MT09 Tracer. Any longer term owners on here?
Discussion
Ready to change the R1200GS for something more reliable, and the Tracer keeps coming up as looking like very good value, and with all the stuff I need for the riding I do, traction control, ABS etc.
Any long term owners on here able to comment on the boring stuff...
Reliability
Service cost and ease of home servicing
Real-world tank range
Whilst I love the GS it’s starting to become a near-constant drain on my wallet. Is the Tracer a fuel in, keep clean, keep serviced bike? I’ve had enough of regular repair bills.
Any long term owners on here able to comment on the boring stuff...
Reliability
Service cost and ease of home servicing
Real-world tank range
Whilst I love the GS it’s starting to become a near-constant drain on my wallet. Is the Tracer a fuel in, keep clean, keep serviced bike? I’ve had enough of regular repair bills.
I have the xsr900 rather than a tracer, however most of the bits are the same.
Just put fuel in and away it goes.
I changed the shock, as the standard one is poor quality.
Rapid bike takes care of the fueling, looking at the latest tracer map it makes almost no changes suggesting the fueling is very good on the latest model.
I put the Yamaha heated grips on, they plug straight into the loom it's just the connector cable you need to get for the specific bike MT09\Tracer\xsr900.
Need to keep on top of cleaning in winter, Iv'e had some furry fasteners if left after using in the salt.
Attacking with autosol soon got them back to standard though.
Just put fuel in and away it goes.
I changed the shock, as the standard one is poor quality.
Rapid bike takes care of the fueling, looking at the latest tracer map it makes almost no changes suggesting the fueling is very good on the latest model.
I put the Yamaha heated grips on, they plug straight into the loom it's just the connector cable you need to get for the specific bike MT09\Tracer\xsr900.
Need to keep on top of cleaning in winter, Iv'e had some furry fasteners if left after using in the salt.
Attacking with autosol soon got them back to standard though.
Tim1989 said:
Ready to change the R1200GS for something more reliable, and the Tracer keeps coming up as looking like very good value, and with all the stuff I need for the riding I do, traction control, ABS etc.
Any long term owners on here able to comment on the boring stuff...
Reliability
Service cost and ease of home servicing
Real-world tank range
Whilst I love the GS it’s starting to become a near-constant drain on my wallet. Is the Tracer a fuel in, keep clean, keep serviced bike? I’ve had enough of regular repair bills.
I don't have one, but have done maybe 5,000 miles alongside someone that does.Any long term owners on here able to comment on the boring stuff...
Reliability
Service cost and ease of home servicing
Real-world tank range
Whilst I love the GS it’s starting to become a near-constant drain on my wallet. Is the Tracer a fuel in, keep clean, keep serviced bike? I’ve had enough of regular repair bills.
Reliability has been top notch, no issues at all. Same to be said of another friend with an XSR
Servicing is similar cost to any other midsize bike, change the oil when it says and it will just keep going.
His seems to get 50-60mpg depending on how much we push on, compared to my MT10 at 34-40! 4 Gallon tank puts this at 200 mile+ range.
Would recommend an upgraded shock and some linear springs in the front, add fuel and enjoy.
I had one for 8 months after owning an FZ1S. Sold it around March/April this year.
The engine is brilliant and 50mpg+ was normal even making progress. I found the standard screen, seat and rear suspension not so good but easy enough to change for something better. I did find the build quality questionable as I was forever changing rusty looking nuts and bolts. Previous owner to me had it garaged and so did I but I use a bike all year round for leisure rides. The gearbox is typically Yamaha clunky.
A bit plastic/y but a nice to own. The engine was really good all over the rev range. The Yamaha heated grips were good and I do miss the convenience of having a centre stand.
I sold it to buy an MT10 - absolutely love the 10 . I fill the fuel tank up on this twice to the Tracers once. A lot of people I know have gone from the GS's to either the Tracer or MT10.
For the money it's a good all round bike.
The engine is brilliant and 50mpg+ was normal even making progress. I found the standard screen, seat and rear suspension not so good but easy enough to change for something better. I did find the build quality questionable as I was forever changing rusty looking nuts and bolts. Previous owner to me had it garaged and so did I but I use a bike all year round for leisure rides. The gearbox is typically Yamaha clunky.
A bit plastic/y but a nice to own. The engine was really good all over the rev range. The Yamaha heated grips were good and I do miss the convenience of having a centre stand.
I sold it to buy an MT10 - absolutely love the 10 . I fill the fuel tank up on this twice to the Tracers once. A lot of people I know have gone from the GS's to either the Tracer or MT10.
For the money it's a good all round bike.
Had mine since 2015. 15000 miles. Love it. Fitted a Nitron shock. Not the best build quality but I don't use mine over the winter months. Seat isn't brilliant as many have said.
The engine is more than enough for the road, does 50+ mpg, its nice and light through the twisties. For the money they are hard to beat. Don't know what I'd trade mine for.
The engine is more than enough for the road, does 50+ mpg, its nice and light through the twisties. For the money they are hard to beat. Don't know what I'd trade mine for.
MY17 owner since May 17.
Screen is rubbish
Seat is uncomfortable after an hour
Rear shock is rubbish (fine for sensible riding, useless if you want to crack on or sit at high speed)
High speed weave - contentious issue this, many report nothing, I find it gets unstable if I have top box fitted.
Motor is great, brakes work fine (not great but never give you cause for concern either), riding position is great, reliability seems very good on them. Early models had a couple of tiny issues but 17 onward seem to be fine.
Get MY18/GT if you can justify, the longer swingarm and upgraded electronics are worth having.
Despite the issues I still think mine's a great bike, happy to potter about or crack on.
Tank range - 180 easily, 200 if you try. Dash shows 65mpg on average.
Screen is rubbish
Seat is uncomfortable after an hour
Rear shock is rubbish (fine for sensible riding, useless if you want to crack on or sit at high speed)
High speed weave - contentious issue this, many report nothing, I find it gets unstable if I have top box fitted.
Motor is great, brakes work fine (not great but never give you cause for concern either), riding position is great, reliability seems very good on them. Early models had a couple of tiny issues but 17 onward seem to be fine.
Get MY18/GT if you can justify, the longer swingarm and upgraded electronics are worth having.
Despite the issues I still think mine's a great bike, happy to potter about or crack on.
Tank range - 180 easily, 200 if you try. Dash shows 65mpg on average.
Had one for a year and 5000 miles for commuting.
As mentioned by others:
- great reliability, no problem there
- suspensions need setup, if not replaced but mine was an 2015 model. I believe they've improved that now.
- get a comfort seat.
- 180 to 200 miles range
but, but, but... I found it boring and wished I got a Triumph Tiger sport instead. It does everything perfectly but it's a white good appliance when all is said and done. In my opinion anyway. I do get why owners love them and it sold by bucket loads all over Europe, I just need a bit more character from my bikes, I've got a car for humdrum things.
As mentioned by others:
- great reliability, no problem there
- suspensions need setup, if not replaced but mine was an 2015 model. I believe they've improved that now.
- get a comfort seat.
- 180 to 200 miles range
but, but, but... I found it boring and wished I got a Triumph Tiger sport instead. It does everything perfectly but it's a white good appliance when all is said and done. In my opinion anyway. I do get why owners love them and it sold by bucket loads all over Europe, I just need a bit more character from my bikes, I've got a car for humdrum things.
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