What is this?? I don't know where to put it!
Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+. 890cc, 3 hard cylinders, 119 horses running around and around, waiting for you to let it out every moment!
I have mixed feelings. At first I expected a "boring Japanese". So the fact that I have feelings is a surprise by default. Of course, that's just one of those stupid clichés that are rife in the motorcycling world. Italians are emotional, but they suck. The Japanese are boring but good. And if you happen to own a KTM or BMW, you get all the preconceptions of the world thrown at you.
Now let's get to know each other. You're on your way. Watch your step. On the first throttle pull, it's almost unfeedable.
The chain is tensioned straight away, there is no clutch to control it (there is only automatic), so it jumps straight away. In my garage, when I have to switch between the car and the other engine when I get out of the car, it's not necessarily a confidence inspiring experience. If you pull back on the throttle and try to manoeuvre around the dead centre of the drive and stop, the automatic gearbox starts to stutter and stutter, and you can't decide what to do.
I later found out that this is mostly the case with cold engines, once warmed up it starts much more smoothly from zero.
Then I'm off on my usual route, where I've been with enduro riders for peace of mind. Gee, I say, are there potholes here? And they're this big? Then we'll ride this bike differently. 
Then I test the horses 1-2-3-4-3-2-1. Yeah, that's really boring. Sure, well Japanese, "what would it be like". So you hardly notice anything.
And at high speeds there's a weird shudder radiating up into the steering wheel. It's that floaty feeling you can't put down. Others have reported this. I wonder what's causing it.
Where do I reach?
Then there are as many buttons on the steering wheel as on a spaceship. Because the gearshift is also mounted on the left hand, it doesn't make it any easier to know where to touch. During the day it was OK, but when it got dark and I was tired after a full day of winding around Slovakia on the way home, I was totally exhausted. What's nice, and often not in premium bikes, is that most buttons have backlighting, just not everywhere.
There is no special one on the index and it's hard to find between the top and bottom switches anyway. Plus, it's different on this one too. There is a left and a right button. If you want to turn it off, you have to press again the direction you were indexing before. It makes sense. Oh no.
So with this engine, after a while you leave it and you're driving a BMW. Just for that practical consideration.
In the middle of the night, I was overtaking on a lap and accidentally hit the horn instead of the turn signal. There was a time when I wanted to quickly turn off the refi when I saw the oncoming car, but I managed to change gear instead. And then there's the four-way menu control, the back button and the cruise control switches. So you get quickly involved. Terrible!
I've had the bike for 6 days now, and I haven't written any reviews yet for a reason. I let it develop.
You know, if you borrow a motorbike from a friend for a ride or, better still, for a day, after your own well-used, exalted machine, that's absolutely not going to be a decisive factor. It's just about the time you'll be able to say how much better your own is than anything else.
Of course, because you are used to it, subconsciously you compare it to what you are used to.
"Everything that is not familiar is bad at first. Even if it's good."
Then, if you start testing a bike for days on end, sooner or later your souls will come together
Like the first meeting of horse and rider. First comes the rebellion, then you both calm down, get used to each other. You begin to observe the good and the beautiful in your relationship.
And then I understood what Tracer 9 was saying, but I couldn't hear it at first:
I found out that this bike is brutal, it's just so stable that you don't even notice you're going. The ride is so smooth, the power delivery is so even, you don't feel any bounce or drop. It's a good 3-cylinder.
It is powerful everywhere, strong everywhere. Not the scattered engine. It's so whole, so in tune with itself, it's almost unsurprising.
Accelerating at full throttle on a normal bike (enduro) into the 100+ range is a theme park experience. You wouldn't even notice it, the engine does it so elegantly.
The chassis barely moves, and the power delivery is as smooth at low as it is at high revs.
It's amazing what you can do. This instrument is very precisely tuned. Perfect balance!
Braking is the same. It has a combined braking system and telescopic steering, and decides how much to apply to each wheel by considering the road conditions. No lock-up, no unexpected reaction.
Once I was going up a hill at high speed with my second car and on the way to the top I saw something I suddenly had to avoid. I was already considering which way to avoid it, but I reflexively applied the emergency brakes backwards and forwards. Physically, I prepared myself for how I would counteract the "stalling" engine. The result? I slowed down from accelerating momentum for a much shorter distance, well before I thought I would get that far. I ask Esther in the back, how's it going? She says with the calmness of the world, yes it hasn't even moved, nothing to worry about!
