The 2020 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT combines naked-bike attitude, adventure-bike ergonomics, and sportbike-like specifications with standard touring amenities: manually adjustable windscreen, half-fairing, centerstand, and locking hard saddlebags. Sounds pretty good, right? Based on Yamaha’s MT-09, the Tracer 900 GT—previously known as the FJ-09 in the US—has the same exuberant 847cc crossplane three-cylinder engine and telepathic handling characteristics of its donor bike. Indeed, the Tracer GT gives the impression that someone back in Iwata was riding an MT-09 and thought, “Hmm, this three-cylinder platform of ours is so fun I never want to get off it. With a bit of wind protection and the addition of luggage, the result would be all I need in a lightweight touring bike.”
And that’s basically what Yamaha built. It further endowed the GT with heated handgrips, a TFT dash, cruise control, adjustable suspension, and even a quickshifter. While it doesn’t have the laid-back disposition of some touring bikes, its undiluted sporting bent shines when the road gets twisty. As if emphasizing the “sport” in “sport-tourer” wasn’t enough, the Tracer 900 GT carries a price tag that practically puts it in a class by itself.
