Breaking up is hard to do
An all-rounder that will be missed
SPEC YAMAHA TRACER 700 £7139 + 689cc parallel twin + 74bhp + 196kg + 17-litre tank + 835mm seat + Miles: 4482
I’M GOING TO cry. I won’t be able to help it. I’m genuinely feeling quite emotional that the Tracer 700 I’ve been riding this year has to go back to Yamaha. I’ve asked nicely, I’ve tried bribery but Yamaha has simply sold so many of these bikes that they can’t afford to not have it back.
And it’s hardly surprising. It’s a brilliant bike. It’s comfortable, well balanced and hoovers up the miles on my daily commute. It’s more than quick enough for me too. I know it’s a girlie thing to say but my favourite bit is still the colour. Friends tell me when they’ve spotted me riding down the A1 as the paintjob is just so bright and sparkly.
But it would be sycophantic of me to pretend there aren’t a few niggles. Not being a massively experienced rider, I didn’t really know which bits of kit I would need and it’s only when you live with the bike you realise that cleaning and lubing the chain is a real pain without a centrestand, making it either a two-person or an extremely tedious solo job.
Having previously had surgery on one hand, leaving me with reduced circulation in my thumb and first two fingers, boy did I feel the numbness set in when the weather turned colder without some heated grips. That was easily solved thanks to a set of Oxford Hotgrips and while I was there, I switched out the standard levers to a set of Rizoma racing ones (www. rizoma.com), bringing both the clutch and front brake stretch points to a much more comfortable position for my small hands. I also fitted some R&G crash bungs (www. rg-racing.com).
For my daily commute, I’ve mainly used the Yamaha Tour Tank Bag (£149.99 plus £23.29 fitting ring). I did need help to fit it as it involved power tools and I still find the release a bit stiff, which I’m sure would probably improve with further use. But the bag looks fab and has tons of room for my change of clothes for work, lunch, purse, make-up and the kitchen sink.
Despite the cold weather, it’s still British summertime in my world. I don’t have a long attention span and lost interest after several minutes of fiddling with the dash trying to turn the clock back in October. I’m sure there are instructions in the owner’s manual, but I hoped it would be a little more intuitive.
The only real complaint I have is with the fuel gauge. It jumps around from full to empty and back to half full again and doesn’t make sense that when I’ve been on reserve for over 20 miles I can still only squeeze 14 litres into the 17-litre tank.
All of the above is pretty academic though when you take into account what an absolutely fantastic bike this is, never mind that it’s only £7139. I regularly get over 60mpg and after the 600-mile run-in service, it’ll go to 6000 miles before needing a trip back to the dealer. If I was dipping into my own pocket, I’d certainly add SW Motech’s centrestand (£183) and Yamaha’s heated grips (£134).
“I’m feeling emotional the Tracer 700 is going back”