Speaking of passenger comfort:
So even after several days on the bike, he admits he doesn't know how they made this bike, but it's the best he's ridden. On other bikes, when I was riding sporty, it took much more effort for him to stay in position, on the helmet speaker you could hear the unpleasant sighs from the back, and on this one you could watch TV while riding, there is so much calmness in the back.
Comfortable leg angle, very good seat material. The shape holds up well in the thighs, so it's very good to sit stable. Also, because the engine delivers power so evenly and is so well stretched on the road, it's much less distracting as a passenger to drive sporty.
He is 174 cm. So what's good for the average girl is often not optimal for her in the back. Yes, the big GS is not good for her back either. And her opinion of the RT is that she doesn't feel like she's riding a bike, she's just sitting in an armchair.
The driver's seat is not so good any more. Where I'm actually sitting is in the shrinking front, which is also very hard and can cause pain in the area below our manhood. I would replace the front seat for sure.
Wind protection is perfectly ok
It's interesting, because when I was doing a serpentine it was rather good in the lowest position, and could even be smaller than that. When I really got into the idea of how much fun it was to ride this bike, I literally got into sportbiking. When two CBRs overtook me in the hills on a tour, I literally felt like one of them and I followed in their footsteps, because I felt that with this bike I could keep up with them if I wanted to. And then you lay on the tank, you're not hiking anymore. You're riding a sports bike! Now that's the feeling the bike gave me!
It felt more like a sporty bike than a touring bike, and afterwards I realized that I was riding it much more sporty and dynamic than I usually do with other bikes - I just didn't realize it.
You're just always waiting for the chance to make a nice speedy or tilt! Ah, top.
Then there's all the electronic luxury that comes as part of the GT+ specification, which hasn't really been available on Yamaha in the past.
Cornering Matrix LED lights, cornering ABS. All kinds of controls: power, traction control, engine brake, chassis tensioning, traction control.
Apropró unicycle. I thought KTMs were the easiest unicycles to ride. Well, thanks to the consistently smooth power delivery and throttle response, it does it so effortlessly and stably that it's unbelievable.
Then we have an automatic gearbox that you will use as a manual
No, they didn't take away the experience of switching, they just made it easier and faster!
You don't have to keep moving your feet to shift your centre of gravity. You can flick your index finger up and down whenever you want. And you'll love it, trust me!
I've never shifted so much gears, and not because I don't have enough power in all ranges. It's just very good!
It's just very good!Especially when I put it in 3rd gear, there is a strange hissing sound coming from the engine. I don't know what's causing it, but it gives a very sporty feeling. It's pure adrenaline.
Oh, and by the way, if you use it in manual and brake the engine below a certain rpm, it will automatically shift back if you forget. This is also handy for emergency braking, because there's no clutch lever to pull in.
The only downside I've noticed is that if you stand still for a long time, it will put you out of gear. I've been surprised by this a couple of times when stopped at red lights. By default you're in neutral with the clutch on automatic, and then it'll take it out unnoticed when you suddenly start and the engine just revs up. xD
Apart from that, the automatic and manual gearbox on this bike is very good. It works without notice, it's quiet, there's hardly a pause between gear changes, and it's much safer to use at higher speeds than a conventional gearbox.
Oh, and cruise control:
Special kudos to Yamaha, unlike other manufacturers, they managed to get it to turn off with a negative throttle pull, and if you do it with braking, it doesn't suddenly lock up and you have to pull the throttle, but it releases the speed very smoothly.
The boxes are centrally locked from a switch on the side of the engine, which also adds to the touring comfort by not having to lock the already keyless engine.
So overall, despite its flaws, it's a very likeable and very advanced premium sport/touring bike! With this level of equipment, at this price, with this quality, and with this kind of knowledge, it will probably be hard to find a similar one on the market!
Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+ technical specifications
Power: 87.5 kW (119 hp)
Torque: 93 Nm
Cylinder capacity: 890 cc
Maximum speed: 214 km/h
Fuel consumption 5.0 l
Test consumption: 5.4 l
Tank: 19 l
Weight: 223 kg
Acceleration 0-100 km/h: 4.11 s
Written by: Vasas Gergő - Geri on Tour (Adventure Rider, blogger)
For the test engine, many thanks to Yamaha engine Europe. Or, for the asisting, the Motor Center Gyulai-for.
Photos by Eszter Tokár, Gergő Vasas
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