MID-SIZED: YAMAHA TRACER 9GT

I've had the chance to enjoy Yamaha’s 900cc CP3 motor a few times in the past and it’s undeniably a peach, but I'd not ridden it dressed as a Tracer 9.

- RICH TAYLOR

In fact, I'd not ridden the Triumph or BMW either, but I was excited for the ride ahead and a proper chance to get under the Tracer’s skin — in, hopefully, myriad conditions.

You see, to me, standing before the Yamaha, I realised it’s basically a supermarket. In essence, it has almost everything you need, but not absolutely everything ever with a cherry on top. The 1000-mile journey ahead was going to be a mix of everything. Motorways, undoubtedly, but nadgery B roads, wide open A roads, villages, towns, single-track roads barely wide enough for a bike let alone anything bigger (the K1600), and car parks too. You name it, we were sure to be doing it, and a bike good at everything was surely just the ticket; a solid bet, in other words, in much the same way a supermarket is a pretty good bet when you need whatever it might be. I reasoned the Tracer 9 ought to be better on average, in almost any situation, than the other two bikes would be, and that’s why it appealed from the outset.

To wit, 120hp is plenty enough power to offer capability and entertainment. It has electronically adjustable suspension, rider modes and almost every other electronic gizmo going - heated grips, phone connectivity, bi-directional, cruise control, quick shifter, an electronically adjustable screen, a keyless key,

lean sensitive this-that-and-the-other... I could go on. And almost anything it doesn't have, with the sole exception of radar assisted cruise control, is available as an option. If you want the radar, then you'll need the GT+ model. It has a big tank, but not a large one, and it's light enough to handle impressively for its sports tourer intentions. To my point, it has everything you need and even more stuff you don't, but not everything. It's the middle of the three bikes, but it isn't middle of the road by any stretch.