MID-SIZED TOURING, AND EASY ALL-ROUNDER

While road-testing bikes I’ve encountered heat, cold, and rain, but from what I recall, not fog; until this time. The bike I was on was the Yamaha MT-07 Tracer; and that's it, with the fog rolling by behind it, on the left. But I’ll get to the fog part a little later.

I’d been wanting to ride the 07 version of the Tracer for some time. When I rode the 900 version back in 2015 there was a lot I liked about the bike. But there were things I didn’t like – in particular, the hard seat and the firm suspension.

Since riding that I’ve ridden a couple of versions of the MT-09, and also of the MT-07, and found that the MT-07 bikes seem to be set up softer, more for comfort, than the MT-09.

That is evidenced, as I mentioned in those tests, by the foot-pegs: the 09 versions being all steel with a serrated edge on top, while 07 versions have the pegs capped with rubber. One is for sport, the other for comfort. That’s what the foot-pegs seem to be saying, and I think it is indicative of the design philosophy behind the bikes.

So could the 07 Tracer have the qualities I liked about the 09 combined with the things I liked about the 07 bikes? If it did, it would be an especially good bike; and one that I would like a lot. Except for one thing – the power; or lack of it. Not only does it have a much smaller engine than the 900 of course, but it comes in restricted LAMS version only. (Why, Yamaha? Why?). Dropping the power from 85 kW (in the 900) down to just 38kW was going to be hard to take: and I’d been somewhat underwhelmed by the power of the LAMS 07 engine in the XSR 700 I rode a while back. But the weight of the 07 is a lot less than the 900, so maybe that would lessen the short-fall in the go-department? There was only one way to find out – so I’d been keen to take one for a test-ride.

The MT-07 Tracer might look very similar to the Tracer 900, but it is a totally different bike. In the same way that the MT-09 Tracer is a variation on the MT-09, the MT-07 Tracer is a variation on the MT-07. Basically, it’s an MT-07 with Tracer clothes on. Although there are differences. Yamaha says that the Tracer suspension has revised settings, “To suit its long distance role.” It has the same 130mm travel at both ends as the MT-07, and like the MT, has preload adjustment on the rear unit only; but the claim is that it has been tuned for touring for the Tracer, rather than sport on the MT. A longer (by 50mm) wheelbase is indication of some difference in the set-up, even if the actual travel of the units is the same. Along with the sports-tourer clothes comes a higher seat height than the naked 07 – taller by 30mm. 

IN THE DRIVEWAY

I reckon the Tracers (both of them) look good; with the front styling having an obvious family-resemblance to the timeless FJR1300. Although I do have some niggles. The little screen looks a bit odd and very much an afterthought. It’s in its lowest position in the photos here; if it was moved up to its highest position I think the front end would look even more odd. The exhaust is one of those nondescript, ugly looking things that exit from under the bike. Call me old-fashioned (well I am an old bloke!), but I much prefer one or two stainless-steel pipes flowing up from beside the bike. The radiator looks a bit over-size I reckon, but I like the air-scoops in the fairing each side – they’re kinda cool!

If you think the back of the bike looks a bit vacant – too much space and not enough bike – remember that the bike comes standard with panniers, which were removed from the test bike. For a bike with standard panniers, I think it looks very neat with them removed: there aren’t any awkward brackets or dangling clips etc.

The riding position is upright, of course, and the ergonomics are very good. Like the tracer 900, the foot-pegs are low which results in your thighs being angled down slightly rather than horizontal or even angled up as they are on a smaller bike, or bike with a low seat height. As I said with the 900, this position tends to tilt your pelvis forward a little and reduce the slump that can happen while you're sitting on a bike. I like the ergonomics a lot!

There is one stand-out feature of the bike and that is the seat: it is awful! My first impression was that it was the wrong shape, but it isn't the shape that’s wrong: in fact, looking at the photo of it here, it looks to be a good shape. The problem with it is that it's very hard! If there is actually any foam inside the seat I'm sure it's been mixed with concrete! There is a “comfort seat” available for the MT-09, but I’m not sure if there’s one for the 07. But there are places around that could re-make it anyway. That would be an essential! 

There are hand-guards on the ends of the bars, but not the large trail-bike looking ones of the MT-09. The guards are smaller and designed more to keep wind (rather than tree branches) off your hands. These guards also incorporate the blinkers, unlike the MT-09 which are mounted on the bike itself. Blinkers at the rear are mounted either side of the number plate holder. That looks okay, but I would prefer them further apart as a clearer indication as to which way you're going.

