Well donned the cold weather gear and set of with heated grips set at full this morning.
It was clear how good a job hand guards do as I quickly reduced the setting on heated grips as they were too warm even though it was only 3 degrees outside temperature. Well riding bike I have to say first of all weather protection is great especially with touring screen and in my opinion well worth the extra money. Screen looks like it belongs on bike even though it is large. Can ride the bike comfortably at 30mph in 5th gear and still accelerate cleanly without changing gear and I think that shows how well the little 847 triple performs and I think it shows how Yamaha have got this little engine performing correctly in this guise.
Out on the open road the bike performs faultlessly as you get the speed up there is just enough vibration and wind noise to let you know you are reaching licence loosing speeds but at every day speeds of 70-80mph you could ride bike all day as seating/riding position is excellent.This bike performs faultlessly in terms of handling especially given the design principle behind the bike for touring. In the right hands it will embarrass many a sports bike, although that is not the purpose of this bike it does perform well in almost all situations. If you want to go faster then you will have to buy a proper out and out sports bike. If you push bike too hard then chassis and suspension tell you, but in every day circumstances and for normal riding bike suspension and chassis and brakes are more than up to the job.
Brakes are great, back brake has great progressive grip and front brake is the same. Engine braking on bike is ideal not as harsh as a twin but a little more noticeable than a four so if you get the gearing right you very rarely have to touch your brakes at all. Bike has 3 riding modes and I did try them all A mode every thing happens a little faster, B mode every thing a little slower and standard mode just right. I believe the modes only adjust fly by wire throttle and only sharpen up or dull throttle input although there is noticeably less power available in B mode I believe limited to 95bhp I was quite happy in standard mode.
I opted for the comfort saddle and my first impressions were that even that was too hard but was surprised that there were no aches or pains after 200 miles or so I have sent my original saddle of to motorbike seats uk to have recovered and reshaped with a little more padding fitted then I will hopefully be able to ride all day same as other bikes I have had where I customised saddle to suit me.
It has also been a revelation to me how nimble this bike is compared to a lot of other similar bikes out there and I for one think this bike is a keeper.
Up until recently I owned two bikes a Kawasaki GTR 1400 & Yamaha FZ1S I bought the Yamaha Tracer in an attempt to replace both my bikes and go down to just one bike for everything The Yamaha FZ1S is now sold and I am currently looking for a buyer for my Kawasaki GTR I know its early days yet but I would say if this little Yamaha Tracer gets even better as I put more miles on her that I have been successful in my quest.
I don't think there is such a thing as a perfect motorbike but if like me you want to put some miles on in comfort then this little bike has it in spades.
It was clear how good a job hand guards do as I quickly reduced the setting on heated grips as they were too warm even though it was only 3 degrees outside temperature. Well riding bike I have to say first of all weather protection is great especially with touring screen and in my opinion well worth the extra money. Screen looks like it belongs on bike even though it is large. Can ride the bike comfortably at 30mph in 5th gear and still accelerate cleanly without changing gear and I think that shows how well the little 847 triple performs and I think it shows how Yamaha have got this little engine performing correctly in this guise.
Out on the open road the bike performs faultlessly as you get the speed up there is just enough vibration and wind noise to let you know you are reaching licence loosing speeds but at every day speeds of 70-80mph you could ride bike all day as seating/riding position is excellent.This bike performs faultlessly in terms of handling especially given the design principle behind the bike for touring. In the right hands it will embarrass many a sports bike, although that is not the purpose of this bike it does perform well in almost all situations. If you want to go faster then you will have to buy a proper out and out sports bike. If you push bike too hard then chassis and suspension tell you, but in every day circumstances and for normal riding bike suspension and chassis and brakes are more than up to the job.
Brakes are great, back brake has great progressive grip and front brake is the same. Engine braking on bike is ideal not as harsh as a twin but a little more noticeable than a four so if you get the gearing right you very rarely have to touch your brakes at all. Bike has 3 riding modes and I did try them all A mode every thing happens a little faster, B mode every thing a little slower and standard mode just right. I believe the modes only adjust fly by wire throttle and only sharpen up or dull throttle input although there is noticeably less power available in B mode I believe limited to 95bhp I was quite happy in standard mode.
I opted for the comfort saddle and my first impressions were that even that was too hard but was surprised that there were no aches or pains after 200 miles or so I have sent my original saddle of to motorbike seats uk to have recovered and reshaped with a little more padding fitted then I will hopefully be able to ride all day same as other bikes I have had where I customised saddle to suit me.
It has also been a revelation to me how nimble this bike is compared to a lot of other similar bikes out there and I for one think this bike is a keeper.
Up until recently I owned two bikes a Kawasaki GTR 1400 & Yamaha FZ1S I bought the Yamaha Tracer in an attempt to replace both my bikes and go down to just one bike for everything The Yamaha FZ1S is now sold and I am currently looking for a buyer for my Kawasaki GTR I know its early days yet but I would say if this little Yamaha Tracer gets even better as I put more miles on her that I have been successful in my quest.
I don't think there is such a thing as a perfect motorbike but if like me you want to put some miles on in comfort then this little bike has it in spades.
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