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2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT Test & Review, “Vastly Improved”

The 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT brings many yet subtle revisions to the line-up.
Yet these revisions add to one great motorcycle.
It’s price is really difficult to ignore.

The 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT now wears the hallowed “GT” moniker.

GT stands for Gran Turismo, or Grand Touring in Italian. The GT name usually alludes to a sports car that is not only fast but coddles its occupants in great comfort. Best examples of GT are the Lamborghini Avantador, Ferrari F8, Porsche Turbo and those in the same ilk.

Well, looks like have to find out if the Tracer 900 GT is worthy of the designation, since Yamaha placed it as such, don’t we?

Introduction to the 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT

The model was unveiled in Malaysia earlier this year and it seems like its manufacturer listened to their customers’ feedback in making the 900 GT even better than its predecessor, the MT-09 Tracer.

So, while both bikes are almost identical in terms of styling, there are almost worlds apart when ridden. Sure, the inline-Triple CP3 engine sourced from the MT-09 is retained along with 115 hp and 87.5 Nm, as with the frame. However, the bike is almost completely new.

Highlights and revisions

The larger windscreen is now adjustable.
Cruise control.
Quick Shifter (upshifts only).
Cruise control.
Thin Film Transistor (TFT) display.
Swingarm extended by 60mm.
YCC-T ride by wire.
D-Mode engine power selector.
Switchable traction control system (TCS).
60 mm longer swingarm.
30 mm longer passenger footpegs.
Narrower handlebar.
LED lighting (except the turn signals).
Comfort seats.
Revised rider ergonomics.
Larger passenger grab bars.
Fully-adjustable forks.
New rear shock with remote preload adjuster.
New centre stand.

Riding impression

Again, the changes are subtle on paper, but they add up to a greater effect. The handlebar was first inkling of the changes when you climb on. It’s now only narrower but also moved back to meet the rider. The change gives the rider a slightly forward slant of the upper torso, putting more weight on the front end and feeling natural at the same time.

You now stare at a TFT screen instead of the previous yesteryear-looking LCD cluster. However, the size of the TFT on the Tracer 900 is rather small… especially for someone who’s getting older like me. Still, it’s a welcome change from the Super Tenere’s “TV screen.”

That’s because every aspect for performance, riding data and setup is carried out through the screen, through a new scroll thumb wheel on the right switch handlebar.

As for riding modes and TCS levels, you need to select your preferred combination before you start riding, because you can’t do so while the bike is on the fly. Instead, you have to stop the bike or coast in Neutral at low speeds to change the D-Mode. Bummer.

The three D-Modes are carried over from the MT-09 and MT-09 Tracer, providing a quick reaction to throttle movements. The acceleration was exhilarating and addicting, least to say, as you grab one gear and another using the quickshifter!

Such reactions used to be the biggest irritation for its forebears, but no longer!

The solution wasn’t in the throttle feel, but the suspension, instead. The rear shock is new and looks beefier than the old unit. It’s still adjustable for preload and rebound damping, but now it doesn’t pump and down through high-speed sweepers. Tuned correctly, the Tracer 900 GT is one of the nimblest bikes in the market.

My spouse takes on the role of backseat reviewer and ranked the seat’s comfort higher up the scale, plus the better-acting new rear shock.

Adding to the rear shock’s performance is the longer swingarm. Yes, it looks just like the one on the previous model but it was truly discernable when you ride it – 60 mm is rather a lot to miss! It provided a whole lot more straight-line stability but perhaps more importantly was allowing the bike to “finish the corners” much better now – cracking the throttle mid-turn didn’t sent the bike wide as a longer swingarm acts to keep more weight on the front tyre when the gas comes on.

The new windscreen truly worked. The material is clearer than its predecessor’s and the sides were designed to keep windblast off the rider’s chest yet allowing enough through to keep him cool.

Last but not least, the centrestand is a great addition. However, it turned out to also be the one point which we didn’t like most. It’s very wide at the base and grounded very quickly even before the footpeg feelers did.

Conclusion

It’s amazing what listening to your customers can yield. The 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT is the perfect embodiment of such a strategy.

At just RM 58,800 (basic selling price) the bike offers a great value for money which cannot be ignored. It’ll take you to places you want to go while looking and sounding good.

In a nutshell, yes, the bike is worthy of the “GT” name.

This test and review was brought to you by:

PICTURE GALLERY

Teknologi MotoGP Dijangka Ada Pada Model Yamaha YZF-R1 Generasi Akan Datang

Model Yamaha YZF-R1 generasi yang akan datang dijangka bakal dilengkapi dengan teknologi MotoGP.
Ia barangkali akan didatangkan dengan transmisi ‘seamless’, VVT/L dan aci engkol putar berlawanan.
Model YZF-R1 kekal sama sejak lima tahun yang lalu.

