2021–2024 · Sport Tourer · Buyer's Guide
Nimble Twin, Honest Miles
The Tracer 7 GT is built around Yamaha's 689 cc CP2 parallel twin, and that engine sets the tone for everything around it: 73 hp, 49 lb-ft, and a torque peak that arrives at 6,500 rpm rather than somewhere near the redline. Yamaha hung it in a steel diamond frame, kept wet weight down to 432 lb, and gave it adjustable suspension at both ends, which is not something you find often in this corner of the sport-touring class. The GT package brings a taller windscreen you set by hand, a color TFT display, LED lighting, and ABS.
On the road it reads as a light, accessible sport-tourer rather than a big-bore machine, and that shapes exactly who it fits. Riders who want something that shrinks around them in traffic and still sits steady at interstate speed get a lot here, with genuine reliability and 55 mpg behind it. The caveat is the brief itself. This is a middleweight, so two-up and fully loaded you will be working the gearbox on long climbs, the suspension is set on the firm side, and the heated grips are an extra rather than part of the deal.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 73 hp (54 kW) @ 8,750 rpm |
|---|---|
| Torque | 49 lb-ft (67 Nm) @ 6,500 rpm |
| Displacement | 689 cc |
| Engine | Parallel twin |
| Cooling | Liquid-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Chain |
| Fork | Telescopic |
| Front brake | 298 mm |
| Front tire | 120/70-17 |
| Rear tire | 180/55-17 |
| Wheelbase | 57.5 in (1460 mm) |
| Seat height | 33.1 in (840 mm) |
| Wet weight | 432 lb (196 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 4.5 gal (17 L) |
| Fuel economy | 55 mpg (US) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Comfort
Connectivity
Lighting
Safety
Over the years I've heard a lot about the Tracer 7 GT from the people who own one: in the paddock, at club nights, over coffee after group rides, and in the emails and messages riders send me directly. Put together, it all points the same way. Owners are warm about the engine and the way the bike corners, and most of the complaints are about touring comfort and practicality, not the core motorcycle.
The engine comes up more than anything else. Riders describe the CP2 as a twin with real character, pulling strongly through the midrange and still lively when you let it rev, so it stays fun at an easy pace and just as fun when they push on. The chassis comes a close second. Owners call it eager and accurate, and tight, twisting roads are where they say it feels most at home.
The gripes come from individual owners, not from a big group. Taller riders mention buffeting at highway speed even with the screen all the way up. Others miss a center stand, and heated grips are only available as an option. Two-up riders mention there's no luggage rack, the grab handles are awkward and the pillion seat is only average. A few also find the firm setup tiring on long trips over imperfect asphalt.
Where this Yamaha Tracer 7 GT pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the Tracer 7 GT is actually built for.
This is your bike. 200 to 400 mile days on the Blue Ridge or Highway 1 suit it exactly: light and willing where the road bends, settled and steady on the slab connecting the good parts.
Made for Black Hills · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
For repeat runs on Appalachian twisties, the firm setup and honest steering work for you, not against you. Adjustable suspension at both ends means you can keep dialing it in.
Made for Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
It will cover the distance and sip fuel doing it. But two-up and fully loaded you are asking a middleweight to work hard, with no cruise control, though the luggage system at least comes standard.
Made for Beartooth Highway · Blue Ridge Parkway · Going-to-the-Sun Road
If you're cross-shopping the older generation, here's what changed.
Previous generation · 2016–2019
Light Bike, Real Miles
Compare to the previous model →If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
