Yamaha’s 2022 Tracer 9 GT ($14,999) is a middleweight-plus sport-touring bike that replaced the tuning-fork brand’s more budget-minded FJ-09 in 2021. The Tracer carries over to the 2022 model year with a slight $100 bump in MSRP.
--
The bike employs all the wonderful changes we saw on the ‘21 MT-09 naked, which we reviewed in our 2021 Yamaha MT-09 MC Commute Review and Yamaha Builds a Better Triumph - 2021 MT-09 Review articles and videos. It gets the bigger-capacity 890cc inline-three engine and the updated frame and chassis, and also benefits from a functional ergonomics package that makes it easy to live with it every day.
We love this streetbike’s inline-three engine. After twisting the throttle for a few hundred miles, it’s obvious Yamaha closely studied the Triumph’s formula when engineering this mill. It has gobs of torque (upward of 50 pound-feet from 2,600 revs), sounds awesome, gives great throttle response, and generally has a pleasing character. Overall, it’s smoother with much less engine vibration; a well-rounded powerplant.
In the suspension department, the Tracer 9 GT ditches the MT-09′s manual suspenders for a semi-active setup. This means the fork and shock automatically adjust damping force in real time based on rider control input and/or vehicle dynamics. The system is managed by an inertial measurement unit, or IMU, which gives this vehicle positional awareness on the road...
Find out more: https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/story/reviews/2022-yamaha-tracer-9-gt/
Photography: Joseph Agustin
Video: Ray Gauger
Gear Box
Helmet: Shoei RF-SR
Jacket: REV’IT! Tornado 3
Pant: REV’IT! Jackson RF
Gloves: REV’IT! Sand 3
Boots: TCX Rush 2 Air
Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist
Shop Products We Use: https://www.amazon.com/shop/motorcyclistmagazine
See more from us: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/
--
The bike employs all the wonderful changes we saw on the ‘21 MT-09 naked, which we reviewed in our 2021 Yamaha MT-09 MC Commute Review and Yamaha Builds a Better Triumph - 2021 MT-09 Review articles and videos. It gets the bigger-capacity 890cc inline-three engine and the updated frame and chassis, and also benefits from a functional ergonomics package that makes it easy to live with it every day.
We love this streetbike’s inline-three engine. After twisting the throttle for a few hundred miles, it’s obvious Yamaha closely studied the Triumph’s formula when engineering this mill. It has gobs of torque (upward of 50 pound-feet from 2,600 revs), sounds awesome, gives great throttle response, and generally has a pleasing character. Overall, it’s smoother with much less engine vibration; a well-rounded powerplant.
In the suspension department, the Tracer 9 GT ditches the MT-09′s manual suspenders for a semi-active setup. This means the fork and shock automatically adjust damping force in real time based on rider control input and/or vehicle dynamics. The system is managed by an inertial measurement unit, or IMU, which gives this vehicle positional awareness on the road...
Find out more: https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/story/reviews/2022-yamaha-tracer-9-gt/
Photography: Joseph Agustin
Video: Ray Gauger
Gear Box
Helmet: Shoei RF-SR
Jacket: REV’IT! Tornado 3
Pant: REV’IT! Jackson RF
Gloves: REV’IT! Sand 3
Boots: TCX Rush 2 Air
Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist
Shop Products We Use: https://www.amazon.com/shop/motorcyclistmagazine
See more from us: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 Hey folks, we just got done riding
00:23 Yamaha's 2022 Tracer 9 GT.
00:27 Now this is a middleweight plus sized touring bike
00:32 from the Tuning Fork brand.
00:34 It effectively replaces Yamaha's old FJ09.
00:38 Now this vehicle is all new for the 2021 model year.
00:44 It carries into 2022.
00:48 No changes besides a slight $100 bump in MSRP.
00:52 Now this vehicle employs all the wonderful changes
00:56 that we saw on the 2021 MT09.
01:01 It has the bigger capacity 890cc inline three engine.
01:06 It has the updated frame and chassis,
01:10 and it has Yamaha's awesome ergonomics package
01:14 that make this motorcycle so easy to live with every day.
01:19 Now I really like this inline three engine
01:22 in this motorcycle.
01:23 You can really tell that Yamaha closely studied
01:28 the Triumph brand,
01:29 and this inline three feels very similar
01:33 to their power plant.
01:34 It has gobs of torque.
01:36 It sounds awesome.
01:37 It has great throttle response
01:39 and has a really nice character.
01:43 Now what I like about the Tuning Fork brand's inline three
01:46 more as opposed to the Hinkley brand's
01:49 is just how much smoother this engine runs.
01:51 It has a lot less vibration,
01:54 and it just is a more well-rounded power plant.
01:58 Now this motorcycle employs
02:01 semi-active suspension damping adjustment.
02:04 Now what that does is it allows the fork and the shock
02:08 to automatically adjust damping force in real time
02:13 based on rider control input and/or vehicle dynamics.
02:18 This motorcycle's outfitted with an IMU,
02:21 which gives this vehicle positional awareness on the road.
02:26 Now Yamaha has multiple suspension maps.
02:28 They have a more aggressive map
02:30 and a more forgiving map,
02:32 which automatically changes the damping force
02:36 based on the conditions.
