Is it worth trading sportiness for comfort? We sent Boothy on the launch of Yamaha’s new Tracers to find out.
Amere 50,000 MT-09 sales obviously isn’t enough for Yamaha, who are hell bent on squeezing every little bit of value possible out of their cross-plane crank triple (CP3) motor. And with an engine so versatile, who can blame them? It might sound a little pedestrian to ardent sportsbike fans, but 113bhp teamed up with a seriously strong 87.5Nm of torque makes an engine that will do exactly what you need it to, almost all of the time. And when 22% of Yamaha’s sales in 2017 were in the sports touring segment, it’s no wonder they’re putting so much effort into bikes like the Tracer 900.
As well as introducing an updated Tracer 900, priced at £9,249, Yamaha are launching the all new Tracer 900GT. The GT is a spec’d up, slightly more bling model that comes in at £10,649. For the extra £1,400 you’re treated to a sexy full colour TFT dash (robbed off Yamaha’s flagship sportsbike the YZF-R1), front and rear adjustable suspension, a quickshifter, cruise control, heated grips and a pair of colour coded panniers. Yamaha know there are those who want a bike to do everything from popping to the shops to taking the wife on a tour round Europe, and that’s what the Tracer 900 for. But what they also know is that there are those that want to do those things while indulging themselves in a little bit of luxury and style; that’s where the Tracer 900GT comes in.
Who needs heated grips?
Denne historien er fra Summer 2018-utgaven av Fast Bikes.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra Summer 2018-utgaven av Fast Bikes.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Steve Parrish
It's been a busy old month but so good being back in the thick of it. Despite the great British weather, it finally feels like summer is here, and I've been all over the place with some really great events since we spoke last month.
Christian Iddon
It's a long time since I had that feeling... 1057 days, to be precise, and if you were to ask if 'that day' was the day it would happen again, then I would have bet all my worldly belongings against it.
BOTH A CRIMINAL AND CIVIL CASE
There’s a time and place to lawyer up to the hills, and this is one them...
LONGTERMER KAWASAKI ZX-6R
Last month, I was gearing up to consign my ZX-6R to the back of my garage while I disappeared for the best part of three weeks to work at the TT with Batham's Racing.
YAMAHA WABASH RT
When you live a life of wheelies, burnouts and fast laps on race tracks, it's hard to spot a midlife crisis... but six months on in the saddle of Yamaha's Wabash e-bike, I daresay that's exactly where I'm at. I'll be honest, cycling isn't for everyone, and quite frankly, Lycra is even more polarising, but for me, life on two wheels, be it powered or pedalled, has formed my staple diet for as long as I can remember.
24 HOURS FLAT-OUT!
Ever fancied a crack at 24-hour endurance racing? You might think again after reading this...
PROJECT 37 A TEST OF TIME
Having got his head around the standard bike at Cadwell, Timmy heads to Powerslide Motorcycles with a wish list of improvements for the Suzuki GSX-8R...
'WHY WE GO RACING...5
Ever wondered why big brands spend big money and put in huge amounts of effort to go racing? Well, we did too, so we didn’t hesitate to ask the man who makes that call for Honda Racing UK...
9 BIKES WE WISH WERE STILL HERE...
No one’s worked out how to bring things back from the dead, but if we had our way, these are the bikes we’d oe see makingareturn.
SENSATIONAL SUZUKI LIVE
Blending decades of motorcycles, racing legends, track time and a beer tent with a cracking band, Suzuki Live’s formula proved a winner for the thousands there.
