2021–2024 · Sport Tourer · A variant of the Tracer 9
Differences between the standard Tracer 9 and the GT
The Nimble Mile-Eater
The Tracer 9 GT is built around Yamaha's 890 cc CP3 triple, a 120-degree crank three-cylinder that makes 119 hp and 69 lb-ft. That layout gives you the low-end pull of a twin with a top end that keeps climbing like a four, and it sets the tone for the whole bike. Around it sits a genuinely sporty chassis on 17-inch wheels, wrapped in a full electronics package: cornering ABS, traction control, ride modes, and wheelie control all come standard. This is the agile, tech-rich end of the middleweight sport-touring class, not the heavyweight glider.
On this GT trim you also get Yamaha's KYB Actimatic Damper System, a semi-active setup that reads the road and adjusts on the fly, plus fully adjustable front and rear and cruise control for the long haul. It rides light and precise, holds a line with real stability, and our long-term scoring rates its reliability high. Who is it for? The rider who wants one bike to carve a canyon on Saturday and cover 300 miles on Sunday. The honest caveat: at 485 lb it is no featherweight, and it asks you to stay involved rather than switch off and glide.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 119 hp (88 kW) @ 10,000 rpm |
|---|---|
| Torque | 69 lb-ft (93 Nm) @ 7,000 rpm |
| Displacement | 890 cc |
| Engine | Inline-three |
| Cooling | Liquid-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Chain |
| Front brake | 298 mm |
| Front tire | 120/70-17 |
| Rear tire | 180/55-17 |
| Wheelbase | 59.1 in (1500 mm) |
| Seat height | 31.9 in (810 mm) |
| Wet weight | 485 lb (220 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 4.8 gal (18 L) |
| Top speed | 152 mph (245 km/h) |
| Fuel economy | 43 mpg (US) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Comfort
Connectivity
Drivetrain
Lighting
Safety
The Tracer 9 GT (MY2021-GT) builds on the standard Tracer 9: the upgraded hardware, the key spec changes and where its character shifts. The full ride, specs, scoring and verdict are all right here on this page.
Equipment the GT adds vs the standard Tracer 9
| Spec | Standard Tracer 9 | GT | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wet weight | 463 lb | 485 lb | +22 lb |
Over the years I've gathered what Tracer 9 owners tell me: paddock conversations, coffee-stop chats with people who've put serious miles on theirs, club-night chatter, and the emails and messages riders send me after a season in the saddle. The picture that comes out of all that is consistent. Owners love the engine, rate the handling and the equipment highly, and their complaints come back mostly to the wind, the seat, and a handful of rough edges in the details.
When owners explain what keeps them on this bike, the engine comes up first and it comes up most often. Riders call the sound and the pull the most appealing part of the whole package. They describe real shove through the low and middle revs, a strong rush toward the top with the best of it arriving around 7,000 rpm, and an intake roar that plenty of them say they ride for. Several owners add that the electronics suit that character well. They mention cornering ABS, lean-sensitive traction control, slide and lift control, four ride modes and cornering lights that follow the lean.
Riders keep saying the Tracer 9 feels more compact than a fully faired tourer should. They describe corner entry as light and exact, the bike staying stable once it's on its line, and a flickable feel on tight back roads that still works on the highway. Owners credit the lighter forged wheels with sharper turn-in. The semi-active suspension gets its own praise: riders say Sport and Comfort feel like two different bikes, not a cosmetic tweak to the damping. Owners who ride two-up report that passengers stay comfortable through long days too. Value comes up again and again. Owners point to the equipment list, with heated grips, cruise control, a quickshifter and cornering lights, and they say the price sits well below rivals while running costs stay low.
The stock screen draws the most complaints. At highway speed, owners report that it pushes air toward the helmet and brings buffeting and noise, and a replacement screen is one of the most common first changes. The seat is the second recurring gripe. Its forward slope slides riders into the tank under braking, and many say the padding stops being comfortable after about two hours. Replacement seats and slope modifications have turned into a small industry of their own. The twin-screen dash is criticized as cluttered and hard to read in direct sunlight. On the gearbox, owners mention a heavy clunk when selecting first from neutral and occasional false neutrals in the upper gears when the quickshifter isn't used cleanly. One owner reported surface rust on the exposed exhaust downpipes after a single winter.
