Test fleet: Yamaha Tracer 9 GT

Our man Dowds takes the mighty Yamaha Tracer 9 GT to his ancestral homelands to check out how the tall sporty tourer deals with fried food, whisky and rain.

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One reason for choosing the Tracer 9 this year was so I could take it on some longer trips, especially the proverbial 'High Road' back to bonnie Scotland to see family and friends up there. Now the GT variant really ramps up the touring props on Yamaha's sporty triple, making it a match in many ways for something like an old FJR1300 or the like. Twenty years ago this summer, I took an FJR13 to Scotland for a road test for SuperBike magazine, and the big fairing, builtin panniers and long-legged motor all did great work up the M25/M40/M6/M74 nexus of motorway misery.

But as I sit halfway-up that asphalt ribbon in 2025, I reckon the modern sporty 'adventure' tourer has matched many of the advantages found on big old heavyweight tourers of yore. Sure, people will ponder the advantages of chain over shaft drive for big mileage, and you could argue that a pillion would be happier on the massive sofa of an FJR. But from the front perch, behind a big, adjustable screen, plonked on the comfort seat with the smart colour dash laid out in front of me and three big hard cases behind, the Tracer 9 GT feels every bit as capable of munching the miles as the old FJR13 ever did.