GETTING BETTER EVERY TIME

» Power: 117bhp » Weight: 213kg » Engine: 889cc 4v liquid cooled three cylinder » Price: £12,202

Talk about hard act to follow. The original Tracer was a great bike, still winning our 2020 group test even after being around, with few updates, since 2015. So the new one had better be really, really good. And it is.

Even though you’d be pushed to find any significant failings with the old model, the 2021 bike is a smidge better in almost every area. It still retains a distinctive ‘Tracer’ vibe, that combination of agility, practicality and a stunning (and now even more stunning) engine, but has actually moved its design ethos slightly too.

The riding experience on the old bike blurred the line between adventure bike and upright sports tourer (if that’s a thing). The new bike has gone a couple more degrees towards road bike in feel, and that’s a good thing.

It starts with the riding position. Now you sit a bit more in the bike than on top of it and the stance is slightly more relaxed. There’s a more comfortable seat for rider and pillion too and suspension quality, especially on this electronic equipped GT version, is improved.

The new bike feels a little bit more stable, a little more planted and communicative than the old one; tip it into the corner, feel the Bridgestone’s bite, and arc entertainingly towards the exit as you wind

on the power. It feels calm and planted, making it more relaxed and reassuring when ridden enthusiastically.

Here’s another thing – the new bike sounds better too, especially when you’re spinning it from 7000rpm towards the 9000rpm redline. There’s a proper, three-cylinder 120° crankshaft howl that Triumph have sadly engineered out of their Tiger range to make them sound more like a twin. There’s also a bit of a tingle through the footpegs, but it’s a notification rather than an intrusion.

The all-new engine has an extra 43cc, pushing capacity to 890cc, with corresponding gains in absolute power and torque. The old engine was flexible, but this one is more so. With a rich mid-range power delivery gear choice can be approximate rather than absolute. Whether you change down one or two gears to drive from a corner exit becomes academic, so maintaining momentum is a very relaxed business. This is a really brisk road bike, and one that’s relaxed for fast riding. Downsides? The two panel dash is fussy and the smaller displays are hard to read (even for my younger colleagues), the wind screen is bigger and adjustable, but still noisy for taller riders. That’s about it. Reinventing an established model is really tough, but for me Yamaha have nailed it with the new Tracer.

‘Reinventing is tough, but Yamaha have nailed it’