The instrument display is dominated by a digital speed figure. The tacho is a thin band running around the bottom of the display: it's small, but still quite legible; even if it doesn't particularly look like it in the photo. A clock resides in the upper left corner.

I had a scroll through the other information that's available, and while I didn’t study them I did notice displays for ambient temperature, engine temperature, trip-meters and fuel consumption figures. There’s probably more, but that is a pretty good list of information anyway.

Some MT-09s have been criticised for their standard-fitted tyres, but you won’t get any complaints from this one – the bike comes fitted with Michelin Pilot Road 4 tyres.

The bike feels very light. Everything is light. You can lean the bike from side to side and it's very manageable, very light. All the controls – throttle, brakes, clutch, etc – are all very light and easy to use. The location of all the controls is natural and everything is easy to get at. Well, apart from the side-stand perhaps. It seemed to be positioned back a bit so I had to reach my foot back to get at it. Then while putting the stand down I found my jeans were catching on the foot peg; and that happened every time I used the stand.

So it’s light, easy to operate, and has excellent ergonomics. It's significant to note that after a decent ride through traffic, then up and down a narrow winding mountain pass, then some open highway before returning to the city again, when I got back I wasn't in any particular discomfort and my back wasn't complaining as it has done on other bikes. And that despite the hard seat!

It’s also excellent value. Yamaha, along with Honda, has an excellent reputation for quality and reliability. And the bikes are good! So, at $12,299 this mid-size sports-tourer is great value! 

OUT ON THE ROAD

Starting the bike up it sounds very different to the triple in its big brother of course. It’s quiet and has that “sewing-machine” quality about its sound that is often characteristic of modern silenced twins. Worth noting too is that it’s a 270-degree cross-plane crank, which is intended to have that slightly out-of-sync characteristic sound. Perhaps it does, but it's nothing exciting.

Riding away I was immediately impressed by the performance. It’s the same standard LAMS version of the MT-07 that’s used in all of their bikes, including the XSR700 that I rode a while ago. But where that was somewhat underwhelming right from the time of riding it out of the driveway and down the street, this Tracer felt much more eager in its performance.

Being a twin it revs very easily and doesn't sound as busy at higher revs as a multi does. It will pull away from 2,500rpm with just a slight shuddering to let you know that you’re really in the wrong gear, but it's very forgiving and goes anyway.

From 3,000rpm to 4,000rpm it’s much happier, with 4,000 being the start of the sweet zone. It’s very smooth when you get into that rev range. Redline, which is marked on the face of the dash above the moving band rather than on the numbers, is 10,000 revs, so you’d expect that it’d prefer to rev a bit.

Give the throttle a twist and acceleration is really quite impressive: certainly the performance is more than adequate. No, it doesn't go ballistic like the MT-09, and there are no optional riding modes for you to play with, but the performance is quite adequate; and once again I was surprised at how much better it seemed than the XSR700 I rode previously.

Gearing is 24kph per 1,000rpm, so it's doing just over 4,000 at 100kph. Cruising at 110kph has it sitting on about 4,500, but it does that very easily and is very happy cruising at that sort of speed

The fueling wasn’t totally perfect. From a closed throttle there was a bit of a jerk as it took off: going from closed throttle to opening the throttle felt a bit like a switch turning the power on and off. That might be a harsh criticism but it was just a feeling that I had. Once the power was “turned on” it was smooth and faultless everywhere.

The small screen, which is smaller and shorter than the one on the 900, was at its lowest position when I rode the bike. It’s adjustable by thumb-screws that you loosen to raise and lower the screen. I didn't bother raising it but I did try lowering my head to get the same effect and it did reduce the wind around my head.

The light feeling of the bike continued out on the road, where it was very easy to ride. It feels so light and is very easy to change direction. But it had none of the slightly “flighty” feel of the naked MT. The longer swing-arm and different steering geometry really works, to change the flickable-naked into a sweet-handling tourer. The handling is excellent: gentle counter-steering turning it smoothly and accurately through the bends.

It’s a very easy bike to feel confident with. That will be a plus for a learner, but also good for experienced riders who are down-sizing: it's good to get on a bike and feel confident with it virtually from the get-go. The only thing holding back my confidence on that narrow winding mountain road, with its occasional damp patches, was the $3,500 excess on the dealer’s insurance! I might have been riding at “Grandad-speed”, but it was still an enjoyable ride. As I’ve said, it steered accurately, was very stable, and not in the least twitchy. So I was confident I wouldn't be needing to come up with that excess money!