02:38 Now while I really like Yamaha
02:40 fitting semi-active suspension on this motorcycle,
02:43 after all, who wants to mess with clickers,
02:46 the actual application of the suspension,
02:49 it works really well around town
02:51 and gives a very good, comfortable ride over bumps.
02:55 But when you're really getting some around the corners,
02:58 this motorcycle is a little bit unglued.
03:01 The suspension isn't nearly as capable
03:04 as feeling as a standard MT-09
03:07 or an up-spec MT-09SP.
03:12 Yet if you're someone who never wants to mess with clickers,
03:16 you just want the machine to do it for you,
03:18 you're gonna like this suspension.
03:21 Now, what I really like about this Tracer 9 GT
03:24 is the ergonomics.
03:26 This is a very comfortable motorcycle to ride all day.
03:29 I love the adjustable windshield on this motorcycle.
03:33 You can adjust it up or down with one hand.
03:37 I like the OE plastic fitted hand guards,
03:42 which do a great job of keeping your mitts warm
03:45 in cooler temperature.
03:47 I also like that this bike has heated grips
03:51 with a very large window of adjustment.
03:54 When it's cold outside,
03:55 you're gonna really like the combo
03:57 of these plastic hand guards and the heated grips.
04:01 The cruise control is an also nice feature.
04:04 I do like it, but I wish you could enable it
04:07 in gears lower than fourth.
04:09 You have to be going over fourth gear
04:11 to enable cruise control,
04:12 and I think it would be nice
04:13 if you could enable it at lower speeds.
04:16 I also really like the Tuning Fork brand's
04:20 OE hard luggage setup.
04:24 These plastic hard cases are very easy to open and close.
04:28 They're easy to take off and put on.
04:31 They hold a lot of stuff,
04:33 and the best part is they come standard
04:36 with this motorcycle.
04:40 Now, we rode this bike after dark,
04:43 and the headlights do a nice job
04:45 of illuminating the road ahead,
04:47 but this motorcycle's actually equipped
04:50 with cornering headlight functionality,
04:53 but the cornering headlights aren't very effective.
04:56 So the main beams do a good job of illuminating the road,
04:59 but when you're going around corners,
05:01 the cornering headlamps are just way too underpowered.
05:04 Yamaha really needs to revisit that application
05:09 and boost the cornering headlight function
05:12 on this particular model.
05:15 Electronics-wise, this motorcycle
05:17 has all the bells and whistles.
05:19 It has traction control, it has slide control,
05:22 it has wheelie control.
05:23 Yamaha calls it lift control,
05:25 but the user interface could be improved.
05:28 Now, it's really clear that Yamaha went really budget
05:31 in terms of the display.
05:33 The displays on this bike, it has two actual displays.
05:37 They're basically an MT-09 display times two,
05:42 and obviously, I think it's cool
05:44 that Yamaha's trying something different,
05:46 but each display is way too small.
05:49 There's a lot of redundancy between the displays.
05:52 They show the same information,
05:53 so basically, it's just wasted space.
05:56 The multifunction Yamaha control wheel,
05:59 which they debuted with the 2015 YZFR-1,
06:03 while it worked really well seven years ago,
06:06 fast forward to today, and it just feels clunky
06:10 and it lacks the tactile precision
06:13 of other motorcycles out there.
06:16 Still, it is nice that Yamaha is doing something different
06:20 with that split-screen display.
06:24 Now, all in all, I really do like riding this motorcycle.
06:28 It is very comfortable.
06:30 It has good luggage capacity and nice creature comforts,
06:35 but its handling in a sporting environment
06:39 is so-so, and the price of it.
06:43 This motorcycle pushes $15,000.
06:47 That's $5,500 more than a standard MT-09,
06:52 and yeah, you are getting a lot of features with this bike,
06:56 but based on its sub-sport handling,
06:59 I almost would do better with just buying
07:02 a traditional $9,500 MT-09, buying a windscreen for it,
07:07 buying some heated grips, getting some luggage,
07:10 and you'd likely save a couple grand,
07:12 and you'd have a motorcycle that is much better handling
07:17 if you like riding on twisty stretches of road.
07:21 However, if you're not gonna hit a lot of twisty road
07:23 and you just want a nice, cozy bike
07:26 to go from point A to point B,
07:28 where you can bring a passenger,
07:29 you can bring all your stuff,
07:31 you can be relatively comfortable
07:33 with its nice ergonomics and its heated grips
07:35 and its cruise control,
07:36 I think this $15,000 2022 Tracer 9 GT
07:41 might be good for you.
07:44 Well, folks, that's a wrap of our 2022 Tracer 9 GT review.
07:49 There is a lot to like about this motorcycle.
07:53 Make sure to surf on over to MotorcyclistOnline.com.
07:57 That's where all of our written content lives.
08:00 Give this video a thumbs up if you liked it,
08:02 thumbs it down if you didn't,
08:03 and we'll see you next time.
08:04 Thank you for riding with us today.
08:06 (upbeat music)
08:09 (upbeat music)
08:11 (upbeat music)
08:14 (upbeat music)
08:16 (upbeat music)
08:19 (upbeat music)
08:22 (upbeat music)
08:24 (upbeat music)
08:27 (upbeat music)
08:29 (upbeat music)