Ah, the famous little red pocket knife, man or woman’s best friend and so compact and easy to use with its plethora of highly functional parts. The build quality is legendary and will certainly last for a very long time without any mechanical issues.
Now after riding this little blue beauty for a week I just couldn’t think of a better way to describe and portray this new bike from Yamaha in South Africa that is. Say hello and give a big round of applause to the Yamaha MT-07 Tracer – the Swiss Army Bike. Quite simply this motorbike is one of the best money can buy for just about every area of motorcycling. A lot of praise to be piled upon a relatively small bike, regarding dimensions, and if you think Yamaha SA has bribed me with a posh hotel, lavish cocktails and ‘ladies of the night’, you’d be wrong! But after reading my report they just might, hopefully?
The thing about the MT-07 Tracer is that it’s just so easy to ride. I let a lot of people ride this bike and they all came back with exactly the same reply of “Wow, that’s nice’ and I couldn’t agree more. I was always a huge fan of its sibling, the MT-07. Indeed it won Bike of the Year in many overseas publications, justifiably so may I add, making it a real world motorbike. So now we have the Tracer option, virtually the same bike with a ‘Transformer’ Hollywood film face. Does anyone know why this or the MT-09 version is called a Tracer, no me neither? Anyway let’s move on to the bike in more detail.
The superb CP2 (cross-plane crank) 689cc parallel twin engine is a peach of a thing. 75hp and 68Nm doesn’t sound a lot compared to bigger options but it’s more than enough to pull monster wheelies and sweep past 200km/h with ease - do you really need more? The MotoGP derived 270-degree crankshaft also lets the engine emit a rather intoxicating noise that resembles a V-twin rather than parallel, which normally sound like delivery bikes, but not this one folks. It’s also creamy smooth on the highway where wafting along on a quality seat at well over the speed limit is an absolute pleasure, every journey always seemed to be too short. And while you’re in touring mode Yamaha claim a very impressive 4.2 litres per 100km. Whip out your calculator and work out how far the 17-litre tank (three more than the naked MT-07) will take you and you’ll see another benefit of a smaller engine with a sweet power delivery.
Without a doubt the sweetest thing about the MT-07 Tracer is its completely neutral/comfortable riding position that will suit anyone’s build or stature, well maybe a Sumo wrestler filled with a thousand Big Macs might have a problem. I’m around 90kg after two Big Macs and just under six feet tall and it suited me perfectly. I just love bikes that don’t feel like you’re trying to mount a fookin horse – if you know what I mean?
It’s also lighter than anything in this class with a claimed weight of just 195kg fully fuelled, oiled and ready to ride and it feels it as you tear around twisty bends. Stable, planted, confidence inspiring and a whole bag full of fun is ‘baby’ Tracer’s trump card, with absolutely no comparison to that ‘knob’ in Washington there. The stability aspect comes from a new gorgeous looking aluminium swing-arm that’s 50mm longer than the basic MT-07 and, remarkably, those hyper-grippy rubber kneepads. I used them more than I thought I would and loved the feel they gave whilst braking, pulling wheelies and landing and then rubbing them like a perv when I dismounted. Advance apologies to any pervs out there if you don’t like rubbing rubber kneepads.
So what we have here is a very practical sports tourer that does exactly what it says on the label. The screen has 28-step settings as well and there’s a bit of Meccano in between the ‘bars to hold a GPS or similar, which I’d paint black if I bought one. One thing I couldn’t change is the horn position that seems to be in the wrong place and initially hard to find. After a week of civility and madness on the MT-07 Tracer though it, like everything on this bike, fell into place. And while I’m digging, the front brakes could have more initial bite, but that’s cured quickly with a simple pad change I’d imagine.
However the biggest problem, well not if you ask me because I think it’s worth every cent, is the price. It will retail at R125,000, which is R15,000 less than the more equipped MT-09 Tracer with its CP3 engine. Now I’ve ridden that bike many times and enjoyed it also but throughout this test I believed the MT-07 version is a better bike. I’d imagine owners of MT-09 Tracers have just spat their bacon, egg and cheese roll 15m across the kitchen and called me a name that rhymes with ‘anchor’, fair enough! So to confirm my choice I hopped onto the MT-09 Tracer the moment I returned the MT-07 to see if I also needed to jettison a heavily laden breakfast roll. Err, no, sorry folks who own a ‘9’. Yes the CP3 has more power (not by much) and it’s bigger and has a few more gadgets. The MT-07 has no unnecessary electronics that I forgot to mention, which I like in this modern day laptop world of motorcycling. But the ‘little un’ is more stable and nicer to ride so there and, I would hop onto that before the ‘9’ anytime.
Look I don’t think my words will put people off buying the already very good ‘9’. But if you’re looking for a new motorbike that really is a Swiss Army Bike in every sense then you just, no must, have a test ride before you buy anything else. Like I said earlier everyone, and I mean everyone, said “wow, that’s nice” after riding it and it only took a few kilometers in the saddle to say so, say no more. Without doubt one of the most accomplished bikes I’ve ridden for a very long time. Now where’s my posh hotel, cocktails and ‘ladies of the night’ gift voucher?
Go to www.yamaha.co.za to find your local dealer and book a highly recommended test ride.
images by Gareth Davidson
go to our videos page to watch 2Wheels TV shoot of this bike.
