I’ve been fortunate enough to attend the press launch for the Tracer over multiple generations going back to 2019, and throughout the years the model has impressed me with its blend of fun, practicality, and technology at a reasonable price. For 2024, Yamaha’s made a few updates and added a “+” to the name – that means it has to be better, right?
What I don’t like:
Verdict
Yamaha continues its reign of mid-size touring excellence and adds a splash of high-tech whizbangery for good measure. Before the Tracer, radar on motorcycles was only something you’d see on a $20K+ machine, and it’s impressive to see it in a smaller, cheaper package.Comparing this bike to last year’s model, I’m not convinced the addition of radar is worth the additional cost. But the 2024 Tracer maintains its balance of fun and capability, which means it’s still a no-brainer for me to recommend. Depending on how much power you need in life, this is the best bang-for-your-buck in the world of sport-tourers (even with the $1,600 price increase).
First Ride Review – 2024 Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+
Photos by Joseph Agustin.
Check out the 2024 Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+!
I normally start these reviews with a “What’s New” section but when it comes to the major components, the ’24 Tracer 9 GT+ is very similar to last year’s bike: the frame, engine, and suspension are all the same. This is not a bad thing – I loved last year’s bike! If you’re not familiar with the Tracer and need a refresher on why all of those things are great, I’d ask that you check out my previous review. Frankly, if you’re someone that thinks the only parts of a motorcycle that are important are the motor and the handling, you might as well end it there. But when you think about how much money Yamaha spent on a press launch to get reviewers from all over the country out to Boise, Idaho for this bike…well, that tells you how important this year’s updates are to them.
What hasn’t changed is how much fun the Tracer is in the twisties.
In lieu of jumping straight into what’s new, I’d like to first focus on the three-pronged plan Yamaha had for the ’24 model and see how successful they were:
1. Build on the GT’s existing strengths
2. Reduce rider fatigue and maximize ride time with useable technology in a middle-weight package
3. Make technology easily accessible with intuitive control and interface
Building on Existing Strengths
The highlight has to be the 890cc CP3 engine (also found in the MT-09 and the XSR900). It produces roughly 115 horsepower and 69 lb-ft of torque while returning a claimed 49 mpg (with a 5.0 gallon fuel tank, you’re looking at about 245 miles of range). I’ve historically seen around 38 mpg when I ride a Tracer, but I’m constantly winding it out because it sounds so good.
I feel a tiny flat spot around 4,500 rpm but it’s not a deal breaker.
Surrounding the excellent engine is a frame that’s light where you want it (aluminum swingarm) and strong where you need it (a steel subframe that can support up to 425 pounds), and it’s all connected to the wheels with a fantastic KYB electronic suspension that automatically adjusts suspension damping based on road conditions and the bike’s lean angle. The system handles compression and rebound up front as well as rebound in the rear. Preload is manually adjustable at both ends. There are two settings (A-1 is for sportier riding and A-2 is more relaxed), and you can change between them on the fly as long as the throttle is closed. You can definitely tell a difference between the settings and it’s nice to have a suspension that’s firm when you want to go fast and soft when you don’t. The handling of the previous bike was excellent and Yamaha hasn’t done anything to ruin that.
Complementing the fun stuff was a package of features that touring riders will appreciate: 30L saddlebags, heated grips, cruise control (which gets a big update to be discussed below), LED lighting, center stand, and adjustable ergonomics in terms of the seat (between 31.9″ and 32.5″ with no tools required), handlebars, and foot pegs. In other words, the existing strengths were excellent.
Speaking of the seat – it is a new design with extra padding on the edges. It’s very comfortable but I would like just a little bit more room to slide back, as the rear portion of the rider’s seat is curved up. This does a good job locking you in place and supporting you during acceleration (especially in conjunction with the leading edge of the passenger seat, which has “TRACER” on display, but it also removes some of the usable space on the horizontal plane. On shorter rides the seating situation is excellent but after a while I wanted to stretch out a little bit and that’s made more difficult due to the shape of the seat and the grippy material used on the seat cover. I’m 6’3″, shorter riders likely won’t care. On the plus side, the gray/gold stitching continues the color themes of the fairing/tank, which is a nice touch.
While I don’t think of the styling as a strength of the Tracer, it is “existing” in the sense that it’s the same as before, just adorned in a different color: Storm Gray (the only option in the US). I do wish there was a Yamaha Blue option, especially considering that Europe gets one – more on that later.
