2023 Yamaha Tracer 9GT / 9GT+

[Grumpy Goat]

As you know I have a 2019 Tracer 900 GT which I do like a lot. Yamaha updated the design in 2021 and screwed up the dash by making it a split design (that looked like a silly face looking back at you), and the seat by making it very curved (and I like a flat seat) and a bit sloped forward. These were deal breakers for me regarding any potential upgrade. 

Well now the Tracer 9GT / 9GT+ have been refreshed for 2023 and the fugly dash is gone but the seat is still curved and sloped forward. I'd have to ride it to see if I could live with the seat, but from what I have seen in this Motorcycle.com article there are many other features to offset this seat issue.

   

   

[Lee]

I like the looks of the 2019 fairing and bags better.

[Grumpy Goat]

I agree on the bags. No issue with the fairing for me.

[Grumpy Goat]

Rider Magazine Motorcycle of the Year - 2024 Yamaha Tracer 9GT+.

If I give up on going offroad and resign myself to road only, then the strong contender to replace the Tiger would be this bike.

[36654]

It's a nice looking bike and more capable than I'll ever need, but........I'll never go back to a chain.

[Grumpy Goat]

Chain is the least of my worries. With spoked wheels I now have to keep an eye on that as well. Chain is not a big deal for me. I can trade the extra transmission efficiency for lubing the chain every 500 miles. Still love the idea of a shaft drive but I will admit was not too impressed with the failures that have occurred with the LC boxers, relatively small number that they may be.

[36654]

Chain is the least of my worries. With spoked wheels I now have to keep an eye on that as well. Chain is not a big deal for me. I can trade the extra transmission efficiency for lubing the chain every 500 miles. Still love the idea of a shaft drive but I will admit was not too impressed with the failures that have occurred with the LC boxers, relatively small number that they may be.

I thought it was the oilheads that had the problems?  Or was it the Hex/Cam heads?

Seriously, the paralever design creates some challenges for the intended benefit of minimizing shaft jacking.

[Grumpy Goat]

I thought it was the oilheads that had the problems?  Or was it the Hex/Cam heads?

Seriously, the paralever design creates some challenges for the intended benefit of minimizing shaft jacking.

The problem I was referring to is the occasional failure of the yoke of the universal joint in the shaft itself. There have been several instances of this occurring - usually at inappropriate times - causing immediate stoppage of the motorcycle and potential large damage to other nearby parts of the bike. Compared to the large numbers of these bikes I don't think that it is a widespread problem, but it is wide enough to have happened to at least one member of this Forum. That is close enough to home for me to feel it to be significant.

[36654]

I thought it was the oilheads that had the problems?  Or was it the Hex/Cam heads?

Seriously, the paralever design creates some challenges for the intended benefit of minimizing shaft jacking.

The problem I was referring to is the occasional failure of the yoke of the universal joint in the shaft itself. There have been several instances of this occurring - usually at inappropriate times - causing immediate stoppage of the motorcycle and potential large damage to other nearby parts of the bike. Compared to the large numbers of these bikes I don't think that it is a widespread problem, but it is wide enough to have happened to at least one member of this Forum. That is close enough to home for me to feel it to be significant.

The final bevel gear/ring bearing assembly had problems in prior generations.  The 90-degree rotation and shake test was done by many of us.

[c10]

Chains snap more often than final drive failures . No one ever says much about it though unless it destroys the engine cases .
The yamaha is a nice triple but ugly , and terrible case design / space .
You wont have trouble from your spokes on the Triumph . Put road tires on it and it will work just as well as the GT

[Grumpy Goat]

Chains snap more often than final drive failures .  No one ever says much about it though unless it destroys the engine cases .

Too many variables on this issue, I think. Chief of which would be lack of proper maintenance and inspection as leading to the failures that we see. Failures in the shaft are not easy to predict partially because of the longer service interval.

The yamaha is a nice triple but ugly , and terrible case design / space . 
You wont have trouble from your spokes on the Triumph .  Put road tires on it and it will work just as well as the GT
[/quote]

I agree with the bit about the ugliness of the cases but not on the bike. Besides, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

On the spokes on the Tiger … funny you should mention that but several Owner’s on the forums of pure 2023 Tiger 900s have reported spoke failures, so much so that only today I did an inspection of all my spokes after buying a small torque wrench primarily for the purpose of tightening loose spokes. Until this Tiger I never even knew that spokes could simply fall off while riding. Hopefully that doesn’t happen with mine, whose spokes were all fine. BTW, cross spoked wheels are a whole different beast. But I digress.

[c10]

       Jumping heavy bikes = spoke services . Riding heavy bikes with spokes like the real world = no issues .
I see on the 900 page many of the cries of different issues and most are caused by rider care and service or lack of .

[Grumpy Goat]

I suspect that would be the case but some of the complainants don't appear to be hard core off-road riders. As a matter of fact some are not riding offroad. Common belief is that this was a bad batch of spokes.

But no doubt offroad riding causes more loads on spokes and this exacerbates any problems that there may be, and also hastens wear on the spokes compared with gentler riding.

Is that you riding offroad with what appears to be a 1200 Tiger?

[c10]

Yes that is me in California 2022 in March . Palomar Mountain  all 700 pounds of Tiger lol  .  My friend was on a BMW RTP 1200  with Roadsmart 3's   one of the best rides ever .                 

[Grumpy Goat]

That was one muddy road for street tires. Looks like you had a good time.

[36654]

That was one muddy road for street tires. Looks like you had a good time.

You know you're old when you can remember a time before pics of dirt-napping bikes.