Yamaha Tracer 700
Is Yamaha's new Tracer 700 the ultimate all-rounder we've been waiting for?
Is this the one bike that can do it all? Our Ross went to the launch to find out .
The big changes for Yamaha's 2020 Tracer 700 include an updated 689cc motor, adjustable suspension at both the front and rear, revised bodywork, an inverted LCD dash and an adjustable screen. A lot of the work that the factory has done parallels the changes to the latest generation MT-07. That's no fluke. Yamaha listened to punters ' feedback of the previous bike and they said they wanted something sportier. So here it is.
To put the new machine through its paces, Motorcycle Sport and Leisure headed out to sunny Tenerife and spent the day taking on all manner of roads - from stretches of fast motorway through to the tightest of switchbacks (and everything in between). The Tracer 700 took the lot in its stride without a grumble. It's a truly versatil e ma chine. Ok, so it's not an off-roader - but aside from that, it'll do the lot.
The Tracer's real secret is its simplicity. There are no rider modes to flickbetween - and there's no traction control, cruise control, wheelie control, electronic suspension or clever cornering ABS either. You get conventional ABS and that's your lot. And it's all the better for it, allowing you to focus on nothing but the next corner - and then the next; without preoccupying yourself with a load of largely unnecessary gizmos and gadgets .. . At the end of the day, the bike doesn't need them. It's refined enough to keep even the most ham -fisted of riders in check with its mechanical wizardry alone.
For 2020, Yamaha's also tweaked the Tracer 700's riding position. Its handlebars are slightly wider than before, and they allow you to really muscle the bike between corners - almost Supermoto-style. There's an adjustable two-position screen, too. It offers 6.5cm of adjustment, but to be brutally honest, I couldn't find much difference between the two settings, with neither working particularly well to protect my 6ft lin frame from the wind. It's not necessarily a problem though, as even on a couple of fast motorway stretches, the neutral riding position helped to mitigate being battered by the elements too much. In short, the Tracer 700's a nice place to be - it's comfortable, accessible (thanks to its 840mm seat height), and easy to get on with.
But the real standout is its updated 689cc CP2 motor. The Tracer is actually the first of Yamaha's 689cc CP2-engined bikes to be ready for the Euro 5 emissions regulations - and rest assured, it's as excellent as ever. To meet standards, there have been revisions to the valve gear, airbox, fuelling and ignition mods, and some gearbox tweaks, too . There's a new catalytic converter behind the exhaust down pipes, which allows the catalyst to heat up faster and work more efficiently.
It's genuinely fantastic; smooth and progressive, but always lively, right through the rev range. There's plenty of punch to sweep past traffic with ease, enough grunt to accelerate hard out of corners, and it'll potter through traffic in town without trouble. Youshouldn't dismiss it because it's 'only a small bike'; not once did I feel the need for more
power. It kicks out a more than ample (as far as I'm concerned) 72bhp at 8750rpm and 68Nm of torque at 6500rpm. Oh, and for the budding riders out there, a restricted A2 licence version is also available. Changing through the six-speed gearbox was a doddle, too; reassuringly slick, even when slamming my way down the box and braking into sharp corners. While there's no quickshifter, I didn't have any problems changing up without the clutch.
The general consensus among my peers seemed to be that the new suspension set up is a serious improvement from the previous generation. I'll admit, I've not ridden the old model, but the latest system did everything I asked of it. It proved itself planted and stable even as we pushed the bike to its limits. Ok, it's a little soft, but there was no serious pitch and dive unsettling the bike under hard braking and acceleration. The suspension's actually adjustable for the first time, too.
At the back there's rebound damping adjustment, and at the front you can adjust the spring preload and rebound damping. I'll admit, I didn't get too much of a chance to mess around with the settings, but it's a nice touch which only helps to add to the Tracer's versatility.
The brakes perform well, too. Unchanged from the previous model, I gave them a proper test in town to avoid being cleaned up by a car and they pulled me up with no trouble, and very little interference from the
ABS. They're also delicate enough to allow you to trail brake into corners . The Michelin Pilot Road 4 tyres which are fitted to the bike as standard are spot on, too; grippy and stable enough to inspire confidence as you throw the bike from side to side.
Getting back to the numbers - Yamaha claim the Tracer 700 will return an average of 66mpg. Admittedly, that's a little off the
55mpg I got from the Tracer I was riding, but then again it was hardly a typical ride . The vast majority of our 150-mile route was tight and twisty, so there was much more hard acceleration and hard braking than you'd usually encounter. Either way, 55mpg isn't bad at all. It'd mean you'd get 205 miles out of the single tank between refills, while a more conservative rider could cover as many as 246 miles without stopping for a top up.
In short, I'm properly impressed with the 2020 Tracer 700. It's better than I thought it would be, and I had pretty high expectations in the first place. It's a bike for every day of the week. It'll do the lot. It'll tour; it'll sit on the motorway all day long;it'll bimble around town; and it'll seriously hustle on some twisties. You could argue that the larger and more serious two -up riders among us might be better off with something a little larger (err, how about a Tracer 900?). But really that's neither here nor there. The Tracer 700's a genuinely capable and well made bit of kit. And it's great value too, coming in at £7799, which feels like quite a deal to me. If you're buying on PCP, you can get your hands on a Tracer for £89 a month (for 36 months) - with a £2500 deposit and £3195 final payment. What are you waiting for?