Long term test Tracer 900 update

PIC: NICK GUISE-SMITH

WE'VE HAD a few weeks on Trevor the Tracer, and it’s all going swimmingly so far. I've fitted some crash protectors from R&G Racing here, and done another couple of hundred miles riding about the south-east on various dull errands - all of which are livened up no end by the punchy motor and sweet chassis. I'm properly enjoying the dynamic performance of the Yam - it really is great fun to ride, on almost any type of road. I'm a little bit disappointed in the dash though - it's missing the 'range' readout which I think is a real boon on any bike these days. The GSX-S750 has one, and I love it for planning fuel stops. The Tracer is pretty good on fuel actually, I'm easily getting 150 miles before a fillup it seems, without trying too hard.

I was away at the TT for a few days earlier this month though, and Trevor did let me down a wee bit. I was planning to ride to the airport, but needed to take a big kit bag. Sadly, the narrow pillion seat and lack of a top box meant I couldn’t really get my giant OGIO case on the back safely, gah.

So – I’ve been on the hunt for some luggage to improve matters. Now, I've got a very nice Kriega US 30 drybag which straps onto the pillion seat, and will be just the job for day-to-day stuff. And I also dragged out my old Givi tailpack, which attaches to the pillion grab handles perfectly. But I’m drawing a blank so far for proper big-boy’s hard luggage. Givi hasn’t got anything for the 2018 Tracer yet, and SW Motech is also still working on brackets for its luggage systems. The problem seems that Yamaha changed the bike quite a lot for 2018 – even down to the pillion footrest brackets, where much of the aftermarket stuff attaches.

There is one answer of course – go for the genuine, official accessory route. The factory's had the 2018 bike handy for a while, so is able to get bolt-on parts sorted straight from the off... 

So I got onto the lovely folks at Yamaha Motor UK, and they’re rustling up a top box for me to check out. Now, the tuning fork firm isn’t maybe quite at the level of BMW or KTM in terms of its range of aftermarket goodies – I’ve not seen a Yamaha logoed toaster yet. But they do have an extremely good range for the Tracer, which you can check out here. There are all sorts of bolt-ons, from LED driving lights to crash protectors, top boxes to hot grips. So I’ve picked out a rack and associated top box, which is winging its way towards me as we speak.

Now, I don’t think anyone would blame me for hovering over the ‘Akrapovic full exhaust system’ link on that accessory page. And oops! I accidentally asked for one of those as well. After all, I’ve booked myself into Steve Jordan Motorcycles for a bit of a dyno run and maybe a cheeky ECU tweak. And what would be the point without a bit of a tuning mod to go with? Plus, we get to do a nice feature on fitting a full system to the mighty Tracer – bingo.

So – a top box to carry all my shit and hold my giant kit bags in place, plus a 120dB titanium full Akra for the peak powers and the lolz. Looks like Trevor the Tracer’s about to start breaking bad in a big way…