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MotoGP Tech Expected for Next-Generation Yamaha YZF-R1

The next-generation Yamaha YZF-R1 is expected to feature MotoGP technology.
It may feature seamless transmission, VVT/L and counter-rotating crankshaft.
The YZF-R1 has remained unchanged for the last five years.

The current Yamaha YZF-R1 has gone pretty unchanged for the last five years since its. Introduction. But that’s about to change according to many motorcycle journalists, including us.

By contrast, all the superbikes running in the WorldSBK championship were updated within last few years, except for the Yamaha.

Could the upcoming Euro 5 emission standard be the determining factor? It might as well be, just as Honda is holding back the introduction of their next-generation CBR1000RR Fireblade. Euro 5 will cut emissions by half from the Euro 4 standard. Such reduction will no doubt rob engine power.

As such, the new YZF-R1 ought to feature variable valve timing and lift. The BMW S 1000 RR, Suzuki GSX-R1000RR are already utilizing the technology, and it’s strongly rumoured that the upcoming CBR1000RR will follow suit.

Yamaha has already employed VVT/L to their scooters as part of their Blue Core engine strategy, after all.

As for MotoGP tech, Yamaha submitted patents for a seamless transmission for the R1. The technology takes much explanation, but you can read about it here. If this comes to plan, Yamaha will be the first manufacturer to adopt it to a roadgoing bike.

Secondly, Yamaha was one of the first manufacturers to run a counter-rotating crankshaft in Grand Prix racing all the way back in the two-stroke era. It’s also employed in the in the current YZR-M1 MotoGP bike. A counter-rotating crankshaft reduces the effects of the wheels’ centrifugal force at high-speeds, making the bike easier to turn into corners. Ducati uses it in the Panigale V4 to devastating effect in WorldSBK.

This article was brought to you by:

Source: AMCN

Azroy Dan Jentera Honda Kuasai Batu Kawan

Azroy Hakeem pamer tunggangan mantap di Batu Kawan apabila berjaya merekodkan kemenangan kedua berturut-turut dalam kategori CP150 Kejuaraan Cub Prix Malaysia PETRONAS, semalam.

Pelumba Idemitsu Honda Yuzy Racing itu meneruskan rentak kemenangan setelah menjuarai aksi pembukaan di Jasin, Melaka, bulan lalu.

Nasib seakan menyebelahi Azroy tatkala pendahulu perlumbaan, Md Akid Aziz menarik diri seawal pusingan pertama setelah terjatuh sementara Md Helmi Azman mengalami masalah jentera sekaligus membuka peluang buat Azroy untuk mendahului perlumbaan.

Sementara itu, juara bertahan Ahmad Afif Amran dari pasukan PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha – CKJ Racing terpaksa berpuas hati dikedudukan kedua apabila gagal dalam percubaan untuk memintas Azroy yang berjaya menutup ruang sepanjang perlumbaan.

Azroy mencatat masa 17 minit 34.904 saat diikuti Afif 17’35.080s dan pelumba senior, Ahmad Fazrul Sham ketiga dengan catatan masa 17’45.922s.

“Saya berterima kasih kepada seluruh pasukan kerana bekerja keras untuk membantu saya memenangi perlumbaan minggu ini, begitu juga dengan sokongan keluarga dan penaja,” jelas Azroy yang kini mendahului kedudukan keseluruhan dengan 50 mata.

“Pada penghujung perlumbaan saya menyedari Afif berada dekat dengan saya jadi saya perlu menutup ruang dan berjaya mempertahankan kedudukan sehingga ke garisan penamat,”jelasnya.

Sementara itu, aksi CP115 menyaksikan pelumba PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha Maju Motor, Md Syafiq Rosli menjuarai perlumbaan dengan catatan keseluruhan 13’45.133s.

Tempat kedua jadi milik Ahmad Syukran Aizat Md Yusof (PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha – CKJ Racing) sementara Md Adib Rosley (Motul Yamaha YY Pang) ketiga.

Yamaha Dengan Enjin Twin Cas Turbo Bakal Muncul Tiba?

Fail paten telah menunjukkan yang Yamaha sedang berusaha menghasilkan sebuah enjin ‘twin’ cas turbo.
Yamaha ingin mengurangkan emisi ekzos dengan menggunakan pengecas turbo.
Pengecas turbo menambah keberkesanan lohong masukan dengan menyedut lebih banyak udara ke dalamnya.

