Four Improvements for the Tracer 9 GT

The Yamaha Tracer 9 GT is new, and custom parts are just becoming available. After the first 1,800 miles, I have a few minor improvements I’d like to make to my Tracer 9 GT, and so I’ve been scouring the internet and talking to lots of different people in search of suppliers.

At the top of my list was the Yamaha Comfort Seat, as the standard seat is just terrible. While completing the 1000-Mile Tracer Road Test, I needed paracetamol to get through the last three days.

Next on the list was replacing the standard Yamaha GPS mount. In the same vein as the standard seat, I have no idea what Yamaha was thinking when they thought mounting a GPS on the handlebar clamps was a good idea?

Then comes the thorny subject of screens. After a lot of forum surfing, the MRA Vario screen appears to be one of the popular choices, and hopefully, one will be arriving in the next few days.

And finally – a subject dear to my heart – comes fender (mudguard) extenders. Again, I do not understand why manufacturers fit such inadequate protection to their motorcycles as standard.

But I best not rant. There are improvements to make … Best get to it.

Tracer 9 GT Comfort Seat

Someone did share a dark thought with me. Did Yamaha make the standard seat so bad that we would all upgrade to the comfort seat? That is a very dark thought. However, as I’m finding the comfort seat to be such an improvement, I wondered if there wasn’t just a sliver of truth in that thought somewhere.

After my paracetamol supported tour of Wales, I’ve now ridden 400-miles on the comfort seat, including 150 continuous miles without feeling the need to stop and let my backside recover.

It still isn’t perfect, but what motorcycle seat is? The comfort seat is a massive improvement over the standard seat if you have an extra £167 to spend.

Chatting with Chris at Sussex Motorcycles, who rebuilt numerous Tracer 900 seats for clients, I get the impression that Sussex Motorcycles believe they can give you a more comfortable seat for less than the cost  Yamaha is charging. But that is a thought for another day and perhaps a road trip to visit them.

Printed Parts GPS Mount

When I bought the Tracer 9 GT, I ordered the Yamaha GPS mount. The Yamaha mount is the typical bent metal that is then anodised or coated black. It screws to the handlebar mounts, and in the kit, there are two spacers and two extra-long bolts.

Strangely, the extra-long bolts used to replace the factory ones are not polished or finished to the same standard as the other bolts. Thankfully when your GPS is mounted, you don’t have to look at them, but you also can’t get to the ignition key. Well, not easily anyway.

On top of all of that, the Yamaha mount does not place the GPS anywhere you look when riding. You have to stop looking at the road ahead and look down to see what is going on. In short, it is in entirely the wrong place.

But none of that is a problem, thanks to PrintedParts, who you can find on eBay.  

For less than the cost of the Yamaha mount, Printed Parts – Steve is is given name – will 3D print you a GPS mount for the Tracer 9 GT that fits over the screen adjuster. It is simplicity itself to fit. Please don’t make the same mistake I did and overcomplicate the installation. The PrintedParts GPS Mount slides over the screen adjuster, and two screws go into the side to stop any movement.

No holes to drill, just a simple, easy fitting mount that is rock solid even with a Garmin Zumo XT attached. It even comes with a RAM mount compatible ball and short extension arm, and I can also mount my Ultimate Addons phone case to the mount rather than the Garmin if I need to.

The PrintedParts GPS Mount is cheaper, is in your field of vision without blocking your view ahead and doesn’t hamper the screen adjustment.

As it is 3D printed, the finish isn’t as smooth as anodised metal, but it is a small trade-off for getting the perfect Tracer 9 GT GPS mount. The finish isn’t shabby by any measure and looks much better than the unfinished bolts Yamaha supplied.

MRA Vario Screen

Until I went for a ride wearing a Shoei NXR, rather than my regular Schuberth C4, I hadn’t realised how noisy the standard Tracer 9 GT screen could be. The Schuberth does an incredible job of keeping everything quiet and relaxing.

With the standard screen, the seat in the low position, and the Schuberth keeping the noise down, I could live with it. Swap the C4 for the Shoei NXR, and the standard screen has got to go, even with custom-fit earplugs.

The excellent news for Tracer 9 GT owners is that the MRA Vario Screens for the Tracer 9 GT are now available. HPSBike kindly sent me one to test and you can now read the review here

Front & Rear Extenders

Pyramid Plastics have kindly supplied us with a pair to evaluate, [You can read that story here] which gave me the joy of cleaning the Tracer 9 GT before installing them. Strangely, I do enjoy cleaning motorcycles, well, my motorcycles anyway. 

And now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to add more delightful miles to those I’ve already ridden on my Tracer 9 GT.

More on the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT