Tracer ordered

The super ten is a great bike later ones have a few too many electronic trickery imo but ultra reliable.
160 miles in on the tracer, suspension feels firm but the front still dives on braking, seat is hard but will see after my arse has been on it for a while. Engine is perky and goes and sounds good. Handling seems ok , very light but not sure about the dunlops. I like the dashboard and the overall look and feel of it, just got to rackup the 600 so out again tomorrow, oh and it does round a corner at 80
 
The super ten is a great bike later ones have a few too many electronic trickery imo but ultra reliable.
160 miles in on the tracer, suspension feels firm but the front still dives on braking, seat is hard but will see after my arse has been on it for a while. Engine is perky and goes and sounds good. Handling seems ok , very light but not sure about the dunlops. I like the dashboard and the overall look and feel of it, just got to rackup the 600 so out again tomorrow, oh and it does round a corner at 80

I have changed my seat to a Bagster after 7000 miles. Not done many on it yet to see if it is a major improvement for long journeys.
Tyres will grow on you. I found you can trust them but the rear won't last long if you ride on country roads with rough, granite chip surfaces like me. Those who commute on smoother tarmac roads get better wear. I have replaced it with a similar Roadsmart 2 as I liked the Dunlops. As the brakes aren't linked as on the S10 you need to recalibrate to use the back brake to reduce fork dive. Overall, the bike is very good and I have been very happy with it after 7 months of ownership, racking up around a 1000 miles a month.
 
I've just done 800 miles round some of Scotland over the past few days on this. Not the fastest, but covers ground adequately. :thumb As someone said, the best bike you're on is the one currently under your bum. :thumby:
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    96 KB · Views: 394
I have changed my seat to a Bagster after 7000 miles. Not done many on it yet to see if it is a major improvement for long journeys.
Tyres will grow on you. I found you can trust them but the rear won't last long if you ride on country roads with rough, granite chip surfaces like me. Those who commute on smoother tarmac roads get better wear. I have replaced it with a similar Roadsmart 2 as I liked the Dunlops. As the brakes aren't linked as on the S10 you need to recalibrate to use the back brake to reduce fork dive. Overall, the bike is very good and I have been very happy with it after 7 months of ownership, racking up around a 1000 miles a month.

That's good to know, cheers
 
I had a quick go on Packers Super Ten up at Dent and I really liked it. I had that Stelvio for the weekend and an interesting comparison. Like the Stelvio, the Super Ten felt like and modern 1150 with that solid feel but with more go. I didn't really notice the restrictions but then I'm not a wheelie merchant.

I reckon the Super Ten is a lot of bike and for sensible money when compared to a WC.

Since you rode mine there has been a little tweaking done. I haven't had the low gear restrictions removed, I was advised that Yam didn't put them there for the good of their health and maybe it was a torque issue with the gearbox or final drive. Reliability is more important to me than lifting the front wheel so they are still there. What has been done makes significant improvement to the torque, the print out looks far smoother than the original and the bike will comfortably pull from 40mph in top which is about 2,000 RPM. It's livelier and smoother than it was, I keep trying to find a seventh gear now as it pulls so well in top.
 
Ok, it's no XR.

It is a mighty fine engine, it has plenty of grunt and spins up quickly. Hits the limiter abruptly, it certainly is like no 850cc bike I've ever ridden. It's a beautiful bit of engineering and certainly not lacking as I expected it to be. The chassis is pretty good, but it desperately needs a steering damper, fook me the front end is very flighty!!. The riding position is more on than in which doesn't really suit me and the screen is about as much use as a chocolate teapot. Takes it off ya chest, but that's about it. It doesn't have the solid feel of the XR and the electrics are crude, but it's half the price of an XR.

Overall I was actually very impressed. It handles well (front forks are a bit squidgy) tracks a line very well and is very 'flickable' but it's not for me. The Tracer motor in the the XR chassis would tick all the boxes for me. It's close, but it's easy to see where the extra money is in the XR and it's not the engine.

