Last November, Yamaha introduced the Tracer 9 GT+… for Euro customers only. Booooo! But now, more than a half-year since that EICMA debut, we finally see confirmation for this bike in Canada—but it might come at the expense of another longtime favourite model.
As seen in Milan
The bike we’re getting is what we saw on last year’s show circuit. Basically, a Tracer 9 GT with some fancy-pants options grafted on. Just like the flagship tourers from the competition, the GT+ now gets radar-powered adaptive cruise control, along with a new IMU-powered semi-active suspension.
The adaptive cruise control system is the world’s first such system that’s tied to a unified braking system. Yamaha’s innovation means the ACC slows down the bike by braking fore and aft at the same time, while also adjusting the suspension as needed, to keep everything stable.
Speaking of the suspension: Like the ACC system, the suspension is tied to the bike’s Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). This detects movement along six axis, and the bike will adjust your suspension to adapt to changing conditions on-the-fly. Of course the ABS and traction control systems are also tied to the IMU, to help you keep everything in a straight line.
There’s also a new 7-inch TFT dash, which allows you to subscribe to a Garmin turn-by-turn nav service, piping those directions to your screen. Yamaha also included a new up/down quickshifter on the bike, to help you get up to speed more quickly.
Familiar foundation
Those are some advanced improvements, but at its basis, this machine is still much the same as the 2021 Tracer 9 GT. That overhaul saw the bike get a new aluminum frame, with the three-cylinder DOHC engine updated to make 118 hp, with four riding modes as standard.
Cornering lights were also standard on that model, along with hard side-cases and heated grips—all stuff you want on a proper touring bike.
Goodbye to an old friend?
However, the Tracer 9 GT+ does not come with one feature that many touring riders want: A shaft drive. That was a big draw to the old FJR1300 model, which does not currently appear on Yamaha’s American or Canadian websites.
That doesn’t mean it’s canceled; we haven’t heard either way. But the FJR was expected to disappear years ago, and with all of the new tech packed into the GT+, it would hardly be surprising if the FJR was canceled. And with a $20,699 MSRP for the GT+, it certainly appears to be taking over the FJR’s old spot of “expensive touring bike” in the lineup.
See more details at Yamaha’s Canadian website here.
