clusterfuck. I think a 20-something engineer designed it to make a name for themself. Well, they succeeded but not for the right reason. Even one of the Yamaha demo guys told me he hates it too.

I never did get that high in the RPM range. Sounds like it had much more to give.

So you had a st1300 and the new Tracer. And think the Tracer had more power? Interesting.

The bags could be better looking. But it's something I think will look better with a touch of yet red added.

I'm open to other bikes. But nothing seems to fit me better than the Tracer. I'm much further in the sport touring group than the adventure group. Which seems to be the major market share right now. It looks like the ST market is slowly coming back. I'm not patient enough to wait and see where it goes. I want something new by spring.

I had the ST1300 and I've had several FJRs - considered getting another FJR, but glad I didn't. I much prefer the upright position of the Tracer to the FJR. This isn't a torquey motor - you have to wring it out a bit. When you hit the powerband, it goes. The ST might come out of the hole a bit better, but I guarantee the Tracer will leave it for dead when it hits the powerband (you'll be glad it has lift control, especially two-up). I mostly ride two-up and my wife likes the Tracer better than most bikes we've had (we've had all the big ADV bikes in addition to the sport touring bikes). This bike puts the fun back in riding for me.

I don't mind the dash at all. It's not as complicated as it first appears. You have four windows on the right that you have about 10 choices to display in each. I have trip 1, ambient temp, coolant temp and fuel consumed set. I like having the fuel consumed display and have found it's quite accurate - nice in areas where fuel stops are spread out. The manual does a shitty job of explaining the basic process of navigating the menus, but once you figure it out it's fairly easy.

Heated grips are only a pain if you tend to change things on the dash a lot. Press and hold for 2 seconds when turning them on and it stays on heat setting permanently. After that just adjust the heat at any time by turning the thumb wheel. I also found it easier to set with my left hand when actually going round the menu and keeping right hand on the throttle. Mine is now starting to settle in after just over 1100 miles and any vibes it had are all but gone, revs a lot more freely too, notably less power than the KTM 1290 I had before but still goes well enough. Panniers I never had a problem with, locked in the centre position, clockwise quarter turn and press button then lift catch to open or anti clockwise quarter turn handle pops up, lift to remove. Slots back on real easy too, just make sure the fork on the pannier is engaged with the tongue on the bike and the top fixings go in the indents. Same as FJR really.

Dash! I agree not the best especially compared with KTM and others but is functional, should have had a day night mode like all the rest. My old eyes have a job seeing the smaller items at times but the important stuff is all there. Tacho could have been bigger and the adjustable gear change flashing gear number is just not bold enough but made to a budget I expect and this is what we have. One annoying thing I find is the indicator switch, seems to be mounted in some sort of recess and not easy to locate in a hurry without looking.

Screen with the MRA sports addon is pretty good now after a bit of trial and error. Suspension is quite harsh even in the touring mode but that's probably our awful roads. Not ridden in the dark so cannot comment on the lights yet