The XR would still mince a tracer simply for it's more planted feel, but with a steering damper, and a grand thrown at the tracer suspension and it would be a close run thing. I'd always be quicker on the XR just because it's riding position is less alien to me, but it's alot faster than it's 115bhp would suggest. It does start running out of puff after 130 apparently, but up to that point the bike is plenty fast enough (so they say). It's no GS1200 with 115bhp, it weighs feck all.

The electrics package is crude as I said. The traction control controls wheelies but shutting of the power abruptly and does exactly what I had with the WC. It lifts, drops back down and then lifts again until it stops wheelying. The XR comes up smoothly, drops down whilst still accelerating hard and stays down until you get the next gear. It is far more accomplished in it's operation.
Everything I've read says that STD mode is the best. A mode is too twitchy on the throttle and B is too blunt. I disagree. A and STD mode are too sensitive, like the original WC's. but the B mode means you can roll on the throttle through a bend, and really crank it open on the exit whilst still making fast progress but smoothly. I found the other modes upset the bike too much on the exit of the bend. Dynamic mode on the XR delivering 150bhp to the back wheel was perfect, so it's not me being cak handed, it's just poor mapping to make the muppets feel like they are riding some kind of beast machine. Smooth is fast and twitchy over sensitive throttles do not make for smooth progress imho.

The fit and finish is so so. I really like the LED headlights, but there's alot of cheapy plastic and the finish on the exhausts/fasteners and radiator all look like riding it in winter would kill it stone dead.

So overall, it's a bargain bike delivering truly respectable performance. It's not perfect and needs tweeking (cruise control would be nice), but I think it's a fantastic machine for the money. It is easy to spot where BMW have justified charging twice the price in the quality of the products they have used to manufacture the XR.
That really is a brilliant assessment of the tracer

As I said earlier, it's no xr and it shouldn't be but the xr is twice the price, it's not twice the bike.
 
I've just seen this. It looks like it's going into production, so could be interesting.:thumb
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    44.1 KB · Views: 629
For the Kenny Roberts fans

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xUZXufKrZYs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
and a new colour for 2016, replacing the matte grey
2016-Yamaha-MT09-Tracer-EU-Mistral-Grey-Studio-002.jpg
 
No - don't let anyone hear you call it grey. It's silver & blue! That one is still available.

The all matt grey one has been replaced with this Mistral Grey which is shinier & bluer.
 
No - don't let anyone hear you call it grey. It's silver & blue! That one is still available.

The all matt grey one has been replaced with this Mistral Grey which is shinier & bluer.

Ah, ok, that would have been a daft move as the silver with blue wheels looks great.

There are now rumours of an MT-10 Tracer coming next year. That could be fun.
 
Ah, ok, that would have been a daft move as the silver with blue wheels looks great.

There are now rumours of an MT-10 Tracer coming next year. That could be fun.

well, it's only a variation on the previous Fazer Thou
 
Seen the MT 10 in MCN..looks ok if you are into the naked style.....can only hope they do a Tracer version..though tbh i think the current triple set up would be enough for me.
 
I've been pondering getting one for a while. I love my F800GS, but want a bit more poke (without anymore weight). Anyway, long story short, I put a cheeky offer in on one, and I've got it! 500 miles back in one day, so plenty comfortable enough.
 
I've been pondering getting one for a while. I love my F800GS, but want a bit more poke (without anymore weight). Anyway, long story short, I put a cheeky offer in on one, and I've got it! 500 miles back in one day, so plenty comfortable enough.

You won't regret it. Had mine from new for 14 months and about to have the 12,000 mile service before a trip to France.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MT09TracerOwners/ and http://fj-09.org/forum may be useful - Yanks call the Tracer FJ09, it is the best forum for technical information but a little souless in terms of banter.
 
I am thinking of one of these to replace my mk1 Fazer 1000,

My mates just bought one, and it looks pretty useful,

He does live 250 miles away, so I haven't yet had a go.
 


Back
Top Bottom