Useable Technology
The previous bike also had plenty of safety-focused technology: an IMU, ride modes, traction control, slide control, lift control, and brake control. But now we can really get into the new stuff: the big news here is the addition of a Bosch millimeter-wave radar unit, which weighs 200 grams and is nestled in between the main (lower) headlights.
I think it’s well-integrated from a styling standpoint – here’s a reminder of what the previous gen bike looked like as a comparison:
The radar unit allows for two significant additions to the Tracer:
1. Yamaha’s first use of Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), something that is currently offered by the Ducati Multistrada and the BMW R18B Transcontinental. You’re more than likely familiar with the idea by now, but the short version is that the bike can now automatically slow down while in cruise if a slower vehicle is in your way and speed back up once the obstacle is gone. I played around with this a few times and it works exceptionally well. There are certain times you can trick it if you’re trying to but in real-world situations it’s fantastic. I actually had the system on while riding on a curvy road in the back of the pack and was able to putt around with my hands off the bars for roughly fifteen minutes while the bike was accelerating and decelerating. I’m not saying that’s my idea of a fun time on a motorcycle, but the Tracer is definitely capable of it. I also appreciate that you can change gears with cruise control on and the system will stay engaged.
2. The industry’s first use of what Yamaha calls a Unified Brake System (UBS). The front and rear brakes are now linked together using data from the IMU, SCU (Suspension Control Unit), ECU, and radar to regulate braking and suspension forces. Let’s say there’s a car (or anything, really) in front of you. If you get on the brakes and the Tracer thinks that you’re not applying enough force to prevent rear-ending said object in front of you, the UBS will apply extra braking force while “simultaneously adjusting braking bias and suspension damping force for a higher degree of braking efficiency and handling.” In other words, it’s not just going to slam on the brakes for you, it will proportion out the force between the front/rear calipers while increasing compression in the forks to reduce brake dive and minimize the stopping distance.
As you might imagine, we weren’t provided a closed course to try this out and I wasn’t going to put myself in a situation to test it on the road. I might try setting up a soft target like a bed sheet when I can get a loaner unit back home but for now you’re going to have to take Yamaha’s word on this. As Gee S. put it in my “What Do You Want To Know” post, “Anytime my motorcycle is overriding control inputs, at very least I want to understand when and why it’s doing it, and what the limits of the system are.” It’s admittedly just conjecture at this point but it’s not difficult to imagine a situation where a rider gets caught off guard by additional braking power and isn’t properly braced for it so their head snaps forward or they temporarily lose balance. I’m just going to have to test it out myself in a controlled environment and get back to you…
The front brakes are the same as before, but the rear rotor is up from 245mm to 267mm. The rear brake pedal is now larger and beveled.
If this seems unnatural to you, you can turn it off but you’ll also lose lean-sensitive ABS as they are bundled in a package called Brake Control (BC). Either way, Yamaha’s legal team would like me to make it clear that UBS is not a collision avoidance system – if you are doing 80 mph while the car in front of you is doing 60 mph and don’t touch the brakes, you’ll plow into the back of the car. UBS only activates if you’re already on the brakes yourself and the system doesn’t think you’re putting enough brake pressure to stop in time.
Yamaha’s now up to the third generation of their quickshifter. The 1st gen was upshift only, the 2nd gen was for up and down, and the 3rd gen broadens possibilities a bit. What I mean by that is you can now upshift with the throttle completely closed and downshift even when the throttle is wide open. Turns out this functionality is a requirement for the ability to cruise control to stay on through shifts. I think it’s pretty straightforward, but here’s a quick video if you want to see it in action:
Intuitive Interface
Technology is one thing, but if it’s too difficult to control then it loses a lot of the impact. I had two issues with the 2021 Tracer regarding how information was displayed to riders and how riders were forced to interact with the displays. Good news – both have been addressed!The first complaint was the dash, which was comprised of dual 3.5″ TFT screens. I’m happy to report it’s now one big 7″ screen which is easy to read.
It also has different “themes” – here’s a quick video showing the dash (the GoPro doesn’t capture how vibrant it is, it’s a really nice piece of hardware) as well as a brief acceleration run to show the dash at work:
The other complaint was with the jog dial on the right side, which was quite fussy and difficult to use. Now the main input device is a joystick on the left side. It makes things a little crowded for your left thumb but it’s a huge improvement from the old dial so it’s now much easier to go through the menus quickly and safely. I also appreciate the shape and size of buttons for options like the cruise control.