As I ascended the mountain, the fog came rolling in. I’d been thinking of going to the top of the mountain and across to a very narrow patchy back-road, which I actually don’t like riding (in this direction anyway, which is mostly downhill) but would be a good test of the bike. But the mountain top up ahead was shrouded in cloud and fog, so I turned into a side-road, and stopped to take some photos.

The fog was drifting across in fine wisps of white. As I headed back down the mountain it didn’t really cause any issues: and when I got back to the coast, it was all clear and even partly sunny. 

The ride is actually pretty good. I commented on this with the XSR700. The suspension is very basic, with non-adjustable forks and only preload at the rear.  I prefer a lot more adjustment so that I can set it up the way I want it, but this is pretty much “take what you get.” But despite its basic nature, as I said, the ride was quite good; even when I went looking for bumps to hit. Bumps often gave a fairly solid thump to the backside (but not enough to upset my dodgy old back) but those thumps were caused mostly by the concrete seat: a decent seat would help to absorb the road shocks and the bike would actually be very comfortable.

Brakes were fine, although I felt the rear brake pedal was set a little low; just adjustment probably.

As I headed back towards the dealer I felt totally at ease with the bike and felt like going further: I almost turned back onto the expressway to make it a longer ride back.

I was very impressed with this bike. I like the looks, with its references around the front to its FJR big-brother; it has a comfortable riding-position, (although that seat needs changing!); a decent ride, despite the basic suspension; and it even goes well, despite having only the LAMS version of the MT-07engine. Yamaha is pitching it as a mid-sized tourer, but the ease of riding, light weight, and tractable engine, make it ideal for commuting too. In other words, a true all-rounder!

I could actually live with the power available on this bike: Sure, I'd miss the power and V8-like torque of my XJR 1300, but I could live with it happily enough; with the light weight and ease of maneuverability both of the road and on road being the reward for accepting that less available power.

SNAPSHOT

This is an excellent bike for a wide range of riders. It's not a sports-bike, (so if that's what you want, look elsewhere) but it's a good bike for a learner or restricted rider to go sports-touring on – with the emphasis perhaps more on the touring side. It's also an excellent bike for an experienced rider looking to downsize to a lighter bike that still gives a decent level of sports-touring capability. Standard panniers of course add to its practicality as a sports-tourer. (But you’ll need to do something with that concrete-hard seat!). And its easy-to-ride nature makes it a good bike for a commuter, or just general all-round riding.

The higher output version of the engine should definitely be an option though, as it is on the naked MT-07; although this particular bike gave a surprisingly good turn of performance.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Engine: 2-cylinder, 655cc. Power: 38kW at 8,000rpm. Torque: 57.5Nm at 4,000rpm.

Gearbox: 6-speed.

Final-drive: Chain.

Suspension: Front: Telescopic forks, 130mm travel. Rear: Monoshock, 130mm travel. 

Fuel capacity: 17 litres.

Weight: 196kg (wet).

Seat height: 835mm.

Wheels / Tyres: Front: 120 X 17, Rear: 180 X 17.

Brakes:  Front: Twin 282mm discs , Rear: Single 245mm disc. ABS standard.

Price: $12,299 +ORC.

Test Bike From: City Coast Motorcycles.

Ridden 2019.

FREEING UP SOME HORSES

Making the MT-07 engine comply with our LAMS restrictions meant reducing the engine capacity from 689cc to 655cc, slightly lowering the compression-ratio, and fitting a different air-box, and some sort of throttle-stop. This reduces the “normal” version’s 55kW down to 38kW, albeit at lower revs. Torque is likewise less, although at significantly lower revs; so it probably gains torque at low engine speeds. So, looking at that list, you can’t do anything about the engine internals, but the “HO” air-box would surely be easy to fit, and the restriction to the throttle should be able to be removed too. Or you’d think so.

But when you talk to any of the sales people about removing the restrictions they tend to be against the idea. It voids the warranty, they say, and also lowers resale value because a main attraction of the bike is it’s availability to the learner or restricted rider. But I don’t see that as a problem though, especially if you intend keeping the bike for a long time – as, for example, I would if I was buying it. The other thing I was told was that it takes some time to do the job so it would be expensive. “You'd be better off putting that money into another bike, like the 09 Tracer” the salesman said. He also pointed to the F750 GS BMW saying that it was more comfortable, of course performed a lot better, had fully adjustable suspension (which can be adjusted on the move), and other nice benefits as well. But of course it is a lot more expensive! (I'll put that on my list to test though).

A BETTER 900?

Worthy of mention, when talking Yamaha Tracers, is the fact that there has just been released a Tracer 900GT – which has the “comfort seat” as standard, fully-adjustable suspension, and other goodies. That would be a bike I reckon I would really like!

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