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Yamaha Turbocharged Twin on the Way?

Patent filings show that Yamaha is working on producing a turbocharged twin.
Yamaha seeks to lower exhaust emissions by utilizing a turbo.
A turbo increases intake efficiency by forcing in more air.

Patent filings show that Yamaha is working on producing a turbocharged twin.

However, Yamaha’s turbocharging idea is to beat the Euro 5 emissions standard. To that end, the manufacturer seeks to use a smaller engine to reduce fuel consumption, while the turbo ups the power. Forced induction increases intake efficiency i.e. forces in more air.

The patent also shows that Yamaha is concentrating their effort in the turbo’s wastegate. The wastegate is a device which vents access pressure in the turbo’s compressor. In the patent, Yamaha aims to optimize the wastegate’s actuator to increase the “degree of freedom in the layout of the catalyst.” In layman terms, it means they can fit a bigger catalytic converter.

Turbocharging is not a new to the world of motorcycling. All Big Four manufacturers flirted with forced induction in the 80s. However, they were interested in coaxing more horsepower from smaller engines instead of being concerned with emissions. In the end, issues with turbo lag and cooling killed the turbo bikes.

Yet, we have the supercharged Kawasaki H2 30 years later.

Almost all diesel vehicles use turbocharging to force in more air and clean up exhaust emissions. The bonus is of course, more power and torque from the engine. The manufacturers overcome turbo lag by either utilizing dual turbochargers are turbochargers with variable geometry vanes (VGT). That is why Kawasaki opted for a supercharger instead. Let’s hope Yamaha can address the issue in their own way, too.

Sources: Ride Apart, AMCN, Bennets, Free Patents Online

Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Dan Yamaha Bekerjasama Dalam Pembangunan Bateri Motosikal

Stesen penukaran bateri dan skuter Gogoro – Sumber imej Nikkei Asian Review

Empat buah pengeluar motosikal utama di Jepun, iaitu Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, dan Suzuki akan bekerjasama bagi membangunkan teknologi bateri motosikal.
Mereka sedang berusaha membangunkan teknologi penukaran bateri bagi mengatasi tempoh pengecasan yang panjang.
Yamaha sudah mula bekerjasama dengan Gogoro di Taiwan bagi membangunkan teknologi penukaran bateri ini.

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Harga Yamaha Y15ZR v2 2019 Didedahkan! Dari RM 8,168!

Hong Leong Yamaha Motor Sdn. Bhd. (HLYM) telah mendedahkan harga bagi model Yamaha Y15ZR v2 2019 pada hari ini.
Harga runcit yang disarankan adalah RM 8,268 (harga asas tidak termasuk pendaftaran, cukai jalan dan insurans).
Ada sesetengah wakil pengedar telah mula mengambil tempahan, jadi, segeralah ke wakil pengedar rasmi yang berhampiran!

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2019 Yamaha Y15ZR v2 Price Revealed from RM 8,168

Hong Leong Yamaha Motor Sdn. Bhd. (HLYM) revealed the price of the 2019 Yamaha Y15ZR v2 today.
The recommended selling price is RM 8,168 (not inclusive of insurance, road tax and registration fee).
Certain dealers are taking deposits but do check to see when the bike will be available.

Hong Leong Yamaha Motor Sdn. Bhd. (HLYM) revealed the price of the 2019 Yamaha Y15ZR v2 today. The pricing follows the launch about a fortnight ago.

HLYM recommended basic selling price is RM 8,168 (not inclusive of insurance, road tax and registration fee). Customers will receive a sturdy Yamaha disc lock with reminder cable, free-of-charge.

The highly anticipated v2 (for Version 2) replaces its predecessor, the Y15ZR. The v2 still uses the same 150cc high power engine. However, there are a number of important updates to extend the model’s lifeline.

New features are:

New streamlined headlamp design with LED lighting.
Fully digital speedometer.
Wider front tyre size (90/80-17) for better handling, especially around corners.
Hazard lamp and passing lamp.
New graphics.

The new Yamaha Y15ZR is offered in four exciting colours:

Striking Cyan.
Storm Blue.
Blazing Red.
Dynamid Gray.

Certain authorized dealers are already taking bookings. However, do check to see when the bikes will arrive. New Yamaha models are known to sell out even before they hit the dealerships!

Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha Working Together on Batteries

The four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers namely Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha will work together to develop motorcycle batteries.
They should be working on battery swapping technology to overcome long charging times.
Yamaha is already working with Gogoro in Taiwan for battery swapping.