While the physical interface with the electronics is strongly improved, there are some use cases which are frustrating. If you turn off Stability Control (a combined package of traction control, wheelie control, and the UBS), then you can’t use the adaptive cruise control. This would be fine if you could turn Stability Control on and off while the bike is moving, but you can’t. I sort of understand if Yamaha’s lawyers wouldn’t want a rider to be able to turn off Stability Control while riding. But if I have it off (maybe because I like wheelies), why can’t I turn a safety feature like Stability Control back on without having to pull over, come to a stop, and futz with the menu? For what it’s worth, BMW allows you to use regular (non-adaptive) cruise control if you turn off the radar system, so it’s a little annoying that you lose complete cruise control functionality on the Yamaha – it seems to be adaptive cruise control or nothing at all.
Can’t a man want to do wheelies and still have cruise control?
The technology push doesn’t end there, as the Tracer now gets phone connectivity through the MyRide Link app. This means that you can control things like phone calls or music playback in your helmet via the joystick, and you can also see your notifications (such as text message or email previews) while on the move. You can even go a little further and get snippets of an email or a text message to see if it’s important enough to pull over for but you’ll have to be stopped for that. From my limited time with the bike I’d say that it’s probably the best phone integration I’ve seen from an OEM that’s tried to do it themselves, but it’s still well behind CarPlay (as found on the Honda Gold Wing). You can also get GPS integrated into the TFT screen, though you need to have Garmin’s Motorize app for that. I do not have Garmin’s app and I didn’t feel like I had the time to sufficiently look into it so I skipped it – I wanted to focus on riding!
Competition
As with everything else in life, the cost of owning a Tracer has gone up quite a bit in the last few years:2015 Yamaha FJ-09: $10,490
2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT: $12,999
2021 Yamaha Tracer 9 GT: $14,899
2024 Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+: $16,499
Obviously, some of that ($3,039, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics) is due to inflation and the increased cost for manufacturers after COVID, but there are certain things I was willing to forgive on the Tracer (rubber brake lines, non-adjustable clutch lever) when it was $13k that are a bit harder to overlook now that it’s up to $16.5k.
Still, when you look at the Tracer’s feature set compared to the rest of the market, it’s clear that Yamaha continues to offer a relative bargain. Sport-touring is an odd market right now, especially as most OEMs are focusing on the adventure touring market that Americans seem to prefer. I’d argue that there are two distinct categories at the moment:
1. Sport-bike styling with relaxed ergonomics and touring features. Think Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX, Suzuki GSX-S1000GT+, Ducati SuperSport 950, and BMW R1250RS.
2. ADV/upright styling with no off-road pretensions. This is where the Tracer fits in, so let’s look at some pricing:
Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE LT+: $18,899
KTM 1290 Super Duke GT: base price is $19,799, but you’re spending an additional $2k to get saddlebags and the full Tech Pack which includes things like a bi-directional quickshifter.
BMW F900XR: about the same price, but I think it’s a significantly worse bike.
BMW S1000XR: base price is $16,945, but when spec’d similarly to a Tracer it’s well north of $20,000.
Ducati Multistrada V2 S: $19,295, but it’s over a grand for the saddlebags.
Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro: with saddlebags, it’s roughly $18,000.
MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso SCS: $25,598. At least it comes with luggage?
With a 890cc engine, the Tracer gives up some horsepower to the KTM and the BMW S1000XR. And each of these bikes obviously have their own pluses and minuses – I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who wants to spend a few extra grand to get the 175 horsepower and absurd aggressiveness of the Super Duke, if that’s what makes you happy. But if you don’t need 150+ horsepower, the Tracer sure seems to be a steal.
Conclusion
I have to admit, before I looked at the Tracer in the context of the competition, I was a little disappointed with the increase in price from the last generation. In 2021, Yamaha added $1,900 to the price of the Tracer and I thought it was totally worth it because they added a tremendous amount of stuff that made the overall experience much better – bigger motor, updated transmission, all-new frame, all-new electronic suspension, upgraded master cylinder, lighter wheels, IMU, larger bags, lower seat height, LED lighting, a restyle (for better or worse)…the list went on and it made the price increase easy to swallow. For 2024, they’ve added another $1,600 (just over 10%) to the price but at the end of the day it’s basically for a new dash, different switchgear, and radar in the form of Adaptive Cruise Control and the Unified Brake System.