Throttle Position Sensor brushes wear excessively, depositing abrasion particles and causing unstable idle, idle-stall, or loss of motive power
ECU programming caused the TPS contact brushes to slide excessively. Wear particles produced unstable idle, idle-condition stalls, or partial loss of motive power; the engine warning light illuminates. Fix is free TPS replacement plus ECU reflash.
Throttle grip tube can fracture at the guide
The right-hand throttle grip tube can break at the guide, particularly when used as a handhold to lift a tipped-over motorcycle. A broken guide can restrict throttle return spring action, with potential loss of control. Fix is free replacement of the grip end (and the heated-grip warmer assembly if already broken).
Improper ECU programming can cause engine stall or limited throttle response
The factory ECU map can cause: (a) engine stall during downshifts if the clutch is not fully pulled, (b) stall at light throttle from idle, (c) limited throttle response under full deceleration, (d) failure of the engine warning light to illuminate on system error. Fix is a free dealer ECU reflash.
Cruise control orange light flashes; cruise cannot be set or resumed
The cruise control indicator flashes and the system refuses to set or resume. Cause traced in some cases to a sticky front-brake light switch or clutch-position switch (cruise interlocks) — sometimes resolved by an ignition cycle, sometimes requiring switch replacement; some owners report recurrence after dealer-replaced switches.
Cam-chain tensioner rattle on cold start and warm-restart
An audible rattle/chatter from the hydraulic cam-chain tensioner area is reported on cold start and on warm restart after the bike has sat. Typically subsides once oil pressure builds. Cause is ascribed to the hydraulic tensioner relief valve / piston retraction without oil pressure. Inherent to the CP3 generation across MT-09 RN69, Tracer 9 GT, and XSR900. Aftermarket manual cam-chain tensioner (APE) is the commonly cited remedy.
Vibration through handlebar and footpegs in the 3,800–5,000 rpm range
Owners report a buzz/numbness through the handlebar concentrated at approximately 3,800–5,000 rpm — a range that overlaps with 6th-gear highway cruising for many speeds. Smooths above approximately 5,000 rpm. Inherent to the long-stroke CP3 in this chassis.
OEM pannier latches and lock cylinders — operational frustrations
The OEM 30 L panniers' lock mechanism cannot reliably rotate to a "lid-only-open" detent (forcing case removal to access contents), the top-box key sometimes operates the panniers (a security overlap), and dealers do not stock latch internals as separate parts.
Front turn-signal mounting brackets work loose
The front indicator stalks loosen at the bracket mounting point; light contact (e.g., a brush in the garage) can detach them. Refastening securely is difficult.
Poorly secured indicator brackets
The indicator mounts can loosen and flap over time, potentially leading to detachment. Some owners have reported them popping out with the slightest contact.
Premature exhaust corrosion
The appearance of the downpipes deteriorates quickly, with rust forming after limited mileage and exposure to winter conditions, giving the bike a neglected look.
Where this Yamaha Tracer 9 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
Top speed
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the Tracer 9 is actually built for.
This is your bike. It links tight canyon work and 200-to-400-mile scenic days without forcing you into full bagger territory, comfortable where you want to relax and quick where the road gets interesting.
Made for Highway 1 / Big Sur · Black Hills · Blue Ridge Parkway
It happily eats big days and mountain passes, but two-up and fully loaded for coast-to-coast duty you are asking a 485-lb middleweight to do heavyweight work. Doable, just leaner on bulk than a full-dress tourer.
Made for Beartooth Highway · Blue Ridge Parkway · Going-to-the-Sun Road
For working on line and technique on tight East Coast roads, the light steering and sporty 17-inch chassis reward precision over brute speed. It suits your skill-first riding better than raw horsepower would.
Made for Tail of the Dragon · Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway
If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this Yamaha Tracer 9. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
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