The four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers namely Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha will work together to develop motorcycle batteries.

The joint effort is to combat the bane of current electric motorcycles: Charging times. Make that long charging times. As such, they should be coming up with a solution to swap low-power or depleted batteries with fully charged ones.

Their solution should be similar to Gogoro’s, which is currently in operation in Taiwan. Electric bike riders visit a charging station, pull out the depleted battery in their motorcycles, insert it into the charging station and swap it for a fully-charged one.

Yamaha is already working with Gogoro on this solution in the island state.

Gogoro first entered the Taiwanese market in 2015. Since then, 750 GoStations have been installed, catering to some 17 million battery swaps. The company is targeting 3,000 stations, ultimately.

Honda and Yamaha are the strongest players in the electric motorcycle sector among the four manufacturers. But with the dateline for electric vehicles looming on the horizon, Kawasaki and Suzuki need to hustle in producing their own electric bikes. Most European countries will revert to new electric vehicles only in a decade or so, while phasing out fossil fuel vehicles.

Malaysia, without a doubt is still lagging far behind. Currently, only luxury cars are hybrid or electric. Consequently, the infrastructure is built by these manufacturers to cater for their own cars.

Motorcycle charging or battery swapping stations? Forget about it. The Malaysian government ought to step this up quickly.

Ten Kate Kembali Ke WorldSBK Bersama Yamaha Dan Loris Baz

Pasukan Ten Kate akan kembali ke kejohanan perlumbaan motosikal pengeluaran, WorldSBK, bersama Yamaha dan Loris Baz.
Pasukan ini akan mendapat sokongan sepenuhnya Yamaha Europe dan akan memiliki kelengkapan yang sama seperti pasukan pengilang.
Pasukan tersebut telah digugurkan oleh HRC pada saat-saat terakhir pada tahun lepas.

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Ten Kate Back in WorldSBK with Yamaha and Loris Baz

Ten Kate is returning to WorldSBK with Yamaha and Loris Baz.
The team will be supported fully by Yamaha Europe and will have the same equipment as the factory team.
The team was dropped by HRC at the 11^thhour last year.

Ten Kate is returning to WorldSBK with Yamaha and Loris Baz this time.

Many were surprised when Honda dropped their long-time WorldSBK partner Ten Kate for the 2019 season. It was already 30^thOctober when Honda made the announcement, which meant that Ten Kate had prepared the race engines, materiel and signed two riders through 2019 and 2020.

HRC’s move forced Ten Kate to lay off their race team and declare bankruptcy.

But it proves that racing is in team principal Ronald ten Kate’s blood as he began talks with other manufacturers. He finally reached an agreement with Yamaha Europe just before Christmas, but the details were only fully confirmed in January.

He decided on Yamaha and Loris Baz as he will be supported fully by Yamaha Europe, hence receive the complete package. It means that he will receive the same factory equipment as the Crescent Yamaha and GYTR Yamaha teams.

However, he concedes that the team could only aim for as many podium finishes as possible since the championship is fully underway. The team will only begin at the Jerez round from 7^thto 9^thJune 2019.

Bikesrepublic

yamaha

The 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT brings many yet subtle revisions to the line-up.

Yet these revisions add to one great motorcycle.

It’s price is really difficult to ignore.

Introduction to the 2019 Yamaha Tracer 900 GT

Highlights and revisions

Riding impression

Conclusion

PICTURE GALLERY

The next-generation Yamaha YZF-R1 is expected to feature MotoGP technology.

It may feature seamless transmission, VVT/L and counter-rotating crankshaft.

The YZF-R1 has remained unchanged for the last five years.

Patent filings show that Yamaha is working on producing a turbocharged twin.

Yamaha seeks to lower exhaust emissions by utilizing a turbo.

A turbo increases intake efficiency by forcing in more air.

Hong Leong Yamaha Motor Sdn. Bhd. (HLYM) revealed the price of the 2019 Yamaha Y15ZR v2 today.

The recommended selling price is RM 8,168 (not inclusive of insurance, road tax and registration fee).

Certain dealers are taking deposits but do check to see when the bike will be available.

The four Japanese motorcycle manufacturers namely Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha will work together to develop motorcycle batteries.

They should be working on battery swapping technology to overcome long charging times.

Yamaha is already working with Gogoro in Taiwan for battery swapping.

Ten Kate is returning to WorldSBK with Yamaha and Loris Baz.

The team will be supported fully by Yamaha Europe and will have the same equipment as the factory team.

The team was dropped by HRC at the 11th hour last year.

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The team was dropped by HRC at the 11^thhour last year.