In 2021 I knew the upgrades were worth the extra cost. This time around I’m not so sure, and for the average consumer it’s basically going to boil down to how much you want the radar-based features in your life. I think they’re cool, but I definitely don’t feel a need (or even a strong desire) to have them, especially for the extra dough. Obviously my lack of interest in the radar makes me different from Yamaha’s product planning department (and possibly other reviewers, I guess we’ll see), but what do you say?
An interesting note: I mentioned earlier that Europe gets another color choice for the GT +. Well, it turns out they get a lot more than that – they have options between the base model Tracer 9, the Tracer 9 GT (the bike we got here in the US last year), and the Tracer 9 GT+ (what we’re about to get here).
The Tracer 9 GT+ in what Yamaha Europe calls “Icon Performance.” (Not available in the US)
Europe gets all these options because they buy way more Tracers than we do. During a presentation to media about what to expect with the new bike, Yamaha USA showed the results of a survey of 90 Tracer owners. Someone else questioned the size of the sample pool and we were told it was “statistically significant,” which makes me wonder how many of these they actually sell here. As much as I’d love to have the option between the GT and the GT+, Americans clearly don’t buy enough Tracers for Yamaha to justify bringing both models over here. So they’ve done the right thing – if they didn’t bring the GT+ here, people would complain about why we weren’t given the high-spec option.
Let’s go back to what Yamaha was looking to do this year:
1. Build on the GT’s existing strengths
2. Reduce rider fatigue and maximize ride time with useable technology in a middle-weight package
3. Make technology easily accessible with intuitive control and interface
My weird hangup about the cost/benefit of radar aside, I really think Yamaha nailed these three goals. The things I love about the Tracer are still in play, the technology is just about class-leading even though it’s the cheapest bike in the segment, and it’s now much easier to utilize the wide variety of offerings thanks to the better dash and the joystick. Mission accomplished.
The Tracer is just plain fun.
The 2024 Tracer 9 GT+ will be available at your local Yamaha dealership at the end of August for $16,499 in Storm Grey. Go try it for yourself and let me know what you think!
Check out the 2024 Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+!Your Questions
I put up a post a couple of days ago asking “if you had any thoughts or questions about the Tracer.” Here’s my answers!Starmag: These are sweet, but I think the 2019’s are the sweet spot for me before too many gizmos and hideous saddlebags and styling of the 2023. Nice used 2019’s have slipped under $9K.
FWG1961 made a similar comment to you in terms of the styling (particularly the saddlebags), which I found interesting. I do agree that 2019 was the sweet spot from a styling standpoint, but it’s hard for me to pass up the improvements that the 2021 model got.
David Sumner: I just came off a Goldwing because my wife no longer rides. I want a smaller, lighter touring bike. I have an ST1300 but there is no cruise and the ergos don’t quite suit me. How comfy are the Yamaha ergos and the seat?
I’ve put a side profile shot of me on the new bike below in the “My Gear” section for you. For reference, I’m 6’3 and 190 pounds. The Tracer is a bit smaller than a lot of the bikes I mentioned in the “Competition” section, I feel just a tiny bit cramped if I’m on it for more than 30 minutes at a time. For the average person, I think the ergos of the upper half are great – I’d just like a little bit more room, especially (as mentioned before) on the seat. I spend most of my time on sportier bikes so I don’t mind the ergos of the bottom half, but this is where the whole “sport-touring” thing can be weird because it’s such a broad category. I’m sure there’s people who think that the pegs should be farther forward. Hopefully the below photo helps you decide, I found it comfortable enough but I only got ~150 miles with it. You may put that kind of mileage on it before breakfast!
Helmet: Shoei X-Fourteen in Matte Black – $742.99
Helmet Design: custom design by Velocity Tape – $140
Jacket: Alpinestars Solano Waterproof Jacket in Black – $249.95
Jeans: Saint Engineered Straight Fit – $199
Gloves: Velomacchi Speedway – $149
Shoes: Dainese Metropolis in Black/Anthracite – $179.95
Backpack: Velomacchi Rolltop 28L